If you had a 6yo who seemed gifted in math, thought it was just the most fun...

[FiveOaksAcademy]

What would you do with him? This is the type of thing that makes me panic, a little. I see a gift and I'm scared I'll not nurture it like it should be nurtured. He just turned 6, is finishing up K.

 

I have just started to use Singapore with him. He likes it; I like it,

 

Here is an example of him and math: A few months ago, while he was still 5, I told him that some cookies I was baking would be done in 16 minutes. He said, "How many seconds is that?" Before I had even calculated it in my head...seriously, like 2 seconds passed...he said, "Is it 960 seconds?" I told him that it was and asked how in the world he knew. He told me that 10 minutes is 600 seconds so 5 minutes is 300 seconds, plus 60. That seemed advanced for his age.

 

That is the type of stuff he does regularly. He likes to talk about minutes, seconds, hours, miles, things like that. I hand-wrote a sheet of number bonds for him. He loved it. He comes back to me and asks for more, says how fun that is to him. This is the type of thing he'll ask for in his free time. It's a game to him. He wants to add, subtract, he automatically knows how to multiply some numbers without really knowing how he knows. I haven't taught him.

 

What ideas do you have for helping this type of child take off?? I feel stressed about it a little.

[LucyStoner]

My son is very good with math. We use Singapore but supplement with logic and puzzles and a book called Primary Challenge Math. Here are some of the logic books we have used: Primarily Logic and Connections

 

Don you have the Singapore Challenging Word Problem books? Those are great as well.

[boscopup]

Don't be scared! Just be prepared to be humbled. My son also calculates faster than me sometimes.

 

Singapore is a great start. Definitely do IP and CWP. Let your son go at his pace, and don't be afraid to explore topics that are typically taught later. For example, negative numbers are often easily understood at a young age by such a kid.

 

Hop on over to the Accelerated Learners forum and start reading. You're not alone in this boat. ;)

[Rivka]

I would use MEP (a free British curriculum which involves deep mathematical thinking, even at the earliest levels) until Beast Academy came out. I would supplement with Zaccarro's Primary Grade Challenge Math and lots of living books about math, such as Penrose the Mathematical Cat and The Cat in Numberland.

 

And I'd keep an eye out for potential math mentors, for the future.

[chepyl]

Let him set the pace, don't push him. I also don't let my son go too fast through new concepts. I don't drill facts, his brain does not work that way. He needs practical applications to practice. A drill sheet of practice problems takes an hour, pages of SM CWP take no time at all! Do the Text, workbook, IP, and CWP for his level. If I did not do that we would have finished 2a-3b this year! I really don't think my son should be doing algebra in 3rd grade (he is abyear ahead of where he would be in PS, so that would put him hitting algebra in what would be his second grade year.....) As it is, we will be there by 5th-6th grade....

 

My son love the challenging word problems. It is his favorite book!

 

We do have days where he will do 4-6 lessons, then a day it is a fight to get him to do one lesson. I don't push, I do take the book away when perfectionism hits. If he makes a mistake he gets upset, then he makes more mistakes as he get wound up....we move on to something new.

[....]

:glare: My 1st grader is also *accelerated* in math (obsessed is probably a better word). Right now, she's working on Singapore Math, Miquon, Life of Fred and a ton of living math books from the library. She also drags the dry erase board out and asks for math problems to solve on it.

 

She even saw Horizons at the homeschool store and became very angry, because I wouldn't let her use that, too. (Like we need 4 math programs)

 

Here's my tentative plan. :( We're going to work thru our line-up for a little longer and then, I'm going to switch her over to Beast Academy and Life of Fred. In 5th grade - if she's ready - I'm going to get AoPS Pre-Algebra for her and we will probably continue with LoF on the side.

 

Also, I've never had a kid with such a huge math-inclination before...NOW, I'm realizing what kind of audience works well with those Life of Fred books. She LOVES LoF.

[....]

Let him set the pace, don't push him. I also don't let my son go too fast through new concepts.

 

This is a huge problem with kids who grasp concepts very quickly, but will forget things without review. I've deliberately wasted (in her mind - LOL) my oldest daughter's entire year with review (a la Math Mammoth), because she flies through math programs so quickly. If I just let her go, she would be in calculus right now :tongue_smilie:, but forget how to divide fractions. You do have to be very careful of that with math - IMO. I've noticed this, too!

