I was very interested in those Teaching Company DVDs... I remember when everything was on sale a few months ago. But then I decided they'd be way over his head. Maybe I was wrong. The kid craves content. He is interested in stuff like the history of religion. The other day I had to bring him to work so I downloaded Carl Sagan's Cosmos series from Netflix and streamed it onto a computer for him, then forgot about him. A few hours later, I looked over and saw the documentary was just Carl Sagan, circa 1979, standing there talking. My son was completely mesmerized.
Later that same day I tried to give him a 4th grade worksheet on classifying whales. He found an error on the page but otherwise ignored it. Certainly does suggest that I'm not challenging him enough.
Then last night, right after I posted about how little work he does, I called home to check on the kids and he told me he was working on some chemical equations, which turned out to be true.
So when I said he knows "everything" I mean he knows "stuff"-- his brain is stuffed with mostly useless information-- he is apparently capable of understanding adult-level concepts but he has no interest in academic skills.
I also have a little one (almost two) and I'm sure that makes the whole thing exponentially harder.
For me, the best bet has been to go to the library and just let the 7yo do whatever he wants. I guess the key is to surround him with information worth seeking out.
