With all tumult of a new September start, I thought it would be fun to start a new serial thread. This is meant to be along the lines of the quirky thread, but with more focus on the parent's perspective of this wonderful (and often exceedingly frustrating) journey we call parenting gifted children.
To kick things off...
1. The average per-visit cost for DS and I at the nearby museum is now under $0.75. You know you're a frequent visitor when all the security guards greet your child by name and are current on his pet interests. Bonus points if you know their names and their children's names.
2. Our standard greeting at the library is a hug. You know you spend too much time between the stacks when you: - hear happy greetings of "babe" and "darling" when you arrive - get a shoulder rub from a (sweet!) librarian after you heave a pile of 30 books up to the checkout station - don't have to pay all your late fines (again, they're far too generous) - have a list of customized book recommendations waiting for your DS when you arrive, unprompted
Come to think of it, our librarians are stellar! I should have them over for dinner to thank them!
3. You are a Jedi master at locating YouTube videos on topics of interest in under 10 seconds.
4. The last 4 books you read for pleasure are written by gifted educators.
5. You find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers and look completely socially inept because you have no idea how to relate to normative behaviour.
- When you're known by sight and name by everyone in the school's administration office.
- When you mention in an email to another staff member that you're going to drop by the school one morning, and the assistant principal is standing at the front desk when you get there (it could have been just a coincidence, I suppose...).
- when you say to your 3 year old, "hey, bring me that box." and he retorts, "it's not a box, Mama, it's a BIN." yeeah.
- when your son memorizes 60+ digits of pi from a youtube video song, and runs around singing it at top speed...and you still only know maybe 5 digits?
- when you go to check and see if your kid's asleep, and find him in the bathroom with the light on, sitting on the closed toilet seat, reading a book. and you don't know whether you should be annoyed or impressed.
- As a special treat, your child asks to go to the library.
- After one month at a new school, you are known by the librarian, counselor, and curriculum director (along with the principal and teachers, of course).
• when the sarcasm and Liz Lemon-style eyerolls begin at age 2, rather than 10 • when your 2 y/o has a favourite word, and it is "antidisestablishmentarianism" (because it is a tongue-twister) • when your 3 y/o goes on a school interview and brings her Hallowe'een costume as her "favourite object" to discuss. it is a Marathon of Hope t-shirt and she spends the entire interview talking about how her hero died of cancer. • when your 5 y/o blows through 50% of a subject's curriculum in SIX DAYS. (@$#!)
this IS fun! i cannot wait to read more of these...
and i JUST realized something funny. the title of this thread is 'you know you're parenting a gifted child when...' and i just gave three examples from the time when that possibility hadn't even occurred to me yet.
-When a grammatical slip by you is instantly corrected by your 3 year old.
- When you bribe your 5 year old with books to NOT get up at 5 AM so he has have time to work on his 6500 word dinosaur facts book on the computer before school.
this IS fun! i cannot wait to read more of these...
Good! I think we collectively needed this. (That's a great hero to have, BTW.)
Here's another for good measure...
- Magic tricks are passe. Your almost 2-year-old hacks the ever-popular severed thumb magic trick his grandfather showed him a minute ago and proceeds to try to trick Grandma.
5. You find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers and look completely socially inept because you have no idea how to relate to normative behaviour.
or when you find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers the way you normally talk to your child and they give you the deer in the headlight look because they have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say! lol
5. You find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers and look completely socially inept because you have no idea how to relate to normative behaviour.
or when you find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers the way you normally talk to your child and they give you the deer in the headlight look because they have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say! lol
..you ask your 5yo to leave the book he's been reading in the car on kindergarten back-to-school night. (5 Children and It, by E. Nesbit.) "But why, mama? I was at a good part." "Just...can you leave it here so we don't lose it?"
oh yeah, ultramarina - that just nails it, doesn't it? that weird, covering up thing we have to do.
brings to mind an open house we went to in the spring...
DD5, surveying the horde of screaming 6/7 y/olds in the back of the gym, slings a world-weary arm over the back of her chair and deadpans, "WHERE are their PARENTS?"
When your 4yo confesses to you that she's not sure how parents "stand so much noise and rambunctiosness." (Meaning, in NT agemates.)
When you try desperately to evade other parents in the "so what is your child doing" watercooler chit-chat. Or you tell them half truths.
"{Child} is really enjoying reading" (yeah, reading A Brief History of Time, at 8yo)
"Oh, she's still really into dolls." (Yes, DD7 regularly reenacts 18th and 19th century causes of child mortality with them... in order to make play with her American Girls a bit more... er... authentic. I think that Kit is now partially disabled, since she has post-polio syndrome. DD really wanted an iron lung for her dolls last week.)
The normal toddler "why" phase lasted a day before expanding into who, what, where, what and my favourite how. These were pursued with such zeal that you felt like you were being interrogated by a professional and often resulted in "I'll have to look that up" even when they were in a field that you have a 4 year degree in.
Seriously, the exhausting intense interrogations were my first hint.
When the neighbors mention that they can't spell things to keep their kids from knowing what they're talking about, because DS-then-3 helpfully translates for them. ("Oh, you're going to the c-a-r-n-i-v-a-l, I love the carnival!")
your 5 year old who has been wanting to go to kindergarten for 3 years now hates school because the teacher reads all of the directions rather than letting the kids read them for themselves.
or when you're at a local start party and your then 6 year old knows more about the sky than the adults doing the presenting.
When you are at a party where an adult is telling everyone about a really hard 'Google interview question' - and your DD8 who happened to be walking by announces the answer while adults are still spinning the question around in their heads - LOL
When your 7 year old tells his grandpa his (meaning grandpa's) behavior is counterproductive and he should really work on that. And no one really batted an eyelash.
Your 4yo has been coming up with various ideas to defeat gravity and fly up. Latest idea is an air box that is attached to her bum to push her up. She is desperate. She took out a piece of paper and, with help from me on spelling, wrote a letter to her science teacher. Here is how it went: For teacher's name. How to fly? How does a hot air balloon take off? She is planning to give her letter to her teacher tomorrow.
The spelling thing reminded me that we spelled words backwards so that our precocious kids didn't know what to think. It was soooo hard because the receiver had to figure it out. Hey i was thinking m-a-e-r-c e-c-i.....where do you want to get it? I am surprised they never did because dh is the champion saying the alphabet backwards which is what gave us the idea I think.
Your two year old pushes his grandma to the point that she gives him a small swat on the bottom. He turns to her and says cooly "Hitting is never ok. You need to find a different way to solve your problems."
When you are explaining to your 6 and 8 year olds that it isn't really right for parents to tell their children not to do something that is bad for them (smoking was what we were talking about), when the parents themselves do. Both shake their heads in agreement and the 6 year old pipes up to say, that is very "hypocritical". Yes, dear daughter, it indeed is....and I had no idea you even knew that word, let alone it's meaning....lol!
9th grader asked a few weeks into the school year what they think of high school. "Not so good... they are STILL just teaching us things other people have already figured out instead of letting us discover new things!"
Same child several years later, a few weeks into a very intense and academically challenging college experience: "Well, I figure this is the only way I will ever reach my goal of becoming a polymath."
When your 14 month old's new nanny asks you how to pronounce a difficult word, looks astonished at the answer and says 'he was right' and never again questions his corrections of her (very good) English.
When your son comes home from school and repeats verbatim what his teacher told him. Then when you meet with the principal about it, the teacher changes the story. So you then bring up what he said the principal and everyone in the office told him verbatim as well as all the other things he heard while waiting there.... The looks on the faces are then priceless.
When your son comes home from school and repeats verbatim what his teacher told him. Then when you meet with the principal about it, the teacher changes the story. So you then bring up what he said the principal and everyone in the office told him verbatim as well as all the other things he heard while waiting there.... The looks on the faces are then priceless.
I call internet foul. That is cruelly light on detail.
... When WISC OLSAT LOG IEP SBV RPM WPPSI IV IAS ADHD ASD 2E TIP NAGC GATE NT CTD WMI FSIQ GAI PSI SOS OMG A) Makes sense to you B) Sets your kid to working out a decryption key
When DD told her Kindergarten class about herself.....favorite things, food, color, etc. She told them her favorite book was the dictionary and then told them how to use it!
When your 6yr old child's teacher assigns child reading level K and online books to read on a controlled, leveled site which child refuses to use until child finds a way to access level Z, saying "HA! Level Z!". Child then proceeds to listen to a 45min reading of Robinson Caruso, refusing to go to bed, and answers half of the comprehension questions correctly.
...there is a discrepancy about some fact, your dd10 is the one in the family everyone assumes has it right.
...grandpa can't figure out how to fix something around the house, he calls your dd10 to come help him figure it out, and she usually comes up with a solution.
...you almost don't let your kid at age 3 participate in the end of year production because she hadn't been to preschool for 2 weeks and only went 2 days a week before that, and you have never heard her say a single word from any of the songs. But you decide to let her stand up there anyway and she leads all the other kids.
...when all the students in your dd8's third grade class gets a paperback student dictionaries to take home but all the words your child wants to look up isn't in that dictionary and you have to go to the "big" dictionary to find the definitions. But she still reads the "small" one at night to help her go to sleep.
The spelling thing reminded me that we spelled words backwards so that our precocious kids didn't know what to think. It was soooo hard because the receiver had to figure it out. Hey i was thinking m-a-e-r-c e-c-i.....where do you want to get it? I am surprised they never did because dh is the champion saying the alphabet backwards which is what gave us the idea I think.
I liked the idea of spelling things backwards, so I suggested it to my wife last night. The first word she thought to cipher? "Park". K-R-A-P. My DD 4.5 proceeded with her usual phonics. Hilarity ensued.
The spelling thing reminded me that we spelled words backwards so that our precocious kids didn't know what to think. It was soooo hard because the receiver had to figure it out. Hey i was thinking m-a-e-r-c e-c-i.....where do you want to get it? I am surprised they never did because dh is the champion saying the alphabet backwards which is what gave us the idea I think.
I liked the idea of spelling things backwards, so I suggested it to my wife last night. The first word she thought to cipher? "Park". K-R-A-P. My DD 4.5 proceeded with her usual phonics. Hilarity ensued.
Glad I could provide you with some fun. I still don't know if my kids (13 and 8) would know if we spelled backwards in front of them...we have left that stage behind.
...your kid's teacher tells you you're "pushing her" because you work with her outside of school.
Yet...it's perfectly okay for other people to send their kids to Kumon or other tutoring centers for "extra help."
YES - and also, when they accuse you of "pushing her" even when you don't work with her outside of school. because of course NO child could learn anything without direct instruction, right? [bangs head on desk for the fiftieth time...]
ha, ha! just wait until he disassembles it... my poor mother came down to the basement one day when i was about that age, only to find me sitting squarely in the middle of a neat array of vacuum parts. as she put it, "it was too quiet."
ha, ha! just wait until he disassembles it... my poor mother came down to the basement one day when i was about that age, only to find me sitting squarely in the middle of a neat array of vacuum parts. as she put it, "it was too quiet."
... your largest, longest-running disciplinary problem is with inappropriate reading.
(Too much, too long, when one should be doing other things, inappropriate materials, interfering with sleep, finishing course textbooks in the first two weeks of school and then being bored)
The vacuum cleaner story made me think of a time when two supposedly smart adults were standing in front of a car trunk trying to figure out how to squeeze in a child's bike, having already tried several times and failed. DD (I believe she was 7 then) came up, looked at it, and said "Why don't you turn it around the other way and put the handlebars like this and put it like that?" (gesturing to make her point) Other adult: "Oh, I don't know." Me: "No, she's probably right." She was.
... when the Google doodle (today, a representation of a Foucault pendulum) makes everyone in your house, including your DD14, smile and think fondly of Paris.
(Because that was higher on the "must see" list than anything inside the Louvre.)
... your 6 year old Kindergartner comes out of his first visiting 5 grade math skipping and singing "I have homework, I have homework."
... the gt teacher calls the high school math teacher to let her know that she gets to teach ds6 math next year because she will be out of her league by then.
... your ds doesn't like going grocery shopping because you refuse to let him walk around reading a book and he is too big to fit in the cart seat anymore.
... you lose the ability to spell in front of you 3 year old, so you start making up secret code translations. McDonalds became "The Irish Duck" and IHOP was "The Global Domicile of Flapjacks"
ha, ha! just wait until he disassembles it... my poor mother came down to the basement one day when i was about that age, only to find me sitting squarely in the middle of a neat array of vacuum parts. as she put it, "it was too quiet."
Vacuum disassembly must be a thing, because DS is constantly sneaking off to take ours apart!
He was at me all day yesterday to disassemble a computer tower with a transparent case that DH built. You can imagine his excitement when they opened it up to finally study the parts. He's not even 2 and already has better tech knowledge than me.
Stop with the vacuum cleaner talk! I have lived in fear of my kids electrocuting themselves as toddlers after my DH's first date tale of "The first time I electrocuted myself...." His mother was vacuuming, at 2 he could tell something really good was coming out of the wall, so he did the only logical thing, he eased the plug out a tiny bit and wrapped a piece of wire around the prongs. And is alive today only because his parents had a circuit breaker installed way before they were common... And yes before he got this story out I did interrupt him with "What do you mean the FIRST time?"
Love the disassembly stories- my DS is also a lover of taking things apart. In fact, one of his favorite things to do when he visits grandma and grandpa is to visit the dump, so he can bring home a few treasures to take apart. Not kidding. Sometimes they bring home more than they drop off.
Going along with the thread, when your DS loves to visit the orthodontist, because they are patient and explain all the machines and gadgets (and his older sister is the one who actually has the appointment!).
When your DD spends all of preschool "parents' night" hiding under the table reading "Heidi."
When your DD finally finds her people, at the uber-nerdy science olympiad tournaments.
When your DS has to bring in a celebrity photo for art class portrait drawing, and he chooses the designer/inventor of minecraft (still can't remember his real name....).
When your DD makes a pretty good representation of a Monty Python character for her Halloween costume, and none of the kids have any idea who she is (but the teachers do).
When your DS does the weekly math challenge in his head on the way home the day it is assigned.
When your very advanced 4 year old pianist's teacher reports that he was very distracted during his lesson and he replies, you know I am still very young and Most children my age can't play the piano at all.
When your DS is asked by his grandmother what he learned at school and his response is , Oh I don't learn anything at all at school I just go to help with the butterfly garden and take care of the two year olds on the playground.
Stop with the vacuum cleaner talk! I have lived in fear of my kids electrocuting themselves as toddlers after my DH's first date tale of "The first time I electrocuted myself...." His mother was vacuuming, at 2 he could tell something really good was coming out of the wall, so he did the only logical thing, he eased the plug out a tiny bit and wrapped a piece of wire around the prongs. And is alive today only because his parents had a circuit breaker installed way before they were common... And yes before he got this story out I did interrupt him with "What do you mean the FIRST time?"
You have to ask the teacher to use a workbook you provide to the school to keep your son busy as the other kids finish their work. Said teacher does so; however begrudgingly.
Your child's teacher tells you you are "too hard" on your child and from then on thinks you're a "hot-housing" parent.
Your child questions waitresses/waiters about whether or not the food has GMO's.
You play math games at restaurants while waiting for your food.
Your child requests non-fluoridated toothpaste at the dentist...and reads the labels of the options available as the hygienists look on with surprise.
You constantly find yourself reminded of your child's chronological age when a meltdown of some sort occurs moments after he/she has done something brilliant. One minute you're having a conversation and the next you're corralling an inconsolable banshee.
It's funny but some of my examples I feel like I can't give because my children are such opposites (in some ways)... Like you know you have a gifted child when you have to baby proof beyond what anyone's ever seen before, from 5 months old.... OR you don't need to baby proof AT ALL... Child #2 we had only 1 room in the house we could allow her in without 100% attention at all times, that one room had mag locks ingeniously installed on things never intended for mag locks.... Child #3 we had a stair gate (she had access to the full house, she just had to take an alternate route than the slate stairs), we put the dishwashing powder up high and that's it.
...When you have to make easy instructions difficult so they have to figure out how to do it. Like, for my now 4th grader, instead of memorizing multiplication tables over and over we had to turn it into a game of "is the number prime or composite."
...When your then 8 year old was helping her 16 year old cousin with his Spanish homework and Geography.
...When she can tell you how to build a bridge but has difficulty tying her shoes and still can't ride a bike.
...when she corrects typos on math worksheets. Or asks if she should put the correct answer or the answer the worksheet is wanting. And yes there is a difference.
...or she asks you how the best way to correct her teacher would be. Because she doesn't want to get in trouble but the teacher is wrong and your student has proof.
...when your now 9 year old is your secret weapon on your trivia team because no one thinks about you bringing your kid to the trivia game. Until others realize you only have three members to their 8 and your team is winning...LOL
...when your family doctor loans your 8 year old an anatomy book for her to look at.
...when your 8 year old goes on a school trip with the her gifted class to the Davinci Machines exhibit and brings home a print of a Davinci painting she wants to hang up in her room. But it's not the Mona Lisa. It's Lady with an Ermine because she liked it better.
...when she corrects typos on math worksheets. Or asks if she should put the correct answer or the answer the worksheet is wanting. And yes there is a difference.
...or she asks you how the best way to correct her teacher would be. Because she doesn't want to get in trouble but the teacher is wrong and your student has proof.
DD started tearfully asking me things like this when she was about 7yo...
and I'm still trying, almost eight years later, to explain to the school why it is unacceptable to me that my daughter earns a "c" on a quiz because she understands the material TOO WELL.
{sigh}
When your 14yo is happier working in a college research lab than she has ever been in her life. Well, except for the Christmas when her grandfather got her a Samantha doll when she was four.
When your 6yo refuses to cooperate with standardized testing unless she can "read the directions myself" because anything else is "patronizing and downright insulting."
When your 9yo spends the afternoon at the local science museum cheerfully "helping" adults who can't figure out the math puzzles.
When your 14yo is elated that the academic paper she's an author on has been accepted for review... and flips back to the window where she is skyping with her a friend in some kind of pretend-play game.
... you lose the ability to spell in front of you 3 year old, so you start making up secret code translations. McDonalds became "The Irish Duck" and IHOP was "The Global Domicile of Flapjacks"
Ha! We totally did stuff like this. "The area of aquatic recreational activity." "The vendor of frozen dairy-based substances."
He was at me all day yesterday to disassemble a computer tower with a transparent case that DH built. You can imagine his excitement when they opened it up to finally study the parts. He's not even 2 and already has better tech knowledge than me.
Heh. A couple of years ago I disassembled DW's laptop to address a broken touchpad button... DD predictably ooohed and ahhhed over the result, but my non-technical DW (who swears she's not gifted) was even more keen on it than DD.
You constantly find yourself reminded of your child's chronological age when a meltdown of some sort occurs moments after he/she has done something brilliant. One minute you're having a conversation and the next you're corralling an inconsolable banshee.
And the corollary - You constantly have to remind your child of their chronological age, because they're melting down over a failure to duplicate the results of those much older and better trained.
Your child gets in trouble at school because she repeatedly corrected the poor spelling of the substitute teacher....and your child doesn't understand why she got in trouble when all she was doing was trying to help.
... Your child comes home from (insert gifted event here) shocked and dazed because she's never met kids she connected with so well.
... Moving up a level of selectivity for the event causes a repeat of #1.
... to pass the time while you're in a meeting, you hand your preschooler paper and markers. 20 minutes later she has invented a tomato juicing machine, diagrammed its working parts, and has a business plan in place to make money with it - and expects you to help bring it to reality...
...speaks slowly to adults because they must have a hard time understanding if they are asking such questions. ...she didn't teach us about petition because she probably doesn't know how to explain it to 2nd graders (conversation with DD7 about why her teacher only taught 4 of the 5 freedoms of the first amendment to the 2nd grade class)
... to pass the time while you're in a meeting, you hand your preschooler paper and markers. 20 minutes later she has invented a tomato juicing machine, diagrammed its working parts, and has a business plan in place to make money with it - and expects you to help bring it to reality...
You constantly find yourself reminded of your child's chronological age when a meltdown of some sort occurs moments after he/she has done something brilliant. One minute you're having a conversation and the next you're corralling an inconsolable banshee.
And the corollary - You constantly have to remind your child of their chronological age, because they're melting down over a failure to duplicate the results of those much older and better trained.
Oh, YES. My DS is still a bit young to understand (allow?) delayed gratification well. Instead, the offending object is usually bludgeoned or shouted at with gutteral contempt.
And, so, his Hallowe'en costume this year will be...Braveheart. He's already mastered the war cry.
Your 2 year old tires of the mundane sameness of the alphabet and switches to mirror writing 'for fun'. You fear she will be writing entirely in code by kindergarten.
Your 5 year old gets into an unnecessary theological debate with a classmate because he does not/cannot believe that someone that old (5) isn't fully conversant with the Big Bang theory.
While your 3 year old provides a one sentence explanation of how Genesis, the Big Bang, evolution and dinosaurs are all mutually compatible. You wish she had shared her analysis with her brother and consider sending her on a world peace tour.
And YES to the better consequences! I now ask what they think an appropriate consequence would be and they invariably come up with something both more appropriate and more onerous than what I would have imposed!
Ah... that reminds me... your six year old is asked if she is praying when mumbling under her breath in her first grade classroom. "Nope," she announces, "I was reciting the Gettysburg Address."
When your seven year old wants to watch the Lord of the Rings movies (PG 13). You think they are probably a little too gory for her in spite of her high tolerance for such things with no nightmares, so tell her she has to read the three Tolkien books in the series before she can watch the movies. Thinking this will buy you a couple of years -- it takes her three months.
When Grandpa refused to play chess with the seven year old any more because she beats him every time.
When you realize that you're having a conversation about the perils of unsecured fissionable materials in the international community, and how political instability impacts foreign policy in that particular domain... with your 14yo, who seems to have a better grasp on the nature of these problems than many world leaders evidently do.
