Solutions for a child ahead of the class

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 10:30 pm

Self stimulation that I would do: take notes with my non dominant hand or in mirror writing, write them in Hebrew (I wasn't fluent but it definitely helped me become much stronger), translate English songs to Hebrew if I didn't have to pay attention, my son used the random feature on his calculator and would keep track of what the results were and analyze them, I would do all the gematrias I could find in the baal haturim in the chumash (and try creating my own)...I don't remember what else

Teachers would give me research projects (I got very familiar with different sefarim and sources), even if it wasn't a report but rather during class to look up information

I was tasked with teaching a group of 3 Algebra II one year when there was no math to give me (and then my amazing principal created a class before school started the following year for myself and one more to take Calculus, I got college credits for 2 Calculus classes that way)

If your daughter is the type to self stimulate, school goes much much better, that's what I see from my own kids.
But having understanding staff partnering with you is definitely going to make things better.
Go for breadth within the subject, expanding knowledge on it, vs vertical growth which creates more discrepancy between her and the class.

It's really not easy!

amother

Opal

Tue, Sep 12 2023, 11:40 pm

I hear your pain.
I have 2 beis medresh boys that were bored to tears in their middle school honors track. They kept busy. Now I have an 8th grader in the same position. But he isn't happy just keeping busy. He wants to learn. He convinced his math teacher to give him the final. The teacher gave him the final review and he aced it. Now we know he knows the material and he's stuck in the classroom learning nothing this year.

giftedmom

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 12:05 am

amother OP wrote:

She does tons out of school. But school is many hours a day and it’s getting worse every year.

There’s no magical solution unfortunately as the Frum world doesn’t really cater to gifted kids. If there’s a school in your community that has a more rigorous curriculum I’d like into that, granted that it won’t be too much of a cultural change for her.

amother

Clover

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 6:59 am

amother OP wrote:

Did all that we are talking reading adult books, finishing one a day. It’s impossible. I don’t think the school would be open to online classes it’s not the type.

This is totally me as a kid. You need to find something. The issues that come down the line are real - never developing work ethic because you were never challenged, never quite respecting anyone's advice because you're always the smartest person in the room, never learning to manage or express emotions because you can just lean on your intelligence...

Surely the school realizes that she is different. Maybe take her for an evaluation so you have some hard data, e.g. "My kid has 140+ IQ (or whatever) and is not simply a very bright kid. How can we accommodate this?"

Can she take CLEPs? Can she take online classes at home and do the work at school?

Unigala

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 11:12 am

amother Cornsilk wrote:

Let her bring along a book to read when she is bored...I read my way through seventh and eighth grade.

See if you can work with her teacher/the school on something. I had an arrangement with my teacher in 6th grade that I read when I was bored.. and after I finished the book I did a report and presentation.

amother

Tan

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 11:53 am

I used to do sudoku puzzles. I had books with over a hundred puzzles and used to work my way through them. I also used to make complex patterns on graph sheets and color them in. And I slept a lot in class. The sudoku and patterns felt like I was using my brain and I enjoyed it.

I went to a really chilled highschool and used to cry about how bored I was at night. I picked up a lot of hands on hobbies I did after I came home. I was desperate to feel productive.

Things like royal icing cookies, needlepoint, hookrug, knitting, teaching myself to write with my left hand (that I did during class). 1000 piece puzzles...

amother

Indigo

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 12:36 pm

This is really important for another reason

I was so used to everything coming so easy and quick to me that I never developed the studying skills, which was fine until I hit college and actually had to work hard. It was a brutal first few semesters and really hurt my self perception as "smart".

What I would recommend is self learning and testing related to what the class is doing.

Secular studies are easier - you just take some of the homeschooling self study curriculums that are on her level - even if its a few grades ahead. They are designed for self study at home - but no reason they cant be done in class or that she cant be given time outside of class for them. There are plenty that dont rely on online resources and are more old-school workbooks.

kodesh is a bit harder on the teachers - so you may need to do more work.
I would stick to the subject they are working on and go deeper.
I would find a high school teacher in a few key subjects you know who would give you her tests and prepare a curriculum based off of that that she can teach to herself. If she has the skills chumash and navi can be fascinating if you spend time on self teaching mefarshim and find an easy way to test her on it. Parsha can be bekiyus style - so have her teach her self pshat and rashi and test on that. Halacha can be great as well - get a her a more complex sefer or even and english book on the topic of what they are learning - but something that gives more depth to what they are covering and again cover that.
Now - you may have an issue of boredom in High school - but then you can have her do AP classes and college work, early graduate, go to seminary early and

amother

Glitter

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 1:09 pm

Is there really no school that provides an appropriate environment and curriculum for her?

I am intellectually gifted and was miserable in grade school. Bored and I had some teachers who didn't appreciate my precocity.

I was able to escape in 7th grade to a school where I was not the smartest girl because everyone was intellectually gifted. It was wonderfully both intellectually and socially because it was the first time that I was around peers.

It wasn't just that I learned "more" but the manner in which everything was taught was more stimulating because the teachers assumed that we didn't have to struggle with the basics so we would have discussions and be asked to deal with more complex issues.

I really blossomed.

amother

Apricot

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 1:59 pm

Shake hands!

I have a high school daugter with the same problem. The issue is that the school is not willing to do anything about it, and will not help her. She even had some teachers who got upset if she did something quiet in the meantime. She would finish her mathbook the 1st few weeks of school. this is so so hard. If anyone has some ideas please chime in. I also need ideas for after school to stimulate her.

amother

Clover

Wed, Sep 13 2023, 4:12 pm

amother Pistachio wrote:

Does she like kodesh? What about quietly translating/learning something, and then you or your husband could discuss it with her after school. Maybe try it with a section of the Mishneh Torah, for example, Teshuvah or Hilchos Deios.

What a great idea! This sadly never even occurred to me, but I would have loved it as a kid.

amother

Indigo

Thu, Sep 14 2023, 3:08 am

amother Apricot wrote:

Start college early. Even if she doesn't know what she wants to major in she can start knocking out the core classes she will need. Combined that with seminary credits she and she can go straight from seminary to graduate school.

Deep Blue

Thu, Sep 14 2023, 9:26 pm

What are her writing skills like? Can you incorporate more writing into her learning?
As a child I was desperate to learn and swallowed tons of information whole. I wish someone would have encouraged me to explore through writing different angles thoughts and feelings about each topic. It is valuable as a way to internalize info, to learn to express self as well as form opinions.

amother

DarkViolet

Thu, Sep 14 2023, 9:38 pm

giftedmom wrote:

MO schools usually do.

amother

Thu, Sep 14 2023, 9:42 pm

She’s really happy in her school socially and otherwise. It’s a very warm place and she’s growing in so many ways. The more academic school is more with it and snobby and she’s not that type and does not want to be in that type of social environment. We are also not considering moving, we are very happy here in this community. So we are just going to try to make this work. I spoke to her teachers who are all open to see what they can provide and to figure it out with us as the year progresses.