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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I wanted to say I am in a very similar situation as the OP. What I think the OP needs to understand is that those other "not bright" children are just normal. 
Personally, I don't put much weight on IQ numbers.

Both of my children started to decode and read words starting at age 3 without any pressure from me at all. I always focus on playing. So, at home my 3 year old is sounding out words like "frog" and spelling "poiznis frog" with letter tiles.

Then I go to my 7 year old's class where kids read to me for an hour. Many of those 6 and 7 year olds are struggling with words like "hat" and "this."

I make no judgement against those kids, but as a parent it does concern me that my child is so far ahead of his peers.

My son loves the game Magic the Gathering, but he can't play it with kids in his class, because none of them can read the cards well enough. My son loves to watch Cosmos and talk about the Universe, but most of the kids in his class can't join his conversation. This is why this issue actually is about social development.

My child should be able to be himself, and if he can't play the games he wants or have the conversations he enjoys, because none of his classmates are on the same page as him, then he is not being himself.

I just want the OP to know she is not alone. One problem with progressive education is that they often put up heavy resistance to the idea the differing intellect leads to social isolation. My brother had a similar problem with his own child. His child's school continually insisted that it was more important to match age levels rather than intellectual levels.

Progressive educators can sometimes have a blind-spot when it comes to the social benefits of being with intellectual peers.

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Early reading is not necessarily a sign of true genius- it's just a sign of early reading.
Reading is developmental. Some very bright kids will be late readers. Get over yourself.[/quote]

I am not the above poster but early reading is one of the strongest early indicators of high intelligence. Yes, many extremely bright kids do not read early, but kids that do are frequently very bright. Perhaps before you rudely put down other people's opinions you should consider whether you know what you are talking about. [/quote]

Nope - it's being nice to you to let you know on an anonymous online forum that you are being a bit ridiculous (not the OP). I don't know your kid do its not putting down your kid or any kid.
In some of the richer area public elementary schools up to 80% of the kids are in the 'gifted' classes and reading groups. Odds are your kid is pretty normal.
I have a very bright kid (tests well does well in school) -  but not like OP's kid. We adjusted schooling and things for her to make sure she was engaged and happy but I would not in a million years tell her she's ' gifted' (and she's not - she's bright but normal. As she goes to a school with very smart kids she'd be the first to tell you that she's normal).
Just a clue to tone it down for everyone's mental health, happiness and future productivity - especially your kids.

FYI I have a special DD who read very early too (intellectual disabilities).[/quote]

A very bright child is not "normal." Normal is an average learner (and I don't mean that to be a negative thing). Most people fall in the average range of intelligence, and average does not equate to "very bright." While "very bright" in an IS setting might seem normal (because they tend to only admit "very bright" children), when you look across the spectrum of learning ability and intellect what we define as "below average" "average" "above average" and "superior" normal is going to be average range. Very few IS admit a large percentage of "average" kids.[/quote]

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