When you realize that you're having a conversation about the perils of unsecured fissionable materials in the international community, and how political instability impacts foreign policy in that particular domain... with your 14yo, who seems to have a better grasp on the nature of these problems than many world leaders evidently do.
Not to detract from your daughter's political insights in any way but I think my miniature poodle has a better grasp of this than many world leaders LOL
....when your 1st grader gets bored with putting her united states floor puzzle together the right way because it takes her about 15 minutes for all 50 states, so she decides to turn it upside down and try it that way.
...when your DD10's class is asked to write about anything they want (intending it to be creative writing) and she writes about the Kurds because that's more interesting than fiction.
When you find DS6 standing naked at the bathroom counter, reading about heat exchange in the Cartoon Guide to Chemistry. Having forgotten to brush his teeth.
When your 3 yo walks into your newly renovated office building and the first question she asks is," mom, does this building have split, window or central air conditioning." When you answer central, she looks up and says," yup, I see the registers."
We've wandered from the parent perspective part. So, I will add some in that direction.
...when you have to engage in continuing education just to keep up with your kids
...when you finally figured out an actual use for those SAT words. They were designed to help parents of gifted kids talk to each other without the kids understanding. (Then, you hear your kids start using those SAT words.)
...you have a regular look that expresses "Yes, I know that answer/interest/whatever is unusual for anyone, and especially for someone her age, but that's just who she is. Gotta love it!"
...when you are always skeptical about other people saying a kid is smart because their definition of smart and your definition of smart are two drastically different things.
...when you think the minimum age on a toy is the maximum age.
...when you have NO IDEA what to buy other kids for their birthdays and you can't let your kid pick either.
...when you have to make back up plans for your daughters slumber party because you don't know how long the other little girls will be entertained by your daughter favorite movie, "Gifted Hands"
. . .When your six year old says this at dinner, "Mr. ____ says that nothing's impossible. But if nothing is impossible, then it has to possible that something's impossible." And you simply. cannot. argue. with. that.
. . .When you ask your seven year old what he wants to be for Halloween and he says "KoKo with the kitten All Ball." Yeah, the socialized gorilla that we once heard about in the 1980's. Sigh.
. . .When you're having lunch with your friend (who also happens to be the coordinator of the after-school program your son attends), and she laments that she's having to work in the kindergarten room. She says it's difficult because she has to read their homework instructions to them. And you stop yourself RIGHT before you say, "Why don't they read them themselves?"
... when you find yourself mentally doing asides during conversations with your child which go something like "I sure hope that she never vocalizes any of this to anyone else... because nothing says "I'm a freak" like {whatever it is} at {age}." But you wonder if you should engage in some of the more odd things that s/he seems to want to discuss-- because you're afraid of "encouraging it."
And then you feel bad because that's truly not how YOU feel about such conversations... it's just that you don't want anyone else to view your child as a specimen rather than as a person.
And ooooooo-- the caution about "smart kids," too. I've so made that mistake, blithely leaping in to 'share' and thrilled that another parent has a HG child... only to realize that, oops-- nope, what they mean is something pretty different than what we're used to and I just made them feel really inadequate, where previously they'd been very proud of their kids. (I hate that-- they SHOULD feel proud and happy.) I'll.. just... crawl into this convenient hole, here...
... when your 5yo reminds YOU that most other 5yo girls won't like a science kit, a boxed set of novels, or a copy of Grey's Anatomy for a birthday. "Mom, focus. {deep sigh and an eye roll} This isn't for me. {Child} won't like that." (Said with a tone of "Seriously?? Mom, what ARE you thinking??")
oh dear - we hear the "most girls of 5 wouldn't..." refrain about 20 times a day.
it worries me that this kind of talk means that she's always defining herself by her "Otherness" ... but then again, she's not particularly typical, so for better or for worse, it's not an inaccurate self-assessment. sigh. this is a very tricky one.
And ooooooo-- the caution about "smart kids," too. I've so made that mistake, blithely leaping in to 'share' and thrilled that another parent has a HG child... only to realize that, oops-- nope, what they mean is something pretty different than what we're used to and I just made them feel really inadequate, where previously they'd been very proud of their kids. (I hate that-- they SHOULD feel proud and happy.) I'll.. just... crawl into this convenient hole, here...
... when your 5yo reminds YOU that most other 5yo girls won't like a science kit, a boxed set of novels, or a copy of Grey's Anatomy for a birthday. "Mom, focus. {deep sigh and an eye roll} This isn't for me. {Child} won't like that." (Said with a tone of "Seriously?? Mom, what ARE you thinking??")
... when you find yourself asking, three weeks into school, for the ADDITION of a dual-enrollment class for your 14yo, because the regular HS AP offerings aren't taking up enough time to legitimately fill even 2/3rd of a "school day."
...when you have NO IDEA what to buy other kids for their birthdays and you can't let your kid pick either.
So true. Last year DS had to choose a gift for his crush, a girl one year older than him. He said she liked "sparkly" things, so chose a learning prism.
A few months later another girl invited him to her party and I chose that gift...a stuffed mini pooch in a cute little purse. She said it was cute, tossed it aside, and played with something another child gave her.
When your four year old gets the gift of a lifetime, a ripped out dashboard gauge layout, and asks you to help him "see what makes this baby tick", and you do. Then you later realize the solder is likely lead-based and amidst tears from your preschooler, reluctantly button the "baby" back up.
When you plan an elaborate treasure hunt for your DD's sixth birthday and make a point of using rhyming clues with what you think are simple words, only to discover that only your DD and her BFF can read them.
When your seven year old has read the Harry Potter series so many times that she has large chunks of it memorized.
When you take the enrichment homework the gifted coordinator has selected for your older DD and give it to her younger sister, who zips through it and asks if you have anything harder.
...When you can't tell if your young child is reading or memorizing text. You could swear that you've already read the passage he's reciting, but you can't be sure because you burn through hundreds of library books every month. There are only so many fictional animals you can reasonably keep tabs on without losing your mind
...when you are reluctant to let your DD10 stay the night at a slumber party with a number of girls she doesn't know. That's a normal parent. Aaah! But, it's because you don't know how long she can go without saying a lot of "stuff" that will make the other girls think she's really weird and you want her to leave the party on a good note.
...when your child is watching "Big Bang Theory," (with parental supervision) and says, "This show is so realistic." And she's not being sarcastic or joking.
I Know Iam parenting a gifted child, When myson was Four and ahalf months old. He is a bilingual child, so I thought he will not talk easly.When we went to Turkey to visit my family. Some of my friend ask him How are you. his answer was "I am good" HE got shock and asked again and he replied "I am good". Same tiime around My friends mother died. We talked about what happend to her, while I was breasth feeding him. He stoped sucking and looked my sister with his upsetface and said "she died","she died". We all got shocked and my sister said 'oh my god". and When He was 6 months old He force me to read a new backyardigans book between 1 pm ( my husband ate his lunch and left)to 5:30 pm. when my husband came from work. Ilooked at him and I throwed the book to him and whent to Bedroom. He was so cool, he ducked to escape from book,took it and sit next to Emre and continued to read. I stayed in the Bedroom .
You are listening to parents discuss and complain about the school district's requirement that first and second graders read for twenty minutes a day. And thinking that is what your seven year old sneaks in when he is NOT supposed to be reading. Cannot relate.
You're field dressing a deer with an 8 year old girl (who wanted to come and watch the process) and instead of being grossed out she is fascinated with all the internal organs, especially the heart.
You are listening to parents discuss and complain about the school district's requirement that first and second graders read for twenty minutes a day. And thinking that is what your seven year old sneaks in when he is NOT supposed to be reading. Cannot relate.
I just had to comment on this. We moved from a big school to a small one when my daughter was in first grade, and the new one had a 90 minute reading block for 1st and second graders but no science or social studies. My dd was having fits because she had to read their little stories for that 90 minutes. Not nonfiction books. It didn't take long for the teachers to just let her read what she wanted after finishing what they wanted her to do.
You're field dressing a deer with an 8 year old girl (who wanted to come and watch the process) and instead of being grossed out she is fascinated with all the internal organs, especially the heart.
We really do need a like button!!! This is our girls, spot on!
...when you realize that the other two year olds are still learning to identify numbers and to count; not doing addition and subtraction in their heads.
...when one of your twins teaches himself how to read at three years old, and you find out when he reads a book to you and your husband.
... when the other twin decides at age five that he wants to learn how to read and and insists that he will teach himself. AND HE DOES, within a couple of weeks, by practicing with BOB books for 5-10 minutes at night alone in his room before bed.
You are listening to parents discuss and complain about the school district's requirement that first and second graders read for twenty minutes a day. And thinking that is what your seven year old sneaks in when he is NOT supposed to be reading. Cannot relate.
At my house, this is usually done when DD is supposed to be eating breakfast, getting ready to leave, brushing her teeth, etc. The list goes on and on! I feel bad for telling her to "put the book down and focus". I know it's a good problem to have, but some days it makes me crazy! :-)
At my house, this is usually done when DD is supposed to be eating breakfast, getting ready to leave, brushing her teeth, etc. The list goes on and on! I feel bad for telling her to "put the book down and focus". I know it's a good problem to have, but some days it makes me crazy! :-)
Yep. I have now caught DS hiding a book under the table at dinnertime. Twice. It makes me want to laugh, but I just can't... or he'd do it every night.
When your 5 year old, who has lived his five years in Honduras, is visiting Connecticut and travelling on a toll road and asks about the toll. When told what the coin being tossed in the basket is, there is a brief silence and he says, "Oh, so that is .... in Lempiras, right?" And he has made the conversion correctly.
When your 6 yo wonders aloud if his elementary school principal will allow him to start an "elements of the periodic table" club so that all the other kids who love the periodic table can get together and just talk about the elements.
When your 6 yo wonders aloud if his elementary school principal will allow him to start an "elements of the periodic table" club so that all the other kids who love the periodic table can get together and just talk about the elements.
Ha! Let me know how that one works out for him! We got DS a periodic table shower curtain, and a deck of cards with all the elements.
At the moment, he's building the periodic table of Minecraft, in Minecraft, because the one on his shirt doesn't have everything.
DD5 would absolutely join that club - she's making me read "The Disappearing Spoon" (Kean) to her right now while she's too sick to do her uh, schoolwork.
When your 6 yo wonders aloud if his elementary school principal will allow him to start an "elements of the periodic table" club so that all the other kids who love the periodic table can get together and just talk about the elements.
My DS6 would love to join a club like that, too. He has all of the Theodore Gray element books and cards, a poster of the periodic table, and we just bought the periodic table shower curtain, too. He's loved the elements since he was three and LOVES to discuss them and their properties.
He recently discovered a Nova special about the elements on Netflix, and was overjoyed!
When you restrict board games by saying that he can not play games that the minimum age is double his actual age. Then he gets killer bunnies a couple of months before his 6th birthday and you really wonder why it has a suggested age of 13+ so you have to change the rule.
When your kid gets a 70 on a project that you know they can do. You ask what happened and they tell you the assignment was stupid so they only did the interesting parts.
When your kid gets a 70 on a project that you know they can do. You ask what happened and they tell you the assignment was stupid so they only did the interesting parts.
When you leave the room and your dd4 is watching the Disney channel and you come back and they have changed the channel to the Science channel and watching a show about uranium. Followed by a show on Gold; where it's found and how it got there.
Child-centred, not parent-centred examples, but still had to include them:
DS23mo and I met a gentleman from Sri Lanka today, so I showed him where Sri Lanka was relative to us on a map. Fast-forward to a conversation later this evening.
Me: We met a man from Sri Lanka today, didn't we, DS? Sri Lanka is just south of the tip of what country?
DS (*without hesitating for a second*): India!
DH was astonished. That doesn't happen too often.
---
He also used the word "panoply" correctly and spontaneously-- "Look Mummy, I have a panoply of trucks on my pyjamas!" And he proceeded to name them. Cement mixers were today's darlings.
your DD14 glares at you for putting her NMSC "Certificate of Commendation" up tucked into a frame (that holds another honor)... because she sees it as a badge of shame that she didn't earn a semifinalist score on the PSAT at 13.5yo.
Let's just say that personal standards of excellence are a little different for some kids. (I was/am proud of her-- honest-- I wasn't being mean. I just thought it was cool that she scored in the top 50K nationwide at that age, particularly never having any experience with standardized tests until then.)
your DD14 glares at you for putting her NMSC "Certificate of Commendation" up tucked into a frame (that holds another honor)... because she sees it as a badge of shame that she didn't earn a semifinalist score on the PSAT at 13.5yo.
Let's just say that personal standards of excellence are a little different for some kids. (I was/am proud of her-- honest-- I wasn't being mean. I just thought it was cool that she scored in the top 50K nationwide at that age, particularly never having any experience with standardized tests until then.)
Sometimes I swear you are my parents and I am your DD.
...You're not sure anyone in the family can reliably beat your 5yo at chess anymore. (DD says she "let DS win" the last few times they played. Is this true? I'm not sure. He beats his dad about half the time and me ALL the time, but I'm terrible.)
...DS plays one game online with a pretty good player and proceeds to use the opening that player used to whomp his dad ("Where'd you learn THAT?" "The guy I played online did that"). How the $%$@ did he remember it?
DS7 achieved Woodcock-Johnson scores for reading and math subtests in the 97th-99th percentile. While climbing onto the neuropsych's desk and leaping onto her sofa; surfing on her office chair; licking various things in her office; and generally testing the tester in every appalling way he could imagine. She brought him out after 45 minutes and I reset his behavior for the second half of the session. I really wish she'd brought him out sooner so we could see what he's actually capable of.
(Yes, I'm frustrated. We did a full assessment, just had the followup meeting where I learned what really happened last month, and while there are some useful insights and I am sure there will be more in the final report, most of her recommendations are behavioral. I feel like we just paid a whole lot of money to find out we have a very smart, very stubborn, very complicated kid. That, we knew.)
Oh, yes! My D careened from side to side, throwing herself against the walls of the room (literally) while taking the Woodcock-Johnson at that age as well! Good times. And yes, our results were the same as what you are expecting.
...You finally realize that you can do anything your child hates (tooth brushing, nail clipping) peaceably as long as you're reading a book at the same time.
Or as long as the child is using the iPad? I can't count the number of times I have uttered the words, "no iPad in the bathroom" lately! Usually in connection with the need to brush teeth or take a shower.
When your 5 year old, lying on the couch with fevers due to tonsillitis, decides to learn all the African countries and where they are (Country Stack). Then proceeds to do so in under 15 minutes. And still remembers them weeks later in other contexts.
When your 5 year old, lying on the couch with fevers due to tonsillitis, decides to learn all the African countries and where they are (Country Stack). Then proceeds to do so in under 15 minutes. And still remembers them weeks later in other contexts.
Ooh, thank you -- just looked up Country Stack and must get this for DD7!
... when your fourteen year old gets off the phone, looks you in the eye and says; "WOW. Some people are really nosy and rude."
(Because the person at the college admissions office was so obnoxious about hunting down her SAT/application file and wanted to chat about her BIRTHDATE instead.) Her: I need to find out if College Board has sent you my SAT scores, as I'll need to take care of that before the ED deadline otherwise.
Him: What's your student ID?
Her: I'm APPLYING for admission. I don't have a student ID since I'm not an enrolled student.
Him: Oh. Last name?
Firstname? Can you spell that? Birthdate?
{lonnnnnnnnnnnng pause}
You're really young.
So are you graduating early? or-- something?
DD told me she was thinking (but did not say);
"OBVIOUSLY, genius. Thus, my polite query about my darned SAT SCORES... and whether or not College Board has sent them to you... which you have taken the liberty of IGNORING while we sit here and discuss my chronological age instead. Do you ask someone born in 1993 if they are "graduating late?" What else would you like to talk about, my race? Gender? Maybe disability or religion?"
She just got a teeeeeeensy bit more "crisp" and professional with him. She was sure steamed, though.
It's kind of sad that my 14yo knew better than a professional at the admissions office of a major university what should and should not be a topic for conversation with an applicant-- under the law.
When your almost 3 year old is playing with blocks and starts making sets made of three blocks that he tells you are carbon dioxide molecules. One large block with two smaller blocks in each set.
...or when he asks what a spiral staircase is and after you try to explain it as simply as possible as stairs that are shaped as if they have been twisted into a spiral, he responds, "Oh, like DNA. Okay."
...You're looking through photos of a trip to an out of town science museum from 2 months ago and your DS23mo tells you you're missing a photo...the one of an Archimedes' Screw.
You know you parenting a gifted child when ... your child rotuinely gets in trouble for working ahead and above grade level.
Today's conversation: Friend/Aquaintance: "Hi, how is DS doing in school?" Me: "Okay, I guess." Friend: "Getting calls from the teacher?" Me: "Yes." Friend: "What's he doing?" Me: "Well, he keeps getting in trouble for reading books above his designated level and working ahead in math. it was the same thing last year." Friend, looking perplexed: "I don't understand? Wouldn't that be the model student?" ME: "I guess not because he gets his "good tickets" taken away for it and I keep getting phone calls about it." Friend: "That's so strange!" Me: "Yes. Yes it is."
... your 14yo is switching (fluidly) between why a college discussion class she sat in on was "the most awesome 50 minutes of my life so far" and--
a discussion of the merits of making a bow for her Halloween costume of "Woodland Elf."
She's going to rock the children's Halloween party that she always works at. (She's very thoughtful about picking costumes that are non-threatening but fantastic/extensive. Last year she was Rainbow Dash.)
On your last trip to the grocery store, you spent more money on stuff for various experiments your kids planned than you did on food for your family to eat.
ha that is awesome, MidwestMom! i've got one that's similar - when your kid saves up and then spends three weeks of allowance on a series of funnels for her science experiments.
Yeah, I remember going to a school readiness talk and asking in all innocence if that was what he needed to know to start school what is he supposed to do between 3 and 5 years? And gifted didn't occur to me.
Taking him to the library used book sale leaves you completely and utterly frazzled (of course, also having his younger brother along made it worse). First, he insisted on taking all his quarters and his small bills, even though we told him I would cover him.
Once there, he ran upstairs to the sale (this is our second sale trip), and got to work. Back and forth between the children's tables and the oh-so-sweet retired lady volunteers, who think he's a riot. He's very polite, insisted on paying for his brother's finds as well and of course can do his own calculations. However, the crack cocaine that is books was coursing through his veins and he kept disappearing around the corner to go buy more. The final straw was when I found that he'd slipped away to purchase what appears to be a very detailed Joan of Arc biography for (much older) children. Being not quite ready to discuss being burned at the stake with a seven-year-old, I confiscated it and he was Not Pleased. Because why in the world is it Too Old for HIM?!
LOL-- I gave up even VETTING reading material at about that point, honestly... of course, you may not want to do that, as my then-12-yo found Mary McGarry Morris novels a bit... er... shocking, in spite of their (incredibly appealing) heft and number of bonus pages.
... you know you're parenting a gifted child when your 14yo combines Doctor Who with a traditional Japanese folk/ghost story, and decides that this is EASILY the best novel of all time, and is clearly a great NaNoWriMo novel. For this year, I mean.
Come to that, you might be parenting a giftie if your child was not yet into double-digit ages the first time s/he completed a NaNoWriMo novel.
I don't do a lot of vetting of his reading material, given a very trustworthy librarian who will let me know if anything might be iffy, but this one seemed just a bit gory. Yikes. I found the story fascinating, but troubling when I read it at about age 12.
I just had a flashback to a non-fiction book I pilfered from my mom's bookshelf when I was about nine or ten and firmly in my nun phase. Something about nuns in the Congo who had rather awful things happen to them. I was sneaky enough not to mention that I was reading it but young enough that it gave me a lot to worry about...
When the school has AR competitions between the classes by grade level and they make your child's AR points a class by himself and he is winning against entire classes of 20 kids. (Disclaimer...I think it is horrid to make it a contest).
And the same ds won the individual contest as a second grader by 500 points last year...never before had a second grader won. He made a goal to win 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade years too...never before in AR history has that been done...but he just skipped 3rd grade so he has to put an * if he wins these next two years by the record explaining he didn't lose 3rd grade, just skipped. (This is all tongue in cheek if you can't tell).
Your child refusing to participate in the Read-a-thon at school, because he thinks he's going to be asked to read MORE. Yet, his nose is always in a book- in the car, at the playground, at a resturant, etc. I don't think he COULD read more.
Oh and I love, "Mommy, my just- right books are REALLY easy" ds6. Because at home, he is easily reading atleast 2 grades higher than he is assessed at school (they have him end of 2nd grade) Nonfiction is even higher.
...You find yourself writing a business plan for an HG+ elementary school because, realistically, none of the local options look like they'll fit your DC's needs in 2-3 years.
...Your HG+ spouse comes back from the museum and is excited to tell you how your 23mo son taught him something new.
...You hear these seemingly age-inconsistent things said spontaneously within 10 seconds: A) My excavator fell because of gravity. B) I need to nurse, please. C) Meeeeeow....boom!
... your 5 year old has his very first REAL TWO WAY CONVERSATION with someone other than you / your spouse or himself when he runs into a boy couple years older than him at a Lego Robot Factory and they both start to very seriously discuss the topic of "time jumping" playing for about 20 minutes at which point the other boy had to leave and DS5 was almost in tears over losing his play buddy. Both my husband and I watched it almost with teary eyes and both said THIS is what he needs! We knew his peers don't get what he says, they just give him the deer in the headlight look at which point he gives up and just runs around with them trying to blend in, but seeing him for the first time in his life to really have a reciprocal conversation, it was priceless! He's the youngest in his class and this just proved to us how glad we are we did NOT hold him back a year!
My son also wants to learn everything about elements. I got scared the infinitive questions he asked. So I put everything in a box and hit them. He wants me to explain evrything but I dont know. Thanks for the hint, I have Netflix I will try that and Theodore Gray elements books and cards If you have more idea I love to hear them
... your DD8 comes home because the neighborhood kids are organizing a game of soccer, and she needs her shin guards. Safety first!
