Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My grandson can read fluently (K level), and will not be 4 until next month. I've been working with him all summer, and he's been doing My Baby Can Read since a toddler. He can spell also. Worlds like "mountain", and his first and last names. Problem is, he misses the cutoff of Kindergarten for his school by six weeks and can not enter Kindergarten until he is almost six. That is in TWO years. By that time (with the way I am working with him) he'll probably be at second grade level. He can recite the alphabet FORWARD and BACKWARD.
What do you think we should do? His dad knows the school superintendent. Testing to get him in Kindergarten early is my opt, but they probably cannot do it. Or wait a year and skip Kindergarten to get into first grade? There is a local Montessori, but it is beyond their means financially. Daughter wants to home school him to keep him from "dumbing down", but I think he needs a classroom setting with other kids.
I spend a lot of time with him, and he does seem to enjoy learning (we make it fun). He LOVES reading, numbers, and letters, and spelling. He plays UNO. At three!!!
Should I cut back on my teaching and let him watch TV? Am I making him go too far too fast? His Mom read at age 4, and I took her to the library, but I didn't seem to push her.
I have a similarly bright child. I stopped working with her so that she wouldn't be over pressured and could enjoy a normal childhood. My child is quite hyper and can't sit still. She'll be bored in school, and will potentially become a discipline problem or annoy people with her massive fidgeting if too bored. For these reasons I've decided to let her play and use her imagination and stop focusing on reading. She's 4, and is also good at math, very good at math. We live in a state that won't allow her to start kindergarten until next September and there is no way to test her to attend early.
I don't want her to be overly pressured, and I want her to enjoy her childhood.
You should continue encouraging the child to read and progress in their studies. The only issue is the likelihood of him being a little bored in class. This shouldn't pose much of a problem as long as he's not overtly disruptive.
I was reading at age 3 and able to do arithmetic and fractions before kindergarten. Mathematically, I'd say I'm a little above average but my head start definitely leveled out by high school. This was probably more a function of my lackluster approach to studying math....something that I didn't really rectify until taking college level calculus, statistics and linear algebra. The reading advantage stayed with me and it manifested itself in many ways. Writing papers, public speaking, communication in general always came much easier to me than my peers.
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.
So true. We humans are all so different. Social intelligence is at least as important as IQ. All my children are very different from each other, and yet they are all successful adults. The best thing that parents can do is love them, feed and shelter them, and get out of their way.
I was reading at age 3 and able to do arithmetic and fractions before kindergarten. Mathematically, I'd say I'm a little above average but my head start definitely leveled out by high school. This was probably more a function of my lackluster approach to studying math....something that I didn't really rectify until taking college level calculus, statistics and linear algebra. The reading advantage stayed with me and it manifested itself in many ways. Writing papers, public speaking, communication in general always came much easier to me than my peers.
This was my experience as well. I could read fluently at 3 (my mom was a teacher) and I actually started school a year earlier. Still I was bored to death for the first 3 years or so. I never thought of myself as being a year younger than my classmates and the teachers never cut me any slack. But I'm just a lazy person by nature, so never made a lot of effort and just breezed through the school program. I did not grow up a genius or something but also am more successful in writing and speaking, even in English (not my native language).
I did, however, have a normal childhood and just running around, playing and reading was just as beneficial to my development IMHO as any structured education. Simple, everyday life experiences are just as important.
My grandson can read fluently (K level), and will not be 4 until next month. I've been working with him all summer, and he's been doing My Baby Can Read since a toddler. He can spell also. Worlds like "mountain", and his first and last names. Problem is, he misses the cutoff of Kindergarten for his school by six weeks and can not enter Kindergarten until he is almost six. That is in TWO years. By that time (with the way I am working with him) he'll probably be at second grade level. He can recite the alphabet FORWARD and BACKWARD.
What do you think we should do? His dad knows the school superintendent. Testing to get him in Kindergarten early is my opt, but they probably cannot do it. Or wait a year and skip Kindergarten to get into first grade? There is a local Montessori, but it is beyond their means financially. Daughter wants to home school him to keep him from "dumbing down", but I think he needs a classroom setting with other kids.
I spend a lot of time with him, and he does seem to enjoy learning (we make it fun). He LOVES reading, numbers, and letters, and spelling. He plays UNO. At three!!!
Should I cut back on my teaching and let him watch TV? Am I making him go too far too fast? His Mom read at age 4, and I took her to the library, but I didn't seem to push her.