[NittanyJen]

I would do what you are doing, and maybe add Life of Fred. LoF gets them thinking in nonstandard ways, which is often how gifted kids process the world.

 

I find Singapore and LoF to be a great combo for my gifted kiddo.

[Researcher]

Don't be scared! Just be prepared to be humbled. My son also calculates faster than me sometimes.

 

Singapore is a great start. Definitely do IP and CWP. Let your son go at his pace, and don't be afraid to explore topics that are typically taught later. For example, negative numbers are often easily understood at a young age by such a kid.

 

Hop on over to the Accelerated Learners forum and start reading. You're not alone in this boat. ;)

 

:iagree:

 

Singapore has been great for us and we've also incorporated lots of games. There are so many great ones out there.

[boscopup]

I would do what you are doing, and maybe add Life of Fred. LoF gets them thinking in nonstandard ways, which is often how gifted kids process the world.

 

I find Singapore and LoF to be a great combo for my gifted kiddo.

 

We just got LoF Fractions yesterday, and I have to agree here... My son is loving it! He did 2 chapters fully yesterday, plus reading the 3rd chapter (didn't do the problems yet). Looking ahead, I think he'll do well with this book. And it helps slow him down a wee bit, though once we got to 4th grade level math, he had a natural slow-down anyway (still not normal pace, but not 3-4 years in a calendar year pace). There is a lot more material, and it was actually new material that he needed to practice (multi-digit multiplication was the first topic in MM that I had to have him do every single problem :tongue_smilie:). I do make sure we review things often, but that's not too hard. For example, as we're finishing up the 4A textbook/workbook in Singapore (halfway through Review 5 in the workbook right now), we have gone back to the multiplication section of the IP for 4A, and that is reviewing those topics he may have forgotten while in the depths of geometry. We'll continue working through the 4A IP while we move into 4B for decimals. And of course we do CWP now and then as well.

 

A lot of math builds on itself, so you don't have to practice everything day after day from grade 1 to where you are. For example, if the kid is working on multi-digit multiplication, they are also getting practice with addition with regrouping. Same goes for long division and subtraction with regrouping. You usually just need to continue to practice what you've learned in the grade level you're using, and that's often built into the program (Singapore has the cumulative reviews, for example). And then with Singapore, you can use the IP and CWP at different times from the TB/WB, and you're adding in even more review.

[Bloggermom]

I would get him started on memorizing all his math facts with Math Rider as well.

[chepyl]

Yes, get LofF! DS loves it. We also play Yahtzee, Monopoly, Life and any other game with money or adding/multiplying. I make him keep his own score. This give us some fact drill without looking like fact drill because that is too easy!

 

Strategy games are good, too. We like chess, Chinese checkers, and checkers.

[Kendall]

I heartily second the recommendation for MEP!! My daughter is 7 now, but at 4 and 5 I would find her up at bedtime doing math. I can, even, now get her distracted from a disappointment by offering to do math with her. I am doing Miquon and MEP. I like both. MEP has teacher plans, is free, and has very challenging problems. I did not want to press on fast;I wanted her to be solid and deep. MEP is going to do that. She will finish it early, but it is better math than just moving upward. She could be "farther along" if I had used a more traditional program, but I didn't want that. I don't know if I'm explaining that well. Sorry!

[Crimson Wife]

Edward Zaccaro's books are great as is Hands-on Equations with the Verbal Problems Book. Royal Fireworks Press has a very interest math puzzles book called Problemoids once the child is working at a mid-elementary level.

[ednkirstin]

I'm a huge Saxon fan personally. My dd5 is very gifted in math as well. When she had just turned 5, I was teaching her how to skip count. She'd already learned how to count by 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's and 10's. So she asked me one day (while waiting on DH at Home Depot) to teach her how to count by 11's. I told her it was a bit tricky to count by 11's. I said it was pretty easy up to 99 and then it gets harder. But I thought, what the heck, I'll humor her. So I explained the concept to her. She then proceeded to count to 616 by 11's, QUICKLY, until dh was ready to go! I was shocked! Anyway, she's almost done with Saxon 2 and I'll just move her on to Saxon 3. If she keeps up the pace, she'll probably be in Algebra by 6th or 7th grade. It's worked great for my older children as well. I've used Horizons, BJUP, and Rod and Staff and prefer Saxon hands down. BTW, with dd5, I just skimmed through the material until I found a good placement for her, then started her working in earnest. No sense boring her to death with stuff she already knows just to say she completed the workbook. :) However, I do agree with the above poster who stressed the need for practice. Just because they catch a concept quickly, doesn't mean they don't need to practice it to become proficient. DH and I are both good in math (we were both Navy Nukes) and love Saxon.

