Yes, my kids act like that when they're either bored or have too much enerergy. I make them run circles around the living room a few times, give them a drink and/or snack, and then up the intensity on their school work when they return to sit down.

My kids aren't prodigies in the sense that those in the article are (especially since their strengths... especially the older... lie in language rather than math or music), but I understand a lot of what was said, and mine have been called prodigies by others. My older is 2e, being both PG with 3 disabilites, but still, he'll spend hours memorizing encyclopedias or practicing geography locations. He was reading before age 2 and spending 4-5 hours per day on "school work" when he was 3. I didn't push him to do that. It's what he wanted to do. Yes, it's very lonely. When other preschool parents would ask how I taught him to (whatever he was doing at the time), I didn't know how to respond. I didn't teach him. When my second child came along, we skipped the preschool playdates altogether. He was having more fun learning Latin and multiplication from his big brother. Yes, it's lonely, but in this age of technology, I've been able to find kids and parents who can relate. It's not so lonely online anymore. I've been able to find kids who are smarter than my kids and parents who have more experience than I do. 10 or 20 or 50 years ago, that wasn't possible.

The Vocabulary Cartoons book series is great.

We started doing a novel per week *for school* in 3rd/4th grade (some would take 2 weeks, but most were just one week). I didn't require any type of writing or reports or anything like that, but dh would award a bonus hour of xbox time for a written/typed synopsis of the book, simply because he didn't believe a kid that young was capable of retaining information from something thicker than a picture book. (Dh knows nothing about kids or education, and has little to no patience. :tongue_smilie:) I awarded xbox time for additional reading, outside the novel for school, so it usually ended up being about 1.5 to 2 books per week rather than just the one for school. There are a lot of classics that are child-appropriate, and there are a lot of re-writes of classics that make them more child-appropriate if the originals are not. There are sites with lists and lists of classics by age/grade. We usually choose books that are a level or two higher than average, especially with my older who has been very "mature" his whole life, it seems. The younger is socially/emotionally/morally age appropriate. It's a little harder to choose books for him, as he's also a great reader.

Both of my kids went through that stage at 3-4 y/o. It's just a phase. I freaked out when the first kid did it, thinking I was a terrible teacher or he was an idiot, but with the second one, I just left him alone to do his own thing. He prefered learning on his own. I unschool until a child is reading very well (3-4 grade level), and then hit the books pretty hard. Kids need to explore when they're little (heck, adults still need to explore sometimes!). I came to realize that my kids knew a LOT more than I thought they did... they were just excited and overwhelmed with all the new information and didn't want me giving them more and/or babying them with stuff they already knew (but didn't tell me they knew). They would zone out or purposely miss answers to questions just so I'd leave them alone, but when I would sneak up on them, both would be demonstrating a high level of knowledge/thinking when they thought no one was looking.

Neither. I scale back the work, but don't toss it completely or push through.

Sounds gifted to me! :D

For that age, I really like Latin for Children, which comes after SSL. As long as he has a basic grasp of English grammar already, he'll be able to jump right into it. There is a pretty big leap between books 2 and 3, but books 1 and 2 are easy.

Yes. This. I'd talk to the teacher if this sort of thing is a habit and/or it affects a child's overall grade for the class (wonder how many other kids would've missed it). If it's isolated and doesn't really matter to the end grade, I would probably pick a different battle.

We got an email saying they received everything except the letter of rec, but that was faxed later the same day (she got a fax confirmation, so I'm pretty sure it went through). I'll just give them a call and find out what's going on. Thanks!

Ok. I'll wait another week or so. It's only the 16th now. Thanks!

How long does it take to get a response to a DYS application? We submitted ours in August but haven't heard anything yet. :001_huh:

Have you gone to a craft store and just walked up and down every aisle (especially the clearance aisle)? I sometimes find great stuff that way - things I wouldn't have thought about otherwise.

People have been gifted since the dawn of time without a test to tell them so. Personally... I just like knowing. ;) I'm curious that way.

