Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Dazed!!!
Your DS8 is carbon copy of my DS8! He loves math. He taught himself multiplication, division, and fractions all before kindergarten. He has always been fascinated by big, abstract concepts like negative numbers and infinity (by age 4). And he wants to be a scientist when he grows up.
But I was constantly told not to teach him anything during those ages. My in-laws would get so upset that he knew so much. They would corner DH or I and say things like, "There's not going to be anything left for the school to teach him!" And when we were facing the decision for grade acceleration last year, we got all of the "I told you so" speeches and "You brought this on yourselves" lectures.
But I don't want to see his enthusiasm for math fade away like you described. He is so hungry for learning that if you show him anything challenging, then he lights up. I let him look at the sample Explore tests that were mentioned in another post, and he positively glowed while tackling the english and math even though he struggled with some of it. Hunger is the only way to describe it. He repeatedly asked if there were any other math questions that he could answer. There is certainly a drive, or internal competition there now.
But at school he thinks he is really dumb in math. If there are other kids in the class who sit and faithfully do their worksheets and memorize their multiplication tables or addition facts faster than him (because he is bored and staring out the window... or more likely bothering the kid next to him!), then he thinks he is not as smart in math. It is so very frustrating to watch his self-esteem dwindle as he begins to question himself. Maybe it is unhealthy for him to expect to always be the best in something. I certainly don't expect him to be the best in everything all the time. But it is hard to watch when you know that he could fly if they would just let him use his wings.
Maybe I'm just being stubborn. I don't really want to pick my poison. I want my school to be a poison-free environment!
Sigh. Okay... I'll return to reality! And thanks for the term "afterschooling" and the link. That was just what I was looking for. I guess I will have to start looking into AS workbooks for supplementing. It is taking me some time to completely accept the fact that he is all that different from your average kid. And part of that acceptance is figuring out what I need to do to support him the best that I can.
