Need advice - gifted placement in Montgomery County for a 2.5 y/o

[Anonymous]

Need advice - gifted placement in Montgomery County.
My daughter is 2.5 years old, reads all letters, spells any word I am dictating her, plays piano and has music theory classes with the 4 years-old kids. She knows about 40 nursery rhymes in Hungarian and about 30 in English. Moreover, her math skills are also above her age group: she can count to 10, recognizes the written form of the numbers, can identify volumes that are more or less, can count defined shapes in a picture, can say for example what number we have between 4 and 6 (answer:5). She is fluent in 2 languages, speaks at a 4-5 year-old level.
I need an advice where to put her to school - she needs the company of other children but her age group is too boring. ALso, I need her interest in the world to be cared for and developed. Please help, any advice is greatly appreciated.

[Anonymous]

Can she play? Does she have imagination? Can she create? Does she enjoy process? While it sounds like your daughter has many skills, there is a lot more to being 2.5 than what you've listed, all of which should be considered, nurtured, and encouraged before worrying about accelerating her any further in the areas listed here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Need advice - gifted placement in Montgomery County.
My daughter is 2.5 years old, reads all letters, spells any word I am dictating her, plays piano and has music theory classes with the 4 years-old kids. She knows about 40 nursery rhymes in Hungarian and about 30 in English. Moreover, her math skills are also above her age group: she can count to 10, recognizes the written form of the numbers, can identify volumes that are more or less, can count defined shapes in a picture, can say for example what number we have between 4 and 6 (answer:5). She is fluent in 2 languages, speaks at a 4-5 year-old level.
I need an advice where to put her to school - she needs the company of other children but her age group is too boring. ALso, I need her interest in the world to be cared for and developed. Please help, any advice is greatly appreciated.

I have a Masters - but can not recite (or name) 30 nursery rhymes in any language - possibly 20 but that would probably be stretching my catalog.....

... seriously, put her in a Montessori where there is mix ages for the next year and go from there. Unlike Arlington, I do not believe MoCo has a toddler gifted program through the public schools.

[Anonymous]

I agree on finding a learn-at-your-own-pace program. That could be Montessori, but there may be others. It depends on where in MontCo you are and how far you're willing to travel. Try the preschool forum for ideas.

I'd also suggest toning down your description of your child's abilities. She sounds very bright, and that's obviously crucial to your search, but people here get nasty whenever they think someone is suggesting her child is smarter than the norm, and that will interfere with their ability to give useful advice.

Good luck.

[Anonymous]

For the record, I offered the first response and did not mean to get snarky or otherwise nasty in any way. I think those are genuine questions to ask when considering a 2.5-year-old and the appropriate placement for her and approach to educating her. Not only are those important school skills for kids that age, but drastic disparities in ability level or development might signal concerns. A child with amazing rote knowledge but limited social skills might be at risk for certain issues. I'm certainly not meaning to suggest this is the case for OP, but that more info is needed to really offer any meaningful advice.

I say this as an early childhood teacher.

[Anonymous]

First of all, do not use the "gifted" label for a 2 year old.

Second, most private schools are not going to accept a 2 year old. They are very strict about age--you must be at least 4 to enter PK.

Third, focus at the moment on PRESCHOOLS. Find one where she will be happy, have the opportunity to play, and exercise creativity, and interact with other children and adults. Personally, I would choose a neighborhood preschool that you like. One that seems friendly and warm, and whose teachers are well-educated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can she play? Does she have imagination? Can she create? Does she enjoy process? While it sounds like your daughter has many skills, there is a lot more to being 2.5 than what you've listed, all of which should be considered, nurtured, and encouraged before worrying about accelerating her any further in the areas listed here.

Putting a child in an environment to stimulate her talents and keep her interested at her level is not "accelerating" her, it's meeting her needs. People on here (teachers or no) really need to get over this idea that the only needs worth meeting for a child are the ones they deem age appropriate.

And certainly a toddler can be gifted, let's call a spade a spade.

[Anonymous]

How about a school where they can teach her nursery rhymes in English?

I mean I am sure Hungarian is really helpful to a toddler. Who lives in Hungary.

[Anonymous]

Minus the Hungarian, this doesn't sound that unusual for this area....

[Anonymous]

The OP is being sarcastic. It's just mocking the bragging that goes on and all the parents who obsess over making sure their gifted kids get every form of stimulation possible.

[Anonymous]

I'd not worry about the "school." If she is truly outside the norm, get used to the role of parents doing a lot of supplementing. Enjoy her, feed her thirst for whatever to keep her brain engaged, and don't try to leave that to a preschool - at preschool she can get other things.

[Anonymous]

OP check out the Feynman School, just opened this year, for kids ages 3-5 (so far)

http://feynmanschool.clickforward.com/index?adid-2E343B92-B097-442c-BFA5-BE371E0325A2=636846&kw-2E343B92-B097-442c-BFA5-BE371E0325A2=gifted+school

[Anonymous]

It would be interesting how many of these kids considered "gifted" in preschool actually panned out to be gifted by 6 or 7 years old when they start really testing them.

[Anonymous]

Try Manor Montessori - the mixed age class will allow her to learn to play and work with children of different ages - she can befriend kids her own age - or older if that works....and as she gets older, she will learn to help younger children. The range of work will allow her to learn at her own pace. The teachers and assistants are excellent there - they really understand kids (even gifted ones) and they are very caring and nurturing. We have been at the Trinity location - which is currently being renovated - but that should be better by the time you get there for age 3. It's been a wonderful place for us and our child has thrived there. Good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It would be interesting how many of these kids considered "gifted" in preschool actually panned out to be gifted by 6 or 7 years old when they start really testing them.

Good question, but not relevant to this thread at all.

Why don't you start a new thread if this is an issue of concern for you?