Giftedness?

       So I got a phone call from the school today...Catie has been accepted to the gifted program.  I never doubted for a moment that she would get in...but now I am concerned that the program isn't going to be strong enough for her.   She tested very high on the exams and they are skipping over some of the steps to admit her.  She needs something to keep her busy and distract her from the boredom at school.
       I have been doing some research into what's going to happen...she is going to have an IEP.  In Kansas she is considered a special needs child...I could have told them that.   She totally has special needs...but to be labeled special needs is kind of different.  I hope that Nathan and I do the best by her.   She is very special to us...and she is smart enough to know that some of the things she's learning in school are below where she is...she compares the school to preschool at least once a week.
       I try to explain to her that she isn't the only child in the class and the teacher has to teach at the level of all of the students...not each individual student.  The teacher can't be expected to write a lesson plan up for her...all by herself, or maybe she can?  I do hope that Catie will be patient though this process.
If all else fails she can be a home schooled child...I don't know how much I want to be involved in this...she and I bump heads pretty hard sometimes.  There are some online services here in Kansas that will take care of some of this, but she still will be at home all day with me.   Socially she is also very far behind the other kids in the class she is in...she started school a year early putting her on the young end of the class and making it hard for her to introduce herself...she is also somewhat socially inept.  She tries, but doesn't know how to approach other people her age...she can relate to people much older or younger...just not her age.
        So here we be with lots to think about.   She is so freaking smart it scares me...but I know she will be fine.  I have tons of faith in her.  We just have to stick together.   I also want to help her understand that it's not her job to teach everyone.   The kids think she is a know it all and stuck up.  Another block for her socially...she's going to be ok though.
One thing I read recently was that giftedness is not a good thing, a nice thing or related to how well your child is doing.  Giftedness is not any "thing" in particular.  The term identifies a need.   The term applies to a child that learns differently enough from the other students in the class to require measures and methods beyond those used in the "normal" grade level taken in the classroom.


It's so important for me to remember this...she is special, but not in that she is any better, just different.