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    Gifted and talented
    By Ellyn
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    Third grade is a very important grade for gifted children. So frequently, this is when their differences really start to stand out. They may have fit in with their "normal" classmates in previous years, but 3rd grade seems to be the point where giftedness makes them seem "odd" to the other students. Their interest levels, their vocabulary, their ability to get through assignments quickly, their boredom with too-easy work often gets them in trouble. As a teacher, it's easy to become frustrated by her need for constant input. It's really important that YOU work at remembering that, maturity wise, this is still a small child. And, that small child is thirsting for knowledge!

    Others will give you help by suggesting websites and reading material, I am more interested in reminding you that YOU can make a difference in this child's future by not allowing the other children to tease her, by not making her feel like a freak, by providing her with "important" work that interests and educates her, not busy work to work on when she's the first one in class to finish an assignment.

    Is there a gifted program in your district? Can you arrange to have her tested to get her into the program? I saw a quote by a gifted child the other day that broke my heart...He said, I don't like being the only purple leaf on a tree full of green leaves. Get the child into a gifted program. If you can't do that, then bend over backwards to provide her with stimulation and positive input. Don't let her be that purple leaf.


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