too young?

[noopy]

how young is too young?

Just wondering if there are any places in Perth that can help me?

my DD1 is 22 months old and extremely intelligent. she has a photographic memory (only have to tell her something once and she'll remember it forever), says well over a thousand words (talks proper sentences and can even tell me a story! even tells me and DH off!!!), knows almost every single nursery rhyme, can say the whole alphabet, can count to 16, knows all her colours (pink, yellow, orange, red, blue, green, black, white, brown, purple, grey etc), knows at least 30 animals and their sounds, remembers everyones names and faces, uses words like Fabulous, Amazing, Delicious etc, remembers things that happened 6 months earlier (with no previous mentioning of them either), is toilet trained (at 20 months), and yeah, the list goes on!

when she was 12 months old the child health nurse mentioned that cos she had a vocab of well over 30 words (at 12 months) that she would prob be speaking 4 word sentences by 18 months. she started doing this by the time she was 16 months old. the CHN said she has a development of a 3-4 year old.

i've read so many books / websites about child development and looks like she's in the 4year old range for most things, not just her speech and vocab.

her first word was around 8 months (not too early), but she started walking at 10.5 months.
obviously, each child is different, but "they" say children can't kick a ball straight ahead if aiming there or jump up with 2 feet off the ground till they're 3. also read somewhere that they can't run till they're 2. DD1 can do all of these and has done so for many many months!!

also, "they" say that you can't tell which hand is their dominant hand until they're about 2, but ever since DD1 was born she has been left hand dominant - DH is a lefty.

She sings, dances, colours-in all day and helps me around the house. helps me clean (dusts, vacuums, wipes the floor) and also helps me with her baby sister. She watches a lot of TV/DVD's and even chooses what she wants on. she turns the TV on, gets the disc she wants to watch, turns the dvd player on, takes the old disc out of the player, puts a new one in, closes the player, presses play and then even puts the old disc back into the correct case in a drawer, closes the drawer, then always closes the cabinet doors in which the player is in. i dont have to do anything at all. just sit and watch.

another thing is "they" say that children can't take complex orders until they're about 3 or 4 but i can tell DD1 whatever and she'll do it. i can say something like, "honey, can you put this book in your bedroom then go into your sister's room and get me her pink jumper in her bottom drawer please?" and she'll run off and do it all. no questions asked. she can also dress herself.

now...... the reason for this post is...
firstly, i want to see if
* anyone else has a child like this (ie, is this normal or is she gifted?)
* how can i keep her at it? (i believe most children tend not to keep going forward after 5 years old)
* How can i do more with her at home?
* Is there somewhere/someone in Perth that can help me (or tell me) what else and how else i can continue teaching her - home schooling maybe?

Most learning centers around here teach the child according to their age, not their intellect. I believe that my DD1 is a lot more intelligent than other children her age and even tends to like being around adults and older children more rather than children her own age. I wonder if there is a school or something that takes a 2 year old (after she turns two!) but teaches them what a 3 or 4 year old learns?

any advice/suggestions/ideas are greatly appreciated!!

TIA!!

[Oblena]

* anyone else has a child like this (ie, is this normal or is she gifted?)


She certainly has a lot of markers for a gifted child, however I would be cautious about labelling at such a young age. You need to detremine the benefits of doing this, and at this age the benefits are minimal. You have seen that she is significantly ahead of her expected development, so she now needs this cultivated. Whetehr she ends up being labelled as gited later in life will not change this.

* how can i keep her at it? (i believe most children tend not to keep going forward after 5 years old)

Firstly, could you explain why you think this? If this was the case people wouldn't learn anything.

Secondly , yes it is true that you have the most brain function and making of connectiosn before school age than any other time in your life, but this is becasue your brain then works on making more specific links after this age.

But ... a gifted child won't necessarily stay that way if not given the opportunities. Age is irrelevant.

You keep her at it by not 'teaching' as such. Just make all learning a normal part of your day. Talk about everything, have conversations with her with the expectation that she will continue to engage in teh way she does. Look for oportunities in the home to learn without becoming a stereotypical 'teacher'. Cook, play, read, read, read. When reading, talk about how language works, why some letters make certain sounds, and the times they don't. Turn everything into a learning opportunity.

Don't call her gifted. Treat her a normal, she will realise soon enough that she is different, so she needs to know that you see her as normal.

* How can i do more with her at home?

Cook with her, make her do housework and see how she is a part of a community, with communal expectations, walk aournd the community and talk about everything - what fences are made of, how bricks are different to wood, why the sky is blue, number patterns, the role of the sun, why you don't see the sun during the night and so on.

When cooking, make her count out stuff, show you the same amount in a different way etc.


* Is there somewhere/someone in Perth that can help me (or tell me) what else and how else i can continue teaching her - home schooling maybe?

At this stage, just live life with her, It's the talking that teaches. You can go and get a whole lot of pragrams and enrol in groups etc, but a parent IS the best teachers of a toddler.

Make sure you have all poosible opportunities at home - art, science, cooking, technology, literacy, numeracy.

A lot of the learning will be through talk at this stage. The more 1:1 talk time with an adult the better.

