WAG Transitioning to Middle School with Gymnastics

[vagymmomma]

As hard as MS may seem to be to balance time, I have found HS to be even more challenging. There are frequent nights where DD is up until 2 in the morning. It is a really good test as to how much love the kids have for the sport and I can definitely see why many choose to take a different direction at this age (even starting in middle school). You have some good suggestions above, but it really is important to take advantage of free time and to schedule to due dates. We have worked with teachers to get some assignments in advance. And every once in awhile DD just has to go a little late or leave a little early from practice. Our coaches have been pretty understanding as long as it's not a habit (mine's a L9 training L10, so the practice is really important from a safety perspective).

We have many girls handling these full loads in MS and HS (carrying 4.0s), so it can definitely be done.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

I feel like we are living a parallel life..one year apart! Kipper just finished 6th grade, her first year of MS. Turned 11 last summer and competed L7 this season. She was in the GT program in elementary, and enrolled in all GT (Honors) classes for 6th grade. Obviously, there will be differences in our circumstances, but I certainly understand your fears and questions.

IMO, academics should come first. This does not mean signing up for every extra opportunity and event offered, but offering the rigor and critical thinking found in GT courses. If your dd is gifted, she needs the challenge of curriculum at her level. Kipper's lowest grade on her last report card was a 99 (and she is taking 8th grade pre-algebra). She did not opt to compete in things like National History Day, or other optional clubs. But she did choose band as her elective and had to find creative ways to get the required practice in.

I take her to school every day to buy those precious 20 minutes of sleep. In her case, it matters! She gets home just before 9pm and has to be at school by 8 am. Every minute counts. Communication has been key for us. Several teachers have accommodated requests to complete projects over the weekend. Kipper has learned to mark her calendar. If something is due on a Friday, she gets it done the weekend before. Homework is frequently done in the car by flashlight. If she gets behind, or stressed about a test, we take a night off of gym, or leave a bit early. Her coaches have been understanding. I have seen several middle- and high-school aged girls doing their homework in the gym before starting their workout. It's just part of the life.

Kipper wants to add a second elective next year rather than request an athletic exemption and leave early. I am in full support as long as she is managing everything and HAPPY! We can always evaluate at mid term and adjust if necessary. I will emphasize that none of this would be possible if I had to remind her to do school work, or if her grades were slipping. From what I have seen, gymnasts are a rare breed. Kipper never chooses the "easier" path for herself, so I won't ask that of her either. She goes from 20 hours per week to 24 hours per week in the gym next school year. Classwork will be more challenging and the opportunities for "extra" activities will increase. For now, we are taking things one semester at a time.

 

[UnoMas]

My DD is starting middle school next year and the bus will pick up at 6:45. This is a huge difference as now she does not even have to wake up until 7:30. In tandem practice hours will be extended another half hour on the back end getting her home around 9:25. She only has 1/2 hour in between school and going to gym so no homework is done then and she eats both ways in the car so no homework time there either.

We just got her class recommendations and she has been recommended for all GT classes this fall. She has been in GT Math the last two years in elementary school so that one is a no brainer, she has to stay in GT or she will be working on things she did in 4th grade. That is the only subject that offers GT in the elementary school. My concern is with the other classes and if it will just be too much.

I called the school and they said they can easily switch her into a GT class if she is too bored in the regular classes if we decide to decline some of the placements. They also advised me that in History the class work is generally the same but in GT they do a lot of research projects at home that do not necessarily correlate with the day to day curriculum.

Has anybody been in a similar situation and what did you do? What was your experience?

FWIW, DD will be a level 7 and is on the younger side for entering middle school, she will turn 11 in late summer, right when school starts.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

My DD took all gifted classes all 3 years of middle school, including HS classes her 8th grade year. She was training level 6/7 at the time, about 18 hours a week on a similar schedule to your DD. She did great. Had some late nights and definitely missed a few practices occasionally but overall she did fine. I would have never considered lightening an academic load because of gym. Now she's in high school taking honors classes, will start AP next year which really scares me. Again, some late nights and stress but overall she has balanced it fine. Lots of homework in the car and she will also do homework at the gym sometimes if she's stuck because of carpool (she will just take herself out of practice and go to the lobby and do work if she's really crunched for time).

Keep her in the gifted classes. She can do it! All transitions are hard but you'll likely be surprised at how well she handles it. I know I worry about these things way more than I should and it always turns out fine.

 

[motigymnasticsmom]

My DD was tagged gifted the year she started gymnastics in 2 nd grade. We are now finishing up middle school and will be starting as a freshman in H.S. She will do summer classes for the next three years and then do dual enrollment the last two years of H.S., plus, if she's still in gymnastics, she will have only a half day. She will probably be lvl 8/9 by then with about 20 hours per week. If your school will work with you and your then don't worry, your DD can handle it.

