Wonderful photo! They look like they're planning some mischief. Crows are very smart. Julie

Both of our sons have been in the gifted/talented programs in our K-8 district. Older DS is now a freshman in HS, in all honors classes. OUr district does not "test for giftedness". Participation in the program is based on a combination of things, including teacher observations and recommendations, classroom observations by the gifted/talented teachers, test scores on the standard tests given to all the children (Gates-McGinity being one) in which they must score at 97% or above to be considered for the program. While the enrichment of the gifted program was fun for the kids, most of the programs at the elementary level are not geared to advance the subject matter, but more to advance the thinking process and depth of exploration of a subject. In other words, in the gifted classroom sections, the kids may work on the Civil War, which is what their classmates are also doing in the regular classroom. However, the gifted kids will do something with greater depth or challenge, but still on the same subject matter. Older DS participated in the MIdwest Talent Search sponsored by NOrthwestern University, and took the SAT (the same one taken by high school jrs and srs.)in 6th grade. Don't know if younger DS will be invited to take it, as he is only in fifth grade now. But again, the invitation came because of test scores on the standardized testing, not because of some special screening we did or testing we sought out. Kids can be gifted/talented in one area and not in others. There are some great websites and books on giftedness, but in truth a lot of the "characteristics" that they mention seem to be present in lots of kids I know. My older DS was a very early reader, like the poster's son. He was reading at a second grade level before he started kindergarten. But rather than seeing that as a problem, we saw it as a benefit for him as he went to school. It was. I will tell you that while there are things that the school can offer, you might also look into your local jr. college - they often have a "kids on campus" type of program, part of which is geared to gifted/talented kids, in which they can take advanced classes, etc. Gifted/talented kids can benefit by being in a regular classroom, and being leaders. Neither of our boys has EVER complained about being bored in school, whether in their regular classroom time or during gifted/talented classtime. Watch what is happening to your child, and seek out interesting experiences to enrich him, but do not let the concept of being "gifted" worry you, unless HE complains about his learning experiences.

Siobhan, it's wonderful to see you here again! I looked up Thoughts While Tending Sheep on Amazon, and there are quite a few used copies available if anyone is interested. I ordered a copy for myself on a whim, I'm hoping there are Border Collies in it somewhere :) https://www.amazon.com/Thoughts-While-Tending-Sheep-Ilefeldt/dp/0517569191/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1524485857&sr=8-1&keywords=thoughts+while+tending+sheep&dpID=61bX%252Bvh6rTL&preST=SX218_BO1,204,203,200_QL40&dpSrc=srch

utog..another silhouette pic!..this one's great too!.. your garden's looking good!..we had 2 inches of rain Wed night..I had standing water (common in our high water table neighborhood) in my usual spots..so I didn't walk around in back today.. my still unclipped ratty winter foliage on an Autumn fern..they're slow for me.. the Japanese Painted ferns look fresher than the Autumns beside them..maybe because the Japanese Painted ferns die back?.. n2hostas..my green ginger is a good spreader..plant it with some space..but my craziest groundcover is this Lamium galeobdolon..can you see the variegated plant behind this bleeding heart?..that's it.. miles..there was a post a long time ago where someone used a wide shallow container for mini's and had success.. when I clean, weed and top with compost these plants will look prettier..