I'm sad for him today because he had one of his periodic depressive episodes about school.
He's so incredibly patient, as his observant teacher has pointed out. He is never a behavior problem. But so much of his day is...waiting. He is at gifted pull-out 5+ hrs/week and gets a lot of differentiated work, but it's still a lot of time just...sitting there not doing anything that does anything for him. It makes me want to buy him a thousand exciting things for home, like his little brain is kinda dying on the vine out there. (I won't! But I want to.)
Sorry, rant over. Thank you for your help. His birthday is also soonish.
UM
Not exactly science kit related - but I have this feeling periodically - and while I know school is related, even at my DS's accelerated gifted, I have kind of given up thinking of school as a place of real learning for him. Oh he is learning, but not in the depth and subjects he craves. He waits too although it doesn't seem to bother him as much. Instead he uses it to think about what he wants to think about. So when I get these feelings it's usually about a brain growth spurt, a recognition that he needs something more. I disregarded it before I understood who he was at 2.5 and have sort of vowed to not do it again. So while I understand that the wallet is never bottomless, I separate in my own head what is holiday, birthday or intellectual. So we got him a bunch of stuff gift stuff, even some that ND kids probably wouldn't want but I also have some books in my amason cart that I plan to buy in January because i feel he needs to move a bit deeper in science reading - sometimes I reach too far, and he pushes back a bit. But I find it's especially necessary when he is not getting it in school. But I don't consider it a gift, more like clothing or food, or school!
DeHe
PS on the point of kits - magic school bus are great if you don't want to buy stuff, they have all the weird bits, and you provide more normal needs. The difficulty we found is that often something would have to sit for 14 hours, and that drove DS nuts. DS liked snap circuits, little bits doesn't seem that much different, just different presentation. Spark fun seems to be the next step, after DSL almost 9 pronounced snap circuits too babyish. But that is more real circuitry than your DSL is ready for, but it's not Legos!!! DS has a microscope, but he got s real one and in retrospect I would have preferred one of those that are more like a giant eye, rather then the normal set up. Also anything maker seems to appeal. DS got super into Rube Goldberg stuff last year. But all this stuff is not how DS advances in thinking, he enjoys it, but he wants to pour over books or videos to learn. Not that he really seems to realize that's what he is doing. Great you tube - minute physics, and great courses videos. And programming - scratch - mind storms - DS is starting Python.