 

[suebee]

I don't have experience with middle school and gymnastics, but I think you should keep a couple of things in mind about gifted classes.

1. It's usually easier to drop down than move up. If you are considering gifted classes for your child, it's probably much easier to start there and switch out than to switch in later. It doesn't mean the other can't be done, but it is probably more difficult, and more difficult for the child, because they will have missed more.

2. Part of being academically gifted is that children often easily learn at a faster pace than others and do not require as much as repetition to master subject material. I would not assume that there is more homework in a gifted class but that more material is covered, and this is possible because of the gifted status of the kids.

3. As far as I am aware, most middle schools are not like high schools that may have several differentiated levels of classes for AP, honors, college prep, remedial, etc. Middle schools may have gifted but usually everyone else is together. Some teachers teach to the middle of the class and if your child is gifted, being in a class that is taught to the middle of non-gifted peers may be very boring.

 

[Natasha]

Regarding the GT language arts, you will want to check with your school system re tracking. In our school system, the kids tracked for GT in 6th and 7th will take English 1 honors in 8th grade, then continue in HS in honors. Declining that class now could affect her classes all the way through High School, depending on how things work in your school system.

 

[l.c.o]

First. YES to what @gymtigermom said above.

Well, the good news is, we were warned how much homework my DD would have moving to middle school this year, and really, it's not bad at all. I know that doesn't mean your DD will have the same experience, but my DD's homework is nowhere near the 1.5 hours per day we were told she would have. She is focused in school and often finishes it all before getting home.

That said, she does not have any available honors courses except math, and she did not qualify for that this year.

In all honesty, I would perhaps start messaging some of these teachers directly, and ask them what the homework pattern is like. Perhaps if she really truly would prefer to be in all this honors courses, then maybe there some way to work it out that you can get a lot of it done on the weekends. Or, like others suggested, have your DD choose her favorites and that's that. It CAN be tough to 'catch up' moving from regular to GT, but if your DD is genuinely GT, she'll likely catch back up easily. It's also hard to 'admit defeat' and drop down from GT to "regular", especially for a more type A person. NO WAY would I have wanted to cave - what would my friends think? Now, as an adult, I know how trivial that is, but got a reminder this year that 6th graders are brutal.

I was GT through middle school, and I loved it and never felt overwhelmed with homework. When I was doing my undergrad, I genuinely preferred to do honors courses over regular courses, as I preferred the coursework. Well sure, they may have technically been more challenging, in a way they were almost easier because there was none of that crappy busywork. I got so bored in "regular" classes and easily checked out. As someone training to be an educator right now, you do NOT want that to happen to your DD if you can help it. You obviously also don't want her to burn out. How much sleep does your daughter seem to require? Our doc said for a 12 year old, 9 hours is the target. My DD seems to technically need a little bit more than this, but YDS actually seems to do well with less.

Perhaps you can work it out so that she could maybe have a free period at the end of the day where she could leave or get started on homework. Or, maybe she could start late. My DD's school was not willing to accommodate this, based on the way they structure courses. All of her electives are the last period of the day, so if she were to leave early every day, she'd actually miss two classes each trimester, as it rotates A day/B day, and her days start with language arts.

 

[cbifoja]

PLEASE dont load your kid up......i have seen SO many kids implode.....they dont need to take every 'xtra' thing offered...they dont need to be exceptional at EVERYTHING! If you want her in high level gymnastics, then something has got to give in school or she can take ALL the super advanced workload and give up a little time from gym....

This a thousand times!!! I've seen so many articles lately about how we are over-scheduling kids because we are terrified that our kids might be....*gasp*...average at something! Kids NEED downtime! Our kids don't have to be the best at everything.

If you have a scholar, that's awesome! If you have a jock, great! If your child can make the violin sing like nobody's business, how wonderful! But why does the child have to do all three?? (Not talking to OP in specific, just speaking generalities.) You have to find the right balance that YOUR kid can handle.

DD tested for the gifted program at school because she REALLY wanted to be involved in a specific program, but ultimately had to choose if she wanted to do the program or train the hours required for her level. She has put her music low on the list and is satisfied to be an average percussionist. She maintains As and Bs but knows that Cs mean a cut back in gym hours. So she keeps her grades at an acceptable, but not perfect, level. I'm satisfied with the balance even though I know that she could get straight As and be an awesome drummer. But she chooses to be a pretty decent gymnast instead.

