The Gifted Preschooler

The important thing at this age is to begin to develop a good self-concept and an interest in learning.

This can be done by providing a safe environment where the child is free to play and have fun.

As a preschooler, they are learning the alphabet, printing letters and discovering numbers. They want to do this, and seek you out to show them these things.

Often before kindergarten the gifted child is reading. They enjoy looking at books and being read to.

They can concentrate for longer periods of time then most of their peers.

Soon they are saying the words they see. It is quite something to see a small child discovering the joy of reading.

Their vocabulary is growing fast and they are learning new words everyday. Parents may be amazed at how well their youngster can speak.

They like to keep moving through play or dancing. Their fine and gross motor skills may be better developed.

They are better at holding a pencil, doing a puzzle and playing board games.

The gifted preschooler asks a lot of questions. They can ask one after the other and excitedly await your answer.

They tend to have a good imagination and enjoy creative activities such as coloring and drawing.

Their art work may seem like it was done by an older child. They put ears, arms, legs and hair on the bodies they draw. Their attention to details can be surprising.

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Her math abilities grew too. She began adding and subtracting. By kindergarten, she could read and add and subtract two and three digit numbers.

One of the fun games we would play in the car was for me to say a word and she would say another word that began with the last letter of my word.

It required her to think about the sounds and spelling of words. Since she has an excellent memory, she played this game very well.

Also, she would enjoy saying the alphabet backwards. I was always amazed when she did this.

She would also ask for math problems to solve while driving in the car. I was often amazed when, within thirty seconds, she would come up with the right answer.

She was able to memorize words to her favourite songs and the theme songs to TV shows. These were busy and exciting years for us.

I remember how much she loved dancing and pretending to do ballet. Friends would often comment on how coordinated she was. She was full of energy and had a thirst for learning.

She liked to play school. She would set up her teddies in different areas of her room and ask me to be the teacher.

I would ask different teddies to spell words or add numbers. She would be the voices of all the teddies. She learned a lot of things in this way.

She loved doing puzzles. She could fit the pieces together easily. She enjoyed playing board games. It was fun to see how well she could play and how quickly she picked up on the rules.

She liked to use a pencil and write things down. She was interested in words and how they were spelled and pronounced. By age five, she was teaching herself cursive writing.

This was a time when she discovered so many new things. I quickly realized just how advanced and bright she was.

For ideas and activities to do with your toddler visit this site.


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