For the record, I told the principal it would happen. If you ask her now, she'll admit as much.
***********************************************************I don't talk about it much here for a lot of reasons, not the least of which being that everyone's baby is the smartest baby on the planet, but, yeah, Alexis is a bit advanced for her age. She started talking early, she started working her way through the alphabet early, and she started reading early. It's not bragging, it's just a fact. The kid is destined to be a bit of a nerd.
Apple. Trees. You know the saying.
The difference between us, however, is that I have always been OK with being slightly less than perfect. An A- is still an A, after all. For Alexis, an A- is going to be a problem. The kid positively flips out if she doesn't do something exactly perfect. Yeah, yeah, I know a lot of kids are like that. You'll just have to trust me that she takes it to incredible extremes.
Exhibit A: She was reading for a full year before she would admit that she was reading. She would sneak up to her bedroom, pull out a book, and read. REALLY READ. It wasn't memorization because she could do it with brand new books that I hadn't cracked open. But, if she sensed that there was anybody within earshot of her, she would instantly stop reading and start making up a story instead.
All. The. Time.
It used to make me positively crazy. Eventually we managed to work through her insistence that she be a perfect reader before she let anyone hear her, but it took a lot of time.
And I knew for a fact that she would pull the same sort of stunt in kindergarten.
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When I went to Alexis' parent teacher conference a while back, there was exactly one moment that stood out. When Alexis' teacher casually said, "I'm going to test her for the early reader program in January," I swear DJ Jazzy Jeff dropped from the ceiling, whipped out his gear, and made the loudest record scratch in the history of history.
My eyes bugged out.
I made a "Time Out" sign with my hands.
And then I laughed.
"You are getting played by a 5-year old," I told the teacher.
She was taken aback. I can't say that I blamed her.
"Test her Monday," I said. "And talk to the principal about it."
(I bet that teacher positively loves me. WHOOPS.)
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When I registered Alexis for kindergarten, I told the principal that the biggest challenge they would face with her is that she refuses to admit competency with skills until she knows she has them mastered. I specifically noted the reading example. I was promised that she would immediately be tested for the early reader program. Apparently, the principal actually heard something like, "My kid is the smartest ever! Just like every other kid you have! Because all parents think their kid is a genius!" By "immediately tested" she meant "will be tested if her teacher thinks it's necessary."
Alexis completely fooled the teacher. She straight-up played dumb, which, really? I didn't figure out to do that until 4th grade or so. OVERACHIEVER.
For nine weeks the kid managed to act the part of a more typical 5-year old. For nine weeks the teacher fell for it hook, line, and sinker.
The whole situation has since been fixed. Alexis is now reading with the first graders. She's getting specialized homework that is less of a chore and more of a fun challenge. Apologies have been thrown around, including one from Alexis to her teacher for intentionally deceiving her. Which she admits that she did. THE HELL?
Nerds aren't supposed to be good actresses. This whole thing has me very scared for the future. And for my sanity.