My kids flew through ETC at that age. We just didn't do the writing. If an answer needed to be circled or X'd, they could scribble that part down, but otherwise, we hopped and skipped through all the whole-numbered books, doing only about 1/4 of each lesson if necessary. Those books have a ton of unnecessary repetition for fast learners. I knew if they could do the review and the post tests, there wasn't much point in doing the lessons. We skipped huge chunks at the beginning and slowed down on the last couple of books. From there, we never did phonics instruction again. I started working on tricky spelling words with them (non-phonetic or multiple pre/suffixes, for example) when they were 4. I LOVE ETC, but that doesn't mean we plodded along through every single page.

There are some wonderful illustrated books out there by publishers like Usborne (non-fiction) or Barefoot (fiction) that extend into the middle school levels. My kids don't like books without pictures - and heck, neither do I!! Even in college, I hated textbooks that were too wordy. I'm a visual person, and focus much better when there is more to a page than black & white. It doesn't matter the price difference: if I walk into a used bookstore and find two copies of the same book, I'll always buy the one with illustrations.

Take a look at Singapore. You might like that better. What is it that you don't like about Horizons? Is it just too easy? (It's one of the more advanced publishers out there.) Maybe you should just skip through doing only the reviews to see what level would be more appropriate to start.

I wouldn't even mention the difference to him. Just encourage him to read whatever he likes so that he'll continue to love reading! :) It's wonderful when kids learn from an early age how fun and important reading is/will be to their lives! Both of my kids raced through phonics on their own at 2-3 years old and were reading at adult level by 4-5. That doesn't mean they chose adult content, though. They mostly read classic fiction, which isn't at all like anything their friends were reading (whatever the popular series was at the school book fairs ... I don't keep up with most of the junk out there). When friends were reading introductory chapter books, mine were reading Journey to the Center of the Earth or Tom Sawyer. With my older, I made a list of books he was reading when he started chapter books on his own around age 4 (don't have a list for the younger) ... Phantom Tollbooth, anything by Kate DiCamillo (except Tiger Rising... too dark!), and the My Father's Dragon trilogy were his favorites during that year. When he was 6, he inherited a bunch of "choose your own adventure" type novels from the 70's and 80's. He enjoyed those just for fun. In my family, having a 6 year old who reads HP-level literature is normal. I started assigning a book or two per week as part of our actual school work at age 6. Depending on the length of the book... about 20-25 chapters per week was normal, with probably double that for entertainment reading outside of assigned reading. Normal is whatever "normal" means to you. I've learned that it doesn't matter whether my kids are ahead or behind their peers in whatever the skill/topic/subject, they'll still feel poorly about themselves if I tell them they're ahead/behind. Especially at 6, when I'd point out how far ahead one was in something, they'd feel bad that their friends couldn't do ____, and then feel very self-conscious, not wanting their friends to find out. If I pointed out that someone else was better at ____, my kids would feel like they were different/stupid, and that the sky would fall on them at any moment. An unsolicited word of advice, which really helped my kids a ton ... when your son realizes he's different (if he hasn't already), help him to realize that EVERYONE is different. Everyone has something they do great and something they do poorly. If you're religious, point out that God gives each of us certain gifts, because we can't all be an ear or a hand... the body needs all parts. Point out the things that YOU do well or poorly, so he can see that you're neither perfect nor an idiot, either. Sorry... didn't mean to write a novel. :blush: Edit - speaking of library... I took my older to the library one time when he was about 5 looking for "Inkheart", because I thought he'd really enjoy it. I'd seen the movie, but hadn't read the book, and figured it couldn't be all that much different, right?? I couldn't find it, so I asked a librarian. It was in the young adult section along-side a lot of things I wouldn't dare let him read. By then, I was already embarrassed, so we didn't check it out. We left. He still hasn't read it, and I still haven't told him I was looking for what I would've considered a children's book in the young adult section. My view of normal was completely skewed up to that point. From then on, I googled books before going to the library, or else I just browsed the juvenile section for whatever looked challenging enough without embarrassing anyone. I have a much thicker skin now. LOL!! :lol:

