quark Posted November 14, 2015 Author Share Posted November 14, 2015 :lol: I saw this thread on the home page feed and thought, "wow, interesting thread, let's have a read since we have some time this evening" and did a double take to realize I am the OP! :lol: My memory is worse than I thought it was. Almost 4 years ago, wow. I had so many questions when he was that age (about 9.25yo). I had so many questions for so long. So many doubts. Was always pained when a parent posted here saying "my kid is not as advanced as some kids here, but...". Always felt pain that they had to qualify their questions like I myself did. It gets better. Your confidence grows. You become bold and realize that sometimes the only way to figure it out is to take risks. And then you start taking risks all the time because hey, they work out so much better for your out-of-the-norm learner than you thought they would. Hang in there everyone! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runningmom80 Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 Great thread, I missed it the first time around. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted December 2, 2015 Share Posted December 2, 2015 I always thought that precocious meant a child who does something, in whatever field, noticeably younger than one would expect. Which is really not the same thing as being gifted, as it would include the kids who simply work out a particular skill early, and those who 'level out' as they age. I think it was 8 Fills the Heart who I remember posted once that her earliest, 'precocious' talker did not turn out to be particularly gifted. I guess by that definition the easiest way to know if a kid is precocious is if others frequently see them do something and then turn and ask, "How old is ______ again?" I have one who is precocious in physical skills and one who seems to be precociously verbal; whether they will turn out to be unusual in those areas when they are older, only time will tell. This weekend,when DD was talking to the aquatic ecologist on the train about her research, and suggesting possible ramifications for the ecologist's invasive species work, the ecologist paused and asked "how old are you?" DD replied "Oh, I'm small for my age. I'm really 11!". Yep..Precocious is probably a good word for her. Hopefully not the "annoyingly precocious" type too often... 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewelma Posted December 3, 2015 Share Posted December 3, 2015 (edited) I think precocious requires observation, and thus visible output. I personally think that this is more difficult to see in math than music, for example. At age 6, my ds basically invented algebra. We had never done a formal math program (I was unschooling at the time), and we were at the stage of playing shop. He could add and subtract, understood multiplication, etc. He seemed bright, but in no way special. And then one day when we were talking about math, he asked what algebra was. So I gave him a problem that he could not just reason in his head, something like: 11x-10=8x+17. And he just looked at me and said 9. I was like what?! How did you do that? And he said, well you subtract the 8x from the 11 x, and add the 10 to the 17, then you divide by 3. Never had I showed him that or anything with variables or algebraic techniques. We were doing 2nd grade math by playing shop. Clearly, I could have started him on algebra right then at age 6, and with a program, some teaching, and some practice, he could have been precocious with easily seen algorithmic math ability. But the mathematical *insight* that he has that is so special was hidden from most people, and would continue to be so until he was about 12. It was all going on in his head. Ruth in NZ Edited December 3, 2015 by lewelma 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike in SA Posted December 4, 2015 Share Posted December 4, 2015 But the mathematical *insight* that he has that is so special was hidden from most people, and would continue to be so until he was about 12. It was all going on in his head. Yep. It was similar for happy-go-lucky DS9. Clearly bright, but the surprise came when we showed older brother the Math Camp qualifying quiz from a prior year (don't remember which one, but there were frogs involved). While he was pondering, DS9 solved the problems in his head. All of them. My wife and I struggled with a few, and we both have experience teaching the subject at the college level. That's when I finally accepted that it wasn't quite "normal." He still doesn't have the formal language for the subject - he made up his own - but the natural ability is unmistakable. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bristayl Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 (edited) Enjoyed reading this thread, since I didn't see it three years ago. I'm wondering how much of a correlation there is between developmental milestones and precocity or giftedness. My dd hit many of her baby milestones well before any of the baby books said it should be possible. Edited December 5, 2015 by bctnln1059 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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