Originally Posted by luvedu
ashley. Great to hear from you.
Isn't it true " I too have problems with "afterschooling" for hours upon hours in my son's areas of strengths. I find it counter intuitive and counter productive ! "

Loved your suggestions.

1. He and my younger son (8) are both in CTY English program. They Luv it. They are in "Where the wild things are ( gr 3) and the older one is in " The process of writing"( gr 5). Can't say enough good things about CTY

2. Finding a mentor in Gifted Math is very very hard. I teach my kids math , just like you do . But I would like some one who can teach him , while drawing on his strengths ! I don't want a repeat of the school teaching ...
3. Ashley he did enter a regional Math competition, got a perfect score , came first - School is not impressed enough to acknowledge he may be gifted.
4. Enrolling in local math circle- I will look into it, but I am suspecting may end up with time constraints.
5. Can you PM me about the curriculum that you are following at home ?
6. I am considering Art Of problem Solving for Spring 2014. Summers at CTD ( northwestern university are great - but this year we will be travelling and can not attend CTD :-( . ) I will consider EPGY ( standford...He is ready to enrol in Algebra -1 honors but can't be sure if that is the correct progression. I find EPGY website very very confusing). How do I find out what is the correct course for my son. I can definitely not follow their age or grade guideline , as my son is beyond it.

7. At 6yrs I was so sure my was gifted but the school dampnen my spirits and at 10 - I just couldn't hold him back anymore..He started complaining if there is anything more to learn in math ever !

8. I have the Great courses DVD and I am sure to wipe the dust off them and put it on for my kids :-)

Please stay in touch and good luck.

If winning a regional math competition is not proof enough for your son's school then they really may be trying to hide the fact that they do not have the expertise to teach him. I am using AOPS (Beast Academy right now and hope to use AOPS prealgebra later on). The best places to find mentors are through your local universities and colleges. Math Circles are sponsored by the math departments of acclaimed universities and colleges. They encourage kids to learn math and problem solving at a high level. The professors involved in these circles can and most often do act as mentors for the kids who are interested in learning advanced math.
I am not familiar with EXPLORE - it is a little too early for us to take the EXPLORE. But, there are several in this forum who have experience with it - you can start a separate thread about it. I also suggest that you check out the WellTrainedMind forums (The Accelerated Learners sub-forum in particular) for a lot of valuable resources.