Southern Ivy Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 My nephew will turn 4 in February. I have always thought that he's incredibly bright; I honestly wouldn't be surprised if he tests gifted later on in his academic career. Today, when he had some testing for SPD to see about possible therapy, the therapists said he was testing well above his age and were very surprised at how bright he is. The therapists were saying that it would be beneficial to move him up to the 4 year old class, but the private school does not allow that right now. (Something to do with accreditation.) They also suggested moving him to a new preschool with more centers, but a new preschool is not an option financially right now. That being said, the 3 year old class he is in is not challenging enough for him academically. He is incredibly social and does very well with the other students (he gets out at 11:00 and they usually stay until 1:00, so he can play on the playground with the bigger kids); so pulling him out to homeschool is going to frustrate him on the social front and since my sister is expecting a baby in February, it's better for all parties if he is in preschool at least a bit of time. Ok...all of that to ask - He loves learning and is so quick to absorb information at a crazy rate. The preschool activities that are all over Pinterest, though, are absolute fails with him. Mainly because he gets too rough with them and destroys them. lol He's our "Happy Hulk". Any suggestions for enrichment center-type activities that give him what he needs, but still lets him play? ETA: and I know that that testing is not the same as IQ testing and stuff, but they were having to pull out tests for older kids so they could accurately see what he could do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mathwonk Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 read to him? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 She reads to him quite a bit. I'm talking more math type centers, number centers, etc. Just wondering what other parents did when their preschoolers were wanting to learn and were obviously beyond ABC, 123. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Syllieann Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 Right start math level a is appropriate for a preschooler if the implementation isn't rigid. There is very little writing, and what is there for writing can easily be adapted. My middle child did well with it at an oldish 3. A less structured option is Miquon orange book. You could also check out mep reception but he might already be past it. If he knows all the primary letter sounds and can blend something simple like "Sam" he could start all about reading level 1. Like right start, it's hands on. AAR has no writing. Both my olders did very well with it at an oldish 3. I would guess them gifted, but not super-crazy gifted, just run-of-the-mill gifted. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 Thanks, I'll suggest those to her. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomatHWTK Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 We used Morestarfall.com and SplashMath.com Legos, magnets in various shapes, all kinds of building blocks were a hit with my little guy as well. Right now he enjoys chemistry videos (part of his brother's schoolwork). I'd also look at board games that are a step or two above pre-school level, especially the puzzle and logic based ones. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternallytired Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 You mention "centers"--are you looking for things he can do independently (the primary goal of centers, since a teacher can't be everywhere) or merely hands-on learning activities? For relaxed math learning, MEP Reception (a snuggly, playful program available for free download--lots of talking about pictures, doing simple tracing, and playing occasional cut-out games) and RightStart A (lots of different manipulatives for various games, some songs and rhymes for number learning and writing) are options for that age. They require one-on-one involvement, though, and I'd recommend keeping it laid-back and informal unless he's really seeking more structure. For literacy, my kids did Learning Journey 3- and 4-piece word puzzles (they have number puzzles and other types, too), watched Leap Frog Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory, played with letter magnets and wooden letter blocks, practiced writing (even if it was just random lines they said had meaning), looked at books, went to library story time... Some good online options are MathSeeds and Reading Eggs (my kids loved the former and hated the latter--but lots of kids love Reading Eggs, and you can do the trial of both to see if he enjoys them), Starfall.com's subscription, and a variety of apps on all sorts of topics. Games like Mancala, checkers, Guess Who?, Uno, and myriad others can develop both sportsmanship skills (being a good winner/loser) and strategy/critical thinking. MagnaTiles, train tracks, Legos/Duplos are great for spatial planning. PlayDoh helps develop hand muscles needed for writing. Also consider other fine motor development (learning to button, zip, snap) as well as gross-motor skills like throwing, catching, hopping, skipping, riding a bike. