Bridging the Gap for Gifted Kids

[Christine B]

I am looking for suggestions for working with our gifted preschooler.  Specifically, how to work at her intellectual level and developmental level simultaneously.  According to our pediatrician, she is about 2 years ahead verbally/intellectually, and right where she should be (maybe only slightly behind in some areas) for things like motor skills.  A lot of what she wants to do and is capable of involves writing, which frustrates her because her letters and numbers "don't look like they're supposed to."  FWIW, I try to stay away from it right now, or just have her try tracing, but whenever she colors she only tries to write instead of coloring.  How long does this wide of a gap continue for? How can I help her?  Does anyone have suggestions to achieve a "higher input, lower output" system of learning for her? We don't do a lot of "schoolwork" besides reading right now, but she's always asking for worksheets on different topics. 

[Guest]

Transcribe her stories for her.

 

Voice recorder (or app)

 

Tell her straight up that coloring makes the tiny muscles in her hand stronger, so she will be able to write sooner the more she draws and colors. Ditto big movements... jumping jacks, throwing balls, etc.

[lewelma]

My older boy used letter and number stickers before he could write. He loved them.  Oh, and mazes.  Really really complicated mazes helped him to learn to control the pencil while still challenging his brain.

Edited September 23, 2016 by lewelma

[Guest]

Whiteboard and fat marker

[JennSnow]

Keep working to strengthen her fine motor skills and just keep providing her with the materials to try...lots of paper, crayons, markers, etc.. :).  You might also provide her with a large magnetic white board and a ton of magnetic letters so that she can form words and sentences on her own without having to actually "write" :).

[chocolate-chip chooky]

To build the muscles in her hands and fingers - playdoh, clay, kneading bread dough.

 

To practise 'writing' the letters - get a tray of sand or polenta and have her use her index and middle fingers held together. The rationale behind using both fingers is that once she's holding a pencil later on, that's how her fingers will be held, so you're building the muscular memory of that early.

When she's tracing the letter shapes in the sand/polenta, you should model it first to show the correct direction to form the letter. Once again, this is about muscular memory. I'd also suggest you say the letter sound as you're forming the letter. She may be ready to absorb that info.

 

To develop a good pencil grip - activities that need the pincer grip eg puzzles with little knobs to lift the pieces. Another fun one is to get a salt shaker that has large holes in the lid. Empty the salt out and give your child tooth picks to insert through the holes. This is great for hand-eye coordination as well as working on that all-important pincer grip.

 

Oh and another good one for pincer grip is giving her a lock and key. This is good for pincer grip and also for wrist strength.

ETA: It's not a bad idea to tie a ribbon/cord between the key and the lock. This ensures the key isn't easily lost or swallowed.

 

 

Hope this helps!

Edited September 23, 2016 by chocolate-chip chooky

[Christine B]

Thank you all! Great ideas!

[Loesje22000]

Letter stamps and magnified? worksheets

 

Oral spelling

 

Math Facts coloring sheets