Then she comes home, you ask, "How did the soccer game go?", and she responds, "It was pretty easy, because R and I were the only ones who ever played [organized]." And you're just floored with how blasé she was about that, considering how there were six kids involved, one was older than her by a month, and the rest (including R) were at least three years older, including one boy.
Your seven-year old corrects you when you substitute "math method" for "math model." Thankfully, he has examples to share to illustrate the difference. lol
Your seven-year old corrects you when you substitute "math method" for "math model." Thankfully, he has examples to share to illustrate the difference. lol
When your child corrects you on everything and you have to remind them "you knew what I meant. So stop correcting me." LOL.
and you get as excited as your child when she gets new books from Scholastic because what she picks out is pretty cool stuff. (this last one was a Mission to mars book and a make your on crystals kit)
...not sure this is the right thread, but anyway....
Me and DD were driving home this evening from her x-curricular math class and I was behind a minivan with those family stickers where there is a dad sticker and a mom sticker and presumably appropriate kid stickers (and sometimes pets--yay!). Except on this van the stickers were all Star Wars themed, so Dad was I guess Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Mom was apparently Leia in the bikini, and the kids were a mini-stormtrooper and a mini-Leia, which IMO was all tremendously cute.
But it got me thinking--if I were to put these on our cars, and to choose any representation, what would it be?? And also, what are the figures supposed to represent--how others should see you, or how you wish to be seen? Anyway, in our family, if it was how each other two of us see the other one (as we are three altogether, excepting the dog), it might be: Dad = the Emperor; Mom = Tweety Bird; and DD = Warner Bros. Tasmanian Devil or Martian. Just saying.
It might be more interesting if each car had one row of 'traditional representations' (just the standard) and another of 'how we wish to be seen/ what our interests are'. I guess this might be part of what those Star Wars figures might be getting at, but it would definitely be more fun IMO than just representing how many kids you have. (and as a parent of an only kid, I would definitely 'score' better)
...You get excited when you see new posts in this thread! It's so comforting to find camraderie among parents in a similar position and finally be able to think "that sounds like my child!"
For the record, that habit is FAR more charming at 5 than it is when they're 14.
...or even at 9...
(Sidebar: you know things are going slightly off the rails with your gifted child when your husband feels the need to trot out his receipt of an NSF fellowship at dinner to get his 9yo to accept his authority on a scientific matter. He was sort of joking...I think...)
For the record, that habit is FAR more charming at 5 than it is when they're 14.
...or even at 9...
(Sidebar: you know things are going slightly off the rails with your gifted child when your husband feels the need to trot out his receipt of an NSF fellowship at dinner to get his 9yo to accept his authority on a scientific matter. He was sort of joking...I think...)
Not off the rails at all. Completely "normal" for our bunch. We constantly have arguments at dinner that have to be proven.
Proven is one thing, but "I know what I'm talking about! I have an advanced degree in biology! I got an NSF fellowship!" may be a sign that dad is getting a bit frustrated, even if said somewhat tongue in cheek.
...You get excited when you see new posts in this thread! It's so comforting to find camraderie among parents in a similar position and finally be able to think "that sounds like my child!"
YES!!!
This and the brag thread are some of my favorite things on the internet.
...You get excited when you see new posts in this thread! It's so comforting to find camraderie among parents in a similar position and finally be able to think "that sounds like my child!"
YES!!!
This and the brag thread are some of my favorite things on the internet.
Me too! When I have a bad day, I read back posts on the brag thread for a quick pick-me-up. Those stories are heartwarming! I admire all parents' sincere efforts to support their children here.
i am glad that i am not alone in this. brag thread? quirky thread? these are literally the best parts of my day that do not actually involve watching my own kid learn - it's totally fantastic to "see" everyone else's kids taking off, too. i really love all you guys (in a non-creepy, completely well-adjusted way - promise!)
i am glad that i am not alone in this. brag thread? quirky thread? these are literally the best parts of my day that do not actually involve watching my own kid learn - it's totally fantastic to "see" everyone else's kids taking off, too. i really love all you guys (in a non-creepy, completely well-adjusted way - promise!)
... when you talk to your 4 year old's preschool/daycare teacher at pickup time and she says that recently, your son has been sitting on a plastic boat in the sandpit singing C2, D2, B, A etc during outside play time and she wants to know what he means by it. And when you talk to the child about it, he says that he just wanted to sing "Row, Row, Row your boat" using piano notes instead of lyrics because he was too bored of singing to himself in the "usual" way!
...when your kindergartener doesn't get to finish about half his games at chess club because the older kids keep resigning when it becomes clear he's going to whup them. (I think this is poor sportsmanship, but I'm not in charge of the world, so.)
ETA: It might not be poor sportsmanship, I guess. But I find it somewhat hard to believe that my 5yo is dominating these kids SO much that they truly have no chance (which I think is when you are supposed to resign). He still does dumb stuff, because he's 5! I think it's more that they don't like being seen losing to him and want to get it over with.
...When your almost 2-year-old asks to learn how to play chess and you honestly don't think it's an outlandish proposition. His uncle is bubbling over with excitement at the thought of teaching him.
When your 4 year old asks the pediatrician where he attended medical school And where he did his residency before he would allow the exam to begin.
This made me literally lol. I'm also in the group of people who love threads like this, *especially* when other people's children do things mine haven't and couldn't have!
... when you look at your own 3yo, and you begin to grasp (finally) where the traditional folklore about changelings must have come from...
and then, further (tying to our "baggage from my own childhood" thing) you realize that THAT's what that look on your mom's face meant all those years of your childhood. She just thought you were an alien. Or possessed. Or something like that; it wasn't actually personal, she was just confused.
aquinas, my DS (easily) learned to play chess at 3, so...you could at least try! There's that No-Stress Chess variant, too. My DS would not have had the communication abilities at 2, but obviously, YMMV!
(Looking back, I'm now like, wait, he was 3? That's weird. It didn't seem weird at the time. I don't know. We didn't even teach him. DD did.)
aquinas, my DS (easily) learned to play chess at 3, so...you could at least try! There's that No-Stress Chess variant, too. My DS would not have had the communication abilities at 2, but obviously, YMMV!
(Looking back, I'm now like, wait, he was 3? That's weird. It didn't seem weird at the time. I don't know. We didn't even teach him. DD did.)
Thanks for the tips, ultramarina! I see your DS is getting quite proficient himself.
I figure we can introduce the pieces and their range of movement. If he likes it, great. If not, we can revisit it if/when he shows interest again. I honestly doubt he'll grasp the strategy yet, but I figure there's no harm in indulging him.
My Dad tried to teach me when I was 3, but I kept confusing "check" with "cheque". I thought there was a financial prize when I put someone in check and quickly lost interest when I learned that wasn't the case. And so my chess career ended at a tender age.
If he shows an interest in games generally, aquinas, there are a ton of really great ones now for kids....no need to play Candyland with these guys, thank goodness.
... when DC6 decides to "build" a pretend hotel with restaurant. He makes a list of all the imaginary supplies he needs, then asks for a field trip to the local hardware store so he can calculate his "REAL" costs (seriously, how many boards, nails, buckets of paint/stain, saws, flooring, etc.)
I can see the guy at the hardware store -- "Aren't you a bit young to be building a hotel?"
So it's not just me. My first moment was when she was about 13 months and I told her that my rules for nursing is that she has to fit on my lap. Once she no longer fits, she'd have to quit. She noticed that her feet were indeed sticking out of my lap so she crossed her legs. I was so confused and when she realized that I was confused, she had this triumphant smile.
It's not that I never expected young toddlers to be able to solve simple problems but it's was her cheekiness beyond her years that threw me off. I should have known what was to come after that day but I stayed in denial for many more months. Maybe I still am in denial.
when your 9 month old has been learning sign language because it is easier for her to communicate basic needs that way. But when you tell her "no" for something and use the sign for it she grabs your hand so you can't say no anymore.
...your 3 year old tells you the "real truth" about why he is naughty.
My son and I were snuggling one night after a particularly hard week with his behavior. (Due to our work, we frequently have visitors in our home.) Out of the blue, he told me, "Now I'm going to tell you the real truth. Sometimes I'm naughty because everyone pays attention to you (DH and I) and not to me." I asked him what we could we do. DS replied, "Have them talk to me." pause "Now I'm going to tell you the really real truth, I want everyone to look at me, smiling, laughing, and paying attention to me." After he told me this, I began to direct some visitor attention to him. Problem solved.
Another day, "The real truth is: I'm naughty because I want to do everything I want to do."
aquinas, my DS (easily) learned to play chess at 3, so...you could at least try! There's that No-Stress Chess variant, too. My DS would not have had the communication abilities at 2, but obviously, YMMV!
(Looking back, I'm now like, wait, he was 3? That's weird. It didn't seem weird at the time. I don't know. We didn't even teach him. DD did.)
My oldest son learned how to play before his fourth birthday.
Here is an anecdote about one of the most talented and famous chess players in history, Capablanca:
Referred to by many chess historians as the Mozart of chess, Capablanca was a chess prodigy whose brilliance was noted at an early age. According to Capablanca, he learned the rules of the game at the age of four by watching his father play. He said he noticed his father make an illegal move with his knight, accused him of cheating, and then demonstrated what he had done. It may be unlikely that he learned all the subtleties of en passant pawn capture, castling rules, and underpromotion by observation alone, since some of the positions which demonstrate the rules are uncommon. Capablanca was taken to the Havana Chess Club when he was five, where the leading players found it impossible to beat the young boy when giving him the handicap of a queen.
In order to wrap his head around the pain of eye drops required for his VT, your son spends time making an elaborate, three-dimensional drawing of a device that would eradicate the need for eye drops in the future.
And wants to hold it while receiving his eye drops.
When your (then) 2 year old DD is asked by her play group teacher, "what kind of dinosaur did you draw? Is it gray? Brown?". And she replies, "a gray stegasaurus silly!"
...You delude yourself into thinking you'll be okay taking your DS23mo to the museum with a 2.5 year old friend from music class. You reason that she's 25% older than him, so that should work. It's not okay, not even remotely close. DS wants to closely examine an exhibit on magnetism for 40 minutes. Friend prefers to change activities every 2 minutes and has a penchant for grabbing.
...Your DH is repairing a broken toy and doesn't want little hands interfering, so he says, "Can you please have a conversation with [your stuffed] walrus?" DS acquiesces, looks walrus in the eye and says, "So how are you, walrus?"
...You delude yourself into thinking you'll be okay taking your DS23mo to the museum with a 2.5 year old friend from music class. You reason that she's 25% older than him, so that should work. It's not okay, not even remotely close. DS wants to closely examine an exhibit on magnetism for 40 minutes. Friend prefers to change activities every 2 minutes and has a penchant for grabbing.
...Your DH is repairing a broken toy and doesn't want little hands interfering, so he says, "Can you please have a conversation with [your stuffed] walrus?" DS acquiesces, looks walrus in the eye and says, "So how are you, walrus?"
Love these. So wish we could take them to the museum together. At 2.5, I took my son to the Field Museum in Chicago. We were there from open to close three days in a row. He still begs to go back. I had trouble tearing him away from anything in there. It makes me want to move somewhere with bigger museums than here.
...You delude yourself into thinking you'll be okay taking your DS23mo to the museum with a 2.5 year old friend from music class. You reason that she's 25% older than him, so that should work. It's not okay, not even remotely close. DS wants to closely examine an exhibit on magnetism for 40 minutes. Friend prefers to change activities every 2 minutes and has a penchant for grabbing.
...Your DH is repairing a broken toy and doesn't want little hands interfering, so he says, "Can you please have a conversation with [your stuffed] walrus?" DS acquiesces, looks walrus in the eye and says, "So how are you, walrus?"
Love these. So wish we could take them to the museum together. At 2.5, I took my son to the Field Museum in Chicago. We were there from open to close three days in a row. He still begs to go back. I had trouble tearing him away from anything in there. It makes me want to move somewhere with bigger museums than here.
Wouldn't that be great to take them together? I've resolved that, given our current social circle, museums are for Mummy and DS because we can become engaged in the material without interruptions, but I'd be over the moon if you two were nearby.
We're lucky enough to have a great museum just around the corner from us, so we visit at least once each week, some weeks daily. I adore museums! *Wistful sigh*
when you start taking away your child's tablet early in the evening so they will go to sleep and rest and then you catch them doing the whole hide under the cover reading thing with not one but three different books and cross referencing between them. AND the books are not even remotely related that you can tell.
DD10 was taking forever to get her homework done because she was goofing off with her siblings. We wanted her to get it done because we have a lot of plans for the weekend.
Me: You have 15 minutes to get your homework done or I will make you put it away for the whole weekend and you will just get points off on Monday.
Me thinking: Did I really just say that as a threat? and because I knew it would work?
DD was almost Galadriel too- but at the last minute decided to be a bottle of Sriracha sauce (uhhh....because 13yos are more likely to recognize that?). She also had the "what are you" reaction last year when she was the leader of the knights who say Ni- at least I think some of the teachers got it.
I have to say that as she has gotten older Halloween has gotten easier- not because the costumes are less elaborate but because she can do most of the planning/crafting/sewing herself, thank goodness.
Percy Jackson got the most "who are yous?" for us...and my older son was him for 3 years and the younger son was him last year and the older son was Jason. I think they got a lot of who are yous because Percy was just an orange t-shirt that we computer designed an iron on design that said Camp Half-Blood and a picture. The second year we had a store bought t-shirt for Percy (in fact I just recently retired that shirt to the trash can because it was so holey). And the pants were just jeans and then the blonde hair had to be colored black. So Percy Jackson just looks like a regular kid not in a costume. I think one year they carried around the book.
Jason was a purple shirt that we ordered off the internet with that Roman design on it. Jason is blonde so no messy hairspray.
This year younger son is Harry Potter (and no asking who he is, it is obvious).
I am not sure if the older son is going. He is supposed to go to supervise the younger one but he is currently throwing up. He doesn't have a costume but he could always do Jason again.
I've always thought that my DD would make THE most awesome Alice in Wonderland ever. She would not need to alter her appearance at all-- add a headband and a pinafore dress and she'd be good to go.
{sigh} Alas, she has no interest.
I hear ya, cricket-- very glad that DD is sewing her own velvet bliaut. I'm in charge of elfin ear cuffs and an elaborate hood decked out in a bunch of felted leaves and flowers. Speaking of which-- back to knitting.
When other children don't understand your child's Halloween costume, but the adults get it and think it's "awesome!"
BTW my daughter is a Jedi padawan learner and the girls at her girl scout party could not figure it out.
all kinds of YES to this... when she was 3, DD went as Terry Fox, her hero to this day. at 4, she was Hermione from HP3 (so we could make a Monster Book of Monsters as a prop)... in the gym at school last year, she had to go stand with all the other Hermiones - they were all from the (affiliated) middle school.
this year, she decided on Black Cat - it's obviously more conventional, but lobbied for a REAL pet collar from the pet store for "verisimilitude". that was a fun conversation when the associate wanted to help.
.... and here's my new one. you know you're parenting a gifted child when your 5 y/o is 3 pages into a letter to a pen pal and decides to switch to cursive for "a greater challenge."
also, for anyone who remembers the full on horror that was her Pre-K year... i think MY KID IS BACK!
You know you are parenting a gifted child when you scratch your head at how to explain to DS7's best bud why DS7 is so excited that gas dropped to below $3 per gallon. I really have no idea why, but there was singing and hooting involved.
You know you have a gifted child when...You wonder if your child plugs in and downloads info into his brain in the wee hours of the night.
DS' memory continues to amaze us. He appears to have a near "photographic" memory for poetry. My husband says he's going to get a reputation at school and become the new choice for lead in their plays. To which I responded should DS learn that is the consequence of lightning-fast memorization of lines, he will suddenly flub from now on. (He has convinced himself he has stage-fright.)
Now if he could just remember to turn off the light in his room.
DS' memory continues to amaze us. He appears to have a near "photographic" memory for poetry. My husband says he's going to get a reputation at school and become the new choice for lead in their plays. To which I responded should DS learn that is the consequence of lightning-fast memorization of lines, he will suddenly flub from now on. (He has convinced himself he has stage-fright.)
Now if he could just remember to turn off the light in his room.
there once was a switch in your room. it's there to shed light in the gloom. please turn it off, no, really - don't scoff! forgetting will surely spell doom.
When, on a walk, you have to explain to your child the differences between Celsius and Fahrenheit, the conversion. Which then leads to a conversation about how anything can be below freezing and why different things have different freezing and boiling points.
This was on a walk back from our town's Halloween party and we walked by the banks sign which flashes the temp and time.
When, on a walk, you have to explain to your child the differences between Celsius and Fahrenheit, the conversion. Which then leads to a conversation about how anything can be below freezing and why different things have different freezing and boiling points.
This was on a walk back from our town's Halloween party and we walked by the banks sign which flashes the temp and time.
I had a similar conversation with DD the other day and I used the different freezing points of 'fresh' water versus 'salt' water versus alcohol to introduce Kelvin, too. It just blew her mind when the penny dropped that Absolute Zero is quantifiable.
When your 6 year old is amazed by the idea of Pangea and tectonic plates and every time he gets ahold of your phone he looks the image of Pangea with modern political borders.
When your 6 year old is amazed by the idea of Pangea and tectonic plates and every time he gets ahold of your phone he looks the image of Pangea with modern political borders.
Ha ha,I know! It's a pretty cool picture, I found myself enamored with it too! I can see why he loves it! He just makes me laugh, my phone has Angry Birds on it, but he wants to look up Pangea or play stack the states or stack the countries, silly kid!
hee - it's like a disease, Ametrine - they literally come out fully-formed as i speak or type. my family probably hates me, so i'm glad this "talent" is good for something!
...Your DS2 looks at your DH playing Angry Birds (which I call a baby game), and after literally 2 seconds of observing announces, "This is called "shooting birds at pigs.""
If a baby can grasp the game in 2 seconds, I feel my judgmental label is reasonable.
At a friend's (adults only) house we were visiting, ds 6 is entertaining himself by playing twister and discussing characters from books he has read including Mr. Poppers Penguins, Wayside School books, others. (Just as a mother is telling me how her dd7 can't read and is not meeting grade level.)
So, another friend takes ds to show him a globe. After listening and conversing for 10-15 mins, ds says, "Thank you for teaching me about geography. Now, I want to know more." "Mom, did you know where the artic circle is? I know it was on top, but that globe made me see it in a different way." Guess, I'm getting a globe for him:)
Got one for taking out the garbage and recycling? They are (mostly) happy to do it when I ask...but sometimes I just wish they would take care of it nightly without the nightly nag from me.
...when your seven year old mentions he now likes writing fiction and wonders if he could have two jobs, one as a full time math professor and another as a full time writer. And then speculates that he may have to skip getting married in order to do both.
...when your seven year old mentions he now likes writing fiction and wonders if he could have two jobs, one as a full time math professor and another as a full time writer. And then speculates that he may have to skip getting married in order to do both.
...When you don't know where to store your shampoo because your bathtub is a de facto lab for your DS2. We have a test tube rack and test tubes (baby soda bottles, courtesy of Portia's suggestion), plastic beakers, funnels, and a rinse bottle crowding every inch of the tub.
DS wanted to have two baths today to keep working on his buoyancy experiments. He also built a nifty sink model out of a funnel, soap dish holder, pipettes, and a beaker, then proceeded to pour water through it to prove to me that it worked.
Love it Just keep encouraging the science in the bathroom. So much harder to clean than when it moves to the kitchen and everything in the pantry is utilised! The dog is happy though as she often eats the experiments when DS5 is done
Good suggestion, Portia. We have a dedicated shelf for bath toys, but they never make it back because DS loves to play with the plastic ware so often! It was the best $15 I spent for his birthday.
...when your needle-nose pliers are never where they belong. Ever.
Yes! And scissors. Somehow, we have acquired at least 10 pairs yet there is still never a pair in the scissor drawer. I think they hang out with the forever missing rolls of masking tape and duct tape.
You. Know how pens are chained to counters or clip boards? Scissors need to be chained to the scissor drawer...use them standing right here and then place them back in the drawer and shut it....oooo I should go on shark tank.
...when your 5 y/o is making a secret list. a list that is multifariously characterized as "private", "exclusive" and now apparently "classified". the nature of this list cannot be revealed, but she works on it a little every day, looking things up in the dictionary as she goes. i am given to understand that it is important to ensure that the list can be read by others... even though, as a classified document, it actually won't be.
and yes, i am prepared to eventually receive a redacted version. the kid loves a Sharpie.
...when your needle-nose pliers are never where they belong. Ever.
Yes! And scissors. Somehow, we have acquired at least 10 pairs yet there is still never a pair in the scissor drawer. I think they hang out with the forever missing rolls of masking tape and duct tape.
sweet mother of cheese - the TAPE. where does it go? (A: rube goldberg machines)
we started the homeschooling year with a monthly tape budget for DD5 - but two months in, i have officially given up. i guess since we're not paying for school anymore - she can have the dang tape!
i guess since we're not paying for school anymore - she can have the dang tape!
You're right. I'm not paying full-time tuition for DD's preschool so she can spend more time with me at home. I shouldn't be so stingy over supplies. I should find a bulk source for double-sided tape.
i guess since we're not paying for school anymore - she can have the dang tape!
You're right. I'm not paying full-time tuition for DD's preschool so she can spend more time with me at home. I shouldn't be so stingy over supplies. I should find a bulk source for double-sided tape.
i threw in the towel the day that the made-entirely-of-scotch-tape greenhouse, complete with soil and paper flowers, appeared on DD5's windowsill. it was a TRIUMPH of engineering and patience... and i didn't have the heart to tell her it blew her budget. that's when i thought of the school/$ thing: at the time, it was a total rationalization, but i think it's been totally worth it. so many amazing creations!
