I'm doubting myself. Vidura learns really well/easily. His preference for math and science is now becoming obvious. I HATE math and science.

Will I be able to keep up with him?

I'm worried that I'm not "armed" to fill all his needs :( I'm worried that I'll fail him somehow.

No one says you have to do it all yourself. In a few years, maybe he could work with someone as his mentor. I plan on doing this for my children. Maybe finding a math major at a local college - or a college professor who would find a young fresh mind refreshing. ;)

There are LOTS of options out there. You don't have to be the expert on everything. AND... with the internet, there is so much that could be done long distance with a mentor as well.

Actually, I know of a man who does that sort of thing. I'm sure there are more... but this guy has published a calculus book for young people... and it's really interesting.

www.shout.net/~mathman

HTH!

Oh, I wanted to let you know that I found a link on that website above to a tutoring place out of Kansas City, MO. We have contacted her and she is going to give us a demo tutoring session tomorrow. It's $28/45 minutes. And if this is something that will help keep Nate advancing and not getting bored, $100/mo is not much to ask! I may end up doing it for Austin, too. I have been considering hiring some type of tutor for Austin anyway - and this is much cheaper than Sylvan!

Oh, and Don (the math man) has sessions this summer. I emailed him about them. It's a possibility... maybe.

:heart: i'm gonna email you :heart:

Yes, you'll be perfectly fine.

If he is brilliant in math(or science), if it's his gift, he'll probably fullfill his own desires. They have a way of doing that. ;)

There are also really cool camps at prestigious colleges for the profoundly gifted. John Hopkins, Northwestern. Do a little googling. You'd be amazed how much is out there.

Katie

Thank you :)

Anne, are you familiar with the Hoagies Website? Specfically the link section?
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm

I will admit to the same fears. And as dd has gotten older, my most common answer has become "that sounds like something we will need to look up."

Hoagies is great for stuff like this, though. There link section is a goldmine. Sift through the links - there is everything in there from explainations to tutorials. There are also sections that suggest books, software, games, etc. and we use these extensively too, but being able to come up with a great link within 20 minutes of the question being asked has saved my sanity on more than one occasion.

I will admit to the same fears. And as dd has gotten older, my most common answer has become "that sounds like something we will need to look up."

Ditto this ^^. My fears are mostly cyclic, though, and more strongly felt when we are going through an especially intensive learning period. There is an ebb and flow pattern to Sam's learning.

I'd also recommend Hoagie's, which is a wealth of information. The TAGMAX email lists can offer you support (see the Hoagie's site for more info on these email lists). And do some research about the programs already mentioned at places like Johns Hopkins, Northwestern, Stanford, etc. There are quite a few of them. Also, you might check the Davidson Institute, which is an organization whose sole purpose is to support profoundly gifted children and their families.

You can do this. :happy:

Tara

Yep, you can do it! And the thing of it is--you are mostly going to provide him the resources, help him through it. If you do get to a place where he needs an explanation and he can't get it, and you don't know-- you find someone to help you.

Erik really wants to know how many bonds each different atom can form. In his chem book, it says that hydrogen can form one, oxygen 2, nitrogen 3. But that's all it tells us, just that the rest follow rules. Well, I took chem. In college even, and I was good at it. But I can't remember the answer. No fears. It doesn't mean I'm incompetent. Say he was in public school--would his kindergarten teacher know the answer? Would a third grade teacher (even in a fancy private school) know the answer to his chemistry questions, which are bound to be even more complex by then? No, they would have to look it up, seek out the answers, just like we do.

This time, now, is a great time to figure out the resources available to help you. (I went to Northwestern, and I had no idea that they had programs for profoundly gifted kids! I feel very fortunate to live so close to Stanford, when he gets older. Actually, I think Stanford has stuff starting in Kindergarten).

You're doing a great job, not failing him at all, just by even asking these questions!!

Yes, you can do it and it will be quite an adventure for both of you! Science and Math are also Jacob's favorite subjects. Math was always my favorite, but it's been so long since I had a lot of the more complicated stuff that I can't always remember how to answer some of his questions. He's doing Algebra now at age 6 - it's slowly coming back to me, LOL.

I remember my mom always telling me that it wasn't so important to know all the answers, but it was important to know how to find them. If I don't know an answer, we look for it together. Then we both learn something.

With Jacob, I've learned to just have tons of materials around for him to use. He's very independent and as long as he has plenty to 'study' around him, he's very content and happy. Some things that he loves: His Kids Discover and Ask magazines. He especially likes KD because each issue focuses on one subject in depth. A lot of Science, which he loves. For Math, we are going quickly through Singapore (as you know!) and it's a good fit for him. We also have Key to Algebra - great for introducing Algebra to younger kids because it isn't so dry and wordy. A couple of other books: Algebra the Easy Way and The Phantom X. For the computer, we have Math Blasters Pre-Algebra and Algebra. We also have Vroot Vroom that goes along with the Singapore, but he doesn't play that as often.

It's intimidating and even scary at times to have a child who learns to easily. Thank goodness for places like this where we can share our concerns and see what is working for other families!