Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy sibling rivalry

video game manuals - I love those things! If only you could find a game manual that showed him how to do programing - my son has one that's called: Legal ways to Hack World of Worcraft, or something like that, and he's totally in love. That is at 11, not sure he would have nibbled last year, though. Are any of his favorate games 'hack-able?' Also - can he find any forums about his favorite video games and start posting his tips or reviews? At least this gets them writing. But yes, unless you can get him involved enough to self-enrich with the computer games, you will have to insist on summer school - perhaps a local community college class instead of just 'mom'? or a high school teacher mentor? I totally believe that the sib thing is a symptom of poor fit, rather than a 'cause.' Of course it will show up there - they are so availible, and it gets your attention, right? At least he isn't throwing chairs!

If money is an issue, I think one can audit community college classes for free. You just have to sit with him or find a teen to do it.

I do hope that his teachers will 'remember' what they learned last year, but I still think you need a plan to help them 'enrich.' Online class at school?

Would he be willing to take what he knows from Science Olympiade and write his own 'video game manual' style book/powerpoint/website - "Insiders tips to Powning the Scienc Olympiade?" How many months does preperation take care of? How many does that leave?

Great to hear from you,
grinity

I am okay with some of the sibling rivalry. As one article I found pointed out, the only way you have zero rivalry is if one kid is running the other kids. I know that has happened at times. (Although, in truth, they take turns running each other, so maybe it isn't completely unhealthy.)

As for summer school, we do have the tutor one day a week - but the kids consider that fun rather than educational, and I think she runs it that way. Just that she runs it as fun for really smart kids, so there is some intellectual stimulation there.

Snoopy is still doing ALEKS over the summer and I have given him a goal of wrapping up the 6th grade material. Granted, it isn't a very ambitious goal given where he is now, but a goal nonetheless.

As for Barbie, she is a reader and is challenging herself well.

OT - does anyone have a good source for titles that are appropriate for an 8 yo who reads like an adult?

Swiss Family Robinson and Watership Down were two of my favorites.

All are good. I really enjoyed these authors when I was 7-8. I really balled my head off during some scenes in these books so be prepared. ( When Cafall was killed, I was totally wiped out. )

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Is_Rising_Sequence

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeleine_L'Engle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia

More mature themes - 9+

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podkayne_of_Mars

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mote_in_God%27s_Eye

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradise_Lost

You will want to have access to an OED or Wikipedia or an annotation when doing Paradise Lost.

There are some very good adaptions of JRRT to audio books. The BBC has an EXCELLENT adaptation that makes for great listening.

Brian Fagan has some very good works on history and its interelationship with climate. I attended a lecture of his when I was 12.

http://www.brianfagan.com/

The Cosmos series by Carl Sagan is available from Netflicks or you can DVR it. It touches on a number of subjects.

Mary, my DS8 loves the series of books about a robot named Norby by Janet and Isaac Asimov. The first one in the series is called Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot. There are at least 12 to 15 books in the series and are about a young cadet named Jeff who goes off and has amazing adventures on other planets. They are not as dense as Isaac Asimov's adult books (and are not frightening at all), and can be found in the juvenile section of the library. But they are still challenging for kids who are reading at the 6th-8th grade level. We started reading them to our son when he was five or six, and he now enjoys them on his own.

We are also beginning to explore the Jules Verne books. I would love suggestions from other people, particularly in the science fiction/fantasy avenue. We have to be kind of careful about content, though, since his reading level doesn't match his fear of things hiding under his bed level. He will love Tolkien some day, but it would keep him up at night now!

I have seen that series before, but hadn't really thought about it. However, I guess DD is doing a lot of sci fi already - along with the fantasy that she normally prefers. She might like Verne too.

Thanks -

Can you ask the Tutor to come up with some 'fun' homework, some organic way that the work they do independently during the week can be used during the tutoring Day to have even MORE fun?
Perhaps the Tutor needs to be nudged to 'up the ante' a bit?

I like the 6th grade Alexs goal. For reading, that is much harder. Does she like non-fiction?

Love and More Love,
Grinity

She strongly prefers fiction. One of the reasons why DS can't believe she is smart. After all smart people must prefer nonfiction over fiction..... <eyes rolling>

LOL, I even had a Gifted Coordinator quote that to me as a reason to keep DS out of the gifted program. His library records show he does not like Non Fiction and all gifted children prefer non fiction to fiction! My response was that some gifted people even write fiction as well as read it. My son loves fantasy and scifi also. His focus is anything with Dragons right now.

Good luck with the Sibling rivalry!