What is it with these kids and tape?! DS2 has had a tape obsession since he was only a few months old. Our concierge, bless her heart, even kept a supply of colourful post-its and coloured masking tapes for when he stopped by to visit each day. I thought it was sensory-seeking and just ran with it but, though interest has abated, he's still often game to build things out of tape and sundry construction supplies.
When your DD9 gets mad because everyone always talks about Einstein and says, "You know there were other scientists before him like Isaac Newton and Leonardo DaVinci who were very important too."
When you tell your six year old to do the unit test review in her workbook. When you come back to check on her 15 minutes later, she has completed several unit tests for units she has not studied yet because, "It was so easy."
As we start our section on the circulatory system by request...
Mom, I don't want to do the notebook or all that other stuff (referring to the worksheets and cool experiments I pulled together). I just want to learn about how to heart works, how the blood gets nutrients and oxygen to the body, how oxygen changes the blood to red, how much oxygen is actually needed, how much oxygen is in blue blood, the different development types (referring to congenital heart diseases - we don't use the word developed wrongly here. Things develop differently.), and I want to SEE a surgery showing a heart pumping and maybe a valve replacement. I just want to know how all that actually works.
Yeah - what was Mom thinking pulling together activities when I should have just put together a fact board.
Have you heard of k/w/L charts.? Get a giant dry erase board and divide it into three columns labeled Know/ Want/Learned....so before you pull together materials ask him what he already knows about the topic, the heart in this case (even wrong information goes here and is okay) ...then ask what he wants to study about the topic... He lists all his questions and what he is curious about...then you pull together the you tube of the heart surgery and find sources for all the other information he is interested in or talk about what sources online are good and which ones aren't as reliable. Mayo clinic, Nemours,etc.
Then L is what did I learn....and here you can go back and correct misconceptions in the first column...
Thanks Sweetie. We started with this in worksheet form instead of chalkboard format (part of the collection I had gathered - activity 1). Maybe my worksheet looked too schooly??? I was surprised at the protest. It's his first endeavor into biology of any sort. I pulled together things that "I" thought looked fun. Should have known better.
HIS list of questions is a pretty good list. There is not anything that comprehensive in one location. I'm still pouting a bit that he wasn't interested AT ALL in any of the fun stuff.
When your 19 month old (now 20 mo) is sitting quietly on his PG grandfather's lap, watching a program on the music channel and you walk in and he turns his head and knowingly says "Look, Mama, Lang Lang" pointing to the guy on the screen and you think it's gibberish and you say "who?" and your Dad informs you that "Max is referring to Lang Lang, we're watching a documentary about his work". And you discreetly go Google "Lang Lang" when their backs are turned
when your DD5 says this: "mum, i plan to have 4 children. but don't worry, when i eventually get interested in men, i will get the birth control shot to make sure i can choose when i want to begin having babies."
huh - what is that i'm feeling? is it a small stroke... or is it relief that she is so sensible. help!
...When you find yourself wondering aloud in confusion after forgetting, "Which ones are stalactites and which are stalagmites?" and your DS2 correctly informs you, "Stalactites point down, stalagmites point up." I officially ask DS the questions now!
Aquinas, I had problems remembering that too until a friend suggested associating the c with ceiling and g with ground. Your ds apparently doesn't need these tricks to remember.
Cassmo, I am 100% with your dd on this one. Einstein is in fact not my favorite scientist. I admire newton, maxwell, tesla, curie and ada lovelace way more.
Aquinas, I had problems remembering that too until a friend suggested associating the c with ceiling and g with ground. Your ds apparently doesn't need these tricks to remember.
I'll use that trick when DS isn't around, lovemydd!
Cassmo, I am 100% with your dd on this one. Einstein is in fact not my favorite scientist. I admire newton, maxwell, tesla, curie and ada lovelace way more.
What's really funny I work at a college and I shared this information with one of our Doctor's of Chemistry and he laughed and said "She is so right, though."
... When your DD8 has a small bookshelf in her room, and a long shelf along her bed, but when you clear off her bedding you find four books stuffed in the case with her favorite pillow.
Also, when said DD names this, "My portable bookshelf."
Finally, when you relate the story to you DW, and she says, "That's a good one for the 'You know you're parenting a gifted child when' thread.
... When your DD8 has a small bookshelf in her room, and a long shelf along her bed, but when you clear off her bedding you find four books stuffed in the case with her favorite pillow.
Also, when said DD names this, "My portable bookshelf."
This is just lovely.
Originally Posted by Dude
Finally, when you relate the story to you DW, and she says, "That's a good one for the 'You know you're parenting a gifted child when' thread.
Our second grade cub scouts (wolf den) was to bring their collections in to show and talk about to the group. Ds has pokemon cards, baseball cards foot ball cards and legos like most other boys his age. He decided he wanted to bring his book collection to show off.
You listen to your kids attempting to set up a house government between themselves. They vote for a dictatorship because they all want to be the dictator. So, the two gifted ones immediately start scheming to position themselves as the dictator.
when you have missed a couple of days on this forum and realize that you really need to come back just to stay ahead of your dd9's next obsession. She is now into Dr. Who, glad I had a warning from people here or I wouldn't have had a clue what to watch for.
...when a random "Helping Parent" (whom you've never met before) at an after-school club asks you if you've considered having your child skip a grade...
When your kids assign themselves code names on a public playground and invent an entire magical universe, seemingly oblivious to all other kids and parents there.
when your *just* 5 year old child chooses an animal to be in swimming class using it's full and common names, and gives random facts about said animal (including endangered status and gestational period) before committing to swimming like said animal.
When your 2 year old mixes in "I can't do it" with words like actually, contrary, outdated and urchin.
When your 6 year old lectures extended adult relatives on genetic selection and the origins of the study of Genetics after hearing them say "she looks just like her mother". (AND you never realised they knew that stuff!!)
When your 2 year old mixes in "I can't do it" with words like actually, contrary, outdated and urchin.
Oh the word "actually!" I am really beginning to hate that word.
when you get an e-mail from your child's teacher and you have know idea which way it's going to go. It could be a good one or it could be a bad one. And your child's mood before and after school is never a clue on how the day actually went.
When your 5 year old, lying on the couch with fevers due to tonsillitis, decides to learn all the African countries and where they are (Country Stack). Then proceeds to do so in under 15 minutes. And still remembers them weeks later in other contexts.
Ooh, thank you -- just looked up Country Stack and must get this for DD7!
Yes I know it's old news... but - what is this? An App or a game etc? I cannot find anything other than "stack the states" and I'd rather my child learn countries than US states... cause we don't live in the US
When your 5 year old, lying on the couch with fevers due to tonsillitis, decides to learn all the African countries and where they are (Country Stack). Then proceeds to do so in under 15 minutes. And still remembers them weeks later in other contexts.
Ooh, thank you -- just looked up Country Stack and must get this for DD7!
Yes I know it's old news... but - what is this? An App or a game etc? I cannot find anything other than "stack the states" and I'd rather my child learn countries than US states... cause we don't live in the US
When your six year old asks the pediatrician questions about a vaccination including how long it will take his body to produce lymphocytes that can produce antibodies to fight this particular virus.
when...you get the results of the psycho-educational evaluation back and do a major hand to forehead slap because you really should have figured it out without the testing. Now all the daily "drama" aka "over-excitability" makes total sense and we are just thankful she is as social as she is. But now what do we do?
This just happened in my garden and my first thought was to come share it here in this thread
When your 5 year old can't remember and asks you for "the word that describes the process by which plants create their food using water and sun" and before you can answer your 2 year old provides the answer!!
This just happened in my garden and my first thought was to come share it here in this thread
When your 5 year old can't remember and asks you for "the word that describes the process by which plants create their food using water and sun" and before you can answer your 2 year old provides the answer!!
Yes! Replace "your 5 year old" with "you" and I've had this experience.
Another variation on a theme...your 2 y/o asks you these sorts of questions in the style of Jeopardy without having seen Jeopardy.
And sometimes when I play a bit dumb after getting "those looks" and "those questions" from strangers in shops etc - and then my kids ruin the illusion of "normal" by reminding me.
When DS was 7 months old he woke up one morning and said, "Daddy". He got lots of hugs and kisses. The very next morning he woke up and said, "Mommy" with a big grin on his face. For the next 4 months he called me "Daddy" with an even bigger grin on his face.
...when your child cries and cries because you accidentally took her to the children's show at the planetarium instead of the adult show. I think this is the definition of asynchronous.
...when your child cries and cries because you accidentally took her to the children's show at the planetarium instead of the adult show. I think this is the definition of asynchronous.
sad for her
but I had a good giggle - we have had indignation at the same thing!
We've had a similar moment at a library last week. Suffice to say, we'll be under a self-imposed ban until the librarians and security guard's memory fade a little.
...when your child cries and cries because you accidentally took her to the children's show at the planetarium instead of the adult show. I think this is the definition of asynchronous.
There were no tears just a lot of whining, but we had this experience too when we bought tickets to the show for children when we had a friend with us.
When your child begs to go to a show at a live theatre and the tickets are all one price. No different pricing for the child and the people there think it's odd that your child wants to go to a show like this. (No it is not an adult themed show so I don't know what the problem was but we had to pay full price for my 9 year old.)
When his toy train derails, your DS2 says, "I hypothesize that this tanker car is stuck." DH asks him if he can test his hypothesis, and says yes, then tests the track out and tries alternate ways to get the train moving. Gotta love the scientific method in action.
When you think nothing of your child waking you up in the middle of the night to tell you random trivial knowledge they just have to let you know right then.
You think to explain something to DC about a movie or book you are sharing, and DC explains what was really being said, and you realize with the current trend line it is just a matter of time before DC is the one changing your own diapers
When your DD is bummed with the current reading assignment in school because she read it 2 years ago. But is okay watching the movie that goes along with the book because it's a movie day! (And she's seen the movie already as well.)
You decide to homeschool and the principal of your child's school just says, "how great!" (the real story is longer, but that is the jist...lol.)
We tried that and my DD's principle started making accommodations quickly to keep DD in school. Apparently threatening the test score average at our school was the way to get things done. But the good thing is they started working with us.
your two and five year olds decide on what tv show to watch together by a complicated roster that includes making space for the third (oldest) child who is not always home/awake with them. And then watching them cry over an ice cream melting off the stick mere minutes later.
DD5: i am cleaning my room! Me: nice - i thought you were doing your school reading. DD5: oh, i will, but i am procrastinating by cleaning my room. at least it's productive procrastination!
ps - Madoosa, that is AWESOME collaboration. to include a person who isn't even in the room?? fantastic. stuff like this makes really me wish we'd had another, but then i look at her and think... uh, this one is enough!
...Within seconds of waking from a nap, your 2yo gives you a riddle you can't solve, then chuckles and tells you to keep guessing!
The riddle was: What creature is orange, friendly and not scary, and likes to meet new people?
Apparently it isn't any of the t-rexes or brachiosauruses from "Dinosaur Train", a tiger, a goldfish or tropical fish (clownfish or other), an oranguatang, or a howler monkey.
I'm now imagining a future 4yo DS making up riddles with physics or some obscure topic in them and me not even understanding the question!
ETA: After half an hour of puzzling, I solved the riddle. It was Dr. Seuss' Lorax!
You know you are raising a highly asynchronous gifted kid when....
A 5 minute bedtime conversation with DD 12 turns into a discussion on the meaning of the universe, time at the moment of the Big Bang, the roles of religion and science and whether there is crossover, String Theory, the nature of God and where thoughts come from. Then the next morning she bounces on your bed in her Pyjamas announcing she had her underwear on inside out and back to front all night and details the episode of Peppa Pig she has been watching on her Ipad.
DS7 is obsessed about black holes and what it would happen if you were to go into one and has been for quite some time. I got Neil DeGrasse Tyson's "Death By Black Hole" out of the library figuring that maybe I could have some more answers for him rather than having to rely on DH (it's more his thing). I read through the chapter with the same title and figured this was WAY over his head but offered to read it to him anyway for bed. We've since been reading a chapter a night and he BEGS for it. I figured it would lose it's charm after the black hole chapter but apparently not.
Last night we were reading about the big bang. DS then proceeded to launch into questions about what was there BEFORE the big bang? I'm not qualified for this and he's 7 (and he's not even PG like many of you guys deal with).
Another one for "you know you're a parent... when" - last month DS had to do a science project on an animal. What does he pick - Mantis Shrimp. Google True Facts Mantis Shrimp youtube - that's what started it.
you are teaching your DD4 to play cards and when you ask what she thinks clubs should be called she shouts "quatrefoil...pffftt...no it isn't a quatrefoil 'cuz it only has three lobes, I'm so silly!" And then she proceeds to play fall out of her chair and roll around on the floor like a bug laughing!
...you hear your 2yo mutter to himself, "My hypothesis was correct," as he plays.
LOL! Too cute! It is amazing how much vocabulary kids can absorb by osmosis and use correctly.
I am abundantly aware of what I say nowadays, because it's sure to be replayed in short order!
The nifty part is that he seemed to be genuinely conducting an experiment while playing with his trucks and blocks. It was the scientific method in action and, best of all, intuitively used in solo free play while I was cooking.
When you say you have to have "a talk" with your 9 year old and it has nothing to do with the birds and the bees. (that she somehow figured out herself) It has more to do with chemical reactions and what you should NOT mix together, or leave out open or near flames.
When your 9 year old's Christmas list contains a box of rocks (geodes), a programmable robot, and program to learn French (she's already gone through the Spanish).
When you go to a kids movie and your 2 year old watches the entire thing and comments on the plot throughout, including suggesting at the end ways it could have tied up better to not leave plot gaps. And your 5 and 7 year olds argue the merits of the movie-displayed superpower in scientific and logic terms
...when your spouse is calling up to you from downstairs in a slightly muffled voice and your DS2.25 calls back cheekily to him, "All I hear is blah, blah, blah."
...when your 2.25yo child apparently figures out multiplication (or has secretly become proficient at adding quickly in his head). We were talking about different sharks, and I explained that a five gill shark has two sets of gills, one on either side of the shark's head. Without a second's hesitation, DS days, "Yes, for 10 total."
...when your DS picks up pretty young women while sitting in his stroller with, "Hi, my name is X and I'm two and one quarter. Where are you from?" and it works!
...when you go to the bathroom and your child follows you with "Fox in Socks" and proceeds to read the first 3 pages flawlessly, complete with finger under the right words, like "Knox". You didn't realize he was far past decoding words. Silly Mum, of course he kept it secret so he could deliver the news while you're on the can. *Facepalm*
When you go to a kids movie and your 2 year old watches the entire thing and comments on the plot throughout, including suggesting at the end ways it could have tied up better to not leave plot gaps. And your 5 and 7 year olds argue the merits of the movie-displayed superpower in scientific and logic terms
...when your spouse is calling up to you from downstairs in a slightly muffled voice and your DS2.25 calls back cheekily to him, "All I hear is blah, blah, blah."
...when your 2.25yo child apparently figures out multiplication (or has secretly become proficient at adding quickly in his head). We were talking about different sharks, and I explained that a five gill shark has two sets of gills, one on either side of the shark's head. Without a second's hesitation, DS days, "Yes, for 10 total."
...when your DS picks up pretty young women while sitting in his stroller with, "Hi, my name is X and I'm two and one quarter. Where are you from?" and it works!
...when you go to the bathroom and your child follows you with "Fox in Socks" and proceeds to read the first 3 pages flawlessly, complete with finger under the right words, like "Knox". You didn't realize he was far past decoding words. Silly Mum, of course he kept it secret so he could deliver the news while you're on the can. *Facepalm*
LOVE the loo thing. Why do they need to show you cool stuff when all you want is a 4.5 minute break on your own?? lol
When in kids sunday school all the kids are asked for their favourite animal and your child is the one that chooses the "Southern African Ground Hornbill, which is highly endangered." Then tacks on, "oh and I also really relate to the red-eyed tree frog for some bizzarre reason"
... when you find yourself PUNISHING your whiny 14yo for outrageously claiming (after ten minutes of effort) that she is "just not good at math" when attempting to rock an A in this class on just 10 minutes a day...
Yeah, princess-- you're right. EVERYONE in the world but you could do this when they were ten. Without even thinking about it. Clearly you got the short end of the stick, since you don't just "know" how to do it already. Besides, you SHOULD be able to facebook IM all day long, try to run yourself down in various domains to make yourself more socially appealing... all while you ace your classes. Sure. [/sarcasm]
So how does one punish avoidant and self-handicapping behavior in a perfectionist, one might ask?
1. take her phone away 2. physical labor-- she's shoveling ice off the sidewalk. Which, in related news, was a lot easier before she broke the handle off the snow-shovel.
Next up, a little number that I like to call "working problems from the class textbook."
Hey-- not my fault that she won't tolerate instruction from me. I know this stuff. {shrug} I also know that it ISN'T the easiest thing in the world to go from sigma to s and keep the variables straight as you make the transition. Practice helps, no matter who you are.
I call this the "too smart to study" phenomenon. SIGH
...when your spouse is calling up to you from downstairs in a slightly muffled voice and your DS2.25 calls back cheekily to him, "All I hear is blah, blah, blah."
...when your 2.25yo child apparently figures out multiplication (or has secretly become proficient at adding quickly in his head). We were talking about different sharks, and I explained that a five gill shark has two sets of gills, one on either side of the shark's head. Without a second's hesitation, DS days, "Yes, for 10 total."
...when your DS picks up pretty young women while sitting in his stroller with, "Hi, my name is X and I'm two and one quarter. Where are you from?" and it works!
...when you go to the bathroom and your child follows you with "Fox in Socks" and proceeds to read the first 3 pages flawlessly, complete with finger under the right words, like "Knox". You didn't realize he was far past decoding words. Silly Mum, of course he kept it secret so he could deliver the news while you're on the can. *Facepalm*
LOVE the loo thing. Why do they need to show you cool stuff when all you want is a 4.5 minute break on your own?? lol
I call this the "too smart to study" phenomenon. SIGH
Yes, it leads to reckless behaviour, like routinely studying for finals in grad school starting 3 hours (or less) before the exam. Not that I have any first-hand experience with that...
HK, she may not be challenged in undergrad, or even grad school. How is the shooting going? I understand she's a natural, but that's probably the area where she practices the most relative to ability. Maybe work on it from that angle?
Oh, and continue to seethe here. I should give you my mother's coordinates so you two can commiserate. She won't have much advice, though!
... when you find yourself PUNISHING your whiny 14yo for outrageously claiming (after ten minutes of effort) that she is "just not good at math" when attempting to rock an A in this class on just 10 minutes a day...
You mean they still whine at 14? Great, just great!
Then tacks on, "oh and I also really relate to the red-eyed tree frog for some bizzarre reason"
I'd love to hear the logic behind that claim!
I should ask him!
lol... I was trying to hide my giggles and grins - it's not our regular church, we were visiting a different ward (congregation of same church) as my niece was giving her first assigned talk in the main service.
... when you find yourself PUNISHING your whiny 14yo for outrageously claiming (after ten minutes of effort) that she is "just not good at math" when attempting to rock an A in this class on just 10 minutes a day...
You mean they still whine at 14? Great, just great!
I hope it all works out for her (and you)!
This is exactly what I was thinking - I thought they would outgrow the whining and become a bit easier to live with
When your DS 6 (accelerated into grade 2) suggests that perhaps he would be better off in grade 5 as he has at least a grade 5 brain and is sick of playing with 7 and 8 year olds. And we are only week 3...(Australia) Going to be an interesting parent/teacher meeting on Friday!
... when you find yourself PUNISHING your whiny 14yo for outrageously claiming (after ten minutes of effort) that she is "just not good at math" when attempting to rock an A in this class on just 10 minutes a day...
You mean they still whine at 14? Great, just great!
I hope it all works out for her (and you)!
This is exactly what I was thinking - I thought they would outgrow the whining and become a bit easier to live with
They won't "outgrow" whining until it costs them something when they do it.
My son would be in debt because he doesn't have much money to begin with. And he generally only whines when he he hungry and tired. So I feed him and put him to bed like a toddler.
This is my first day on this blog and it is useful already. My DD is 11. She has been "different" since the beginning. Excels at something (drew these amazing people-like figures for HOURS at 3) and then moves on. She learns German for fun (can't wait to learn Russian at her Bolshoi ballet intensive this summer) and Mandarin at school. But her perfectionism, anxiety, and will DRIVE US CRAZY. Help?
When the Director of your child's preschool tells you she will help you lobby the School district for a change to a school that is not in your zone for next school year because it has a program for HG+ kids.
When your 5 year old comes home from school and says his teacher is having a baby in May so that means the baby started growing in her belly in August. When asked how he knows he says I know because my brain told me.
This is my first day on this blog and it is useful already. My DD is 11. She has been "different" since the beginning. Excels at something (drew these amazing people-like figures for HOURS at 3) and then moves on. She learns German for fun (can't wait to learn Russian at her Bolshoi ballet intensive this summer) and Mandarin at school. But her perfectionism, anxiety, and will DRIVE US CRAZY. Help?
You're child, who hasn't officially learned fractions, watches you add 3/4 cups of flour to a bowl by filling the 1/4 cup measuring cup three times and tells you it would have been easier to use 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup.
When you get a book on bones and muscles from the Library for your DD4 and she says with genuine appreciation," Thank you mom. I have been wanting a book like this for a long time now."
When your DS2.25 pulls a kindergarten Singapore Math book (that Mum bought on a steep discount purely on spec) off the shelf and shouts gleefully, "It's a numbers book! Let's read it!" Then he asks to do the first few pages orally, gets every question right, and runs away suddenly to throw his ball.
...your 8 year old comes up to you when you are busy doing something else, so you tell her to wait "just a second". You abruptly finish what you are doing and look up to see she is staring off as she patiently waits. You ask what she needs, she proceeds to tell you, and that is that...or so you think. As she walks off she nonchalantly mentions to you that it was 5 seconds, not "just a second". You shake your head and look in the direction she was staring to realize she was staring at the grandfather clock and was watching the pendulum tick off the seconds.