I read at 3. The best thing you can go is feed his love. Do not bring in the apparati of the educational establishment until he is ready for that socially. Develop that curiosity and enjoyment.
Just because a child can read doesn't mean he understands what he is reading. He may be reading things that are completely inappropriate.
You could give him a physics textbook and he could read it aloud to you, but not understand one iota of what it meant.
For a child that young, play, play, play. Kids learn by playing, exploring, experiencing. Kids are sensory learners.
I never say this EVER, but in this case: Get him away from the books.
AND PLAY WITH HIM. That is how he needs to learn. Not sitting still and reading. He has a lifetime to sit still and read. There are a few finite years where nature holds wonder for children.
Get him outside in nature and PLAY.
Totally disagree. Neither has to be done to the exclusion of the other. It will be a cold day in hell before I tell my kid he may not read his beloved books. It'll also be a cold day in hell when I prevent him from going outside.
One does not preclude the other.
It doesn't follow that kids who read enthusiastically don't have play skills, just as kids can enjoy imaginative play AND reading. Reading actually provides great fodder for play.
Oh, he does. They live out in the country and I have a heck of a time keeping him out of the woods on their property. I'm his primary caregiver during the summer (I have a seasonal school job and was off all summer, but still spend weekends at their place). We spent the whole summer together. We grew a garden and he spent a lot of time picking berries, looking for creepy crawlies under rocks, swimming, and playing nerf baseball. No close neighbors with kids, which is a shame. Periodically, I jog around the area and keep a close lookout for a house with a new swing set out back. I think he should go to school, because he needs the socialization with kids his age.
Now that I'm back at work, during the week, my daughter takes him to her business where he interacts with adults all day. He helps her unpack shipments, and knows exactly where to put the stuff on the shelves. He regularly gets to play with and interact with customers' kids, but that's only 15 to 20 minutes at a time. I think a school setting would be good for him.
Thank you, everyone, for your kind input. I'll just keep teaching him, make it fun, and we'll see what happens.
BTW, his mother was reading the John Jakes' Kent Family Chronicles at 11 (with my permission) and anything Stephen King (without my permission) at the same age! Until she read IT, that is. Today, she hates Stephen King.
Hah, I read Stephen King very early. Carrie at age 10. I never asked permission to read a given book. Censoring my reading just wasn't something my parents, both educators, would have been interested in doing.
Just because a child can read doesn't mean he understands what he is reading. He may be reading things that are completely inappropriate.
You could give him a physics textbook and he could read it aloud to you, but not understand one iota of what it meant.
For a child that young, play, play, play. Kids learn by playing, exploring, experiencing. Kids are sensory learners.
I never say this EVER, but in this case: Get him away from the books.
AND PLAY WITH HIM. That is how he needs to learn. Not sitting still and reading. He has a lifetime to sit still and read. There are a few finite years where nature holds wonder for children.
Get him outside in nature and PLAY.
I wondered why people thing that is a good thing that children are reading at 3. Children at that age are still learning other things that are the basis for a healthy development. If they start using their brain from so early, wouldn't that affect them later in life? My guess is yes, but I have nothing to back that up.
I wondered why people thing that is a good thing that children are reading at 3. Children at that age are still learning other things that are the basis for a healthy development. If they start using their brain from so early, wouldn't that affect them later in life? My guess is yes, but I have nothing to back that up.
Personally, it is what it is. kids crawl , walk, get potty trained, speak, and read at their wonderfully mysterious pace.
You can do a bit here and there as a parent, but not much at those young ages.
But most parents suffer from the illusion that they can control things. I was probably as guilty. But after three kids, I was humbled.
I tutored my younger sibling before he started preschool. I taught him colors, counting, and basic reading and spelling (preschool starts around age 4 here). I wanted him to have a head start because I really struggled with school in the beginning (reading especially), and I did not want him to go through the same alienation and discomfort/embarrassment I often felt. ( I later found out I was dyslexic). But I think my sibling was naturally intelligent anyway (that's why he picked it up so fast), and I always made sure it was fun (and never felt like "work") for him.
Not all teachers are willing (or able) to provide students with the individual one-on-one help and attention they may need, so I think it's in any child's best interest to help give them a "headstart" in any way you can. We would practice/play games for about 20 mins a day and I think it made him a lot more comfortable with the transition to preschool, as well as feeling confident about himself overall.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