 

[cbifoja]

The straight A's with minimal effort thing has been a problem for us. It seems to have led to what Carol Dweck calls a "fixed mindset" and unrealistic expectations, such as "I should be able to do everything perfectly the first time" and "I should be the best at everything without even trying." So that's one reason to go for the more challenging courses, but that won't necessarily happen to every kid.

I teach and the kids that get good grades with minimal effort always worry me. Many times they've not developed the tenacity to work hard when they inevitably come across a concept that isn't easy for them. So they give up if they don't catch on the first time.

Or, they are great at playing "school" but cannot apply the concepts to novel ideas or situations. They can define a word or complete a problem, but can't do anything real world with it. Very frustrating for them.

 

[mommyof1]

I teach and the kids that get good grades with minimal effort always worry me. Many times they've not developed the tenacity to work hard when they inevitably come across a concept that isn't easy for them. So they give up if they don't catch on the first time.

Or, they are great at playing "school" but cannot apply the concepts to novel ideas or situations. They can define a word or complete a problem, but can't do anything real world with it. Very frustrating for them.

I wish my kid's teachers shared your perspective. Most of them have been of the attitude "She's getting straight As, so what's the problem, and why should we ask any more of her?"

 

[gymmutti]

Well my DD has done GT math and English 6-8 grade (only subjects that offered it) and is finishing up the second year of a high school foreign language. She DOES have at least 1.5 hrs of homework. What we did for 6th and 7th was talk with the guidance counselor and get her permission to miss the 20-25min of fitness and go to the make-up room each day to get a little HW done. I drive her to school so that she can sleep in 20 more minutes every morning and she has school until 3.30 then a 30 - 40 min drive to the gym. She eats a snack in the car and then when we get to the gym she does another 40 min of HW before practice begins at 5. Practice ends at 9, she eats dinner in the car and finishes HW when we get home around 9:45. Some days I make her finish up by 11:30 and then wake her up at 5am to finish. She prefers her honors classes to the general classes because the kids tend to do the work and there is less busy work. She is a Type A kid and hates group projects because she refuses to get a bad grade due to someone else so she tends to do more than her share (especially when she can't choose her partners). She has been in orchestra but will give that up for high school as the practice takes too long and rehearsals would conflict with gym. I think her high school schedule is very aggressive but she wants it. She is a math whiz and even the GT acceleration at her middle school was not fast enough and she has been bored (currently has a 100 in the high score course). My regret is that I did not push the school to bump her up another level in math when she entered 6th but I was worried that middle school transition would be stressful enough.
We do skip a practice 2-3 times a year when the HW is too much with her HC approval.

 

[Ali'sMom]

I wish my kid's teachers shared your perspective. Most of them have been of the attitude "She's getting straight As, so what's the problem, and why should we ask any more of her?"

I personally was that kid... and when I got to college it smacked me right upside the head...

 

[gymmutti]

I was that kid too. Learning how to study for the first time in college is not a fun thing.

 

[Iwannabemargo]

your school system really does baffle me.

We really do not have "gifted" programmes in secondary school (11+), the children are "Set" and then work the curriculum to a fuller or lesser extent according to their class ability.

To satisfy my curiosity could someone point me in the direction of what is considered normal year 7 (11-12) work and what is considered G&T, just so I could have some frame of reference.

Ta muchly

(Oh and you still have mental homework loads )

 

[aerials]

I teach and the kids that get good grades with minimal effort always worry me. Many times they've not developed the tenacity to work hard when they inevitably come across a concept that isn't easy for them. So they give up if they don't catch on the first time.

Or, they are great at playing "school" but cannot apply the concepts to novel ideas or situations. They can define a word or complete a problem, but can't do anything real world with it. Very frustrating for them.

This is my daughter and this year it finally started to catch up with her. In algebra she crumbled when she didn't just "get it" and had to, gasp, slow down and think.

To the OP: we are in a similar situation but ahead of you by one year. My dd was in all gifted classes this year and had 16 hours of gymnastics. Homework was bad this year...one night she had 30 math problems, 50 pages to read and write 3 paragraphs on and a social studies worksheet! She would get this type of load at least 3 times a week. Early on she had some nights that she would be up to 11:30 and then I started to pull her from gymnastics early. Next year she is in all honors classes again but she will have study halls! They wanted to put her into the freshman honors Algebra 1 next year and I said no way. A 7 th grader does not need to have a high school class in their year, plus it would count for HS credit and against their HS gpa.

However I was told that she had to do honors 7th grade math and science to be put on the (what I would consider) right track. If she did not take honors math and science it would affect when she could take biology and chemistry.

