Ok APS, need help for my daughter...good stuff, not bad

[Stetson]

My daughter, aged 3, is in preschool.  She's in a group of 15 kids for half a day Mon - Thurs.
Her teachers have been asking permission to teach her Spanish (given) and use her for an advanced kids pilot program.
She is so far, education wise, ahead of every other kid in school.  Maturity level, not so much, she still acts like a 3 yr old most times.

Her English language skills have been tested at mid 1st to 2nd grade.  Her Math/Science skills are low end 1st grade.  History, not measured but I teach her as I can. 

Does anyone know of some good educational resources I an get, for free preferred($$$ is tight right now)?

[Vodka7]

No suggestions, but 1) congratulations! and 2) your website is broken.

[MillCreek]

My wife, the elementary school teacher, likes to recommend these for additional or supplemental work, especially for home-schooled students:

http://www.superteacherworksheets.com/

[Stetson]

No suggestions, but 1) congratulations! and 2) your website is broken.

Website was for my the Masonic Lodge I belong to.  Forgot to remove the link, found out the person that advocated it and paid for it, didnt actually pay for it and tried to get the rest of us to....

[vaskidmark]

If you can homeschool her, I'd go for that as opposed to putting her in the public indoctrination system or looking at Montessori or the like.

The public system is required to test her for giftedness when she turns 4.  But you will need to be diligent in determining what resources they have for gifted kids, what the program actually consists of, and will need to monitor it daily to catch any BS or "parking her in front of a computer screen" shennanigans.  Contact the school's special education folks and ask them about the gifted program and testing for it.  Go read up about the gifted side of special education so you can catch them when they try to screw you and/or your daughter.

The former daughter was always at least 2 grade levels ahead of her age, and had the physical maturity to match, but not the emotional/intellectual maturity.  She started in the gifted program in kindergarten and stayed in through HS graduation.  The only decent program she was in was Richmond Community High School http://newweb.richmond.k12.va.us/schools/specialty/community.aspx and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richmond_Community_High_School , which was actually a privately endowed public school with entrance requirements that were rougher than my first foray in college in the early 60's before the draft made colleges hungry for $$.  She was never "pushed" at home, but she was not allowed any slack - if she could wrap her mind around something she was told she had proved she could and therefore was going to be required to keep it up.  (Yes, there were times when she went stupid - but then all kids go through that.  We made our way through together.)

Note that Community's program consisted almost entirely of being AP classes.  It was the administration and teachers that made the difference.  I have no info on how they are now doing but their recent awards suggest that at least they are not saddled with dropouts.  That's an important indication of a gifted program's sucess - how many kids continue in the program over several grade levels.

stay safe.

[Stetson]

We are talking now with other homeschool parents, just to see how they are doing it and how it's working for their kids.  I don't want her moved more than one grade ahead if it can be helped.  I want her to have as normal a childhood as she can.

Millcreek, thanks for the link!  That's awesome.

[cosine]

I'm glad to hear that you are talking with others about homeschooling. I was homeschooled from kindergarten through 12th grade (except for 3rd grade when my mom was ill). Being the oldest means my parents did not have any experience when they started homeschooling me, and I turned out happy and well-adjusted (I think; okay guys, now you can deliver the punchline). 

Academically, homeschooling worked well for me. I scored high on the ACT and just graduated in May from Marquette University very near the top of my class in electrical engineering. I scored quite well on the GRE and am continuing at Marquette University as a fully-funded research assistant working towards a master's degree in electrical engineering.

For a bright kid, I think homeschooling is a very, very good choice. I am extremely glad I was homeschooled and wouldn't want to go back and redo it any other way.

[cassandra and sara's daddy]

i'm lucky  have decent school system that i supplement .  both by myself and with a program i bought when she was 5. it wasn't cheap but its been worth it.  worst thing for a bright kid is being bored.  my 10 year old complained about being bored and i got her teacher to help at school as well as gave her more at home.  she bitched but after 2 days she started getting up an hour earlier so she could "play" on a math site her teacher has her on.

[Vodka7]

Actually, I do have a suggestion--make sure she always has access to as many books as she wants.

Nothing made me happier as a kid than our weekly visits from our suburb to the main branch of the Columbus library.

[cosine]

Actually, I do have a suggestion--make sure she always has access to as many books as she wants.

Nothing made me happier as a kid than our weekly visits from our suburb to the main branch of the Columbus library.

This too. When I was a kid my mom would go to used book stores and library sales and bring home stacks of books she picked up for a quarter or 50 cents apiece. I read a lot as a kid.

[Waitone]

Best action you can take to improve your kid's love of books is for them to see you reading.

[Ned Hamford]

Best action you can take to improve your kid's love of books is for them to see you reading.

While my mother did read to me, I think it was the light enforcement of bedtime when I was reading that got me hooked.

[Stetson]

I have LOTS of books in storage for her when she gets older (10+).
We already read to her and she will crawl up in my lap and ask me to read to her whatever I am reading at the time.  Shes been getting stories from Larry Correia, WEB Griffin and L.E. Modesitt Jr.  She's good for about a paragraph.  The thing that she does with these paragraphs is tell me stories that she makes up, based on what I've read.  Only 2 have ever made any sense but she's thinking....

One set of home school parents are moving from here to AZ and are going to let me go over to their place next Friday and pickout any age appropriate books and lessons I want before they pack them.  I'm going to take all that they let me.  Their youngest has a brain injury and responds to computer learning better than any other thing they've tried so, for the kid, I knocked together a PC out of spare parts I had here.  I think it'll be a decent thing to do for what they are giving me.