Math Prodigy-Please Help

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, I think more info is needed. Is he in preschool? Is he happy or frustrated?

Second, at 3 skills are all over the place. I'm not saying this kid couldn't be a profoundly gifted kid, but he could also not be by the time he gets to school age.

Why did your cousin's mom break down, exactly?

He is almost 4 and just started 1/2 day preschool. His mom already has a lot going on in her life ,and this is one more challenge she didn't need. She is upset because the school basically told her that there is nothing they can do for him. Even if his math skills came to an abrupt stop today, he is facing years of sitting through math instruction for concepts he has already mastered. I have seen this kid rattle off multiplication facts, and he seems to have deeper understanding beyond rote skills. If he is already at a 5th grade level, he will be wasting time and not learning anything new in elementary school regardless of whether he gets a label of "profoundly gifted" or not. He's fine now, but if (when) he gets bored, he may also risk becoming a behavioral problem. I think she needs practical advice on two fronts 1) how to keep him from getting bored in school, and 2) how to feed his current passion for math and educate him on his level.

So first, I'd take a deep breath. At the moment he doesn't need to be getting challenged in Math as he's in preschool. He can be challenged by making friends, working or art, learning to share, imaginative play etc. He's a long way from having to sit through boring math classes. Second, I'd have his mom approach his local elementary school. I would have her meet with them to disucss testing him to see if he can start kindergartern in the fall. Third, I would find someone - maybe a high schooler- who likes math and kids and who can be a mother's helper a few days a week and who can do fun math games with him or math puzzles out of a resources book.

PP here. Another option is to see if there is a montessori school around him which could be a better fit.

Why do people think a montessori preschool will be better for a math prodigy? I would put him in a play based school, which montessori is NOT. Math shouldn't be a huge part of preschool anyway- let him play for now.

[Anonymous]

RSM is fantastic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:First, I think more info is needed. Is he in preschool? Is he happy or frustrated?

Second, at 3 skills are all over the place. I'm not saying this kid couldn't be a profoundly gifted kid, but he could also not be by the time he gets to school age.

Why did your cousin's mom break down, exactly?

He is almost 4 and just started 1/2 day preschool. His mom already has a lot going on in her life ,and this is one more challenge she didn't need. She is upset because the school basically told her that there is nothing they can do for him. Even if his math skills came to an abrupt stop today, he is facing years of sitting through math instruction for concepts he has already mastered. I have seen this kid rattle off multiplication facts, and he seems to have deeper understanding beyond rote skills. If he is already at a 5th grade level, he will be wasting time and not learning anything new in elementary school regardless of whether he gets a label of "profoundly gifted" or not. He's fine now, but if (when) he gets bored, he may also risk becoming a behavioral problem. I think she needs practical advice on two fronts 1) how to keep him from getting bored in school, and 2) how to feed his current passion for math and educate him on his level.

So first, I'd take a deep breath. At the moment he doesn't need to be getting challenged in Math as he's in preschool. He can be challenged by making friends, working or art, learning to share, imaginative play etc. He's a long way from having to sit through boring math classes. Second, I'd have his mom approach his local elementary school. I would have her meet with them to disucss testing him to see if he can start kindergartern in the fall. Third, I would find someone - maybe a high schooler- who likes math and kids and who can be a mother's helper a few days a week and who can do fun math games with him or math puzzles out of a resources book.

PP here. Another option is to see if there is a montessori school around him which could be a better fit.

Why do people think a montessori preschool will be better for a math prodigy? I would put him in a play based school, which montessori is NOT. Math shouldn't be a huge part of preschool anyway- let him play for now.

