Do you ever wonder if your child is just ‘coasting’ at school? Does the thought ever cross your mind that they may need to be extended or challenged? Academic ability can often go under the radar for gifted and talented children on their school report as they often show signs of a disconnected child. Here are a few signs that your child may need to be challenged and what you can do about it.
Unhappy demeanour
Sometimes we put our children’s behaviour down to a ‘stage’ they are going through. But what if it’s more than that? A child whose demeanour is flat or unhappy may be externalising the fact that they find school work easy and don’t fill challenged or fulfilled at school.
Your child may not be able to articulate that this is the issue, but combined with other signs in this blog, you may be able to play detective and see that what they really need is to feel as though they are completing work that is interesting and stimulating for them.
Getting in trouble at school
A bored child will find other ways to fulfil their need for action! This often involves having a difficult time with peers or getting in trouble from teachers. School reports will often say “X is a bright child but needs to concentrate in class”. This is a good cue that perhaps extension, rather than working harder or concentrating is the solution to this behavioural issue.
Doesn’t want to go to school
Would you want to go to somewhere for six hours a day, five days a week if you didn’t find it inspiring? This is a cue that your child may need some more thought-provoking tasks to retain their interest in learning.
Highly critical of their teacher
It is true that in many classes across the country there are children who know more than their teacher on a particular subject. Gifted and talented children often have an area or subject that they absolutely love. For my friend’s son it was cars. He knows every model, make, statistics on performance, cost and added features. For others it’s world capital cities or World War II.
Whatever the subject of choice, if you hear murmurings from your child that are unkind towards their teacher, then this may be a sign that they are feeling frustrated that they aren’t being heard or learning new things in class.
What can you do?
If you can identify with any of these signs, it may be time to consider what you can do to challenge and engage your child to ensure that they continue their love of learning. Leap into Literacy can help gifted and talented children in the following ways:
- Children are extended by our qualified teaching staff by using an advanced variation on the same curriculum that we use for all students
- Identified gifted and talented students are quietly encouraged to lead and participate in lesson discussions
- A focus on further development of creative writing skills helps your child to express themselves clearly and prepares them for the more advanced techniques needed in essay writing
- Our encouragement of reading comprehension ensures that they are understanding the subject matter of the advanced books they are reading
- Development of reading comprehension also helps children understand and break down difficult questions in test situations. This is particularly important as selective schooling tests move away from standardized tests and require children to apply critical thinking skills instead
If you are wondering whether Leap into Literacy is a good option for your child, please get in touch. Our founder Allison Greenland was a gifted and talented teacher, so knows first hand what is required to engage and capture the imagination of your child!
Contact Leap into Literacy if you would like to have a chat about whether we are the right literacy tutor for your child, or you can book your free trial here.