IMHO, child-led learning is never hothousing. Period. Just by definition, if the child wants to learn it, it's not hothousing.
Since Montessori is mostly child-led (assuming it is done correctly)--with just some minor pressure on the child to do some work of some sort--it isn't hothousing. The whole idea is to offer the child materials that are appealing and meet the child where s/he is at the time.
Often programs that let children take the lead wind up with more advanced students than average coming out the other end. I suspect that's why homeschooled kids tend to score quite well on standardized tests and such: they learn at their own pace, and often that pace is faster than the one that adults might set for them.
None of that is hothousing in any sense that I can see!
Kids having to know Powerpoint by age 6? Well, I'd say they're on shakier ground there! I've never heard of such a thing. I feel very confident in saying that is NOT the norm!
As for your specific geographic area (and I'm just talking completely out of my hat!), I suspect you have a higher-than-average population of GT kids around because of the university (and maybe other factors, too) combined with a higher-than-average pressure situation.
How much higher the pressure, I can't say. It may be just a tad. But yours doesn't sound like most of the pre-K stories I've heard. I have the impression that most places start honest-to-goodness pre-K programs in earnest at age 3, not age 2. (Our pre-K has a 1-half-day class for 2.5yos. My mom's pre-K started at age 3. I think most of the kids discussed on this forum--with some notable exceptions--started pre-K at 3 or later, assuming they're not starting early because of the HG+ thing.) And most places have pretty low expectations for kindergarten readiness. recognizing some letters, writing a name, following directions, etc.
So that combo of more GT people and more pre-K prep is almost certainly going to skew your area's population early on milestones, and you're going to think that the books are way too low. But you're in an isolated pocket, in effect missing a large segment of the population.
Remember that a 115 IQ is going to be 1 whole standard deviation above the mean, and your area may very well have an average IQ even higher than that if there are lots of GT families around. Add a bit of pre-K prep to the mix, and your GT 2yo starts to look quite average in comparison.
Calling it hothousing may have been presumptuous of me, but I will stand by the notion that what's going on in your area is higher-pressure than normal. It's common in NYC and parts of Chicago. Maybe also in other big cities with wealthy populations and private school slots to compete for? But from what I've seen and heard, I don't think it's standard practice in most of the rest of the country.
FWIW (not much!)