... your DD14, a high school senior in her last semester, decides to add a class.
An AP class.
AP Art History.
Second semester.
Four weeks late (five by the time she gets a textbook, probably).
Oh, not offered this year? What about APUSH?
Well, what about semester B, then?
And it takes all of five minutes for HER to convince the school counselor and class teacher that this is a fine idea.
And none of those people even talk to you about this before doing it.
And you have to admit that all in all, it wasn't a bad set of decisions on anyone's part, necessarily. You're just... surprised.
{blink. blink.}
On second thought, this might be a distinctly HG+ to PG thing to have happen.
Update: After 20 hours, DD has already polished off the first two days' worth of APUSH, and her only remarks have been elation that the material is interesting and that she's enjoying herself... but that she can see how most students would find the reading load "crushing." She finds it delightful that there is actually a meaningful amount of material to sink her teeth into and analyze. 150 pages of reading today? Pffft-- no problem.
She'll be happier when she doesn't have to do it all on the computer, however.
Your dd9 handles her AoPS work with adroit aplomb and only minutes later is happily engrossed watching some inane and completely vacuous 'puppy' film called Super Buddies (I could barely tolerate it myself).
Your 24 month old receives a gift-wrapped stuffed animal and before opening the package, proceeds to squeeze and release it while shouting " look mama, it's a LUNG!!!", and breathing in and out in exaggeration to make sure we truly get it..
...Your 2.25yo makes up his own language, uses it consistently (as well as the proper English word), and makes puns in it. For example, when in a silly mood, DS calls a large tendril of hair a "bumpable". He started imagining the hair as a sausage on a hot dog bun and declared it a "bunpable". He thought this was a great joke and ran over to tell it to Daddy, too!
...You find yourself conversing with your child in the made up language!
...Your 2.25yo makes up his own language, uses it consistently (as well as the proper English word), and makes puns in it.
Oh, Aquinas, this is so funny and ummm...VERY familiar!
We recently visited a school with DS3, and I had to remind him to speak English instead of [insert his name]ish and introduce himself with his real name instead of character du jour.
... when you have to seriously limit your teen's caffeine intake. Why? Because excessive amounts... release the muse within... in which case it becomes VERY difficult for her to pretend to be normal. She turns into the "oracle" for (her terms) the Incan Lemur God. He speaks through her... and has ideas like Hamlet, the musical. It's like the Delphic Oracle, but-- er, different.
Of course, when she takes the brakes off like this, her brain works so fast that she is downright astonishing in her productivity, but it's like placing a Tiger into an airline crate intended for a poodle. Bit of a mismatch at this point in time, even in AP classes. I've quite literally never encountered another person like her.
I wonder how painfully tight-fitting her "normal" suit must be, having seen underneath it in these glimpses of furious intellectual passion.
...Your 2.25yo makes up his own language, uses it consistently (as well as the proper English word), and makes puns in it.
Oh, Aquinas, this is so funny and ummm...VERY familiar!
We recently visited a school with DS3, and I had to remind him to speak English instead of [insert his name]ish and introduce himself with his real name instead of character du jour.
That must have been both hilarious and unnerving, EmeraldCity. How did the visit go?
This is exactly why I'm reluctant to have DS tested early. I can fully envision him messing with the tester, answering in some sort of coded joke, and getting zeroes across the board as a result. I have a feeling it will only intensify!
In DS7's science class they are talking about solids, liquids and gases. Yesterday the teacher had ketchup, mustard and syrup and they were talking about which would flow the fastest and what changes the rate that liquids flow. DS's contribution to the discussion - hit it. The teachers were puzzled so DS said, well if it is a non-Newtonian fluid it will behave like a solid when you hit it and it won't flow. The teachers then looked even more puzzled and said there was no such thing. I feel kind of bad for his teachers. The curriculum doesn't prepare them for the stuff he's learned on youtube.
Part of me cringes at what the rest of the room must think at times like that while most of me is super proud. As a side note I learned this morning that while ketchup is non-Newtonian it is sheer-thinning which behaves differently than the "oobleck" he's seen on youtube and played with over Christmas... Always learning something new with that kid.
(In this case, he may have been viewed favorably as he was giving the teacher a good reason to let them smash the messy liquids )
Along these lines ...when you have to coax your kid away from the computer for school, and he wants another minute as this is the exciting part. And he's watching a video on prime numbers equations.
Love it! (and I love that our house is not the only one where those discussions take place). Last time it happened we were trying to drag him to hockey which he normally loves. I'm still a little shocked that math > hockey in his world.
I absolutely love DS5's kindergarten teacher, and one reason is that she just rolls with stuff like this. All his homework had the name "Jack" for a week at one point. I thought maybe it was someone else's, but the handwriting looked like his, and I didn't think there was a Jack in his classroom.
As DS2.25 was drifting off to sleep holding a small glow-in-the-dark model of Jupiter (which he specifically requested), he was murmuring something about the Great Red Spot. Then he started saying in his almost-sleep, "Earthquakes can make mountains. When two tectonic plates collide, they can push up against each other to make great big mountains."
In DS7's science class they are talking about solids, liquids and gases. Yesterday the teacher had ketchup, mustard and syrup and they were talking about which would flow the fastest and what changes the rate that liquids flow. DS's contribution to the discussion - hit it. The teachers were puzzled so DS said, well if it is a non-Newtonian fluid it will behave like a solid when you hit it and it won't flow. The teachers then looked even more puzzled and said there was no such thing. I feel kind of bad for his teachers. The curriculum doesn't prepare them for the stuff he's learned on youtube.
So insightful for your DS, chay! He sounds like a terrific guy.
I'm disappointed that the teacher's first reaction in the face of new information is denial. I'd think a teacher would give the benefit of the doubt to a 7 year old who can talk intelligently about Newtonian fluids of his own initiative, or at least inform herself before spewing misinformation.
I'm disappointed that the teacher's first reaction in the face of new information is denial.
I know but I'm trying to reserve judgement before knowing the actual conversation and full context. She's been a truly amazing teacher otherwise so I'm really trying to give her the benefit of the doubt and laugh it off.
I do genuinely feel sorry for all of his future science/math teachers. I suspect until we get to university no one is going to be prepared for his insatiable thirst for those topics and for everything he's absorbed at home via the internet and two engineer parents that love it as much as he does
aquinas - your stories always blow me away. DS was very speech delayed and had ~5 words at that age so we couldn't tell what was going on in his head. Occasionally we could see small glimmers but it is so cool to hear what your DS comes up with.
...when your 14yo's idea of a "fun" spring break (at least the first 24 hours) is a combination of:
a) dreaming up projects for her Statistics term project... only most of them are going to require faculty assistance and an IRB approval...
so she turns to...
b) reading banned books (so far we've gone through Clockwork Orange, Go Ask Alice, Snow Falling on Cedars, and Cat's Cradle,since yesterday morning, but only because I can't find Invisible Man.) I foresee another trip to the library and the local bookstore in our very near future...
c) THEN she turns to Finale Notepad again, but eventually got exasperated with the tonal limitations at the computer, went to the piano... and is composing a truly LOVELY melody on the piano with paper and pencil as I type this. Seriously nice melody. Has a bit of a Jay Ungar feel about it-- it's that kind of "discovered, not made" thing. But novel-- I've got a good memory, and it's not something she's pulled from anywhere that I know.
Man, when they are into something... a PG kid can wow you with the speed and expertise.
Also on the agenda-- finishing a few craft projects, designing a charity quilt or two, and working on a short story and polishing her... um... well, I guess it's technically an operetta.
<--- the contrast with "what school thinks I should spend my time doing" is pretty extreme. I mean, yeah, +3 to +4 acceleration and it seems like she's working at high level most of the time, but then she really cuts loose like this and I realize... most of the time, WE. HAVE. NO. IDEA.
In DS7's science class they are talking about solids, liquids and gases. Yesterday the teacher had ketchup, mustard and syrup and they were talking about which would flow the fastest and what changes the rate that liquids flow. DS's contribution to the discussion - hit it. The teachers were puzzled so DS said, well if it is a non-Newtonian fluid it will behave like a solid when you hit it and it won't flow. The teachers then looked even more puzzled and said there was no such thing. I feel kind of bad for his teachers. The curriculum doesn't prepare them for the stuff he's learned on youtube.
... when you talk your 9yo into her first guitar lesson in almost 2 years, and the first thing she wants to work on is the Imperial March from Star Wars.
... and when you find out the reason she'd been avoiding the guitar is because, as she'd progressed from string to string, she'd decided she couldn't reach the top one; that's it, done. Perfectionism much? Errr... maybe just try arching your fingers like that.
So maybe we won't be seeking out a piano teacher this summer after all.
On the guitar front: when your 2.25yo picks up a Rock Band guitar control, sings an original song he made up on the spot called, "Happy Mummy Guitar", and declares proudly, "I'm playing pizzicato."
I guess that takes care of instrument selection for when he takes lessons down the road!
These are what I am impressed by my son and thing that he may be gifted,
1. When my 2yrs old son asked me what is the English name of a 15-sides polygon, I checked it out and told him that it is called 'pentadecagon', then he shout happily: 'pentadecagon, hexadecagon, heptadecagon, octadecagon, nonadecagon' and i have to check it in wiki plus he is not a English speaker.
2. When my 2.5yrs old follow the step of LEGo menu designed for 7+
3. When my 2.5 yrs old write numbers in reverse order from 200, write odd and even number from 0-200, and keep writing for more than an hour.
When your 5 year old insists he read the next chapter of Harry potter book 3. (He's already read Stewart little, Charlottes web and Indian in the Cubbard)
When you buy grade level workbooks (3 months worth) and they're finished in a couple days.
Your 5 and 7 year old are proud to take a pencil with 50 digits of Pi to school on March 14th.
The science center staff know your kids by name and always pick them for on stage demos.
Your kids routinely score 30-50 points higher then what is required for 99 percentile (map test) and the teachers stare in awe as the kindergartener blows through word problems and multiplication.
When you're trying to teach at grade level math to kids in 3 grades ahead of your own kids and they are completely lost...but your kids picked it up in one night.
When your 5 year old watches tutorials on Lego.com and the next day proceeds to build that item block for block with not direction booklet.
Second grader has to reassure his class there are actually FOUR states of matter. Aka plasma. (Makes you wonder where they find these teachers!)
Your DD10 is going to someone's house for 2 hours and packs 5 books. When told just bring 3 and decide when you get there which one to read, she says "but I might not read any, I just like having all of them there with me" (laying her cheek on her prayer-folded hands with smile that speaks love and delight)
Chana, I'm very familiar with that look. Not to mention the behavior. Any car trip longer than 5 minutes requires a book.
Our in-laws live an hour away. One time, MIL picked up our family after a visit when DS was 1 and gave DS' 30-lb sack of books--to be read on the trip to her house-- a disapproving/incredulous stare. When we arrived at her house, she said, "I can't believe it! You read all those books, and it was him asking for them one after another." Ummm...why else would I voluntarily slog 30lbs of children's books on a weekend visit?!
solaris, we don't have any mega-bookstores near us. We went on vacation and the hotel was near one. So, we went into a very very large Books-A-Million to look around. My DD walked in, stopped, looked around and with her jaw dropped and eyes really big says "This is better than Disney World" We had to drag her out after a couple of hours.
Any car trip longer than 5 minutes requires a book.
You can avoid the book on trips under 5 minutes?
Only because it's genetic, and she gets her argumentative tendencies from me.
This is where I admit that I didn't care a bit about the Eye, Tower, or the Houses of Parliament so long as I could visit the legendary Hatchard's when DD and I were in London, isn't it? Why YES, I did have to carefully balance weight in our bags on the return trip. Why do you ask??
It is genetic though-- my dad always claimed that he didn't care a bit about heaven or hell so long as he could go to Powell's when he died. I smile every time I go in there, and think of him. (Sláinte, Dad.)
When you 13 year old happily spends the entire week of spring break building a huge, elaborate diorama of the Greek underworld using Peeps for the local newspaper Peeps contest.
And books... my parents could not understand when we went skiing with them annually in Colorado why my kids loved the day best when we skipped skiing, went to a great bookstore nearby, and then went for ice cream with our bags of new books. It was WAY cheaper than a day of skiing to buy them a bunch of books, and my kids liked it better.
Oh yeah-- totally off-topic, this-- but one of my MOST treasured possessions is a signed, limited edition hard-cover of Jonathon Livingston Seagull that my father purchased for me on a used-bookstore crawl when I was about eleven years old. It's the perfect totem of a perfect day, spent with someone who completely "got" what makes me tick. I'm very protective of that book.
This is where I admit that I didn't care a bit about the Eye, Tower, or the Houses of Parliament so long as I could visit the legendary Hatchard's when DD and I were in London, isn't it? Why YES, I did have to carefully balance weight in our bags on the return trip. Why do you ask??
DD 3.75 couldn't handle Charlotte's Web a few months ago but I thought Stuart Little won't be as bad so we started reading it about a week ago. Tonight, we read the part when the little bird flies away. DD sobbed uncontrollably and cried herself to sleep.
At least I can stop worrying that she isn't comprehending what she is reading.
I really need to start pre-reading more carefully.
[|quote] This is where I admit that I didn't care a bit about the Eye, Tower, or the Houses of Parliament so long as I could visit the legendary Hatchard's when DD and I were in London, isn't it? Why YES, I did have to carefully balance weight in our bags on the return trip. Why do you ask??
Did you visit Foyle's too? [/quote]
I thought the name of the bookstore in London that I got lost in was Whites but it has been almost 30 years and my memory is fading.
couldn't handle Charlotte's Web a few months ago but I thought Stuart Little won't be as bad
Charlotte's Web is deeply creepy. (Like this: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/transfuse.asp. The tl;dr is in the last paragraph.) It's supposed to be all profound and inspirational, but only if you don't think through its premises: Animals are intelligent and aware of their futures, but humans slaughter them anyway. Wilbur is trapped in the nightmare landscape of Pig Auschwitz. In the end, he is allowed to live because he is considered exceptional, more deserving than the rest of his kind. He grows old in the Land of Gruesome Pig Death, watching generations of younger pigs go to the slaughterhouse. The family come scratch his ears with the smell of bacon on their breath.
Basically, E.B. White is trying to have it both ways, creating an alternative world where we see things through the animals' eyes, but not having to challenge any of his cherished ideas of wholesome American farm life.
So yeah, smart kids are less likely to find Charlotte's Web heart-warming.
LOL-- DD and I both prefer Watership Down, if you're going to go there with the personification model.
I just never could make SENSE of CW, myself-- for the reasons that MegMeg lists, probably. I also didn't quite grasp how Fern could be so incredibly stupid-- dumber than a spider, evidently.
No to Foyle's, (or 221B Baker) but there was that little place across from The British Museum, where I excitedly took a photo of the Caldecott plaque on Great Russell St. I loved the blue plaques-- it was like walking through a large museum with lovely surprise displays at every turn. I suspect that most people don't tour London in this particular manner, but we enjoyed it. I also snapped photos of Loo of the Year awards, simply because I found those so amusingly British, somehow.
DD 3.75 couldn't handle Charlotte's Web a few months ago but I thought Stuart Little won't be as bad so we started reading it about a week ago. Tonight, we read the part when the little bird flies away. DD sobbed uncontrollably and cried herself to sleep.
Oh, god, Stuart Little. That book traumatized my DD when she was 5 or 6. I never even tried Charlotte's Web after that experience.
...when your 2.25yo eagerly asks, "Can I see a diagram of a lacrimal caruncle? Let's look it up on Google!"
...when your pre-bed settling includes watching videos of how the following instruments are made, at your child's request: pipe organ, piano, harpsichord, and church bells. (Yes, he was inspired at Mass today.)
Much has been written about fairy tales, folklores, and fables but more than I expected, modern children classics are almost equally disturbing. I must be a slow learner since we watched Alice in Wonderland yesterday and DD decided to not read books or watch movies for awhile, at least not the ones I pick. I must sound like the most clueless mother but she's been okay with fairy tales which can be far more gruesome than Alice in Wonderland.
Going back to the topic at hand:
When a three year old gives an accurate lecture about fault lines, earthquakes, volcanoes, and tsunami in her own words, pulling information together from various sources.
I don't think I knew what tectonic plates were until middle school.
When your 4.5 yo says on our way back from school," mom, teacher was trying to give me challenging work. But she gave me easy ones like 10+3 and 10+10+10. So I told her this is easy. I can divide. And she said be quiet. Hahaha. Seriously, mom, why can't I go to 2nd grade. Why do I have to do pre-k, then k, then first grade?"
When you find yourself telling your seven-year old that despite his newfound facts about the periodic table (that he came across at bedtime tonight) seeming so amazing, no, he is not allowed to come downstairs five times to share his insights... or he will be losing more computer time...
He wants to make his own flash cards tomorrow to learn them.
When during a checkup, your 7 yr old finds a way to mention the books he's reading, recites his folk hero monologue, and that he's learning division with examples.
If that wasn't enough, my 3.5 yr old pipes up that he know how to add and subtract (also with examples).
...when your 2.25yo insists at 11:30pm--after reading a pile of books the toddler equivalent of K2--that he wants to practice skip counting by 10 before bed. But there's a catch: you have to take turns saying the numbers as fast as humanly possible while jumping on the bed. This went back and forth for 20 minutes with lots of giggle fits and probably hundreds of urges to, "go even faster!"
And some people say gifties don't exhibit overexcitabilities? Yeah, right.
And that pop educator nonsense about young children not having innate number sense? Sure...
...when your heart aches for your child after she tells you, with tears in her eyes, that today her teacher told her to just be quiet and go sit down after she asked the teacher why one of her problems on her worksheet was checked wrong.
I guess self-advocating only works when the adult educator in the situation gives a hoot and I bet DD won't do that again any time soon. Thanks a lot "educator of the year" *sarcasm!*
FWIW - DD did this at the appropriate time (wasn't interrupting the teacher or anything) and I looked at the problem myself and it was a correct answer.
1frugalmom, that's heartbreaking. I'm so sorry your DD wasn't heard, or at least politely deferred until a later time. I don't know why some teachers feel they can run roughshod over the feelings of some children. The teacher shouldn't have done that.
OOO that teacher would be explaining to me, the principal and my child why she didn't have time to give feedback for an incorrect answer so that the child could learn from her mistake. That is a critical factor in assessment. Teach/asses/feedback/reteach.
OH, lookie here, the answer is correct. I think you owe her an apology for not looking at her paper and going over the problem with her.
...when your 8-year-old's "novel" has better grammar, wittier dialogue, more interesting social context, AND more actual plot than the fiction manuscripts in the same genre composed by actual adults that you're reading for a workshop.
OOO that teacher would be explaining to me, the principal and my child why she didn't have time to give feedback for an incorrect answer so that the child could learn from her mistake. That is a critical factor in assessment. Teach/asses/feedback/reteach.
OH, lookie here, the answer is correct. I think you owe her an apology for not looking at her paper and going over the problem with her.
Yes, same here... I'm appalled that would be the response. I caught one mistakenly marked wrong answer on a test my son brought home, nicely contacted the teacher via a note sent back with my son (something to the effect of "we looked at this and can't figure it out, is there something new we are missing?"). She immediately sent an apologetic note AND must have told the principal, who also said how embarrassed the teacher was to have made the grading error.
your DD is totally digging the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice, but is young enough to wonder why the sisters Jane and Lizzie can't just marry each other, since they already love each other.
Your 2.5yo arranges some toys on the floor in a pattern and proudly announces, "Look Mummy, they're symmetric!"
Anecdote 2:
Also, here's another DS2.5 original joke from lunch today:
Q: What do you call a disgusting cucumber dish? A: Puke-umber!
When I asked him if he disliked our Greek salad, he insisted the cucumber was delicious. Phew!
Anecdote 3:
The power went out tonight in our home.
DS: Yes!! There's no city light. Now we can go stargazing!
And so we did.
Eta--Anecdote 4
At the museum today:
Me: This is a diorama of the Forbidden City. A diorama in this case is a scale model of a place. DS: Mum, is the Forbidden City in China? Me (incredulous, as we'd never discussed this): Yes, how did you know that DS? DS: The writing on the exhibit looks Chinese.
I was surprised at the inference he made, as he doesn't see much Chinese writing.
...meanwhile, aquinas, my DS25m is throwing food out of the shopping trolley to distract me, so he can take off his t shirt at the supermarket. Worlds apart, you and I. Lol.
Oh, we have our fair share of subterfuge! I'd call that good executive function and theory of mind, squishys. The gap may be much smaller than you think....
When your child's music teacher tells you that she's only read and heard about musical prodigies and she's starting to wonder is your child might be one. This came about after DD played a little song for her teacher that she made up but teacher thought SO composed it for her.
I have to admit, I didn't respond well. I should have said that I'm happy to see DD enjoying music and she's lucky to have such a supportive and encouraging teacher. Instead, I told her that DD tends to be a fast learner but that doesn't always lead to true accomplishments. Now I'm up late thinking if I should send her an email to do some damage control.
When your 3 year old speaks in rhyme for over a half hour, while remaining entirely on topic, without making up any words and using words like "metamorphasis". He speaks so quickly, I think it may be the equivalent of an adult speaking for over an hour... He is on a poetry kick.
When he tells you that when he grows up he wants to be an inventor who also creates apps and games for phones and the computer. You respond that after he works hard and learns to read really well and do complicated math, he can learn to create apps and games for the computer and phone. He tells you that he already can... and you aren't actually sure if your 3 year old can or cannot do advanced level reading and math.
(Oddly enough this isn't a kid who really plays much in the way of apps or computer games. He is more of a play in the dirt kind of kid. Ever since we took apart a toy duck with a motor, he is fascinated by creating things and making things work. I think the app interest is along these lines as coding doesn't seem obviously mechanical. I know there are coding languages for kids but I didn't think we would hit this interest for another 5 years... The inventions he talks about are more whimsical and usually connected to some issue we are facing, like making a box you can drive a car into that will shrink it down to the size of a toy car so you can take it with you instead of hunting for a parking space.)
