This is something I've been mulling over that pertains to the Nurtureshock book.
DS7 started doing algebra last year at age 6. He was good with it (at least the first several chapters of Ed Zacarro), but because we did very little formal math (he hated drills), he had gaps which were not addressed. I started to see a pattern of resistance when we had to go backwards to clarify earlier concepts because in his mind, he had moved on. I've always been careful how I speak to him and realized that perhaps, I had unwittingly made a subtle distinction and he had latched on to it.
I wonder how common this is with gifted kids. They have terrific conceptual ability especially at the higher level, and they're masters at reading parental nuances. So subconsciously, they latch on to the fact that "higher is better". Yes I was impressed by him and I wanted to encourage him with praise. But certainly, the outcome was not what I had in mind! He actually resisted learning what he needed. I ended up looking for tough questions at the early middle school level (there are so many Singapore Math challenging books to choose from, and some early Math Olympiad style ones). Luckily, that has succeeded in refocusing him from being grade (and frankly ego) focused to enjoying the thinking process again.