[SweetMissMagnolia]

:iagree: if he likes it and is doing so well keep going at it with him---give lots praise--my kiddo was like that-he's still good in math but has gotten lazy in general lately--anything resembling "work" is a bore to him LOL---

[nov05mama]

Yes, get LofF! DS loves it. We also play Yahtzee, Monopoly, Life and any other game with money or adding/multiplying. I make him keep his own score. This give us some fact drill without looking like fact drill because that is too easy!

 

Strategy games are good, too. We like chess, Chinese checkers, and checkers.

 

:iagree: All my DS's favorites, in addition to the curriculums mentioned...he LOVES Fred! Also, there are some great math story books out there...one that my son just read yesterday was "Can You Count to a Googol" and LOVED it! He ate it up :P

[Elizabeth in MN]

I say do what he likes for now and feed him what he wants. There may come a time when math is hard for him and you have to take it slower. That's what happened with my dd.

[happy-hs]

My 8yo is math oriented. He understands it innately and enjoys it as well. When he was little, I just let him set the pace. He progressed quickly. Over the last few years, I've realized that I need to give him more, while also balancing that with his actual age level.

 

I agree with the book suggestions from other moms. LoF and Ed Zaccaro's books are huge hits with my son. I haven't used AoPS with him yet, but he'll be starting it in a few months.

 

In addition to actual math books, I've found that my son's love for math translates into a love for other subjects as well. He is an excelling in piano lessons and I believe it's because the notes and timing make sense to him like a math problem. He also is taking a jr high computer programming course and loving it. So in addition to fun, engaging, challenging math books, I'd also look for other subjects that math translates easily into.

[ChandlerMom]

My dd LOVES Zaccaro's books but HATES LoF with a fiery passion. :lol: [ETA: your dc might adore LoF, but just saying it's not for everyone. I think it works best for kids who like outrageous silly stories -- NOT my dd.]

 

I'd focus on the play side of math (Elementary challenge math is good for this) and less on "curric" (going too fast in Singapore), esp until he has all his math facts down solidly. Math is so lucy more than arithmetic!

 

ETA: IMO the diff between a 2/3 grade math and 5/6 is mainly just how many digits are included (and unlike denominators). In other words, the concepts don't change, just the computational difficulty. This can be tortuous for kids who inhale concepts, because it can seem so repetitive (and downright redundant, since to them the higher level stuff is obvious given the lower level stuff). That's why supplementing with problem solving challenges or things requiring deeper thought can help them nurture the need to learn new concepts when the curric usually has few to offer. ;)

Edited February 23, 2012 by ChandlerMom

[mathwonk]

Here is a geometry book written by a world famous geometer for his son's 8th grade class. the used copies are under $5.

 

Some sections use a little trig.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0387975640/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_2_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1339095037&sr=1-2-fkmr2&condition=used

 

 

my "epsilon camp notes" , were taught to 8-10 year olds as a guide to reading Euclid. at least they are free. no trig is used, indeed the geometry is used to motivate both algebra and trig (as was the case historically).

 

http://www.math.uga.edu/~roy/camp2011/10.pdf

[MissKNG]

My very math-oriented kiddo enjoys stuff like Singapore Primary Math, Challenging Word Problems, the "puzzle" questions in MEP, Beast Academy, Penrose the Mathematical Cat, living math books (we went through the Sir Cumference series a while back, looking into Murderous Maths now), c-rod play, watching Cyber Chase (PBS show), "Keys To" books amd probably a few other things I forgot about. She practices math facts using JumpStart CDROMs and she likes to make up her own worksheets!

Edited June 7, 2012 by MissKNG

[Kendall]

The first book is described on amazon as a book for geometry teachers in training. Is the link to the correct book? Have you used it?

[SonshineLearner]

I bought lots of books like Cindy Neuschwander's books and Greg Tang's. He doesn't love doing "book work" but he's good at math :0 He's almost 9 now and he's evening out ability wise, but I think he'll probably make another "jump" soon :) I really like the way that Singapore teaches mental math. Have Fun! :)