Thanks for the kind words, aeh, Platypus101, and Indigo! I�m glad you all found my story interesting. I�ve never believed in learning strictly from a classroom, and I think all children (and adults) can benefit greatly from adjusting the education to match the person. It�d be great if formal education lined up with the child�s needs, but if they don�t, I hope more means of self-enrichment become endorsed and available. Speaking of the latter case, here are some approaches to coursework I found useful during my time in school:
From my experience, absolutely everything can be thought about at a deeper level. In reading classes I always tried to rationalize the motives behind the characters� actions when the assignment only asked for the effects. I also dug into the background for the book, contemplating the situation was this book written, the author�s view on the world, and how the situation affected the author. Even something as simple as 1 + 1 can spark a number of interesting questions for your child. Why is the solution one digit? Why is 9 + 1 two digits? The answers will introduce your child to number theory and get him or her thinking about the magnitude of different digits in numbers, a very important concept in developing number sense.
I also found turning busywork into games to be entertaining and effective. During middle school, I was regularly assigned long worksheets of simple math computation. I always kept a timer and challenged myself to finish the worksheet as fast as I could while maintaining accuracy. I would also challenge my mother to race me on some assignments! To this day, I still get excited about doing basic computations on Mental Math Cards (iOS app) and trying to beat my records.
I�m glad I found this forum, and I hope to contribute more in the future!
