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I agree with the above! More and more children are learning to read at an earlier age. Mostly because they are going to a daycare/preschool early on, but of course parents are investing their time as well. Like others have said, it's not just about what they know it's a maturity level as well. Plus the fact that even though he can read and spell that doesn't mean he's comprehending what he's reading.
Most of our area is now full day kindergarten and IMHO I think going all day at 5 is too much. Let the kid be a kid! I'm not saying to stop teaching him, but don't worry about him starting school already. Just keep doing what you're doing! Trust me, there will be plenty of time for testing when your grand son gets to school and if he's gifted they'll let you know.
I agree with this. When I was in kindergarten, about 100 years ago, we went half day, and spent most of that time having a snack (always tomato juice) and rest time on a mat. Not much learning happened until first grade. Real life last a long time. What’s the rush?
Don't ruin the poor kid by sticking him with a bunch of peers. Homeschool them and develop their ability to communicate and relate cross generationally and cross culturally.
There are huge social and academic and relational benefits to home schooling.
Just imagine 4-6 week field trips immersed in history and geography. How bout living overseas with them amongst other cultures? Worked well for ours! Might work for yours.
The parents might JUMP at the opportunity. Mine sure would have!
Thank goodness for grandparents or I would have never made it to age 16 (when I was able to leave home)
This lifestyle sounds great but is not realistic for most people. Most people cannot take off work for 4-6 weeks at a time for a field trip. Not to mention most people cannot afford those 4-6 week trips or leave a job to live overseas.
To the OP: I think reading and language skills come to some people easily, but that doesn't make them smarter than other people. Some people are better with numbers. Some people are better with mechanical systems or engineering. People have different skills. I think that school is very important for social development and I speak from experience that skipping grades is not a great idea.
I learned to read when I was about 3 1/2 or 4. It was something that came to me easily. I did not go to kindergarten because our public school did not have one. While my older sisters were at school and my Mom took care of my baby sister, I read all the time. We had just moved to a small town and there were few kids my age. (Also, newcomers were not welcomed.) I sat and poured over encyclopedias because they were interesting to me. By the time I started 1st grade I could read on a high school level. Needless to say, I did not relate to kids my age, did not speak like other kids my age and stuck out like a sore thumb. I spoke like an adult but was socially immature. I ended up skipping a grade, which made things worse. I was incredibly bored and ended up becoming a rather lazy student with little direction. Back in those days there were no "specialty centers" or AP classes. In hindsight, I wish some teacher (or parent) had recognized my lack of direction and helped me make better use of my skills. Things may have been different if I had not lived in that small town.
One of our sons learned to read at 3. He taught himself because he was tired of having to rely on a sibling to play Pokemon - which was mostly words. He was then able to read relatively advanced book.
It is no big deal. Different kids develop differently. He was not the only kid we knew reading at 3. It does not mean they are super geniuses or will become cancer curing doctors. It all evens out long term. It is certainly not a reason to push them or to take away their childhood. Just let him be a kid. As mentioned above, since he can read, don't worry about it. Focus on teaching him to run and jump and catch a ball or something where he is not advanced.
our twin daughters while not reading at 3, could read some by the time they were starting kindergarten. However they were nearly refused admission to kindergarten because they could not yet catch a ball. they already knew their colors, the alphabet, and some reading, but the school said they were not sufficiently developed based on physical coordination and we should wait a year to start them.
We had a friend who was convinced her daughter woudl be a super genius. (Almost all young parents are). She pushed her daughter constantly. By kindergarten, she could read, speak four languages, lay the violin, and do basic math. What she did not know how to do was play, be silly, giggle, interact. Her mom continued to push her and the poor girl continued to be socially awkward but advanced in school. She eventually skipped a grade which made he social condition worse. Mom was pushing her to skip another grade when she had enough and rebelled. She ended up graduating as a slightly above average high school student, went to an ordinary college for an ordinary degree and got an ordinary job. Main difference between her and other kids is she resents her mom.
Parents, especially young parents get caught up in proving they are superior people due to the accomplishments of their children. Unfortunately they forget to think about their children and what is really an ideal life for them. It is really better to be some superstar who is sad lonely and miserable? Maybe better for the parent's ego, but not a good life for kiddo.
One of the worst things you can do for a kid is put him in with a class of kids much older than he is because he's advanced academically. He's going to be so much younger than they are emotionally and socially that they are going to make his life unbearable.
My daughter started kindergarten at 5 not knowing how to read. Her teacher only taught her sight reading and the result was awful - rather than learn to read, my daughter would just GUESS the word based on the first letter or two.
Do you know how many words start with "th?" A lot. And she'd guess all of them until she got the right one.
That's not reading. She struggled tremendously (a struggle that sadly continued until she was in 4th or 5th grade because she HATED reading).
