I have a very gifted grand daughter. She is in a private school now and is only 9years old. For some time now her teachers, pre-school, and the like have wanted her to skip several grades to help keep her motivated,may not be the right word. Her parents have chosen not to move her up because she has friends in her grade now that she plays sports with, has slumber parties with and the like. She is getting some outside stimulation from other sources to keep her from making her teachers crazy. She does her work fast, talks a lot, is somewhat sloppy with her papers.

Her parents have her in music outside the school. This is helping her. All of us take time to take her to private tutoring if you will for higher education in math, science and English and she is doing great.

This may not be the best answer for her but this is working for her. She has settled down some in class. Her teachers do give her and several other children with gifted talents other work to do that helps them stay busy, learn and not disrupt her class.

This allows her to stay with her friends and not be singled out as weird or different as she puts it.

She was happy about moving up in grades so this seems to be helping.

I agree that parents and teachers need to watch for signs of these gifted kids. She always talked a lot, had more questions of when, where, why, what, etc. She was and still is not satisfied with just a simple answer or she knows you don't know the answer. She never sat still very long either very curious, but sports and music have helped with that.

She may move up in her grade level as she gets a little older when her friends don't think she is a wierdo, she tells me.

For now she is very gifted in math and science and I hope this strategy continues to work for her.

I realize that some very gifted children need more than what we are doing with our grand-daughter. Teachers are usually the ones who really the uniqueness in a child. That was our case.

Having a gifted child what ever the gift, is not always easy to deal with. Listen to your childs teacher and talk with him/her often if you have concerns. There are plenty of ways to test and to place your child.

Learn more about this author, Julie Young.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Why skipping a grade may not help a highly gifted child?
We want to hear your view. Write now!