Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Supplementing/Afterschooling help

My son just turned 6 and is in kindergarten in a private school with a sort of advanced curriculum (not PG/EG at all though). Thankfully we only have 3 more weeks of school, but even those 3 weeks will be rough. My son doesn't enjoy school (it's too easy, he daydreams while the teacher is talking because he already knows what she's saying and then has to guess at the assignment, etc.) and has grudgingly attended this year. The school has a wonderful computer math program that allows the kids to (somewhat) work at their own pace, and that has been his only bright spot at school.

So, we've been supplementing with afterschool and weekend activities like higher level workbooks, museum trips, board games meant for older kids, craft projects and of course books (on space, dinosaurs, the Fudge series and whatever else strikes his fancy). The problem is, we are running out of ideas for these supplemental activities and I'm hoping some of the BTDT posters will have some ideas that will get us through not only the rest of this year, but the summer and 1st grade.

Thanks in advance for any ideas and advice!

Great Question Monet Fan!
What are DS6's favorite interests?

How about digging up a middle school Earth Science book, and leaving through there for topics and projects?

Has he explored Weather? Local Planetarium? Local clubs about reptiles or stamp collecting? What kinds of crafts has he tried? Crochet seems like a good one to start with.

Have you sat down with DS and asked him what he would like to learn more about?

Does he play chess?

You might poke around the local homeschool community and see if there are any likeminded children who have similar interests to work on projects together?

Have you already signed the contract for next year? Do you know who his teacher would be next year? A great teacher can make all the difference.

Love and More Love,
Grinity

Here's a few ideas

http://video.about.com/giftedkids/Build-a-Rube-Goldberg.htm,
we have not tried this yet but it looks cool.

Learn to play the penny whistle.
Balloon sculptures
Paper airplanes
yo yo tricks
cats craddle
Mindware.com workbooks
Lego robotics
Lego educate has lots of science kits
write poems, create books, get books at the library for inspiration
summer journal - draw, write (don't correct anything unless asked)
cook in the kitchen (We make fruit smoothies on friday nights and have tacos)

We like to take advantage of our free park nature classes and library classes.

Grinity, those are great questions!

He's especially interested in math, but I'm afraid to let him keep working his math books since he's already so far advanced. He does play chess, but doesn't have anyone to play against other than me and the computer. He likes to draw and paint, and has painted some ceramics. He also loves animals and conservation issues, he is an avid Whale Wars fan and wants to sail on the Steve Irwin one day and knew every member of the family in Meerkat Manor. He also loves sports, cooking, playing the Wii and even gardening. I don't think he's met anything he doesn't like- except school, LOL.

I do have some science projects/experiments planned for this summer and have ordered a Snap Circuits set for him. He loves to build things, draw things, LOVES weather (would watch The Weather Channel for hours if I'd let him). Unfortunatley, we don't live that close to a planetarium, but he has really enjoyed it the times we've been so far.

The Earth Science book sounds like a great idea, and I do need to check out the local homeschool groups- things I've never thought of. Thanks so much!


As far as school, yes, I've already signed him up for the private school. It's really the best option in our area (Texas public schoolsare mostly a nightmare), and they've even hinted without any prompting that a grade skip might be an option at some point. We'll see.


Thanks onthegomom- those are great too! I knew parents on this site would have great ideas!


on 2d edit- I can't believe I forgot to mention his music! He takes piano lessons, loves music and likes going to the symphony and theater. Just wanted to add that in case others might have ideas relevant to his musical interests!

Maybe you could check out some of the free Mensa for Kids Lesson Plans & some of the free online educational videos from WatchKnow.

I would certianly let him memorize addition, subtraction, and times tables. If a gradeskip is a possiblity, then those skill are going to impress the teachers more than 5 hours of discussion about the concept of Infinity.

I would also check out www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_courses.ppt

There may be local chess clubs, perhaps if not then try and start one at your local library. Book clubs are good too.

One advantage of Texas public schools is they have a very clear path to gradeskips, so you might want to explore that, if the private school doesn't bend enough.

Have you gone through the motions of having a PsychoEducational Evaluation? (IQ and achievement testing) as this may (or may not) help you and the schools decide about gradeskips. That seems like a logical next step.

Love and More Love,
Grinity