SAHM, that's one creative little guy you have! The rhyming would have been something to hear! I bet he'll be designing and building sooner than you might predict.
...When you visit a farm with your DS2.5 and he's more interested in discussing the combustion in the engine of a tractor and inspecting trailer hitch mechanisms in a horse trailer than the animals.
...When he compares "Easter Bunny" footprints I left on the ground in his egg hunt to his rabbit stuffed animal's feet and declares, "The feet don't match the footprints, but you said this was the Easter Bunny, Daddy."
...when your heart aches for your child after she tells you, with tears in her eyes, that today her teacher told her to just be quiet and go sit down after she asked the teacher why one of her problems on her worksheet was checked wrong.
I guess self-advocating only works when the adult educator in the situation gives a hoot and I bet DD won't do that again any time soon. Thanks a lot "educator of the year" *sarcasm!*
FWIW - DD did this at the appropriate time (wasn't interrupting the teacher or anything) and I looked at the problem myself and it was a correct answer.
Oh, no, no. I WAS that child, and that teacher would be apologizing to my kid and correcting it! I even had a college professor tell me that he was "tired of carrying me" when I asked for credit on some test questions that had been marked wrong but weren't wrong. Excuse me, I have a 4.0 GPA, and just because I already have an A on this test, that doesn't mean the answers don't matter -- and besides (you might point this out, as well), somebody else in the class might NEED those points to get a passing grade! If the answer key is wrong, it needs to be fixed for everyone, not just me. And, after all, the point of school is to learn the material -- which won't happen if people are marked wrong for correct answers.
/rant off
Quote
When your DD9 totally accepts the heat death of the Universe but chooses to still believe in the Easter Bunny.
Few days ago I was volunteering in DD's class. Teacher is discussing careers, and says you can even be an astronaut if you set your mind to it.
Most of the class yells "yeah I want to go to space!"
DD: I don't want to! How would you know that the rocket is really good quality and they are checking things properly? It may break down in space and we would come crashing down and die!
Kids turn around and stare. I feel other mom volunteer looking at me and I am thinking I swear do not encourage these morbid thoughts!
Couple of weeks ago, the class was learning about rainforests and the animals that inhibit them. Dinosaurs came up in the conversation and it becomes a topic for awhile. DD asks teacher which dinosaurs are omnivores. Names of dinosaurs are shouted out and her teacher tells her they can look it up together later. DD then asks, but how do you know what they ate if are gone, you know, extinct. How do you know if they ate both vegetables and meat, if they had sharp teeth they might still have eaten vegetables. Can poo become a fossil? Her teacher at this point really trying to get back to topic on hand.
DD turned seven this week and we splurged on beast academy 3A for one of her gifts. She loves graphic novels and puzzles and big ideas in math. Today she got it out and read the entire thing. Now she's acting out being an acute triangle and discussing rep-tiles with her dad. She's looking forward to going through again and through the practice book with him.
Few days ago I was volunteering in DD's class. Teacher is discussing careers, and says you can even be an astronaut if you set your mind to it.
Most of the class yells "yeah I want to go to space!"
DD: I don't want to! How would you know that the rocket is really good quality and they are checking things properly? It may break down in space and we would come crashing down and die!
Kids turn around and stare. I feel other mom volunteer looking at me and I am thinking I swear do not encourage these morbid thoughts!
I had to laugh when I read this... because this sounds so like DS.
DS was asking DH what happens if both engines of a twin-engine jet fails after watching the documentary on the Boeing 777... and while we were flying on a clear, sunny day, he suddenly asked DH "What if lightning strikes the plane?"
Goodness, can I just say it's wonderful to see a snippet of how everyone's children think here. The irreverence and insight are heartwarming (and often bloody hilarious!)
When you see your gifted DD9 with other gifted kids her age and realize she is playing pretend like any other kid (which is wonderful!) but then you listen in to what they are playing and they are pretending that they are colonizing another planet and they are trying to decide what types of people they are going to need. As in Doctors, teachers, farmers, and that kind of thing.
When your DS6 starts a sentence with 'In my opinion...' and delights in using as many large adjectives as possible...but only at home. And when asked by his teacher if he is going to let a grasshopper go, tells her he would prefer to take it home and pin it out as he loves the 'intricate patterning that reminds him of Aboriginal art on its wings'...
Goodness, can I just say it's wonderful to see a snippet of how everyone's children think here. The irreverence and insight are heartwarming (and often bloody hilarious!)
I told the kids we were going to make homemade playdough and that they could choose which color they wanted to make. DS3 requested "apricot" and DS7 requested "chartreuse." I don't think twice when they request colors like this but my mom friends think we're a little weird. Ha!
My DS came home from kindergarten a few weeks ago and said that some kids were saying that God created the universe. He was shocked. He promptly told them about the Big Bang, in detail, and how essentially, to make it simple for them, we are all made from the particles of stars. He said he was about to talk more about atoms when the teacher interrupted them. After he told me this I asked him if he believes in anything. He looked at me like I was crazy and he said, "Fairies, of course!" Welcome to my land of asynchrony! There was also an email following this informing us parents that children should keep their religious or non religious comments out of the classroom.
You know you're parenting a gifted child when the game 20 questions takes it up a notch.
My 7 and 5 year old came up with these this morning over breakfast: - electron - black hole - dark matter
Probably equally odd was that we actually managed to guess all of them. The 5 year old then stumped us with "bum" - just to remind you that you are dealing with a 5 year old after all.
When your 7 year old plans out his future academic career as a doctor and works out at what age he would then like to finish high school in order to be qualified before marriage and babies (because you don't want to be an old dad).
He then figures out exactly what subjects he should do for his A-levels and what he could do while younger to prepare in advance for the admissions interviews that will most likely happen owing to his very young age at the time.
And then follows this entire conversation up with the idea of also running a tea shop just like in the Avatar cartoon series. Because it looks like fun.
When your kids struggle to fall asleep at night and ask for Maths to help calm their brain. (7 and 5 year old) and this wakes up the nearly asleep 3 year old who then climbs up onto a chair in the kitchen and also demands his "maffs"
My DS used to do bedtime math, too! At 3 he would call out to me an endless string of, "Is 6 six times 36?" and other mental math he would be doing as he drifted off to sleep.
We're definitely on the math settling bandwagon, too. Skip counting by 5s and 10s is a huge hit here, especially while jumping on the bed. (*Cue disapproving looks from 95% of non-Davidson forum parents*)
Bedtime Math!!! How about waking up in the middle of the night with a Math question that was bugging them in their sleep. Once you help them work it out they are back to sleep in no time. I have done this more times than I can count for my DD9. (See what I did there.) My father is a math teacher and he thinks it's hilarious that his granddaughter does math in her sleep. Plus she talks in her sleep so you get to hear her doing her math in her sleep. Quite funny!
that bedtime maths looks awesome! Think I need to get it!
I just started Life of Fred as our new bedtime story - they are all enjoying it and even though it's just the first book, the older two are loving it! and they even do the little exercises in the book at the end of each chapter. We read it as any other story, dim lighting and all cuddled together.
Seems to at least curb the need to all sit in the kitchen when I want to be doing other things
When you go to vote in your national elections and this dialogue occurs:
IEC worker: "Ah cute! are you also voting today... can I ink your thumb to show you voted?"
Aiden: "I'm not old enough to vote."
IEC Worker: "Okay maybe next time then?"
Aiden: "No, next National Elections I will still be too young, I will only be 12. The time after that I will only be 17. By then I will be registered to vote but still not old enough to vote. I will come the time AFTER that and I will be 22. I will also then bring my two younger brothers with who will be 20 and 18 at the time and we will all vote together as is our democratic right and duty."
Silence fills the entire election hall.
Aiden: "Yes you may ink my thumb as a promissory note for 2028."
Madoosa, Aiden had me laughing at what I imagine was a deadpan expression as he delivered the term "promissory note"! What a wonderful character!
LOL yes he was 100% serious and his face was totally deadpan. Today I happened to have a meeting with the woman standing in the line behind us. She didn't remember me, but when Aiden walked in she remembered him and this incident!
I have no clue where he learnt that phrase, it's a rather odd phrase in general, let alone for a 7 year old. lol
when you start to seriously look at colleges with your 9 year old to see where they might want to go.
Glad I'm not the only one in this situation. It gets weirder when she insists that I call admissions departments to find out what they are looking for in an applicant.
When, after the first session of IQ/achievement testing for your 4 year old at a very well known gifted child clinic, the tester (who also happens to be the director of the clinic) comes up to you and says that she has never seen a child with DS's intuitive math ability before. ...and cue parental amazement/utter terror!
(Granted, this is the same kid that totally sandbagged one of the subtests (I don't know what it's called, but he had to name as many [insert items] as he could...be it types of food or clothes or whatever, and essentially had a melt-down of "I just don't want to do that!" Yeah, that was super fun. Really puts it all into perspective for you, lol.)
Ivy and Cassie, head over to College Confidential. All you ever wanted to know about colleges. Be careful about letting the kids look - there can be threads on topics not appropriate for the elementary school set.
When in the middle of a crying jag, DD6 starts the following conversation:
DD: Mom, you know that document that the king of England had to sign so he wouldn't be so powerful? Me: The Magna Carta? DD: Yeah. What did he use to sign it? Me: Probably a quill pen. DD: Okay, but how did they make the ink for it? Me: Uhhhhh...I don't know, can we look it up a little later? DD: Okay. (goes back to sobbing about whatever it was that was upsetting her)
Re College Confidential: I've peeked but it's honestly pretty terrifying! At least our choices will be limited by her age / distance from home issues.
We aren't quite ready for actually settling down for college but the age and distance from home are things that come into my mind if not hers. I think she still has a few years but she is discussing what colleges near by has programs study space and planets.
When DS6 plays Othello for the first time and beats me in 3 out of 4 games. It is so embarrassing to get soundly beat by a first grader. I am afraid to play games with him. It hurts my ego! Lol!
When DS6 plays Othello for the first time and beats me in 3 out of 4 games. It is so embarrassing to get soundly beat by a first grader. I am afraid to play games with him. It hurts my ego! Lol!
When DS6 plays Othello for the first time and beats me in 3 out of 4 games. It is so embarrassing to get soundly beat by a first grader. I am afraid to play games with him. It hurts my ego! Lol!
I though I didn't have anything for this thread, but then I went out in the backyard, and DS was playing in the firepit. We told him not to do this, and he talked his way out of it by deciding to make paint from the charcoal. Proper egg tempera, to be specific. His little brother helped grind the char, and then gleefully made those fold-in-half type things.
...when you suddenly realize your 2.5yo understands basic fractions. We were talking about sharing hypothetical ice cream with an imaginary friend and DS volunteered, "I can divide the ice cream in half to share with him."
I don't know whether I was more surprised by the osmotic understanding of "half" or pleased with the social justice of an equitable split.
When DS6 plays Othello for the first time and beats me in 3 out of 4 games. It is so embarrassing to get soundly beat by a first grader. I am afraid to play games with him. It hurts my ego! Lol!
Welcome to my world. There aren't many games anyone in the family can reliably beat DS6 at. I mean, he does lose sometimes, of course, but he wins more often than any of us at everything, and dominates at certain games (as in, there is NO point my playing chess with him). It's freaky.
I mean, I'd beat him at Scrabble, Bananagrams, or Trivial Pursuit, but that hardly seems fair. Or wait. Maybe it IS!
When your 7 and 5 year old write you Sonnets for Mother's Day and your 5 year old uses concepts like "being loved to death" and references the earth's rotation.
And your 7 year old still, after 2 years is most grateful to us for taking him out of school.
When DS6 plays Othello for the first time and beats me in 3 out of 4 games. It is so embarrassing to get soundly beat by a first grader. I am afraid to play games with him. It hurts my ego! Lol!
Welcome to my world. There aren't many games anyone in the family can reliably beat DS6 at. I mean, he does lose sometimes, of course, but he wins more often than any of us at everything, and dominates at certain games (as in, there is NO point my playing chess with him). It's freaky.
I mean, I'd beat him at Scrabble, Bananagrams, or Trivial Pursuit, but that hardly seems fair. Or wait. Maybe it IS!
Oh yeah this is us too! For now I still beat DD7 at Scrabble but everything else … no way. We're about even in chess (but DH still beats both of us). Lucky I'm such a good sport! She played her very first game of Monopoly the other week and DH was being overly nice to her at first until she totally creamed us. Next game we decided no more Mr Nice Guy but still she beat us. She now has her own specific victory whoop for Monopoly lol
your child's music teacher says this about signing up your DD to a summer music camp:
"I think the experience would be great for her and I bet she'd have a lot of fun but placement is going to be a problem. She belongs with older students who are at her level wherever that might be in 2 months but she's not mature enough to be with them. Yet she'd be bored if they put her with little children who are not ready to learn to read music. Let me talk to the program director and see if we can solve this problem together."
your child's music teacher says this about signing up your DD to a summer music camp:
"I think the experience would be great for her and I bet she'd have a lot of fun but placement is going to be a problem. She belongs with older students who are at her level wherever that might be in 2 months but she's not mature enough to be with them. Yet she'd be bored if they put her with little children who are not ready to learn to read music. Let me talk to the program director and see if we can solve this problem together."
Those are awesome! Also when your 9 year old can describe different theories explaining black wholes but can't remember to pick up her dirty clothes from the bathroom floor and put them in the hamper on the way out the bathroom door.
She really is an amazing teacher and a wonderful person. Both DD and I look forward to seeing her every week. It's nice to work with a teacher who actually understands your child. Knowing that DD is receiving meaningful musical education makes the prospect of homeschooling a little less daunting.
She really is an amazing teacher and a wonderful person. Both DD and I look forward to seeing her every week. It's nice to work with a teacher who actually understands your child. Knowing that DD is receiving meaningful musical education makes the prospect of homeschooling a little less daunting.
It's exactly how we feel about our awesome music teacher! She teaches several kids (And adults) in our homeschool/unschool group so she comes to my place once a week for a morning and we all have our lessons with her. She stood by us through all of Aiden's anxiety etc as he came out of school... I love that she is able to adapt her teaching to each of my three kids needs and abilities and strengths.
Those are awesome! Also when your 9 year old can describe different theories explaining black wholes but can't remember to pick up her dirty clothes from the bathroom floor and put them in the hamper on the way out the bathroom door.
Sounds like your DD and my DS would understand each other completely! My husband told me he came out into the kitchen the other morning wanting to discuss his curved space theory. He was supposed to be getting dressed for the day and apparently decided to change a part of his theory (number 14, on paper). He was so engrossed he came out with only his t-shirt on, sans pants and undies. He was oblivious. (rolling my eyes, and smiling) He's obsessed with this A Capella Science YouTube.
Did she see the Time Magazine on sale showcasing Einstein?
Those are awesome! Also when your 9 year old can describe different theories explaining black wholes but can't remember to pick up her dirty clothes from the bathroom floor and put them in the hamper on the way out the bathroom door.
Sounds like your DD and my DS would understand each other completely! My husband told me he came out into the kitchen the other morning wanting to discuss his curved space theory. He was supposed to be getting dressed for the day and apparently decided to change a part of his theory (number 14, on paper). He was so engrossed he came out with only his t-shirt on, sans pants and undies. He was oblivious. (rolling my eyes, and smiling) He's obsessed with this A Capella Science YouTube.
Did she see the Time Magazine on sale showcasing Einstein?
Not yet but she once told me that she felt Einstein was over-rated and that everyone LOVES Einstein. She said, "You know there are other guys, like DaVinci and Isaac Newton, that did some cool stuff. Why don't we ever hear more about them?" But I was thinking about getting it for her anyway. But I did get her the latest copy of Astronomy that has a small article about finding new planets in other solar system, which is something that she asked me about one day. It's the one that has the "Weird Moons of the Solar System." and I will have to look into that youtube you suggested.
she felt Einstein was over-rated and that everyone LOVES Einstein. She said, "You know there are other guys, like DaVinci and Isaac Newton, that did some cool stuff. Why don't we ever hear more about them?"
You should put her onto Paul Dirac. By some estimates at least as brilliant and influential as Einstein, but not not as much of a showman, so not in the public consciousness.
Not yet but she once told me that she felt Einstein was over-rated and that everyone LOVES Einstein. She said, "You know there are other guys, like DaVinci and Isaac Newton, that did some cool stuff. Why don't we ever hear more about them?" But I was thinking about getting it for her anyway. But I did get her the latest copy of Astronomy that has a small article about finding new planets in other solar system, which is something that she asked me about one day. It's the one that has the "Weird Moons of the Solar System." and I will have to look into that youtube you suggested.
You should put her onto Paul Dirac. By some estimates at least as brilliant and influential as Einstein, but not not as much of a showman, so not in the public consciousness.
I was reading the thread and read the complaint about Einstein and laughed because DS7 has had the same comment but used Tesla and Newton. Then I got to Minx's comment and lol.... only on a gifted board.
The planet one reminded me of a trip to our Aviation and Space museum when DS was 5. They have a toy/play area for younger kids which had all of the planets hanging in no particular order. DS walked in looked up for 2 seconds and said "They're missing Neptune." Sure enough they were (of course it took me MUCH longer to verify that was the case).
when you take your 4 year old to a "Welcome to the School Event". The mother of the child sitting at the table with you begins to brag that her child can name all 9 planets. (Yes, after Pluto was demoted). Then proceeds to have him name them.
The only thing I could think was "Wow!". Then "Uh-Oh!"
At our aquarium there is a remote controlled model of a great white shark biting a ball. DS is a bit intimidated by it, but he knows it can't hurt him. As he goes to pull the lever to activate the shark, he gives himself this pep talk: "It's just a machine, it's not autonomous, it will only do what I make it do. It has no independent programming or artificial intelligence. It can't make autonomous decisions." The father of a child standing nearby overhears this and gives me a bemused look.
#2: DS is reading the signs out loud at the pharmacy. The pharmacist asks how old he is and says her 5yo is just starting to read. I still have no idea how to respond.
#2: DS is reading the signs out loud at the pharmacy. The pharmacist asks how old he is and says her 5yo is just starting to read. I still have no idea how to respond.
You get very excited that another person is discovering reading - no matter what the age. It is an exciting time in that person's life (even if the person is 60!)
Ditto on being excited for them - any a-ha! discovery in a person's life is cause for celebration
At Tae Kwon Do last week some of the moms were asking me about Life of Fred and maths books (they are all customers by now of course)... The one mom leans over consiratorially and tells me that she thinks her son is a "bit of a maths genius". He is now 6, started 1st grade in January and somehow knows that 4 + 5 = 9.. "without using his fingers!! Isn't that amazing? How can I nurture this incredible talent?"
I really did not know how to answer, because my 3 year old can do that... So I did exactly as suggested above and got excited over her child realising that numbers can work together even without a concrete counting tool.
Unfortunately then my 5 year old ran up for his water break and said that he got distracted in class because he was trying to work out how to multiply big numbers by 5 like his big brother does, and that he knows he has to halve it somewhere but can't remember where.
Want to talk about an awkward silence filling the space...
Unfortunately then my 5 year old ran up for his water break and said that he got distracted in class because he was trying to work out how to multiply big numbers by 5 like his big brother does, and that he knows he has to halve it somewhere but can't remember where.
Want to talk about an awkward silence filling the space...
ooh poor you, Madoosa! I can JUST imagine the awkwardness!
I was walking past the nursery area where Dylan goes. The teacher said so sweetly, Dylan can you sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star? And he sang it with the Note Names. (thanks Suzuki)
When you and your kid spend an hour reading about Greek Letters and their use in math and science on Wikipedia and spend much of the laughing your heads off at phrases like "the Skorokhod integral in Malliavin calculus, a subfield of stochastic analysis" or "the first-order effects of variations in Coriolis force with latitude in planetary dynamics" and calling bologna on circular seeming definitions like "a measure in measure theory."
Your daughter describes her experience on today's standardized math test: "I checked all my answers twice and still finished before everyone else. It was as easy as the [standardized] spelling test yesterday, which I also checked twice and finished first."
When your teen works VERY hard to "pass" among her academic peers 4 years older... only to discover that other parents don't believe that she is actually only 14 years old.
{Not sure why any 18yo-- or her parents-- would lie about being 14 instead, but there ya go...}
Oh gosh HK And here I was kinda hoping that that whole "you're how old??!!??" thing passes with age. *sigh* that must be infuriating for her (and you!)
Yeah, well, it gets significantly more COMPLICATED when they are young and entering... the dating years. Especially if, as so many PG kids do, they learn to 'pass' as older more or less invisibly. That's both a good thing and a bad one-- if they DO mention their age, they can come off as insufferably boorish braggarts, and if they don't, then they risk others not realizing JUST how young they actually are-- and there are legal consequences, potentially, for older companions. Some of those potential consequences are quite severe. This is a significant social burden for very young college students, actually.
Another one today-- when your kid does something that is so material for the ultimate brag thread, but you can't actually, you know, brag about it... because... it's too identifying.
So I have to be vague. But I can't talk about it with anyone else IRL without sounding insufferable.
Thinking about dating stresses me out! I can only imagine!
Yesterday my DD had a huge mosquito bite and, as I was applying anti-itch ointment, my DS6 runs up to her and says, "OH WOW! That bite reminds me of Jupiter's giant spot. It's a storm that has been raging for three hundred years."
This morning my son brought home a painting from school that looked like something he would have made in preschool in that it was all squiggles (our son paints better than most adults). I pulled it out and asked what it was and he sighed and replied, "Mummmmm.... That's the cool, dry air mixing with the warm, moist air to create a tornado."
HK - I'm sorry that you have nowhere safe to brag. If it would help, you are welcome to PM me - far away in another country... We all need someone to share our excitements with!
And yes, those dating years worry me. I remember with me, I always dated older guys - they always so easily forgot how young I was...