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 You mention "centers"--are you looking for things he can do independently (the primary goal of centers, since a teacher can't be everywhere) or merely hands-on learning activities? For relaxed math learning, MEP Reception (a snuggly, playful program available for free download--lots of talking about pictures, doing simple tracing, and playing occasional cut-out games) and RightStart A (lots of different manipulatives for various games, some songs and rhymes for number learning and writing) are options for that age. They require one-on-one involvement, though, and I'd recommend keeping it laid-back and informal unless he's really seeking more structure. For literacy, my kids did Learning Journey 3- and 4-piece word puzzles (they have number puzzles and other types, too), watched Leap Frog Letter Factory and Talking Words Factory, played with letter magnets and wooden letter blocks, practiced writing (even if it was just random lines they said had meaning), looked at books, went to library story time... Some good online options are MathSeeds and Reading Eggs (my kids loved the former and hated the latter--but lots of kids love Reading Eggs, and you can do the trial of both to see if he enjoys them), Starfall.com's subscription, and a variety of apps on all sorts of topics. Games like Mancala, checkers, Guess Who?, Uno, and myriad others can develop both sportsmanship skills (being a good winner/loser) and strategy/critical thinking. MagnaTiles, train tracks, Legos/Duplos are great for spatial planning. PlayDoh helps develop hand muscles needed for writing. Also consider other fine motor development (learning to button, zip, snap) as well as gross-motor skills like throwing, catching, hopping, skipping, riding a bike. She mentioned centers because the therapists suggested it. I'm going to assume she'd want both, especially since she'll have the new baby. However, she's used to doing a lot of hands-on things with him, since she has basically researched and implemented most of his SPD and food therapy since, at the time, they couldn't afford to pay for therapy sessions the first few years. So, she's not opposed to being teacher and one on one. But, independent is good too. I'll have her check into MathSeeds and Reading Eggs. I had suggested Starfall and ABC Mouse, but options are always nice. :) I bet he'd be good at Guess Who? once he learned how to play it. His observational and logic skills are pretty good. I don't know how many games they play. They had tried once before, but some sensory issues got in the way. I'll suggest they try again, especially the logic ones. He's actually pretty good at writing. I was impressed. My daughter, 2 months younger, is just now barely tracing letters; but he's writing them on his own. His gross motor skills were assessed today and he's quite a bit advanced for his age. I'll remind her about MagnaTiles. Maybe a good Christmas gift this year. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 We used Morestarfall.com and SplashMath.com Legos, magnets in various shapes, all kinds of building blocks were a hit with my little guy as well. Right now he enjoys chemistry videos (part of his brother's schoolwork). I'd also look at board games that are a step or two above pre-school level, especially the puzzle and logic based ones. I haven't heard of SplashMath. I'll have to look into that for my house too. I don't know how many games they play currently. They had tried once before awhile back, but some sensory issues got in the way. (He's hypo-sensory seeking, so he tends to destroy stuff unintentionally - and sometimes intentionally. lol) I'll suggest they try again, though, especially the logic ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 My kid that has sensory seeking tendencies was not able to break the wooden lincoln logs, chipped some legos and chipped some magnatiles when he was that age. He loves the Brookstone's magic sand thing as he can build and destroy. He also liked the chinese abacus but nearly tore it apart. Most of all he is happy with color pencils and lots of plain paper to draw like the way ViHart draws on youtube. He loved the chess app too on the tablets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah0000 Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 He sounds like my DS, who is also writing. I bet he has the fine motor skills to do k'nex as well. My DS also likes the other building toys listed above, but he'll spend much more time playing with k'nex. And he learns a lot more from them. Maybe try out a small kit to see if he can snap the pieces independently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southern Ivy Posted October 24, 2015 Author Share Posted October 24, 2015 My kid that has sensory seeking tendencies was not able to break the wooden lincoln logs, chipped some legos and chipped some magnatiles when he was that age. He loves the Brookstone's magic sand thing as he can build and destroy. He also liked the chinese abacus but nearly tore it apart. Most of all he is happy with color pencils and lots of plain paper to draw like the way ViHart draws on youtube. He loved the chess app too on the tablets. He sounds like my DS, who is also writing. I bet he has the fine motor skills to do k'nex as well. My DS also likes the other building toys listed above, but he'll spend much more time playing with k'nex. And he learns a lot more from them. Maybe try out a small kit to see if he can snap the pieces independently. Great ideas! He does love magic sand. I'm thinking K'nex and Lincoln Logs would be great for him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 24, 2015 Share Posted October 24, 2015 For "centers", a subscription to Mailbox online at a good grade level will give a lot of options to print. It's fairly inexpensive. I used Mailbox for cutting/coloring practice for DD, and she enjoyed it. I actually still have a primary subscription because DD uses it to make activities for the younger kids in the clubs. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoes+Ships+SealingWax Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 I would look more at kindergarten-level activities on Pinterest (as opposed to preschool), tossing out anything too delicate or results-based. There are lots of game ideas there that can be created w/ simple flashcards or poster board covering math, phonics, science concepts, etc. Dice or dominoes help w/ subsitizing & cards can be worded simply to add in some reading practice. Even better, the whole lot can be laminated for extra durability! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epicurean Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 If she isn't on a budget, I'd suggest the Timberdoodle Pre-K kit: http://www.timberdoodle.com/Complete_Homeschool_Curriculum_PreK_p/999-0000.htm Most of the kit is play-based, with a few fun workbooks thrown in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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