Gifted..does it matter?

[BambiF]

 My family keeps insisting that my 3.5 year old is 'gifted'.  I bring her to a play school thing in my town and the ECEs there are saying it, too.
 I'm not trying to brag, she is very bright and learns so quickly that I can barely keep up with her.
 I don't know much about this whole 'gifted' thing.  Does it matter?  Is this something I should be pursuing? Getting her evaluated seems over the top to me.
 I just want her to be 3 and do her thing.  Anyone have experience with a 'gifted' child?

[SusanTheWriter]

There's a difference between children who are bright and children who are gifted. Gifted kids aren't just quick learners, they're literally wired differently.

This is a quick and easy chart about some of the differences between bright and gifted.

Hoagies' Gifted Education Page is the best Gifted site I've found online.

[usmom3]

 I do not have a gifted child but I would like to think that I would not do anything different with them then I would with any of my other kids. That is I would help them learn at the pace they are going at & no more then that for if a child is interested in something they push them selves just fine gifted or not!

[BramblePatch]

I have a DS who was given the KABC and an IQ test at 4 years 9 months at the recommendation of our Pedi. He is highly gifted. But other than letting him do math and LA above grade level, I do nothing different. I NEVER push. I always remember he is only 5. We are doing a curriculum that allows a lot of free thinking and expansion on ideas...i call them rabbit trails. I want him to love learning so that he is not burnt out bt 3rd grade.

[debramommyof4]

If you are homeschooling as long as you teach her at her level it wont matter.  It is best to wait till between the ages of 5 and 8 to test her. 

 My girls are 5 and 6 and either gifted or advanced. I have not had them tested.  I do want them to be but it is too expensive for us right now.  I only want them tested because we use k12 and I have not had them at thier challenge point yet and I really want them to be challenged and not have everything come to easy for them.  That way they are not having issues when they find something hard.

[BambiF]

 I honestly feel that she just gets stuff quickly. A month ago we were just practicing writing letters, 2 weeks ago we started doing rhyming words (cat, sat, pat, log, frog, jog etc) plus some sight word activities... and today I walked into the play room and she was reading "Hop on Pop" by dr suess. We hadn't read it before, she just got it from the library today.
 But I don't see 'gifted'.  I see a good memory and a quick learner.

I just want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong by brushing off this whole 'gifted' thing.
 I have some googling to do I suppose :/

[debramommyof4]

Check out the davidson institute forum.  They helped me alot when we started wondering about our girls.  But as long as you dont have to deal with teachers then you should be fine just going as you are and remember gifted kids can have social issues, boredom and you may go through curriculum fast but as long as you keep her challenged then you should be fine.

Quoting BambiF:

 I honestly feel that she just gets stuff quickly. A month ago we were just practicing writing letters, 2 weeks ago we started doing rhyming words (cat, sat, pat, log, frog, jog etc) plus some sight word activities... and today I walked into the play room and she was reading "Hop on Pop" by dr suess. We hadn't read it before, she just got it from the library today.
 But I don't see 'gifted'.  I see a good memory and a quick learner.

I just want to make sure I'm not doing something wrong by brushing off this whole 'gifted' thing.
 I have some googling to do I suppose :/

[carolkey74]

Our daughter was in ps through the sixth grade, and was tested and certified as gifted. She was reading at three. The problem with being gifted in ps was that she was always known as the "smart one". She was treated differently by students and teachers alike. When we began homeschooling, I was able to really see how damaging labels can be. She just turned 14, is in her sophomore year, and is loving life. She is in a small co-op with kids who could care less about a gifted label. They learn at their own paces, and have a great time together. I guess I've said all of this to make a point, and that would be to let your dd just be herself.

[chotovec82]

My son was in PS last year and was tested for gifted and talented programs. I never found out rather or not he is gifted or talented but I know since the teachers thought he was; he seemed to get less help from them. Truthfully I don't care if it he is or isn't. I am going to treat him the same as I always have. He is going to do the stuff he is currently doing and if we go through curriculum quickly then I will just buy more. I am not going to do anything special about it. Do I think my son is gifted and talented? I don't know. Honestly he picks things up quickly and is really creative but he could just be advanced. Either way I don't want to label him. 

[KickButtMama]

I have a son with Aspergers, so he is extremely 'gifted'. But, honestly I don't think it matters in HS. Part of the beauty of HS is that one can make the curriculum specifically for how your child's mind works. You can allow them to move as slowly or quickly as they want or need. For instance, my 11 y/o found my college quantum mechanics textbooks and has been steadily working his way through them, with little to no prompting from me.

[oredeb]

 yes these a bunch of us on here!!

with my dd3 i didnt do anything different for her than the others kids, she learned right along with the other, i didnt pump her up with being gifted, or tell the other kids, she didnt even realize it, and shes an adult now,