beebs Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hi there, I'm new here and just wondering if anyone has any ideas about what this could mean. My child's teacher called me the other day and told us that he is spelling at a higher level than his age group, he is at a 14 and half year old level and he is turning 9 next month. I had never noticed that he had this ability, so I sat down with him and read out some words for him to spell, they were difficult words at a year 12 reading level (so 17 year old to 18 year olds) and he got 7 our of 20 correct. Then I tried something different, I told him to read the word first for a couple of seconds and then try and spell them, he get's the words right almost all the time if he does that, and doesn't need to see them again, that is it, he can spell them correctly forever more, and some are really hard words adults have trouble with (well, I do anyway:) He has always had little quirks that we thought were odd, he can't tell you what he did at school on the day, but he remembers things from when he was 18 months old down to what he was wearing etc. He also was good at lego from an early age, putting together those big lego packs for 8 years + when he was 4, it took him hours and he wouldn't get up until it was done perfectly. He also get's obsessed by certain subjects, dinosaurs, the planets and universe, the human body and how it works etc. And he knows a great deal about each subject. He often asks me very in depth questions that I can't answer. He get's frustrated with people when they don't know as much as him. I'm just wondering if anyone has ever heard of this before, and what it means? He doesn't do particularly well at school and is often described as a "day dreamer" and "flighty". Even in subjects he is interested in, like science. He is in the lowest math class at school. Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 I would guess that he's very visual in what he learns. I have a few quirks in visual learning. If I've seen a word, I can almost always spell it later; if I write it down I know if it looks right. Often, if I've read a book, and I need to remember specific information from it later, I can pull a vision of the page into my head and almost "zoom in" to where the information was. As for what happened at school... well, I often found school insufferably dull. When asked what happened or what I learned, I would usually answer "nothing" because that was truly my perception of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beebs Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 As for what happened at school... well, I often found school insufferably dull. When asked what happened or what I learned, I would usually answer "nothing" because that was truly my perception of it. Lol, I can imagine that is probably the case for my child. Is it because you were bored because you found it too mundane? Or is it because you couldn't focus on all the verbal stuff? Our school thinks nothing of his spelling or memory, they just talk about him not preforming well but don't offer help, or want to find out why, they don't seem to be particularly interested because he is not failing, so that is enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanDiegoMom Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 My son is gifted, working a couple of years ahead, and was a huge daydreamer in class. Just bored. And if something was too easy he often did worse on it- he needed to be challenged to engage his whole mind. He is also a natural speller, as I was growing up. Once we read it, we can spell it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 As a smart kid I totally recognized this, "he can't tell you what he did at school on the day, but he remembers things from when he was 18 months old down to what he was wearing etc." My guess is that there isn't anything worth remembering at school. I remember my parents thought I was being sullen when I always said "Nothing" to the questions "What happened today at school?" or "What did you learn today/" I was just being completely honest. Would he be willing to read in class? Some teachers won't let you,, but if he's willing you could maybe talk to the teacher. Maybe even read math in math class, science in science class... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beebs Posted July 28, 2015 Author Share Posted July 28, 2015 I don't even know if he is accelerated or bright, or if spelling like that is totally normal, how do people even know these things? And if he is -how has no one ever realized before, all the teachers he has had, childcare workers, and worse - me and his dad? I keep second guessing myself and thinking I am making too much out of it. (I haven't mentioned anything to him yet) He would probably love to read in class, if he was allowed as he likes to read - science books, natural disaster books - lol, fiction as well. But I'm not sure if they would let him. I have a meeting with his year 3 teacher next week, so I am trying to find out what is going on so I can mention it to her without sounding nuts. "My child is a good speller but not so good at school, what should we do?". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted July 29, 2015 Share Posted July 29, 2015 I don't think spelling tests mean much to be honest. Last year my 7 year old tested at 12.6 years. Spelling is his weakest subject though and he really doesn't spell that well. I would be surprised if a teacher rang to tell me something like that though so i would go and see the teacher as it may have been the teacher trying to start a conversation with you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beebs Posted July 29, 2015 Author Share Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks everyone. I appreciate it:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 I don't even know if he is accelerated or bright, or if spelling like that is totally normal, how do people even know these things? And if he is -how has no one ever realized before, all the teachers he has had, childcare workers, and worse - me and his dad?.... It happens ALL the time. What matters to the teachers is a) does he cause trouble in class and b) how does he do on tests? If his boredom coping skill is daydreaming then according to the those two criteria he is mid-of-pack and not worth noticing. Most really smart people I know didn't shine academically until they were challenged. Fortunately for me, my coping skill was talking to my neighbors. Which meant the teachers were happy to have me read. My husband slept through classes and studied before bedtime. If I were you, I'd talk to son about why he is day dreaming. If it is because he is bored, ask if he'd rather read during class. Then in the teacher meeting I'd discuss the possibility of your son reading in class instead of daydreaming. He could read ahead in the textbook, and then switch to related living books. It could be that your son is such a visual learner that he isn't gifted, he just is getting nothing out of the lectures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebbS Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Your son is quite possibly gifted in some area given he has visual memories from such an early age. Everybody has strengths and weaknesses and IMO, one of the great things about homeschooling is that you can focus on employing your child's gifts to their learning. It's also quite possible that your son is bored. I agree with shawthorne44 that he may be able to offer an explaination for his daydreaming. But, then again, maybe not. I'm a daydreamer and it's often my source of creative problem solving. At a young age, I doubt that I could have identified that peculiarity....it's just how my brain works. My son did not do well in his regular class work though he tested way above his grade level in just about every subject except for math. In that subject, he worked just slightly above grade level. His in-school assignments and class notes often consisted of drawings, comics and regularly incomplete or even non-existent assigned work. So, we homeschooled him from 8th grade through highschool to offer him a more interesting cirriculum. Once challanged, he completed more of his work. And it still included a lot of art. It's just how his brain works. Now he's a straight A college student focusing on interior architecture, sustainable design and fine arts. No surprises there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beebs Posted October 7, 2015 Author Share Posted October 7, 2015 I thought I'd just give an update on my son, we had him assessed and it turns out he is Visual spatial Learner with ADHD (Twice exceptional). It explains a lot actually,hopefully armed with a million referrals and interventions we will be able to help him achieve whatever it is he wants too. Thanks for your input everyone:) 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AggieMama Posted October 7, 2015 Share Posted October 7, 2015 Exercising before school and before homework might help him at home. Find ways to challenge him at home and maybe give him incentives for doing well at school. See if his teacher will give him frequent break and figits to use in class. You might want to see if the teacher will allow him to do reduced assignments for mastery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beebs Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 Thank you AggieMama, I've got a meeting with the school and they seem on board with helping any way they can. I must say, after one day of finding this out and looking online for information, I am even more overwhelmed than ever. I know it sounds bad, but does anyone ever wish they just had a normal C grade kid who enjoys school and has a great time? Or is it just me? I suppose it doesn't help that I already have two other kids with disabilities, it just seems so massive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.