Because Montessori allows kids to progress at their own pace and do the things they are interested in. And with mixed classrooms, 3-6 year olds are all working together, which means the 3 year old can work with older kids in the areas he wants to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Other resources are the Davidson Young scholars program (starting at a slightly older age) and the Russian School of Math. In this situation I might look around for an older student who has been successful in the Art of Problem Solving(AoPS) which was mentioned by another poster here. If you find one of those kids or just one who is very enthusiastic about math and advanced to tutor and provide additional enrichment and problems for the child that would go a long way for not much money. We had some literal geniuses tutor my kids for about $10 an hour because 12 year olds, no matter how smart, don't have a lot of other great employment options. The older kids parents were so grateful that they were able to use their special skills too.

This made me lol.

[Anonymous]

What is his reading level? It is the flip-side to understanding where he would/might be best served. If his focus so far has only been on math, then this is a skill that could/should be focused on as well. Say he gets into an advanced program of some ilk (local college would be a reasonable place to start -- mine is where I ended up in second grade), the lack of reading comprehension and writing skills would be a barrier to advancement and a further source of frustration (there will already be enough with lack of maturity and social skills).

[Anonymous]

The best thing to do right now is get him some Beast Academy books or subscribe to Beast Academy online. They will challenge him and ensure that he has a full understanding of all mathematical concepts through pre-Algebra. He can work at his own pace, and the material is presented in a very age appropriate way.

Is he also an early reader? If not, an adult will have to guide him through the lessons.

[Anonymous]

Little Lego

[Anonymous]

In all other areas he seems to be an happy, ordinary, bright, but not gifted kid. He knows letters and phonetic sounds, maybe some short words, but I don't think he is really reading, yet. It's only his math ability that provides a unique educational challenge.

[Anonymous]

So he just sort of started doing long division, decimals, fraction etc on his own? Or someone worked with him? I can certainly imagine a very bright 3 year old understanding these things but not without a guide or at least some books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So he just sort of started doing long division, decimals, fraction etc on his own? Or someone worked with him? I can certainly imagine a very bright 3 year old understanding these things but not without a guide or at least some books.

This. It is impressive. Get worknooks.

[Anonymous]

My son has had a lot of success finding a math tutor at www.tutorocean.com!

As a parent, I appreciate the ability to review a wide range of tutors and interviewed 3 of them until we found the right fit for my son. And you can also filter tutors based upon your budget needs so that was nice too! Hope this helps a bit.

[Anonymous]

I'm curious how they assessed this kid as being at a 5th grade level, if he is not reading. I only ask because I have a DS who is somewhat similar but he was reading at two. In any case, Beast Academy is a great suggestion once he can navigate computers etc. Unless the child is exceptionally cooperative, a tutor for a three/four year old can't get much done. Schools can do a great deal if they are willing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm curious how they assessed this kid as being at a 5th grade level, if he is not reading. I only ask because I have a DS who is somewhat similar but he was reading at two. In any case, Beast Academy is a great suggestion once he can navigate computers etc. Unless the child is exceptionally cooperative, a tutor for a three/four year old can't get much done. Schools can do a great deal if they are willing.

It was probably a very guided test that was based on concepts rather than just a pieces of paper and a pencil.

[Anonymous]

I’ve known a couple of true math prodigies in my homeschool circle. Both were taking advanced college classes by 8th grade. The parents used Singapore Math until then.

[Anonymous]

First off, who did the assessment? His rural preschool? They are very unlikely able to make any sort of giftedness/advanced assessment. I’d take that with a grain of salt. Kids from rural areas often look very gifted in comparison to their peers…once they are surrounded with peers from educated areas, they look closer to average.

If he went to a psychologist for testing, I don’t get mom’s hand waving about not having time to deal with him and being upset about the results…clearly she had time to find a testing place and do the tests.

Also, she has clearly worked with this kid or had him tutored. A non-reading three year old can’t be born competent in fifth grade math because (even if a genius), he wouldn’t know the jargon or how to express the concepts. So, she should just keep doing what she’s been doing.

Finally, the concept that genius kids are becoming troublemakers because they are bored is utter baloney. When your kids reach MS and HS, you will realize that the troublemakers have below average intelligence across the board.