[Georgias Mummy]

I think you should let her be a child !! Don't push her to learn more obviously she is doing well learning now so why change anything?? I think you will find that a lot of 2 yr old girls can demonstrate these behaviors. A clever little girl you should cherish and love thats it. Dont put pressure on her.

[cja]

I think you should let her be a child !! Don't push her to learn more obviously she is doing well learning now so why change anything?? I think you will find that a lot of 2 yr old girls can demonstrate these behaviors. A clever little girl you should cherish and love thats it. Dont put pressure on her.

[WorkingClassMum]

Check out this thread and maybe send a pm to Jaq

Goodluck - she sounds very special

[jaq]

Don't worry, I'm here. Off doing a bit of research on schools.

OP - here is a list of Montessori schools - you can set it up to show only the WA ones as well, I think. I'll explain why a bit later ...

Firstly, your Qs. Yes, I think your daughter probably is on the gifted scale; a lot of those characteristics are quite similar to what we went through with DD1.
I don't agree that a lot of 2yos would be able to do that; I think a few 2yos would be able to do some of those things, but not many would be able to do all of them.

I think it is a bit early to determine whether or not she is gifted; keep in mind, too, that giftedness offers a huge spectrum of possible things ... some kids will easily be identified as gifted (early readers, for example) while others will not (there are many children with learning issues that prove to be gifted as well as learning disabled).

So basically, to find out whether your child is gifted or not, you might need to get her tested at some point. Otherwise, it will become apparent once she starts kinder and the like that she is either at the high end of normal, or on a scale all of her own.

How do I keep her at it? Not sure what you mean by this either. For many gifted children, you're biggest problem will be keeping UP with her, trying to slow her down a bit and learn to smell the roses and just relax. That's why comments such as "don't push her" (no offense cja and Georgia's mummy) make me smile - I often visualise myself bumping along behind Annika, hanging on for dear life as she drags us all in her wake!

They won't ever show the same trajectory as in early toddlerhood, but they will continue to amaze and thrill you with their wonder for the world and the fruits of the mind etc ... and when they learn to read, the world becomes their oyster.

]More at home ...

Don't bother with trying to "teach" her ... follow her, fuel her passions for things, let her play in the dirt and with water, and cook with her and read to her ... a child this age will automatically seek out the lessons they most want to learn. Try not to let it drive you mad Gifted kids can be very intense ... we talk about "excitabilities" and "intensities" and I'd imagine you will find out soon enough what I mean

Schooling options

The schools I've posted above are all Montessori schools, and Montessori as a general learning philosophy is a great option for gifted children. At home, Montessori principles are helpful in suggesting different activities and the best learning environments, as well as teaching you how to observe your child and best figure out what she needs.

A Montessori school, particularly a full school (ages 3-11) allows your child to do "kindergarten" in an environment where they are mixing with a three age range, and can work to whatever developmental (not age!) level they are at.

My 3yo was doing reading with the preps within months of starting at our school, and now is able to go into Year 1 next year because she has 2 years of Montessori behind her, and they are well and truly familiar with her abilities.

A good Montessori school (one that follows the method rigourously) will look at your CHILD and the developmental behaviour they are showing to determine what work she should be doing. Kids are rarely as advanced in all areas, so a child might be doing normal 3yo practical life tasks, year 2 language work, prep maths, OR working to a different set of standards altogether.

I can't speak highly enough of how good Montessori has been for Annika, and would strongly urge you to have a look at your local Montessori schools. I think they are a superior educational choice for ALL children, but for gifted kids, they might just be the ONLY educational choice.

[Amajai]

My daughter is 21months. Her first word was "dad" at five months. She could say her own name at 9months. She now can count to 10. Say , blue, green, yellow, red etc. Says the alphabet. Can also string sentences together and completely understands what I am saying if I ask her to do something. She can do puzzles and pronounce more complex words that only have been said once to her. She has really been able to do all of that 4/6 months ago. I read books to her all the time and have done since she was 12 months old, we talk to her alot and explain/describe things that are in her environment and have lots of play time together (not so much now that I have a 5 week old).

I think just cherish the way she is and enjoy the wonderful stages of her life.

[Escada]

My DD1 is the same, so intelligent & does all the above thing u mentioned, I am just letting her me a child & enjoying seeing her growing up.

[SalTheGal]

Jaq has a wealth of knowledge- and some wonderful advice... and I was going to come in here and suggest you talk to her about Montessori too- I would really look into that option if you have one close enough, they sound wonderful (alas we don't have one here or DS would be there in a heartbeat)... also try to learn about the Montessori philosophies so you can implement them at home too.

Most of all cherish you little girl, she sounds wonderful!!!

[jaq]

Amajai and Escada, can I ask what you would do when your nearly 3yo has taught herself to read and her kindy doesn't have books she wants to read? Or at 4yo she is getting a reputation for disrupting the class because she does in five minutes something that occupies other children for hours? Or when she comes home crying because none of her little friends want to play her very complex imaginary games?

It's all good and well saying "enjoy them" but children who outstrip the norm by a certain amount create problems for themselves and the people around them, as well as bring joy.

Better to be forewarned and have strategies in place than go into it with no idea of what MIGHT be ahead.