Looking for suggestions from current and former school teachers

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

My 4 yr old grandson is reading at a 2nd grade level. Fortunately my daughter, his mom, Samantha, owns two preschools, one has a kindergarten, 5 yr olds learning to read. He reads better than any of them. We understand the bit about not letting him be lazy or bored while his peers catch up to him, we were there.

 

we have decided to stretch his learning by taking him to a foreign language school once a week, it is a class for 4 yr olds, but if he is consistent he will be advancing ahead of his peers.

 

i am looking for other suggestions.

[Duffield, SASS #23454]

Make learning fun for him, which you are probably already doing.

Get him books and magazines about his favorite things.

Make sure that all materials are for the level he is at.

Let him proceed at his own pace, if he gets tired or bored let him take a vacation from his studies.

Praise him when he succeeds.

 

Congratulations,

Duffield

[J-BAR #18287]

It will be interesting to see if his advanced reading ability is matched by his ability to learn a foreign language.  It has been well documented that children's brains learn a second language easier before age 10 so chances are good that he will find it easier now than when he is in high school or college.  However, if he does not enjoy his new learning opportunity for whatever reason, I would pull him out.  Four years old is a bit young to be burdened with such lofty parental expectations.  Allow him the joy of reading better than the other kids in his class.  Peer groups have ways of leveling their members out.  Just because he is advanced in reading does not necessarily mean that he will be at the top of his class in other subjects, or in emotional/social development.  Our son was above average intelligence, also reading at age 4,  but would have been the youngest in his class if we had started him in school as early as we could.  My wife and I have always been glad that we held him back a year.  It made a world of difference in his confidence and socialization.

 

Oh, yes, I am a retired veterinarian, but I married an elementary school teacher, sired another, and taught college level physiology for 15 years, so I thought I could respond to your question.  

 

 

[Cyrus Cassidy #45437]

I was the quintessential boy genius who grew bored with school.  I was selected for the Talented and Gifted TAG) program, but then moved before I got started.  In my new school, they would not allow me into TAG because all the slots were full.  So I grew bored and exhibited the maturity level one would expect for my age, even if my intellect was advanced.   The academics were too easy, so I spent my time doing other things.  By the time I was in high school chemistry, I spent all the lab time making explosives in the back of the room instead of what I was supposed to be working on.  I never did an ounce of homework but aced all the tests.  My grades were only slightly above average because I got zeros on the homework, but my test scores were perfect.

 

I didn't want that to happen to my kid, who, at a very young age, also exhibited lots of academic prowess.  We started him in school a year early so he would continue to be challenged.   Despite that, he is in junior high but doing high school math.  At the same time, however, his history teacher and I have had to converse about his immature behavior that disrupts the class (e.g. passing gas loudly and making jokes about it...repeatedly, and after continued demands to stop).  And, he has grown so bored with English that he is barely passing.  

 

So my suggestion is this:  What you're doing is one way to continue to challenge him, and knowing at least one language beyond English is highly beneficial in life.  Depending on how much he wants to apply himself to academics, you may consider other opportunities outside of school, too.  However, I do NOT recommend advancing him in grades beyond his age.

[Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984]

Thank you for your comments.  In the 50s I was bullied for being smarter than the jocks. I was lucky to have smart daughters. Now I have grandchildren 26, 16, and 4.  Sydney, 26, was lucky enough to go to Summer camp with CTY, Center for Talented Youth, also known as nerd camp. The goal there is to teach smart kids that it is ok to be smart, don’t dumb down to fit in. That was four summer camps.

 

Sebastian, 16, got into a really good school in fifth grade, but OMG do they load him up with homework.

 

Now, Dominic, 4 has opportunities. I know a school that can teach young kids Russian but I don’t think there is any point there. Spanish probably makes sense. If he excels there I would move him to another more challenging language, if not, maybe the sciences.

[Charlie Harley, #14153]

Take him to an independent book store and let him pick out what he wants to read.  Keep it fun and let him guide his own course.

 

Foreign language is a great idea, and blend it with books and experiences about the country and culture he’s learning. Food.  Music.  Movies and television.  

 

Don’t rush him into school.  I was the classic bored brainiac and the youngest in class.  Not fun.  Give him an extra year of exploring as a kid.

[bgavin]

 

I never did an ounce of homework but aced all the tests.  My grades were only slightly above average because I got zeros on the homework, but my test scores were perfect.

 

 

I can relate to this, 100%.
Been there, done that.

[TN Mongo, SASS #61450]

 

https://www.amazon.com/Reading-Student-Record-Book-Levels/dp/0076028186/ref=sr_1_2?crid=35N3FXSCJD8G0&keywords=sra+reading+laboratory&qid=1575235984&sprefix=sra+r%2Caps%2C178&sr=8-2

 

I'm retired after 43 years in the classroom.  There was a program that was available when I was a student and that teachers were still using when I taught elementary school for a few years.  It was called the SRA reading program.  It still exists, but it's a little pricey for the new version.  Above is a link to a kit on Amazon for a great price.

 

It is set-up for kids to do on their own and it lets them continue to move up reading levels.  I loved it as a kid and so did the students I taught.