Lake County now boasts another duo of genius children with Riverwoods sisters Pearle and Gigi Albert, who were recently accepted into high-IQ organization American Mensa after taking childhood intelligence tests.
While their IQ scores may be high, the two sisters are still into what one would expect of a 5 and 9-year-old — their pet bunny Luna, cartoons and friends — while also learning multiple languages, excelling at math and thinking about what college they want to attend.
Parents Mark and Tara Albert said the discovery of the girls’ exceptional intellect actually began with the youngest, Pearle. She was ahead of other children in “everything,” Tara Albert said, from eating solid foods to reading and math.
“So we said, ‘Let’s have her tested,’” she said. “Parents think their kids are smart. Let’s do this before we say anything.”
The results? Pearle had a reported 140 IQ, putting her score in the 99th percentile. That pushed Gigi, who said she was also curious about her own IQ score, to take the test as well. She received an equally high score.
That was earlier this year, and the parents said they only recently got the Mensa membership card for Pearle, and are waiting for Gigi’s in the mail. While they haven’t met with other families with gifted children, Tara Albert said they joined to learn about the resources available and meet other families like theirs.
Pearle goes to a private school, while Gigi remains in public school. Mark and Tara Albert said they’ve focused on keeping the sisters engaged academically, meeting regularly with teachers to make sure they’re being challenged by school work. While a psychologist had recommended enrolling them in a gifted school, they’ve chosen not to for now.
“When we went to the gifted school, we said ‘We’re gonna keep them where they are, because we want them to grow up like regular kids,’” Tara Albert said.
At the moment, Mark Albert said the girls are in a good spot.
“Are your kids happy and looking forward to going to school? That’s probably one of the most important things, because if they’re not happy, they’re not going to want to listen, participate or concentrate,” he said.
More Top Picks Best Premium Plant Stands For Enthusiasts
But school “is not enough for them,” Tara Albert said. So that means lots of after-school activities, like violin, piano, martial arts, and even horseback riding. It’s not all non-stop movement, she pointed out. They are, after all, two young kids.
“Any chance they get, like on weekends, they would just sit in front of the TV and do nothing,” she said. “That’s what kids do. They’re so stimulated, they just want to sit down and do nothing on the weekends.”
There are often concerns about highly intelligent young children fitting in with their peers. But their parents said that hasn’t been an issue. Pearle is a “leader” in her class, her mother said. Kids seem to “gravitate towards her,” her father added, and Gigi has plenty of friends at school as well.
He admitted his girls don’t fit his preconceived notion of what children with such high IQs would look or act like, with both being highly social and active.
“It’s not what you would think of when you think of an overly intelligent child,” Mark Albert said. “I wouldn’t look at them with that image. They’re real active in other things, and friendly and social.”
In some ways, it can be hard to tell how they may differ from other children. They love “KPop Demon Hunters,” are looking forward to the new “Zootopia” movie, and dash in and out of the living room at seemingly random intervals as their parents talk.
But in other ways, it’s clear they see a different path for themselves, like when Gigi talks about what college she wants to attend — an Ivy League university, of course.