Seeking Special Attention for Gifted Child

My daughter is in kindergarten now. All of our family and friends describe her as a very smart child. I believe she is gifted, but I am confused because the teacher has her doing the same work as all the other students. And she knows all of this work. Neither my daughter nor the other bright students get any special work. Only the children who are not doing very well get much attention. What should I do? - Disappointed
Answer: You need to understand that most kindergarten programs are not totally focused on academic instruction. Many schools will not even start working on teaching letters and numbers until the second semester. No matter how academically talented your daughter and some of the others might be, they still need the time spent on teaching them how to get along with their classmates, to behave appropriately in school and to follow classroom routines. Plus, all the activities devoted to cutting, pasting and drawing improve the skills necessary for handwriting.
Certainly, kindergarten teachers should be aware of the skill levels of their students, and some special activities should be devised for those who can read or have considerable skill with numbers. It definitely wouldn't hurt to express your concerns to this teacher. The teacher might truly not be aware of your child's skills or might already be providing challenging activities that you do not know about. In many classrooms, there are work stations where children can do activities at different levels. Schools do not typically have specific programs for gifted children at the kindergarten level.
If your child is truly gifted, you must not expect the school to meet all of her needs. This will not happen. You should also be providing stimulating activities for her, from participating in library reading programs to playing games requiring both reading and math skills. When working or playing with her, do remember that young children learn best through hands-on activities rather than ones associated only with pencil and paper.
One of the easiest ways to learn more about parenting a gifted child is by getting information from the National Association for Gifted Children at www.nagc.org.