I decided to take matters into my own hands and teach my son to read phonetically before he started kindergarten. By the time he went to school, he was reading at a 2nd grade level. He was precariously close to the cut off age for starting kindergarten, but I decided to enroll him. He was one of the youngest kids in the class.
In later years I wished I had delayed his start by one more year. I'd rather he be the oldest in the class than the youngest, from a maturity standpoint. There's also the physical aspect - most of his friends in his grade (he's in middle school now) have long-since started puberty, but my son has not - so he is very small compared to his friends, and gets teased about it. If he was one grade lower, he'd be on par physically with those students.
Don't rush your grandchild to start school. The other commenters are right - it's not just academics, it's also maturity, physicality, socialiability.
My daughter started kindergarten at 5 not knowing how to read. Her teacher only taught her sight reading and the result was awful - rather than learn to read, my daughter would just GUESS the word based on the first letter or two.
Do you know how many words start with "th?" A lot. And she'd guess all of them until she got the right one.
That's not reading. She struggled tremendously (a struggle that sadly continued until she was in 4th or 5th grade because she HATED reading).
I decided to take matters into my own hands and teach my son to read phonetically before he started kindergarten. By the time he went to school, he was reading at a 2nd grade level. He was precariously close to the cut off age for starting kindergarten, but I decided to enroll him. He was one of the youngest kids in the class.
In later years I wished I had delayed his start by one more year. I'd rather he be the oldest in the class than the youngest, from a maturity standpoint. There's also the physical aspect - most of his friends in his grade (he's in middle school now) have long-since started puberty, but my son has not - so he is very small compared to his friends, and gets teased about it. If he was one grade lower, he'd be on par physically with those students.
Don't rush your grandchild to start school. The other commenters are right - it's not just academics, it's also maturity, physicality, socialiability.
Our twins had this issue. They were on the edge age wise (October 4). Notwithstanding the ball thing, we convinced the school to let them start at age 4. Actually I spent hours and hours with them until they could more or less catch the ball sometimes, or at least not wait to close their arms until the ball had already hit the ground. Academically they were fine. Socially, it was hard. They were tiny for their age anyway. I elementary school there was a girl who started late. She was big for her age. She used to tuck one of them under each arm and carry them around the playground. She thought it was funny and friendly, they were horribly embarrassed, but happy to have a friend. (That particular school was all about competition and kids were not very friendly). Later, in high school, almost all of their friend were from the class behind them (which was a better class anyway). They were in the top of their class, but it would have been better to be in the next class down. (Where they might not have been in the top ten or 20 because that class had smarter kids). Being a year back in their current life wold not have hurt them at all and they would likely have fewer social/depression issues because they would have fit in better.
Cool that he can read - I'd focus my time and energy into providing experiences and relationships that can give context to his reading as he ages. I would not be overly concerned about getting him in school at this point.
I started school a year before I was supposed to. Of course most of my friends were older than I was; I was the last in my class to get a drivers license, etc. Being the youngest in my class, I didn't excel in sports. I did okay but wasn't a standout. A year older me would have done much better.
Let children be children. They need to interact with others their age, not a couple years older. Keep teaching him, but it's more important to instill in him the desire to learn than to actually advance. It's also more important that he learn social skills than book learning. Take him to museums, ball parks, football stadiums, car shows, etc., etc. Keep it balanced.
Location: We_tside PNW (Columbia Gorge) / CO / SA TX / Thailand
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakealope
This lifestyle sounds great but is not realistic for most people. Most people cannot take off work for 4-6 weeks at a time for a field trip. Not to mention most people cannot afford those 4-6 week trips or leave a job to live overseas.
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Remember... we are talking to grandparents who very well may have the time and money.
In our case we lost a ton of potential income by homeschooling, traveling, and living and working overseas. And it actually was very cheap to do.
But...if we chose to think like 'most people' we would have handicapped our children, and held hostage our family time and experiences to an American Public School "tradition" (?) How sad.
OP seemed to have the perception to think differently, tho still mentioned "school" ( that is scary, when also considering the future of your kids / grandkids)
All will be different, but the USA public and even private school agenda is really "old school", There are now so many other options to consider. Very Practical options !
Every minute I spent away from my kids (work or other distractions) was GONE / while it was a huge commitment, I don't regret investing many years with them. I am of the mindset that one should 'retire' while your kids are home, and return to work later (if you must) We did businesses, farming, and built homes together as a family. Went on humanitarian mission assignments, and adopted the elderly and families with no parents to 'Read to kids'. Kinda 'different' I presume. We had lots of free time, cuz we didn't have a TV!
And please do not teach him that he is more advanced, smarter or better than the other kids.
That is probably the worst thing you could do to him.
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We did businesses, farming, and built homes together as a family. Went on humanitarian mission assignments, and adopted the elderly and families with no parents to 'Read to kids'. Kinda 'different' I presume. We had lots of free time, cuz we didn't have a TV!
