School Time

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed this week. The first day of school is on Tuesday and we have been busy gathering school supplies and clothes and filling out paperwork. We attended back to school nights and met the teachers. This year is not like other years, some how. It's going to be challenging. There is no more finger painting and macaroni necklaces. It is all multiplication and division and spelling tests and at least an hour of homework per night. There will be research projects and papers due. Yes, the children are older now and it's time to get serious. I'm feeling a little panicky about it. I'm trying to internalize it and not project it onto my children. Especially my 5th grader.

The fifth grade will prepare her for 6-8 grades and then after that, potential colleges will be looking at those grades. I know I am crazy to think about that already but at the rate time is passing, it will be here in a minute. So, in 6 years we will be college shopping. How the heck are teenagers supposed to know what they want to do with their lives? She has 6 years to figure it out. She is on the brink of turning into the person that she's going to be. That is absolutely mind blowing to me. I am trying to take deep breaths and focus on the here and now. She will do fine, she will do great. In spite of me and my neurosis.

Then there is my 3rd grader. Last year her teacher pulled me aside and said, "Did you get her test scores yet? They are amazing." I hadn't but when I did they were pretty high. She was identified by the state as "gifted and talented." I don't know anything about gifted and talented. I wasn't and neither is my husband. I was tested for it when I was a kid and I was REJECTED. Haha. We are of average intelligence but we both have strengths in specific areas so thankfully we have been able to find adequate employment in spite of our lack of G&T endorsement.

I've always known that she was super smart. She was talking at a year old. When she was 14 months old, she held up a sippy cup of apple juice and said, "Pee-Pee" and then laughed her little head off. I was like, "Did she just make a joke?" She knew her ABCs at 17 months old. She talks like a Harvard professor. Now, I am not bragging about that. It has nothing to do with me. Well, besides the breast milk. I read to both of my kids, and talked to them the same way, and treated them the same way. She just picks up everything and is naturally gifted.

My oldest child is extremely gifted in language arts. Her writing is amazing, she is working on writing a "novel" right now. She struggles with math. She is just like her mother. It's hard for her sometimes because things come so easy to her little sister and she has to work really hard. It can be frustrating and it's hard as a mom because I really do have to support the children in different ways.

When I found out that my youngest was admitted to the gifted program, I googled eveything about it. What does that even mean? You know? Over and over again I kept seeing G&T kids referred to as "high potential" children. To be honest, that really rubbed me the wrong way. So what are all the other kids? Average potential? Low potential? I think that's crap. I don't like the idea separating kids like that. I think that most all kids have high potential. I absolutely have no problem with kids being grouped with kids at their skill levels but I am not going to buy into the idea that some kids are destined to do great in life and to hell with everyone else. Thankfully, the kid's school isn't like that but I don't think any should be. Anyway, let me get off my soap box now.

Yes, school is here again. My 5th grader has a project due already. She needs to get started this weekend if she ever wants to get into college. :)