Is this normal for a K'er??

[hmschooling]

My oldest is 8 and is a creative-mind, reads all the time, and loves creative writing. She learned to read without me and somehow reads by phonics....a natural reader. She's very bright and does well in math, but it's not her strength.

 

My next child is 6 and he's in K. I've not really done much school with him this year. Very informally and not very consistent b/c of my pregnancy issues and now dealing with a newborn and very over active toddler.DS6 has only done up to about page 30 in Singapore EarlyBird 2A.

 

I'm wondering if he is a very naturally mathy child b/c of some of the things he says. Perhaps he's not and it's just that DD is very much not mathy so I don't have a good comparison. LOL

 

Anyway, when he was almost 5 he could do real life multi step "word problems" just out of the blue and on his own. Like, I'm this old, and sister is this old, so little brother will be this old when I'm the same age as sister.

Then yesterday, he was spouting off math facts! 2+2 is 4, 5+5 is 10, 3+3 is 6. "Is that right, Mom?" In awe, I tell him it is and ask him what 4+4 is. So, he replies, "Well, 5+5 is 10, so take away two and 4+4 is 8!" I'm just wondering who has been teaching my child behind my back?! :tongue_smilie: Is it just me, or does it sound like he is a rather mathy child? (considering I have not taught him these things and he doesn't sit in on math lessons with DD b/c he plays with DS3 during that time.) Or is this about normal for this age and DD just didn't have these skills at that age?

:bigear:

 

[Jean in Newcastle]

My kids were able to do those kinds of problems at that age. I suppose that you could say that they are both mathy.

[mlktwins]

One of my sons can do that now at 4.5 -- he loves math. His twin cannot.

 

Mendy

[SproutMamaK]

My son is 5 and quite mathy. He'll do things like that. To be fair, he's in SK at a private school right now and is the most advanced in his class math-wise, so I'd say that it's definitely a good thing.

[BikeBookBread]

Not mine in the least. We've encouraged mathiness in our home, but it has yet to take. I try to bring up math into day-to-day activities as well, and I get blank looks.

 

DD6 is very creative and right-brained.

 

DD4 is more engineering-minded, and knows her numbers a lot better than DD6 ever did at that age. Perhaps she'll be my math girl.

[FO4UR]

My ds was doing that in Kindy. Still, at 7yo his mental math ability is 10x what he can do on paper.

[Lovedtodeath]

My DD used to do that back when she was 4. Now she has not moved forward. :confused:

[Mommee & Baba]

In our home math isn't the funnest subject but for some ODD reason both my girls are an ENTIRE grade level ahead. It's amazing! But then again I make sure we use ALL the hands on things along with fun counters and what not for their math.

[MissKNG]

Check out what the PBS Development Tracker says about 6 year old math skills:

 

http://www.pbs.org/parents/childdevelopmenttracker/six/mathematics.html

[Sharon H in IL]

Sounds very 'mathy' to me! Intuitive grasp of the concepts. Good going, kid!

 

Some children can make inuitive leaps like that, bless their hearts. :001_smile:

[Tree House Academy]

My 6 year old can do doubles all day long. Now, give him 7-3 and he hits a wall. Sounds like your ds is "mathy." My older son has always picked up math quickly and easily...the younger is better in phonics/english.

[myfatherslily]

My DD will be 6 next month and she can't do that kind of math:)

[hmschooling]

I thought I should be extra proud of him ;)