AboutCarol Bainbridge Expertise I can answer most questions on parenting gifted children, from infants on. Questions can be about parenting, advocacy, and support and I can provide suggestions for toys and books gifted children love. I can even help you determine whether your child is gifted or bright, and I can point you to more information you might need. I can answer some questions about programs for gifted children, but can`t help much with information on colleges. Visitors wanting to know if their children are gifted might want to read the article "Is My Child Gifted?" before asking a question.
Experience I am the parent of a gifted child and have been working with other parents of gifted children for 13 years, helping them find support and providing them with information. I founded a local gifted organization and helped organize a parent day for a national gifted conference. I have been an active member of my state's gifted association since 1999 and created and maintain their Web site. In addition, I have created a website for parents of gifted children who are looking for toys and books for their children: www.giftsforlearning.com.
I am also the Guide About.com Gifted Children Site.
Organizations National Association for Gifted Children. Board member of state gifted association.
Expert: Carol Bainbridge Date: 5/2/2008 Subject: Gifted 3 Year Old
Question Hello. My daughter just turned 3 in April. From age 2, she learned all of the colors, shapes, numbers and letters. She can do a 60 piece jigsaw puzzle by herself. She's always loved puzzles and she can name and recognize half of the states in the US. She has an excellent memory, remembering things she did from months ago. She loves books and prefers to "read them herself". She counts to 30 and can do simple addition and subtraction. Just yesterday, she printed 20 out of 26 alphabet letters correctly. She loves to draw and can copy a picture (like a sun, kite or person). She speaks in complete sentences and can easily carry on a conversation with an adult.
She is sensitive towards others. She gets along very well with other kids and is very helpful and friendly to her peers. She's also very independent and stubborn.
Some people have told me that she is gifted. Others that she's very smart for her age.
My concern is with starting a K-4 program when she will be nearly 4 1/2 years old. By then, she may very well be reading and beyond her peers intellectually. I'm not sure what my options are in terms of education.
Thanks in advance for your reply. Its appreciated.
Answer Starting school before the age five is not necessarily a problem. In fact, I know plenty of parents of gifted kids who wish their child could start that early. Many have to wait until their child is nearly 6 because of state cutoff dates.
The point is that it's not the age alone that we have to consider. We also have to consider what is done in the schools. What does the K-4 program offer? What do they do with kids who are advanced? Here's an article that gives you an idea of what to look for:
Evaluating Gifted Programs http://giftedkids.about.com/od/educationoptions/a/criteria.htm
Your daughter will most likely, as you pointed out, be beyond her peers when she starts school, but she is already beyond her peers, at least her age peers. That is what it means, in large part, to be gifted.
Since school starts for your daughter when she is 4 1/2, there really aren't many other options. Early entry into kindergarten is sometimes a consideration, but in your daughter's case, that would mean starting at 3 1/2. That is quite young for kindergarten, although a lot depends on her level of maturity.
Another option is private school, but you would have to evaluate the private school to see if it would be any more accommodating than the public school.
If you can homeschool for a few years, it would be easier for your daughter to enter school at the appropriate level. For example, starting kindergarten at 3 1/2 might be a problem, but if you homeschooled her for five years, she could go to fourth grade as a 7 1/2 year old while the other kids would be 8 1/2. The older the children are, the less noticeable a one-year age difference is.
