Carver's testing

Okay, long overdue: Carver's testing went great. In many ways better than we could have hoped. Mostly because he wasn't traumatized by it in any way. As a matter of fact, he has asked several times now when he gets to go do it again. His overall intellectual functioning skills were at the 97th percentile which is considered superior to very superior. I don't really know how this relates to IQ exactly because the test that he took is for 6-7 year olds, not 4 year olds and he maxed out several portions of it. The school psychologist took the attitude that the test was meant to determine if he was ready for more than standard kindergarten, not really how high he could read. It confirmed what I had always felt about how unusual Carver was and left me feeling that his gaps and shortcomings are easily repaired. They have suggested that we work with him between now and September on certain things like motor skills (holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, coloring in the lines). But I guess the most important thing is that the school strongly recommends that he skip Kindergarten and go directly to first grade. Kind of like playing monopoly. I walked out of the discussion feeling incredibly proud of him for doing so well, and them somewhat silly for being proud of who he is. All of the parenting books suggest rewarding kids for effort, but there is very little effort involved here. This is just who he is, and I guess I expected no less. I have reservations about skipping a grade, but I am convinced that here, at least, it is the best thing for him. I worry about future issues that will come up, but I'm trying to take it one year at a time.

And, I worry about Syarra with a Sept. birthday. At 2.3 years younger than Carver, she could end up being 4 grades behind. I don't want that for her. And I guess that sometimes I still worry that she doesn't get the attention and support that Carver always did. I have been following the story of the octuplets like watching a train wreck. I am so sad for all of their children. Not only because I believe their mother is mentally unstable, but I can imagine what the future holds for them and I know that every child deserves more.