You know you are parenting a gifted child when you are okay with letting others assume that something you are buying/making/considering is for your oldest child instead of the youngest of the three
you take your sick kid to your lecture, and you ask the class, "How many of you know what onomatopoeia is?" and about 20% of the college students raise their hands, and the 6yo pipes up "I do!"
madeinuk, HK said the brag would be too identifying. I've had a couple of those moments, actually. Maybe we should have a separate "pm me for my brag" thread, or just a convention on the main brag thread :-)
We saw a banner featuring robotics research on the local university campus during a family walk. This caught the eye of DS2.5, who is a robotics enthusiast.
DS: "Mummy, can I learn to build a robot like that one [on the banner]?"
Me: "If you go to [university x], you can study to specialize in robotics. But, knowing how Mummy and Daddy operate, we'll probably teach you when you're much younger if you want."
DS replied, "I'm much younger now! Can you teach me tonight?"
after a grade skip, your child's percentile on standardized tests, goes down from the 99.9 percentile to the 98.9 percentile. Punctuation really messed her up.
Not yet but she once told me that she felt Einstein was over-rated and that everyone LOVES Einstein. She said, "You know there are other guys, like DaVinci and Isaac Newton, that did some cool stuff. Why don't we ever hear more about them?"
How about Richard Feynman? Someone already suggested Tesla, or I would recommend him wholeheartedly.
Not yet but she once told me that she felt Einstein was over-rated and that everyone LOVES Einstein. She said, "You know there are other guys, like DaVinci and Isaac Newton, that did some cool stuff. Why don't we ever hear more about them?"
How about Richard Feynman? Someone already suggested Tesla, or I would recommend him wholeheartedly.
I had a reality check about how much unconscious teaching and experimenting I do at the park yesterday when DS2.7 was playing trucks in the sandbox with a nice little 4 yo boy.
Boy: Look! The sand sticks together! DS: Yes, that's because of surface tension.
Later, boy tests driving DS' truck down a slide:
Boy: The truck fell! Look! The truck fell! DS: Gravity pulled it to the ground! Me (to the boy): Try sliding it down on its wheels, then on its side, and compare the truck's speed in both situations. Which do you think will be faster? Boy (after testing): Wheels make it travel faster, neat! Me: Why do you think that is? Boy: I don't know. DS: The wheels roll, so there's less friction on the wheels.
When your seven year old wants to be like "Albert" (Einstein) or "Leo" (Leonardo DaVinci) and create, invent or discover something when he grows up, all while also writing poems like "Shel" (Silverstein.)
When your 14yo happily bounces in her computer chair... having made the delightful discovery that the Gallup website is "like news and statistics all rolled into one, Mom!" Catnip to go with the cat-eared hat that she's sporting this afternoon, in fact.
... when EVERY subject teacher your child has ever had in secondary schooling career has, at more than one point, GUSHED about how much natural aptitude she possesses for the field/discipline.
"Oh, I hope that she goes into ______. She has such a natural feel for the subject. She seems to really have a gift with it. Please let me know if you EVER want a letter of recommendation for anything-- I'd write you a glowing one!"
I mean, I get that teachers may say this sort of thing to a lot of students. I'm just thinking that a surprising number of my DD's teachers think that their field... is HER "thing" too. Even when it most decidedly is NOT.
So her math teachers think she is "mathy" and her English teachers think she's a literature major in the making, and the science teachers think she is a future researcher (in whatever subdiscipline they teach), and the foreign language teacher thinks she's a linguist, etc. etc.
She wows them ALL-- they kind of experience cognitive dissonance when they get hints that she's that singular at other things, too. Like her beloved English teacher, who was clearly blown away to realize that as a 13yo junior, she was acing AP Physics as well as AP Lit.
you go to say goodnight to your seven year old and he has fallen asleep at the end of his bed, looking up at his periodic table chart pinned on the wall, while his period element and 'Great Scientists" books are open in front of him
you share old 80's kids cartoon series' with your 5 and 7 year old and they spend the majority of the time ripping holes through the plot line. (Robotech is the series my husband was showing them - he was so so excited to share it with them too.)
When your first grader spends the first week of summer break staying up til all hours reading an entire book every night. This weekend it was Mouse and the Motorcycle and then the second Nick and Tesla. And for hours during the day she read a great graphic novel and the drama books/monologues I got for the drama club we're starting. What summer brain drain? We have three delicious months off!
you tell your 4 year old to eat 10 more bites before she can leave the table and after 2, she starts to get up. When questioned she responds with "You didn't say HOW to count to 10, so I went 5-10".
you tell your 4 year old to eat 10 more bites before she can leave the table and after 2, she starts to get up. When questioned she responds with "You didn't say HOW to count to 10, so I went 5-10".
Your 5 year old picks three books to take to a family lunch in case he doesn't want to play with his cousins and chooses his Graphic Novel of Macbeth, a book on Ancient Egypt and a book on Pirate Ships. These join the new Astronomy book you bought for husband for Father's Day and the Life of Fred book in his bag.
....when your 8 year old informs you that she will no longer call you momma because it sounds too childish. She will now use mother or maybe mom. I guess I'm just glad she doesn't want to call me by my given name.
you tell your 4 year old to eat 10 more bites before she can leave the table and after 2, she starts to get up. When questioned she responds with "You didn't say HOW to count to 10, so I went 5-10".
Originally Posted by 22B
Now "1, 10" would have been really impressive.
Originally Posted by MegMeg
Was that a binary joke?
There are 10 kinds of people in the world. Those who get binary, and those who dont.
When your 3 year old recently enjoys pretending to be a baby. She pretends she can only crawl or is just learning to walk and in a cute baby voice she says her name, mama, dada and her sisters name as if she is proud she is learning them....and then proceeds to spell her name and some other easy words and say the abc's in her baby voice too......because don't all babies know how to spell?
When your almost 10 year old watches BBC's version of Sherlock Holmes with you and understands how Sherlock feels about being bored with normal life. But assures you she will never turn to drugs to ease the boredom. (Thank goodness for that at least.)
When the violin teacher asks your 5yo whether she can count in a foreign language (our family's native language, really), and the child hangs her head and says in shame: "yes, but only to 900".
Or when your 7-month-old baby boy lines up 5 baby food jars along the wall, crawls back a bit to inspect the formation, then makes adjustments so that the jars are equi-distant.
You particularly know you have a science kid on your hands when...
Your DS2.7 is awaiting his first balance bike's arrival in the mail. He's excited and was discussing overcoming any upsets and latent fears of falling off the bike: "Riding your bike is a great way to stretch your amygdala. It's also a good way to use your cerebellum."
As he was drifting off to sleep, he came up with this: "Mama, do you know what a funny word is? Lacrimal caruncle. Ha ha ha, caruncle!"
One project we're doing this week is a life-size diagram of the different systems in DS' body. In planning the design, DS specified explicitly that he wants "pretend mannequin eyes" and "everything MUST be made of cells."
This all in the 5 minutes prior to bed. I know people here will sympathize.
Oh the anatomy phase. Yes, I do sympathize although I think I had it a lot worse. Anatomy class was not my shining moment in college as I could not memorize all these random names to save my life so DD thought I was completely uncool for months.
I feel really bad that DD stopped being interested in anatomy after I told her that we had to put everything anatomy-related away to host playdates. She got the idea from there that it's socially incorrect to not be terrified of skeletons and organs.
they request we go on a virtual trip around the world this summer - complete with learning about 4/5 different countries, languages and cultures as well as making clothing and food from each. In addition to the requests to learn Japanese (not one of the countries that was picked to "visit"), do science experiments and learn more math.
they request we go on a virtual trip around the world this summer - complete with learning about 4/5 different countries, languages and cultures as well as making clothing and food from each. In addition to the requests to learn Japanese (not one of the countries that was picked to "visit"), do science experiments and learn more math.
Don't you wish, summer's when they ramp up for learning. The teachers stop giving homework (which in our case was the busy-work type anyway) and the kids realize that they now have the time to learn whatever they've been craving to learn or delve deeper into.
When doctors, teachers, therapist, and other helpful people are shocked that you were right about your kid being gifted and yet still needing help in other ways. Gee it's amazing that parents might actually know something about their own kids. (Sorry feeling very sarcastic and aggravated today.)
When your DD4 finishes reading all the books you picked up to check out while you browse library's tiny CD collation. (She did ask what "treacherous thievery" meant so I think she was actually reading).
When your DD4's piano teacher apologetically tells you that she needs to order new books since they are almost done with the first book after 3 sessions.
When this conversation happens with your DS2.8 right before sleep (it's always right before sleep, it seems...)
Me: DS, please don't jump on me without warning. DS: Okay Mama, I will let you know next time before I leap on you.
1 or 2 minutes later
DS: (Musing over our exchange.) Mama, I listen to you and do what you say. When you say "yes", I listen. Me: What about when I say "no"? DS: I listen when you say yes and don't listen when you say no. (DS nods sagely at his declaration.) Me: I love you very much and only say no for your benefit, usually for safety reasons. You have to trust that when I say no, there is a good reason. You can always ask for my reasons, and I will hear counter-arguments. But, when I say the discussion is over, you have to accept my decision. DS (magnanimously): Okay Mama, that seems fair. I'll listen to you when you say yes and no. (DS beams a 500 watt smile that would melt the iciest of hearts.)
DS (magnanimously): Okay Mama, that seems fair. I'll listen to you when you say yes and no. (DS beams a 500 watt smile that would melt the iciest of hearts.)
I hope your DS is better at keeping his promises than my DD. Every time she gets called on breaking a promise, I get this reply:
"Oh, don't worry Mommy. I have one thousand promises."
DS (magnanimously): Okay Mama, that seems fair. I'll listen to you when you say yes and no. (DS beams a 500 watt smile that would melt the iciest of hearts.)
I hope your DS is better at keeping his promises than my DD. Every time she gets called on breaking a promise, I get this reply:
"Oh, don't worry Mommy. I have one thousand promises."
(>.<)
At this age, I'm not too concerned about him remembering and abiding by his statement. He's going to inevitably forget or renege and have to be reminded again. What I'm going for is agreement in the moment and cementing the feeling that our process is fair so that he tries to meet the guideline next time. If we can build some executive function skills and practice perspective taking, that's gravy.
You know that you're parenting a gifted child when your 15yo is visibly enthusiastically enchanted to receive a hand-knitted... toy...
rat,
announces immediately (while fondly petting the toy) that the rat's name is
Fibonacci,
and says with delight that it will be the PERFECT thing for a dashboard "totem" for her first car. Oh, and can I make it a friend in a ruby-eyed-white phenotype, so that she can name that one 'Turing,' by any chance?
{blink-blink} Asynchronous development, thy name is {DD name.}
. . . when you have a container of mysterious blue liquid in the freezer, and a different container of mysterious green liquid in the fridge, and each child claims responsibility for only one sample.
When your 2.8yo, still in diapers, is conducting a self-toilet training experiment in urinary output.
DS' Method: 1. Request 3oz of water. Ingest quickly. Urinate. Request diaper change. 2. Repeat step 1 in full, requesting on each turn 3oz of: orange juice, cow milk, and breastfeeding. 3. When breastfeeding, pop off the breast to "verify" you are getting 3oz. (Ha!) 4. At the end of the experiment, ask which beverage yielded the highest fluid output.
When your 2.8yo, still in diapers, is conducting a self-toilet training experiment in urinary output.
DS' Method: 1. Request 3oz of water. Ingest quickly. Urinate. Request diaper change. 2. Repeat step 1 in full, requesting on each turn 3oz of: orange juice, cow milk, and breastfeeding. 3. When breastfeeding, pop off the breast to "verify" you are getting 3oz. (Ha!) 4. At the end of the experiment, ask which beverage yielded the highest fluid output.
Not perfect, but pretty good for a 2 year old.
LOL. if he can do that he can be potty trained you just have to find the right motivation.
your 6 year old's alter ego - a fairy named Daniela - can have a 15 minute phone conversation with your mother and then ask if Grammy wants to talk to DD now or is she too tired from their exciting conversation to talk to her. Then when you get the phone back your mother says "wow, no wonder you can't find any other 6 year olds for playmates - I can barely keep up with her train of thought!"
Haha, I wish I had! It was hilarious to watch. It seemed like the definition of asynchrony.
DS is a completely iron-willed child who doesn't do anything before the moment he's ready (gee, I resemble that). Someday soon-ish he'll suddenly decide on a whim that it's his moment to give up diapers forever, and he will. He did exactly the same thing with eating, reading, walking...you name it...seemingly zero interest followed by fluency. He seems to be almost exclusively intrinsically motivated, and I rather like that about him. My mother has an opportunity to laugh because she has certainly BTDT with me, her probably only-for-a-reason child.
Haha, I wish I had! It was hilarious to watch. It seemed like the definition of asynchrony.
DS is a completely iron-willed child who doesn't do anything before the moment he's ready (gee, I resemble that). Someday soon-ish he'll suddenly decide on a whim that it's his moment to give up diapers forever, and he will. He did exactly the same thing with eating, reading, walking...you name it...seemingly zero interest followed by fluency. He seems to be almost exclusively intrinsically motivated, and I rather like that about him. My mother has an opportunity to laugh because she has certainly BTDT with me, her probably only-for-a-reason child.
Aquinas, my son and yours have so much in common. Just wanted to give you a heads up that one day before he was 3 (I can't remember how much before), he said he decided he was going to potty train. We went ahead and switched to underwear that day and dutifully stayed in the house for 3 days doing what we thought was a good potty training method, but the kid never had any accidents. Same when we finally left the house. He was just ready. He made up his mind and that was that. Hope you have the same experience (without the utter sensory hatred of the super loud hand dryers that appear in some bathrooms).
He did the same with weaning shortly after 3. Much much harder on me, I assure you.
We had an unstable living situation for almost a year when my daughter was 2/3. So we had trouble on the potty training front besides the fact that she was just not interested. However, by 3 she was bringing me the stuff to change her and changing her own peepee pullup.
Hope you have the same experience (without the utter sensory hatred of the super loud hand dryers that appear in some bathrooms).
He did the same with weaning shortly after 3. Much much harder on me, I assure you.
He was so startled by a loud hand drier and flushing toilets on one shopping trip at a local book store about 6 months ago that, whenever we're in public, he now asks two questions: 1. Where is the washroom? 2. Does it have loud toilets or hand driers?
The noise is just too much for him. I always make sure to change him in stand-alone handicapped washrooms for that reason.
Re: weaning--nursing past 3 is terrific!!! DS is still a major lactivore, nursing (I'd guess) at least 6-8 times in 24 hours. Probably half of his nutrition is still my milk. I'm hoping for such a gradual weaning that he (and I) hardly notice when he ultimately chooses to stop. I'm a bit of a sentimentalist when it comes to our special nursing bond, so I appreciate your comment about weaning being harder on you. I will be both fiercely proud of him for making his own decision when he's ready and wistful (and probably a tad tearful in private with DH) about a chapter of our life closing.
Oh blissful oxytocin; life-giving love amid tender snuggles! My heart outside my body.
My youngest was not eager to toilet train when we wanted him to do so. He needed to be potty trained before he was 3 because his new school required it. We decided that he was ready when he started critiquing our diaper changing skills and making requests like, "More wipes, please!" Bribery helped.
We love the stories by DS2.8, Aquinas. DS also refused to potty train before the age of 3. It had nothing to do with ability. He knew all the steps. When I asked him why he refused to use the potty, he calmly told me, "That is a 3 year old activity. I am not yet 3 years old." Sure enough, when he turned 3, he was ready.
I love that self-possession, Portia!
We've had a potty for almost a year now because DS showed all the signs of readiness--without actual interest. I think there's something to be said for respecting children's internal timelines, like you and SAHM have done with your sons.
On a frivolous note, DS is so tall and slim that I don't think even the smallest underwear would have fit him much before 3 anyway!
My first tip-off that DW's sense of normal child development was somewhat askew came when she matter-of-factly announced that DD would be fully potty trained before her 2nd birthday. I started to object on the grounds that all children develop in their own way and 2 is a pretty ambitious goal, but she cut me off, saying she'd already done it with her nephews, she knew what she was doing, and there will be no excuses.
DW began the process at ~15mos, when she noticed DD hiding behind the couch to mess her diapers. By about 18mos DD was getting very consistent with using the potty, with occasional accidents, when we took a trip to the beach. Upon arrival DD urgently informed us of her need to use the restroom, and DW and I discovered we'd both neglected to bring her toilet seat. Knowing that the public bathrooms would be so unsanitary that you could catch amoebic dysentery just by glancing in their general direction, so holding her up on those seats was not an option, we apologized profusely and gave her permission to use her diaper... against her even more strenuous objections.
She finally yielded to nature, I cleaned her up, and we went on to a lovely day at the beach. DD moved on from the incident almost immediately... or so we thought at the time. We found out later she can hold a grudge, as she willfully refused to have anything to do with the potty for ~3 months after that incident.
And yet, DW's seemingly unreasonable goal was still met, as DD was running around in underwear (and loving it) before her 2nd birthday.
All of ours trained at 3, when they decided they were ready, and, actually, also all nursed until at least 2-7 (one well after). (Unfortunately, we weren't able to do child-led weaning on the first one, as nursing was setting off intense pre-term contractions for the second one...good thing #1 was able to understand that weaning, though personally undesirable (and unexpected), was in the interest of keeping the younger sibling in until ready to be born.) There's no real physiological basis for mandating that they train before three...it's more a question of convenience to the family system and our cultural expectations, so why invent reasons for imposing stress on parent and child?
At least in our area, a lot of preschools/childcare require toilet training by 3. My DD asked for a potty before she was 2, so it wasn't an issue for her. Stickers, M&Ms, and underwear with characters on them inspired the boys to accomplish the job without a lot of stress. It may have helped that they wanted to start school!
My daughter trained at 3, with nighttime pull-ups until 4 - easy peasy. My son, ugh. He was mostly trained by the time he started kindergarten, but there were still 2-3 accidents a month. I think he's solid on it now, at 6 - he hasn't had an accident in three months. At least while he was at daycare they handled any accidents, but I hated getting regular calls from school to come clean him up when he started kindergarten. And let me say that there is nothing worse than sitting stuck in the school pickup line imagining your child sitting around in his own waste while you try to get to the parking lot.
There's no real physiological basis for mandating that they train before three...it's more a question of convenience to the family system and our cultural expectations, so why invent reasons for imposing stress on parent and child?
There is a physiological justification for potty training girls as early as practicable, because larger child = larger bowel movements = increased risk of UTIs.
Our experience was that potty training, rather than imposing any, relieved stress on all parties. I certainly did not agree with my DW at the time, but experience has proven that in our DD's unique case, she was 100% correct. DD was developmentally ready to potty train, so why kick the can down the road?
We kicked the can down the road (in the middle of a cross-country move and house-hunt, as well as medical stuff at ages 18-24 mo) and I can tell you that doing it eight months later was an EPIC power struggle.
I wound up with a kid that found it amusing to make Mom clean for her. Because she and I both knew I didn't need to, and she knew that I resented it (because honestly, I did have plenty of other things on my plate at the time). She was more than physiologically ready-- she had passed the point of caring much, and that was the problem. We hadn't responded to HER innate readiness, and then it was about OUR desire, not hers. It was her way of giving us her own special one-fingered salute. I should have known then, actually... the day that she laughed like a maniac after urinating on my sofa-- DELIBERATELY (no, trust me on this one-- I had JUST asked her if she might need to go and she had sharply informed me that this was none of my business)-- and then telling me to "clean it up!"
(Yeah, incoherent phone call to my spouse at work over that one so that I could calm down... with DD still cackling maniacally in the background, quite pleased with herself.)
Toileting... not one of my finer parenting memories or moments. That was the first time I ever went head to head with Cool Hand Luke, there. It was stunning.
Well.. my DD trained at 2 yrs, 7 months. (DD is not gifted) I remember it vividly because it was only two weeks bf my grandmother died. I came home with a beany baby, if was the beginning of the craze. Told my daughter should could have it after she was dry for a day, she did it two days later and she was fully trained a few days after that when we traveled to say goodby to my grandmother. It was that fast.
On the other hand my DS was a pain to train. He HAD to train or we couldn't change his daycare situation, they required a child be out of diapers to move them to the preschool. He NEEDED out of the baby/toddler center he was in because of needed intellectual stimulation. The toys/books they had at the infant center were really limited him. The kid could READ, but didn't want out of his diapers. (The kids would hold it till I put a diaper back on because we were going in the car.) It was a motivation issue, not a control issue.
It is hilarious to read everyone's potty training adventures here. I have posted this on the forum before but DD was potty trained for #1 by the time she turned 3 because that was a prereq for attending preschool. However, she flat out refused to be potty trained for #2 till she was almost 4 (maybe even a little older). I was freaking out and we tried all the tricks in the book to no avail. Finally, one day I told her how her soiled diapers go to landfill and make the earth brown and black, whereas if she does it in the potty, it goes to the waste water treatment plant where it gets converted to fertilizer. DD was and still is crazy about protecting the earth and she loves wastewater treatment plants. That same day, DD decided she was not going to use diapers anymore. We have been good since then.
We thought middle kid would go to college in diapers. She refused to be trained, but what was worse, she would not acknowledge that she was wet. She would hold it in all day (8-12 hours), then finally wet herself - wet pants, socks, squishy shoes. When you asked if she wet her pants, she would say "No" and just walk away. She did not care. Promises of treats, big or small, did not help. Neither did attending a daycare where all of the other 3 year olds were potty trained.
She finally agreed to use the potty a week before attending a new school. This school assumed she was trained - after all, she was going into Pre-K 4 (for four year olds). I told her they would kick her out and leave her on the curb if she wasn't trained. It worked. (She still says that when she retires, she'll wear diapers and have a mini fridge next to the couch. She'll have her soda and snacks, and not need to get up from the couch to use the facilities...she is 16.)
