Am I smarter than a fifth grader...the answer is quite simple...no, I am not. I won't even pretend that I am. There was a time in my life where I could say with confidence that yes I would be at least that smart. I really am baffled that I have a Bachelor's of Science degree and really I had a high GPA - something seriously has happened to me over the last 9 years. I no longer have any retention of knowledge, I have a superb vocabulary of made up words, and my most frequent response to questions asked to me by my seven year old daughter is, "That is an amazing question, I don't know the answer!"
I'll tell you what I think has happened, with each pregnancy each baby has taken a portion of me. Eden, I firmly believe took all my smarts! Jack, all my strength. Emry, my charm as well as my orneriness (okay, she didn't take all of the orneriness...there was just too much of it in me for her to take it all!) This baby....hum, well there is not much left to take, but yep, I'm pretty sure she has zapped all my grace and will be blessed to be slender when she is older. So, what will be left of me? It will be pretty interesting to find out!
But, now for the real reason, I delve into this whole wondering what has happened to me being smart....I am just simply amazed at Eden! She's in first grade and has repeatedly tested at a third grade level and in some areas fourth or fifth grade. Today, her teacher stopped me to tell me that Eden just took another MAPS test. This set was done on the computer and everyone had 30 minutes to complete it....she did hers in 12 minutes and tested at an eighth grade level! Yes, you read right...an eighth grade level! WOW! I was blown away!
We have really struggled since she entered kindergarten in the public school system. They just do not have programs for kids that are above their own level here in Montrose. I don't believe that letting her skip a grade is the answer either. In third grade they have an advance class, but it only meets once a week. We really want her to be challenged and to be learning everyday. I wish we knew what to do. Nate really would like me to home school her....if I thought for a moment I could be effective and still deal with my other kids, I would already be doing it. We are so proud of her....not because she's so smart...but like we tell her, what makes us proud of her is that she always tries to do her BEST.
I'll be honest, I am afraid she is too hard on herself, she is a perfectionist and gets down on herself when she makes a mistake. I don't want her to think she has to be perfect in all things... Funny thing is that her penmanship is just satisfactory....her teacher told me that I should work on her with that. I actually told her, that I was glad that she had something in her life that she wasn't concerned about being perfect. I encourage Eden to be neater when she writes, but I hate to add one more weight for her to worry about. I sure do love that girl. She amazes me everyday. She has been saying for a few months now that she wants to be a Scientist when she grows up. Then she continues to maul over what type of Scientist she would like to be. Wow, when I was her age the most ambitious thing I wanted to do was be a hairdresser!
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Are you smarter than a fifth grader?
Posted by jana jacob at 8:49 PM
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
It must be something about kids born in Boise. Dallin is the same way, his teachers are always asking us what to do blah blah blah. But it's is handwritting that ALWAYS needs working on!!!
Sounds like Eric when he was that age. I remember every time we had to take those standardized tests, he always scored at least a level or two above everyone else. Although, at some point, I think our mom wished she could have home schooled Eric. This one is a humdinger...perhaps Eden is just a good guesser...or, she is probably really that smart...good luck
eden is such a neat girl. everyone at my house thinks the same thing. :)
are you going to look into cottonwood? do they have programs that would be for her? what about what the howe's do - public on-line schooling? like home-schooling, but it's done virtually on the computer. so you could probably give your other kids the attention they need while eden does her school-work? i'm not sure that would work, but it might be worth looking in to?
anyways, have a good week! we'll try to get together soon.
She would make an excellent tour guide. We've never been through a house with a better one. :)
Jana, you're so hilarious! I wish I lived closer to witness your pregnancy accidents, it sound like fun times! As far as your size my dear, I just saw you, and NICE TRY!!! You look great! I've learned that "huge" to you, means just great in my book... haha! I'm proud of Eden. Isaac will love having such a smart wife! How's Emry's night time routine going? Hopefully good. I'll call you soon for a real visit. Take care!
Jana, after reading your post I have a book to recommend. It's called "Genius Denied", which I know sounds a little over the top. It's really just about gifted education in America. I read it two years ago, when I was constantly stressing about Emma's needs being met at school. It had some helpful tips on how to be a good advocate for your child's education, and gave me more confidence in talking with her teachers. Anyway, interesting read- taken with a grain of salt. I'm not in favor of anything drastic. I'm sure our kids will turn out to be happy adults regardless. Good luck!
Post a Comment