My son has turned 6 in March and is going to grade 2. He only did 2 terms of prep and 1 term of grade 2 and was away 1 term overseas on holidays all in his first year at school (last year).
This year he is in grade 2 and finds the work easy. I don't know if should ask the school whether he should be given grade 3 work as well?
We want to enrol him in Spanish classes. He already speaks English, fluent Turkish, learns Arabic at school and now may be Spanish too. He will be taking up saxophone lessons at school this term too.
He doesn't have many friends where we live and his school is an islamic school so no kids where we live go there. We need to occupy his time after school with some extra-curricular activities. he doesn't like sport very much as we tried swimming and he bombed out after a few classes. He is solid for his age but has lost a lot of weight through the help of a dietician. He loves Foxtel and Xbox and the computer, like all kids his age but i don't want to lose him to the TV!
Am i pushing him to far?
What other extra activities can he do?
TD, I would say be guided by your DS. I think some children need constant stimulation and challenges and others don't do well with too much activity. See how he is responding to things and take it from there. I would also say by that age that you could probably start asking him about whether or not he wants to do things. GL, I hope you find the balance that works for him.
Sounds like you have a very bright young boy on your hands!!!
One of the things I would suggest is ensuring that you are balancing up the 'intellectual' stimulation with 'social/emotional' stimulation.
I work alot with very bright children who struggle socially. I'm not sure if this is your little boy, and I hope I'm not speaking out of turn, but I think it's really important when you have a bright child to make sure that you aren't 'watering and nurturing just one part of the garden'.
If possible, I would encourage you to find some way to organise informal play overs where he is just hanging out with other kids. Perhaps have a play over 1x fortnight.
Social/emotional development is incredibly important. There's a great book called "emotional intelligence" by Daniel Goleman which you may find interesting to read.
Anyway...again, I hope I haven't spoken (written) out of turn...and I wish you all the very best.
With regards to school work his teachers will give him harder work if they feel its needed, they are the professionals and will know what he is capable of and teach accordingly.
MantaRay - i do ask him as to what he wants to do and he says nothing or shakes his head as he finds watching Ben10 more exciting. We found a private tutor who will teach him Spanish and now he doesn't want to do it. I offered to sit in the tutoring with him and that we could both learn Spanish, which has he kind of accepted. He just wants to do nothing after school!
I, growing up was not given the opportunity to do extra activities as my parents did not speak English that well to enrol me in things like that. I guess in a way, i want him to offer him the things that my hubby and i missed out on.
Monnie- i will definitely seek out that book you recommended. I truly agree with your comment about not watering only one section of the garden, but that section is the part that flourishes with Devrim. As you said, i don't want him to be a hermit or a recluse or be bright but not be social at the same time. He loves playing with his friends at school and i guess i should have more playtime with his friends on a regular basis outside of school.
We were going to have his IQ tested but was told not to do it and to let him be a kid. If you spoke to him and heard his responses you would not believe that he was only 6. He had to sit an entrance exam to be able to enter into his school and he got 80% on a grade 2 test when he was 5, then. I want him to be stimulated all the time!
Mrsmac - the school does not want him to be lifted to grade 3 as they think that he is not socially ready and would be picked on by the older kids, who would be then 3-4 years older than he is. I go to the bookshops and buy homework books which we do together in the evening after his regular homework.
What about scouts? Do you have a local branch?
Or he might enjoy chess - lots of children do.
Maybe he could do some volunteering - visit the local old people's home.
Does he have a bicycle?
I really really appreciate all your comments and suggestions. Thank you.
There is a chess club (but its a bit too far, which provide coaching etc..) but i don't think i'll be able to take him as hubby and i both work. I will definitely enquire with the school if there is a chess club or suggest one if there isn't. I will check with the school as to the extra-curricular activites they offer. Devrim hasn't been at this school for too long (2 terms only) so we are still finding our way around as to what they offer etc..
Devrim suggested doing saxophone at school so he will definitely take that up this term as well.
I found a website which is an association for gifted children in Victoria. I will put a phone call into them as to what services they offer.
You must be so proud!
DSS is not advanced, but is very much so on the bright side - he too would rather watch Ben10 or play XBox, or sit in his room and draw or write stories!
he has joined a teakowndo club which helps with his socialisation.
In my opinion, it would be good if you could find something that was team based for him to join, instead of the more antisocial things like music or chess... purely for the fact that as you mentioned above, he will not be put up another year as he is not yet socially ready for it - children that are gifted will be targeted by kids that see him as a threat (even if they dont know that this is why they are picking on him) - getting him to extend himself into something that is more social will not only help him physically but also will help with integration.
sorry cant help you much with your DS but just thought I would pop in to see if you were planning on coming to the Berwick meet I will have my DS there ( 8yrs ) who is also in yr 2 like I said cant help with the gifted area but maybe with the social, we have only just moved here so haven't joined any sporting groups yet but hope to next year...If they got along they could join up together...
I would tend to agree with the school about not putting him up a grade. Academically primary school is so much more about instilling the basics like reading writing and basic maths and learning the process of learning but most importantly it is about learning the basic social graces and how to get along with other children and how to interact appropriately. I don't think that putting him into a class with kids who are several years older than him will do him any favours in the long run.
As for extra activities. I think that all the suggestions from others have been great, but remember that kids need down time too. It is hugely important for them to be given the opportunity to occupy themselves and use their imagination and creativity to entertain themselves - things like turning an old cardboard box into a pirate ship or a spaceshuttle or mission control or whatever and letting their imagination run wild with it. If they have activities filling every moment of their day they never have the opportunity to just daydream.
Am i pushing my child too far?
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