 

[AgingHippie]

Thanks for all the input everyone. I'll admit reading your responses I still kept flip flopping. After talking to DD and the middle school we decided to go with GT Math & Science. The school advised she would be placed on a watch type list for English & History and they monitor those kids closely to see if they are really getting bored or just not working up to their potential.

Right now she wants to either be a gym owner or a scientist so it makes sense these classes peak her interest.

 

[gymnastmom05]

I'm glad you figured out a plan. I know my DD is heading to middle school next year and all the unknowns and earlier schedule are stressing me out. We had a little experience with advanced type classes last year (in 4th grade) and the amount of homework given was absolutely ridiculous. I know gymnast don't have a lot of free time but I felt the extra work didn't give my child a chance to be a kid at all. They learned a lot but a lot of the kids also learned to dread school, hate reading and just overwhelmed. They were all capable of doing the work - there was just too much of it. In a way, I'm glad the experience was at such a young age for her (and us as parents) because it opened my eyes to check into all the specifics regarding classes/programs and make better informed decisions for what I think will work for my child. Also, talking to parents with older kids is a great tool. Sometimes schools really promote their curriculum but I like to hear from parents and their kids to get a full picture.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

I don't have experience with middle school and gymnastics, but I think you should keep a couple of things in mind about gifted classes.

1. It's usually easier to drop down than move up. If you are considering gifted classes for your child, it's probably much easier to start there and switch out than to switch in later. It doesn't mean the other can't be done, but it is probably more difficult, and more difficult for the child, because they will have missed more.

2. Part of being academically gifted is that children often easily learn at a faster pace than others and do not require as much as repetition to master subject material. I would not assume that there is more homework in a gifted class but that more material is covered, and this is possible because of the gifted status of the kids.

3. As far as I am aware, most middle schools are not like high schools that may have several differentiated levels of classes for AP, honors, college prep, remedial, etc. Middle schools may have gifted but usually everyone else is together. Some teachers teach to the middle of the class and if your child is gifted, being in a class that is taught to the middle of non-gifted peers may be very boring.

THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Gifted or honors classes does not necessarily mean more homework. At dd's school, it means less homework. The specific reason given is that these kids learn faster and don't need the repetition. Also, my older dd took honors classes until 8th grade when she begged to take an on-level social studies class. I relented, and she admits it was a mistake. She was bored, the students were less focused and the teacher spent much more time on managing behavior than teaching. I think it's important to learn what you can about the specific situation at your dd's school. You may find that there is less "busy work" and more free time in the advanced classes.

 

[JoyAvenueMom]

They wanted to put her into the freshman honors Algebra 1 next year and I said no way. A 7 th grader does not need to have a high school class in their year, plus it would count for HS credit and against their HS gpa.

However I was told that she had to do honors 7th grade math and science to be put on the (what I would consider) right track. If she did not take honors math and science it would affect when she could take biology and chemistry.

Kipper will be taking 9th grade Algebra 1 next year as a 7th grader. It totally depends on the kid. There is actually a very good reason for a 7th grader to take a high school class. Taking Algebra as a 7th grader sets kids up to do much better on the PSAT, which is used for the National Merit Scholar Program. Each year, 15,000 students are recognized as National Merit Scholar Finalists. These students receive the lion's share of academic scholarship money.

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[Ali'sMom]

your school system really does baffle me.

We really do not have "gifted" programmes in secondary school (11+), the children are "Set" and then work the curriculum to a fuller or lesser extent according to their class ability.

To satisfy my curiosity could someone point me in the direction of what is considered normal year 7 (11-12) work and what is considered G&T, just so I could have some frame of reference.

Ta muchly

(Oh and you still have mental homework loads )

Up until 7th grade, in our experience, gifted kids took the same curriculum/book, so to speak, but they were challenged in other ways, and typically moved through the curriculum quicker.
In 7th grade, DD was put into "Gifted/Honors Advanced Accelerated Science". We call this "super duper science". It's 7th grade science and 8th grade science both in the same year. So that next year in 8th grade she will take Freshman science and get high school credit. It's been a lot of work, and it takes great discipline to get the amount of work done, as it's two full years of curriculum in one.
Last year she was in "6th grade math". This year "Advanced Honors Algebra" for high school credit. I've found that from 6th grade math, all the kids go to either 1) 7th grade math, 2) pre-algebra, or 3) algebra. So in essence DD skipped two years of math. So that jump is for the kids who can handle that jump.
Being labeled "gifted" just kind of puts the kids on a different track, usually with more advanced classes. At this point, 7th grade, I'm not sure the term "gifted" is needed anymore, except that in order to teach the gifted kids, the teachers need to be certified, which usually lends to them being more skilled to handle the smarter/intense/focused kids who tend to think "out of the box". Sometimes too far out of the box...