Both of my kids have OEs, but they haven't caused behavior problems. One is naturally overactive and likes to be the center of attention. Because of that, he's sometimes a brat, and I'll call him on it. I know he sometimes gets bored and acts out, but being bored isn't a reason to act out, so I respond as if he's being bratty. He needs to learn that sometimes EVERYONE has to sit through something boring in the presence of other people who aren't bored, whether it's academic, religious, patriotic, a subject of interest, or whatever. My other child has disabilities (usually two, but sometimes also a third) that occasionally exhibit themselves as innappropriate behavior. He doesn't know that, though, so I (without embarrassing him) either whisper what he's doing wrong or remove him from the situation until it arises again next time, and he's more prepared to act appropriately. Both are perfectionists, but this child is so to the extreme. Even correcting him privately is a huge source of anxiety for him. What do I tell others? Usually nothing to their faces, but mountains worth by my actions toward my kids. Also, because both kids are much larger and more mature than their age peers, they're usually assumed to be 2 years older than they are. I can usually say aloud, "I have to remind myself that he's only ___ years old". People get one of those "OH! Okay...!" looks on their face and leave me alone.

I have a list of things that HAVE to be done. After those are done, they can spend as much time as they want on a single subject (which, for the moment, seems to be world geography).

I suspected with my oldest at 3 months, and my youngest right away. (Both have since been tested and are PG. Older is 2E with giftedness and two disabilities.) Read, read, read! Engage, even as a baby, by pointing to pictures while you read, changing your tone of voice and facial expressions, and asking questions. Always ask questions. Ask more than you tell! Don't pour information into that little brain... let that little brain soak up information from the environment and problem solve itself into a genius. A child who craves knowledge and knows how to seek it out will be much happier than one who is shown flash cards until they drop. Don't baby-talk. Use full sentences and normal vocabulary, even when talking to a baby. (Sure, you can call your child "pookie" or whatever, but don't say "does pookie want a na-na?" Say, "Hi, Pookie... are you hungry? Do you want a banana? Mmm! I love yellow bananas!) Don't spend all your time and money on flashy toys with songs and batteries and stuff. Simple toys like cardboard boxes, pillows, stuffed animals, wooden blocks, etc. are great. (Obviously you have to be more careful with little ones putting things in their mouths, but even when the baby reaches 2-3 years old, don't plop the kid down in front of an ipad and walk away.) Mostly, just sit back, watch, and enjoy. Kids are a blessing, and they grow up WAY too fast... especially the gifted ones.

Yes... just take him to the park, enroll him in karate, or whatever is necessary. Sometimes, I have my kids run laps around the house if they can't focus on school work. :lol: ... actually, I remember my mom making me do the same thing when I was a kid!

I love LoF. If she gets it, she gets it. Why spend problem after problem in another curriculum practicing something you know how to do? If she likes Fred, let her continue with it. Don't kill the desire for math unless you see that she's honest-to-goodness missing something of major importance. LoF is complete for kids who "get" math. R&S English is great, but again... stop with the drill & kill. There is no reason to do all the questions in the book. Just have her read the lessons and then do the worksheets & tests. If she's getting A's & B's, she knows the material. With R&S, 5th-6th is where they really start to beef up the curriculum. There are some good writing challenges in the book, but for the plain old grammar stuff, use the worksheets and save her hours of writing all the stuff from the book by hand. Can't really comment on sci/hist. I'm not sure what you're using. Sounds like she needs a lot of things she can see and touch, though - no matter what the subject.

I can't wait to learn Greek with my kids, because I want to read the NT in Greek! I know only a handful of words right now, but I definitely understand the reference to b&w vs. color TV!

I'd also suggest starting with Latin. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the Latin for Children series by Classical Academic Press. There is also a Greek for Children series, but only the first book has been released so far. Two more are coming in the next few years. For a 7 year old who is a natural at LA, I wouldn't start with Song School Latin. Just go straight into Latin for Children. SSL is a very gentle intro to Latin, which is great if you have younger siblings (ages 4-6, perhaps) wanting to "do school" with older ones, but otherwise, it sort of a waste of time for a 7-8 year old. Latin for Children starts at appx a 3rd grade level. It assumes you already know the basics like nouns and verbs, and assumes you already know how to read and write fairly well. It does a great job of reviewing the basics, though, so if you haven't covered English grammar yet, don't worry about it.