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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]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?[/quote]

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.  [b]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.[/b][/quote]

So, this first point, about academic boredom leading to behavior problems,  is often overstated. Who told her this? You can tell her that they are incorrect. Kids who are just bored with no other disorder going on do not develop serious behavior problems from being bored in school. If she is already overwhelmed you can put her at ease by letting her know this is not really a concern.

Many homeschooled children are taught above grade level skills. She should join some Facebook groups, or reach out in her own community, to see what homeschoolers would recommend for enrichment at that age and beyond. As someone else recommended, things like chess, and logic strategy games, are probably a good idea, along with just some run of the mill math games.

Without knowing about how he was tested, it's really hard to say how truly skilled he is. In the future this may not be as big of a problem as she thinks it is. [/quote]

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