Monday, March 7, 2011

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic

My soon to be 5 year old is learning at light speed the last couple of weeks. I'm sure he probably learns that fast at other times but right now it's very evident to us.
Saturday we were at a WAHM tradeshow in our city. It had some incredibly cool and creative stuff. One of the booths was a math tutor using all sorts of objects from around the house to teach kids math. M gravitated to this booth like a bear to honey. He looked at the lady and she gave the nod that he could touch and that was it. He spent almost 1/2 hr at that booth. He kept running back. The tutor was incredibly impressed with his number recognition, spatial awareness and hand eye coordination. I was impressed with his focus. He is also learning his letters and phonetics at a rapid rate. He can recognize words and he can write almost all of his letters clearly.

Since I don't measure my kids against other kids (mostly because I'm not exposed to very many other kids) I don't often notice when they are advanced or delayed. I just rely on my instincts to tell me when I need to step in. A while back we looked at giftedness because a doctor told us M was very intelligent. I think he was about 3. I read all the characteristics and thought yes he just might be. I got very excited and thought what do I do now? After researching and reading I thought "I do nothing, I do exactly what I've been doing. Let him lead me where we need to go". I do not really believe in labeling my children. I am pretty sure I only looked into it because the doctor mentioned it. While he may be gifted in some areas this might just even out to above average. I do not want him to think that he's not meeting expectations because he's not 'gifted' anymore.

So now my dear boy is acting out. Violently! My first thought is always allergies or lack of nutrients somewhere or lack of physical activity. While that might still be part of it I don't feel that this is the crux of it this time. Part of it is emotions and social awareness that happens in a 4 year old. But still this doesn't seem to be the core of the issue. All the behavioural issues go away when he is stimulated and involved in something. He's telling us he needs us. Now it's up to me to figure out a way to meet those needs. I've tried workbooks but he gets frustrated. I've tried videos on phonetics. He loved those the first time around but seemed to absorb it all the first time through them. I've tried tag books. He likes these and they hold his attention for a while. But after he's mastered them he doesn't pick them up again. I need to find an ongoing project for us to do. Something we can work on in little bits when our day allows. Something challenging and interesting for him and I. Any suggestions?