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 Post subject: What to do with my smart 5-year-old?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 12:01 am 
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Joined: Thu Mar 31, 2016 11:48 pm
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Hi everyone, I thought I'd like to try a Christian homeschooling forum for some advice on where to begin with my 5-year-old. He's been reading since he was 3, so he doesn't need to learn to read, he can do all sorts of sequencing/numbers/colors/whatever stuff. I guess I feel like I need to be doing some kind of higher level things with him but don't know where to begin. Also, I'm concerned about pushing him too hard and getting him burnt out on schooling. Right now we have a few of those workbooks you can buy at the store and we sometimes do the time4learning.com program (I have him enrolled in the 2nd grade there). He's smart, but his behavior and maturity level is absolutely 5, so I'm also trying not to expect more of him that way than I should! :)

I think part of my problem is I've never particularly wanted to homeschool (just being honest :)) but there aren't really any other options in our area. I've been dragging my feet on finding things for him to do, which is not helpful.

I also have 2 other little ones underfoot, so we rarely have "alone time" to do school things together. Do I just continue letting him read educational stuff on his own? When do I need to really start pushing school stuff?


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 Post subject: Re: What to do with my smart 5-year-old?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 9:30 am 
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 7:14 pm
Posts: 8115
Welcome, Karen! I see you were up in the middle of the night asking us questions : )

My philosophy (aka my two cents) is this: Treat all kids the same in the sense that a 5 year old normally "does school" for about 4-5 hours a day. (That's the law here in Ohio). Some of it will be "fun" or "light" since he's 5 - but not all of it. So, give him work to do the same as any other kid. The only difference between a "smart" 5 year old and any other 5 year old is the difficulty of the work he does. Ignore "grade level" - try not to even think about it yourself. Just give him the next thing he's ready for. If he has mastered picture books, give him chapter books. If he has mastered addition, give him subtraction. And, yes, all 5 year olds need parental/teacher's attention while they do school. You will have to find some way to be present with him while he works - even if it means having him read a story to your littles, sharing a science project with toddlers, too, or have him "teach" them to do addition ; )

If he can read, but does not know phonics, make sure you teach him phonics - he will need it later!

There is a HUGE variety of resources out there on the computer, many of them free - so the world is at your fingertips.

If God has given him a great blessing in a strong brain, you don't want to be the one to "bury his talent" by not helping that brain grow.

On a side note: I would encourage you to do your best to hide from him how smart he is. It will help him work harder and be more humble, and get along better with other kids. That doesn't mean that he shouldn't work at his level - just that you might consider downplaying IQ to him. You can tell any child "you're smart!" if they use their brain well (even if they have Down's Syndrome) - but to tell them that they're smarter than others can be harmful. Personally, after my exposure to ACE as a child, I simply use what is needed next in each subject -no matter what the "grade level" label on the packet or program. Grade levels are very arbitrary anyway. What was 1st grade a century ago is 3rd grade now. So, if a child asks, I just tell them, "Oh, publishers write whatever they want to on their materials - it doesn't have much to do with what's inside the book. Ignore it." Some of our kids have been way behind, others way ahead - some were using adult materials when they were tiny - others had great difficulty with basic reading. No matter what God gives the child, they need you to help them use their talents well rather than burying them.

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 Post subject: Re: What to do with my smart 5-year-old?
PostPosted: Fri Apr 01, 2016 10:54 am 
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Joined: Sat Jun 30, 2012 5:22 pm
Posts: 8837
So, you're saying that you will have to home school your son because he won't be challenged in public school in the grade he is socially ready for, correct?

Depending on your state, school may not be mandatory right away. I'd just continue on the way you are and, like Anna said, give him access to the next thing - especially in areas he is interested in. Beginning formal schooling, with curriculum and a plan, need not start until he's around 8, imo. If he's a self-learner, interested in learning new things, he may go far before needing a formal setting. At some point he WILL need to learn to "sit down" and do things that do not come easy to him so he can learn how to endure. ;-)

I didn't start homeschooling until my oldest was going into jr hi. My second oldest was one of those kids that people liked to throw numbers at for him to add in his head as he was so good at it. He is still very smart and very good with numbers but school was never a "problem" for him. He just found things to do outside of school that challenged him.


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