VERY interesting thread!!

And...HELP, PLEASE!

I have been struggling with this issue for the last few months with DS, who recently turned five.

To summarize: our very well-behaved child was having some major behavior issues at his Montessori school, where he attended preschool last year and half of this school year. Knowing he was a very bright child for several years now, and suspecting what I began learning was common behavior for gifted preschoolers, we went through formal testing. He tested at or above the 99.9th in almost all of the major subtests or tests. On achievement testing, he placed at mostly late 2nd grade and some early 3rd grade levels. We quickly came to realize that our local schools will not be able to serve him, and have wholeheartedly decided to homeschool.

SO...he is barely five, qualifies for kindergarten in the fall, but is more appropriately placed in 2nd or 3rd grade levels. He was clearly bored in school, having to essentially repeat another year of Montessori in the same class(simply because of the method of spending three years with the same teacher.) I have seen him more relaxed and happy now that he is home.

I have dabbled a bit with a math book, because he is fascinated with numbers. Our conversations may go like this: "Mommy, there's nothing less than zero!" "Well, actually, there are numbers less than zero. Do you want to know about them? They are called negative numbers." And I proceed to very generally tell him what negative numbers are. The next day he randomly brings up the subject again, this time, wanting to add and subtract negative numbers, discuss which is greater, etc.

My point is this: he is clearly showing an interest in learning again, which was our sincere concern when he lost his little spark at the Montessori school. But how much is too much for a five year old?!! He spends plenty of time playing and just having free time. Yet he is thrilled when he realizes he knows how to do certain things that are well beyond his years. He, too, was a spontaneous reader and grasps concepts very quickly.

I'm just sort of hesitant to get started for the fear that I will, very unintentionally, be "hot-housing." I KNOW that he is capable of so, so much at this young age. And, of course, I have a strong desire for him to embrace a love of learning. I love the point made earlier that "playing" for him may be very different from other ND children. I also know that a day filled with video games, computer time, books, running crazy outside, playing with friends, helping Mommy in the kitchen, hanging out with Daddy, etc. etc. can also be filled with sighs of boredom during what seems like a normal day in the life of a preschooler. So I feel like he's ready to take off...perhaps it's just my own issues.


My question: when do we start "school" and how fast do we go?

Since he's never really been in "school," we're starting from scratch. Maybe that's why I feel so overwhelmed. smile

I don't want to look back and feel like I took away some of this fleeting time to be a kid. But at the same time, I don't want to regret not meeting his needs during this window in time. I feel such a huge responsibility not to fail him, as we all do as parents. smile If he's ready to take off, I don't feel like I should hold him back because of his young age. How do I find a balance? He doesn't really have much experience with an academic environment. Naturally there will be times when I will have to push him to be able to complete a task that he is clearly capable of doing. I guess, anyway. I would expect most kids to have times in their schooling, wherever they are, that they just don't want to finish an assignment or activity. But he's five. What I might perceive as gentle encouragement to move forward in a curriculum I know he is capable of, someone else might perceive as hot-housing.

My main concern is that he will lose his little spark again if I don't get him plugged in pretty soon. Does that make sense?

Anyway, thanks for reading if you've gotten this far in my ramblings. haha. smile

I welcome comments, input, advice. All sides. I'm new to this part of our lives and just want what's best for my child.

Thanks,
Allison