Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums GT Research Advanced Math Skills??

I'm curious as to whether or not Isabel's math abilities are very advanced as "Is this what a K would be doing?" or even someone older.

Isabel and I played a couple of the math games from a link I found for K. She turned 3 on July 1st. One of the games is Matching Dimes and Money Amounts to $1.00. I wasn't too sure if she'd understand the concept of x amount of dimes = x amount of cents. An example of the questions is "How much money is this?" and there are 4 dimes. It gave 3 choices, i.e. $.80, $.40, $.60. I told her which each represented the first time. I asked her "How many cents will 4 dimes make?" She right away got it. We did a few more, but the one that impressed me most is that she knew 10 dimes equaled $1.00. She did a really good job with the pattern game too. We had only worked on the pattern beads on Rainforest Maths. She really enjoys math(not so much adding and subtracting, but she'll do it fairly easily as long as she has x amount of this + x amount of that = and has that amount of apples or bugs, etc. to count. She can do simple stuff like 2+2= in her head). Her favorite things to do are the 3D shapes and Bead Patterns on the Rainforest Maths website. She knows several 3D shapes by sight and almost every 2D shape.

Sarah

Golly Sarah,
I wish I knew the answer to this one - but it seems so long ago - my DS is 11 now!
It might be work better to print out this article, and circle the milestones as you go: http://www.educationaloptions.com/levels_giftedness.htm

You definitely want to document this on camcorder if possible, Start with a newspaper to confirm the date, then pan to child doing her thing, and also keep notes for fast reference. I'm assuming that most people wouldn't believe you, but I believe you FOR SURE. BTW - somehow people are "less impressed" with kids "doing things on computer" and if you can rig up a game show style version of what she does on computer, it will be more impressive.

OT - When my son was that age he would play educational computer CD-ROMS on my lap. I figured that the ages were mislabeled. I was most fasinated that his "talking brain" and his "hand moving brain" were in two different places. His mouth would be saying "Mommy help. Which one is right?" and that chubby hand would be moving the mouse to the correct answer at the same time! It happend a few times each session. BTW - I felt that I had to limit this activity, because he would continue 4 hours if I let him, and then have a huge melt-down, of course! Happy Memories.

Smiles,
Trinity

Hi Sarah-

Yes, recognizing money and VERY basic addition with coins is a kindergarten skill. Your daughter is probably doing work more in line with first grade. I'm chuckling to myself because my daughter took the CAT 5 kindergarten level test when she was 3.5. She aced everything, except for the money section! Somehow I'd never gotten around to showing her money and talking about the different denominations. She had no idea what the various coins meant. I also learned from that test that she knew how to tell time, despite the fact that I'd never worked on it with her.


take care-

She didn't do quite as well the second time we tried the game, but I believe she was tired. She does seem to have some advanced math skills. I will do as Trinity pointed out and tape her doing it without the computer. I don't have many people, outside family to share her accomplishments with. The playgroup we go to has a couple kids close to her age, but they aren't nearly as advanced as she is and she doesn't really display any of her advanced behaviors around them. We had a Dr. appointment to get a physical for school today. The NP asked Isabel "How are you doing today?" Isabel responds "I'm doing very well." I know that isn't a typical 3 year old response. She also told me the other day while eating a piece of cheese that came in her Jr. Lunchable, "This rectangular prism sure tastes good!" First off, a 3 year old has no idea what a rectangular prism is and she was right, it was the shape. I'm looking forward to preschool. I'm mainly sending her to prepair her socially, etc for Pre-K and K. Right now, she loves to play with her fridge magnets and tries to spell words and wants to know what the words in her books are. She can spell a few words,such as, "no", "yes", "milk", "jug", "sun", and "Isabel". She can spell CVC words when I break each letter down for her. I've got a smart cookie on my hand and I hope she continues to love to learn.

Hi mygirlsmommy,
You do have a bright one on your hands. If you calculate her to be an estimated Ruf Level I or II, preschool can be something to look forward to, but it she is III or beyond, I would not expect that interacting with agemates would prepare her socially for anything. For example, if you adopted a normal 5 year old, would you put her in a preschool class with all 3 year olds, because the child had never been to school before and therefor you should "start at the begining?" More than that, would you expect the 5 year old to be helped by this experience. I'm not saying that your 3 year old is a 5 year old. She is many ages in many different areas, and unlike over 80% of your neighbors, you can't expect the "normal progression" to nescessarily fit her individual needs. Spend some time observing the classroom she will be placed in, and get a feel for what percentage of the day is "academically oriented" and what the other children do for fun. Perhaps she can be placed with older kids?

Best Wishes,
Trinity

I'd estimate Isabel as a level 2 with Ruf's level's. I have thought about seeing if she could be with the 4's at school. Today, her first impression with her teachers wasn't a good one. She was in a bad mood and was having some behavioral issues. Hopefully, next week will be better and they will see her abilities.

Sarah

Good Luck Sarah!
A lot of measures of "maturity" are at odds with gifted kid's particular struggles. My DS11 was never very good at "sharing the teacher's attention" while placed with age mates. They told me that this was a sign of immaturity. I believed them, why not? Short Answer - Folks who can talk, and have conversations seek out other people to have conversations with. In a single age preschool classroom, the teacher is that "other person" from a gifted preschooler's viewpoint.

Sarah, If your daughter is Level II, that's wonderful. I don't remember any of the details of those years except the "deep philosphical discussions" that I though all kids were having with their Moms at age 3. All children are completely "just right" what ever their developmental path might be, and Level II in particular is a wonderful path to walk. This board is open to all, but does tend to attract the Level III and ups, I think, so if she reminds you of the other kids around here, just keep an eye on her, in case, ok? I missed the boat entirely, so I always worry that other people will too.

Best Wishes,
Trinity

My son learned money math at three using computer games. We got him a Reader Rabbit First Grade when he was three for the "reading" part of it because he seemed to be reading and comprehending stuff at first grade level. But it had math activities also and I think that is where he learned about coins. His interest in counting money led to counting by fives and tens and 25s. Knowing how to count by fives led to learning to read an analog clock to the minute which he could do in Kindergarten. I think he somehow related it to counting nickles and pennies. I remember when he was five, the older kids in his acting class were surprised that he could count out his own money for the vending machine.

My son also liked doing mental math and I heard him tell the Kindergarten teacher when she was testing him to see if he was ready for Kindergarten that you can use blocks to figure out answers to math questions but he preferred looking at the first number and counting up. He could also do a little bit of multiplication at that time and he could also read very well, but she didn't think he was ready for Kindergarten because he couldn't draw very well or color in the lines. It didn't matter that he has hypotonia and a physical reason for his difficulties.

I sometimes wonder if maybe other kids are just not given a chance to learn what my son learned at home playing games because some teachers in our public schools care more about getting their students to color in the lines.

Hi Lori,

It�s interesting that you attribute skip counting and time telling to understanding coins. I don�t remember when my son understood money or analog time, but it was certainly before 1st grade (he never attended K). I do know he could skip count by 5s or 10s into the thousands right after he turned four. Those skills probably do compliment the development of the other. I think they are all 1st-2nd grade skills around here.