For my eldest, training for #2 was difficult. Then, over a long weekend I told her no more kids TV shows or movies until she was trained. She could watch TV, but only CNBC or CNN. Worked like a charm.
Older son had developmental delays and he just didn't get it and then after that we had holding issues that led to constipation and OH MY GOD it was horrible. He wasn't out of a night time pull up until 8 and it was finally about then that I was able to stop worrying if he had a bm that day or not.
Younger son was just stubborn. Needed to potty train for Pre-K 4 so he did in a week in April while his older brother was at a Spring Break camp and we weren't distracted and was ready to go in August. His night time was about a month later.
I thought I had to get her completely off diapers by 30 months because kids needed to be trained by the time of preschool application but that wasn't exactly the determining factor. We had been cloth diapering since birth and after 24 months, I was done washing dirty diapers but I was too invested in cloth diapers to switch to disposables.
If I were to do it all over again, I'd make it a much more child-led process.
you borrow some "read together" books from the library to read with your preschooler. Then they decide to read the pages for adults, and have you read the pages for kids.
When rapid fire Questions that come up at dinner with a 6 year old are:
Can you tell me exactly what happened after the Big Bang? I don't completely understand the solar nebula.
What happens when the caterpillar is inside a chrysalis? Is it a chemical process? I have known forever that is when they turn into a butterfly, but I want details.
How is dirt made? I know it is all around us, and earthworms help make nutrients in it, but how is it made to begin with?
And yeah, we had issues with potty training too.
And....when the books read aloud to the Kindergarten class were books she first read independently two years ago. And..when DD turns out to be on a higher reading level than her 4th grade reading mentor at school.
When you find yourself quoting Gandalf from the episode with the Balrog for your DS2.9. You watch a clip of the scene, he describes Gandalf's hair as "bedraggled", and he proceeds to stab the ground with a shovel crying, "You shall not pass!" when DH tries to use the washroom.
you borrow some "read together" books from the library to read with your preschooler. Then they decide to read the pages for adults, and have you read the pages for kids.
Out of the blue one night a few weeks ago - DS8: "I know a number that you should never do in binary." Me rather confused: "Uh what" DS8: 132 Me still confused: "Uh ok. Why?" DS8: "I'll get in trouble" Me: "I give you permission and you won't get in trouble this one time." DS8 with a smirk then holds up both middle fingers at me and then explained how each finger was a digit and 0010000100 == 132
When I told this to DH he laughed and explained that they had been using binary and their fingers to keep track of the score at DD's soccer game earlier. I asked if he had gone up that high or if he had helped him figure it out and he said they had only done up to 15.
To add to this, we were at a science museum today and they had a thing on binary. I spent 5 minutes trying to explain it to my mom and I'm pretty sure she was just saying she got it to get me to shut up in the end. Then DS came over and said it's easy grandma and rattled a bunch of them off with his fingers for her and then explained it. She looked over at me while this was happening with a hilarious look on her face. I think she's starting to get it.
you borrow some "read together" books from the library to read with your preschooler. Then they decide to read the pages for adults, and have you read the pages for kids.
Yeah...BTDT
Reminds me of the first standardized test we ever had DD take. At six, she expressed profound exasperation with me because I was trying to impose somewhat standard proctoring conditions with her. It was a second grade test, and I was dutifully reading the instructional portion for each section, when she interrupted me;
MAMA! {deep sigh} I already read all of that. You do NOT need to read the directions to me. I am NOT a baby. I can even read it upside DOWN by the time you get through telling it all to me. PLEASE stop reading it out loud.
Let's call this series of episodes from this evening "Toddler v. Grandpa".
Episode 1: Dessert
My father has been recovering from a cold. I inquired into how his throat was feeling and asked whether something cold might make it feel better. He replied with the initials of a local ice cream shop in the NATO phonetic alphabet. DS2.9 nearby perked up his ears and asked, "Are we getting ice cream!?"
Episode 2: Dinner
DS, having eaten a late lunch and nursed recently wasn't hungry at dinner. This was compounded by his eating a piece of hot food, which burned his mouth and left him uninterested in more dinner. Grandpa attempted to cajole him into eating, not realizing what he was up against.
Grandpa: DS, what if I take your zucchini and eat it? (Said teasingly as he pretends to steal DS' food)
DS, blasé: Go ahead.
Grandpa, undeterred: What if I stole your corn on the cob, too? (He mimes eating the corn.)
DS: No Grandpa, actually eat it!
Grandpa pantomimes again and DS repeats his exhortation. Grandpa complies to see how DS responds. When he gets no reaction, he repeats the process with the zucchini. DS urges him to eat the zucchini, Grandpa does, and DS revels in having tricked his Grandpa into having eaten the dinner that he was being encouraged to eat.
I was proud. It was well executed subterfuge.
Episode 3: Gazebo
DS manages to wrest a tent-like peg securing one of four legs of an iron gazebo from the stone patio. (No easy feat for little hands.) This was the result of several minutes' labour, concerted focus, and persistence.
Grandpa: DS, do you think it's a good idea to remove the peg?
DS: Yes I do, Grandpa.
Grandpa: But what if a strong wind blows? The gazebo could be blown away or damaged.
DS: There are still three legs holding it in place.
Me: If the peg can be removed by a small child, it isn't terribly secure and would have probably been ineffective anyway.
Grandpa: DS, could you please put the peg back in the ground.
DS wedges the peg back in, only to quickly remove it again and resume playing with it.
Grandpa: DS, why aren't you listening to me?
DS: I did listen.You said to put it in, which I did.
Grandpa couldn't argue with this reasoning. By that point, my mum and I were howling with laughter. I love my dad, but the poor guy just couldn't win today!
When your 3.5 year-old is talking a mile a minute and the words you catch are "heliophysics... Hydrogen, Neon... and winds of 52,000 miles an hour.". You have no idea what he is talking about until your spouse later mentions a book they read aloud over a month ago that was targeted toward college students. (I know what heliophysics is, but it is so far outside my area of expertise that I was baffled to hear my son explaining his new passion.). You do not find it strange that they chose that to read...
Later in the morning, this child is counting by 15s for fun...
You feel woefully inadequate to homeschool but realize that the local preschool may not be the best fit...
At the pre-talk before watching "King Lear" at a Shakespeare in the park performance DD9, wearing an "American Girl" hat and a dress covered in musical notes, asked the actor playing the title role "What makes him a hero?" The dumbfounded looks exchanged between the members of the cast, the artistic director of the company and director of the arts alliance sponsoring the production were priceless.
The actor, a theater professor, said Lear becomes a hero at the end when he accepts responsibility for his actions and apologizes for doing the wrong thing. DD didn't buy it. As far as she's concerned King Lear doesn't qualify as a tragic hero. This morning I've been googling the topic so I can be prepared in case she wants to continue the conversation...
Pemberley-- we've discussed that very thing at our house. As far as we're concerned, Lear is no more heroic than... well, than Romeo is. Or Ophelia.
Julius Caesar-- now he's heroic. Macbeth, or Othello.... not so much. Hamlet? Perhaps.
(And yeah, we've been having this kind of conversation at our house since DD was pretty young, too... ) One of our favorite portrayals in all of Shakespeare's canon is of Achilles in Troilus and Cressida, fwiw-- because it is such an jarring and peculiar reading of "heroic." It's very human.
...when DD7 has given up on fantasy novel bedtime stories and has you read The Number Devil... ...then writes him a note asking him to teach her too, by appearing in her dreams... ...when she loses a tooth before getting a reply, leaves a note for the tooth fairy asking her to have a talk with the Number Devil because "I expect a response"... ...at the Number Devil's direction, is now working through the Penrose the Cat books at night. The rest of us read before we sleep, she takes a whiteboard to bed and works out math concepts. She is seeing patterns I never noticed, and articulating them clearly. But she still thinks she's not a 'math girl' in the classroom - apparently that means whizzing through the most worksheets.
DS2.9 declared himself the "Ba-King" while baking cookies yesterday.
This morning, we were looking at a pair of earrings and a carved wood box that we bought as gifts for my aunt. DS put the earrings inside the box and closed the lid saying, "We should include a note telling Aunt that these are disapp-earrings."
He has a wry, conspiratorial twinkle in his eyes when he delivers these lines, and he usually returns to his activity with a studied deadpan. I love my little man. He cracks me up.
Your Pride & Prejudice obssessed DD6 not only loves the Bollywood Bride and Prejudice, but gets the line "You should see him eat, it's like a Jackson Pollock painting."
DD11 and I have a long discussion about Orwellian versus Huxleyan dystopias (and which are more interesting / realistic). I worry she'll be upset that she's 3 years too young to get into the Dystopian fiction class at school (absolutely no age exceptions!), but she doesn't mind because she's already read the entire book list.
MegMeg, I love it! DD is reading a graphic novel of Emma and last night could not settle down until I got down my complete works of Austen so she could review all the titles and flip through it.
You know you're parenting a gifted child when your three year old says, "DD7's crying!" And so you check on her (she's just sitting at the table nearby) and she says, "Oh, I was just thinking about a part Jane Eyre and imagining it, and I cried." I had to ask; I was curious because it's been a while since she was into Jane: she was thinking of Jane lost and alone, nearly dying in the rain, and brokenhearted over Rochester.
when your 5 year old states that his favourite book is Macbeth, but that while he enjoys the sonnets, he believes there are better poets out there. Like Dr Seuss.
While transporting a mattress in the minivan that's separating the two kids in the back, you jokingly ask your 2.5 year old if she can see her brother and, without missing a beat, she asks you to adjust the rear-view mirror.
While transporting a mattress in the minivan that's separating the two kids in the back, you jokingly ask your 2.5 year old if she can see her brother and, without missing a beat, she asks you to adjust the rear-view mirror.
My DD7 is playing with some cut flowers at the checkout stand. I tell her she shouldn't be touching the centers of the flowers that way as it will damage the flowers and they are trying to sell them. She said "but mom, I'm pollinating!" She was actually moving pollen from the center of one flower to the center of another flower.
My DD7 is playing with some cut flowers at the checkout stand. I tell her she shouldn't be touching the centers of the flowers that way as it will damage the flowers and they are trying to sell them. She said "but mom, I'm pollinating!" She was actually moving pollen from the center of one flower to the center of another flower.
That's adorable!
Then you can tell her that pollinating the flowers will make them fade more quickly, so in the interest of not shortening the shelf-life of the merchandise, or disappointing customers who buy the flowers expecting them to last more than a couple of days, she should avoid pollinating them prior to purchase...
...reminds me of the time, a few summers ago, when we had to have a conversation about not letting bees into the house to pollinate the houseplants...
aeh our houseplants don't flower, otherwise I'm sure she would be trying to let bees in (and we actually keep bees so we have a lot hanging around). I will let her know that in the interests of a longer shelf life she should only pollinate outside plants.
This morning was asynchronous DS's first day of grade 3 and he is yelling from the bathroom - "mom I need help". I go up and ask with what and he replies "I need help brushing my teeth and with understanding the periodic table before school". He then proceeds to grill me with questions about valence electrons.
Good luck Ms. F, I suspect it's going to be a LONG year.
When your 5 year old gets to wash a real load of dishes for the first time and you hear him muttering over a rather stubborn spot "Out d*mn spot! Out I say!"
In case you missed the reference to his favourite story ("in my entire life I have never read such a brilliant book mommy!") another incident:
When someone with two children visiting us says goodbye and he replies by pointing to himself and the two kids and saying "When shall we three meet again in thunder, lightning or in rain..."
...your 14-year-old relaxes by teaching herself another language
...you are traveling on a different continent and your 8-year-old explains to a tour guide why the animal that the guide is holding was introduced to that particular area and why that introduction had unexpected consequences.
...when your DD's favorite "reward" for finishing a lesson of homeschooled math is being awarded 20 minutes to "play" more and harder math lessons on KhanAcademy.
...when the preschool child wants to spend all the way home discussion the question, "Why doesn't the car fall off the road into space?" and inserts various mostly-relevant facts about gravity into your explanation, such as that the sun also makes gravity; and you get the impression this isn't a question, it's a pop-quiz.
...your DD5.5 decides to read George's Secret Key to the Universe by Lucy and Steven Hawking (love the book recommendation thread) for her Kindergarten reading homework...and you had really no idea she was reading on that level with comprehension. Oy
My son (just turned 5) is only MG, if that, but I love these stories and I'm going to join in... When DS asks out of nowhere: "Mummy. If I was standing on an exoplanet, could I see our sun twinkling like the stars we see at night?"
When DS comes across some Roman numerals in a book he's reading in the car and asks about them. I give one brief, distracted, description and he is instantly able to work the rest of them out without skipping a beat.
After explaining synonyms, DS comes up with many on his own, then asks "What about numbers? Is there a word like "synonym" for sums? Is 6+1 a synonym of 3+4?".
...when your seven-year-old little geography nut (he comes by it honestly) corrects you on place names in Greenland. He was musing on which places in Greenland might have airports - "apart from Nuuk, of course, and Julianehaab maybe". I thought that Qaqortoq might have one - "but Mama, thats just the other name for Julianehaab!" Duh. How could I forget!
Napanagka, whatever makes you think your kid can be "only MG, if that..."?
My DS9 was playing with a soccer ball in our garden. Then, suddenly, he stoptted and asked me if a LASER can break an atom ....
He asked me while I was driving if a car can stop intentaneously. I started answering him with the concept of mass and kinetic energy. Then I told him that to stop a car you need to convert this energy to another kind of energy. I asked him if he has an idea on what kind of energy and how is the conversion done. He answered me : in heat by friction (not saying breaking)... Well may be, it is normal, I have no idea if other kids of his age would have answered the same way.
Tigerle, he's been tested. FSIQ 128, VIQ 131 on SBV, subtest scores ranging from 50th percentile to 99.9th percentile. So he's "low" compared to most here
I have one more, obviously his idea is incorrect, but shows an interesting thought process.
When your DS5.1, obviously pondering water being composed of hydrogen and oxygen atoms, and, knowing that these usually exist as gas, suddenly comes out with the idea that rain clouds may be the visual signs of a chemical reaction between the two gases in the atmosphere, forming water which then falls to earth.
On the other hand, when he decides Santa's reindeer are "fictional", because obviously reindeer can't fly... But Santa is DEFINITELY solid fact.
Your DS2.10 wants your attention when you're calling your spouse at work on your mobile phone. When you tell him to wait a moment, he picks up the house phone, dials your cell phone, then says (through the phone, when your mobile picks up the incoming call), "Can I have your full attention now?"
The call with DH was only 2 minutes, max, prior to DS needing to launch his intervention.
... when your teen admits that asthma exacerbation and airway remodeling is not a reasonable cost for keeping a beloved pet. Also, when that teen tearfully but pragmatically agrees to find the pet in question a new home. This week.
(Yes, sad days at our house.)
She's agreed to this in part because having to keep the cat isolated is breaking the cat's heart, too. She knows this is hard for her-- but far worse for the cat, who doesn't understand why it is happening.
I really love her rationality, but at times it is pretty hard to remind myself that she's a teenaged girl.
I also have my own heartbreaking snippet to add based on something that I saw my DD 9.5 doing this past week.
You know that you are parenting a gifted child when...
You find her agonizing over her homework not because it is hard but because she wants to find examples that classmates will be able to relate to without using examples from books and subjects she knows the majority of her school mates are not familiar with. When you ask why she going to all that trouble she wails that she is sick of being a misfit.
DS2.10 wanted to learn how x-rays work. After explaining it to him, we were playing radiologist, and he made up a song: "Cathode, anode...photon, photon, photon!"
When you finally find a sport that your DD10 can and wants to play and she still finds herself hanging out with adults because the sport is Golf. Although, the adults are absolutely over the moon about having a "respectful, thoughtful, and brilliant" child they can help teach the sport too. Oh well at least she's active and having fun!
You get up without protest from your little rest to retrieve the Latin dictionary from the car so she does not have to lose track of her research ideas.
You find yourself reprising the role of Danny DeVito in Matilda. DD9 was excited with her haul from the library book sale, and proposed a "reading party", but we had a movie we'd started last night and didn't want to pay another day's rent on it. With tongue firmly in cheek, "No reading! You'll watch TV with your family and you'll like it!" was something I actually said.
When my son was 12 we went on a east coast trip (Philly, NYC, Boston) that was part college tours for my daughter. My son's solution to the fact that traveling and touring colleges was boring was to read the entire Harry Potter books over the course of the 3 weeks. I bought him a light backpack and purchased paperback editions of the books as we went. He would pull his current book out and plop on the ground and read in the craziest places. I have an adorable set of pictures of himreading just about everywhere on this trip. But several times I found myself telling him to stop reading because it just wasn't the appropriate time or place.
Took DS(6) to an art show. DS starts discussing the properties of copper with a metal sculpture artist. It suddenly hit me that the artist must not have realized he's talking to a 1st grader because he asked DS if he's taken chemistry yet.
I don't have to worry about homeschooling kindergarten actively; DS2.11 is already driving the "curriculum" bus. He's hot housing himself. Topics that he wanted to explore today--complete with some experiments he asked to do by early afternoon:
- water and the water cycle - why does water flow? - the roosting habits of ghost faced bats, including building a DS-sized spelunking cave out of blankets and pillows, complete with model bats, cave crabs, cockroaches, guano (yes, he wanted to model guano), and stalactites - why Egyptians left the heart in mummies, as well as a discussion of what DS would put in canonic jars ("definitely the heart and brain") - how Egyptians removed the brain ("did they have to pull it out the body's sinuses?") - listening to a song about the periodic table - discussing various human body systems in great detail, going into a lot of detail (e.g. How does oxygen travel to alveolar sacs and get into the bloodstream? Do capillaries carry both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood?) - practicing spelling by reading words off a tin of zoo magnets, and describing what "new" words would be produced if the first/last letter was changed or omitted
I feel like a hero. We did all that, are both fed and bathed, and I squeezed in a morning workout, cleaned the kitchen, and washed and folded a load of laundry. Contrast that with the days where he gets so fixated on a topic that we're unwashed in a messy house, eating oatmeal and berries at noon (or later!)
This morning in the car, the two dc's were hotly debating the existence of God, duplicating (unknowingly) Aquinas's and Pascal's arguments, on the one hand, and the (atheist) existentialist position, on the other. Never a dull moment!
This morning in the car, the two dc's were hotly debating the existence of God, duplicating (unknowingly) Aquinas's and Pascal's arguments, on the one hand, and the (atheist) existentialist position, on the other. Never a dull moment!
You know based on my screen name that I think that's terrific!
When accolades are expected by your DC, and hardly worth talking about.
Me: So you got Student of the Month, only the second month in...
DD: Are you surprised?
I'm chuckling over this one. Perhaps I should offer my condolences on her adolescence while I can get in there early? As you know, we have one of those teeshirts.
DD, on her "Principal's Award" as a graduating senior:
Meh.
(Apparently, the school gives just one of these annually. She was going to put the certificate into the recycling until I stopped her!)
I've never posted on this sort of thread - but this one was pretty eye-opening: DS6 is lying on stomach building lego thingy. He rolls over, sits up, spreads his arms wide and announces "Death has to come before peace."
We have a long chat about war, why it starts, and what it takes to end it. Along the way we deal with logic glitches such as, "Why can the president start a war if he doesn't have to fight in it?" and "If it was worth dying for at the start, then why does it stop being worth dying for just because you are losing?"
DS concludes with "None of this sounds reasonable. Do you know where my big flame [lego piece] is?"
But I doubt we've heard the last of this topic....
DD5 was home from school today with a fever. We were listening to a local radio station as I was tidying up breakfast. A song came on which included the lyrics, "My head's under water, But I'm breathing fine". DD turns to me and says, "You know Mommy, when he says that in the song, it doesn't mean that he actually put his head in the water. It means that's what he feels like." We went on to have a discussion about metaphors and similes.
Later she wanted to know what was the oldest object in the universe. Yesterday at school they spent the day counting to four. Sometimes it's good to stay home.
DD11's Observations from history class: Pocahontas suffered from Stockholm Syndrome, Lincoln was a racist (but just not compared to other racists of the time), the girls in the Salem Witch Trials were hysterical drama queens. For the latter I sent her on a 'witch hunt' to Google ergot poisoning -- that should make for fun class discussion.
When your 8 year old reasoned that she knew that Santa used Amazon which is why she searched there before writing her letter to Santa but didn't think he was me because she never saw the Amazon boxes. LOL
We are going to have to spill the beans on Santa this weekend which is what brought that into my head. Innocence has to be lost eventually I suppose - sigh.
When your 7 year old decides to memorize pi and does so, by studying a page with pi written on it, to 100 digits, in 30 minutes. When she then watches a youtube clip of someone 'singing' pi and stops it around the 80th digit and points out they've made a mistake. When she then goes on to compose her own version on piano... When she can still readily recall 100 digits of pi having not recited it for months.
When you're not surprised to find your 7y/o in the bathroom reading "Musicophilia" by Oliver Sacks two hours after you sent her to bed.
When you avoid talking about any of your child's achievements with anyone except your husband.
When your DD10 is freaking out because her teacher wants her to read for 300 minutes this month and then you remind her that's only 5 hours and she stops, looks at you and then says, "That's right. Oh I can knock that out on a Saturday afternoon if it's raining." If it's nice out she plays golf on Saturdays.
Talk about confusing, over-reacting to 'not as important as golf' in less than a second. Car companies wish they had 60-0 breaking as good as hers.
DD6 is fiddling with some toy, multi-tasking during breakfast, and you realise in awe that she has completely solved 2 Rubik's cubes. 2 mins later she has a breakdown because she can't tie her own shoelaces up!!
DD8's teacher emailed us to say that we need to get together and talk about how to get her organized because she keeps leaving things at home and can't do the work at school. Now, she does leave stuff at school so that she can't do the work at home, but the binder full of folders in question is always in her backpack when she goes to school, so I know she's just being lazy, and I told the teacher that. But I told DD that she needs to take her binder out of her backpack and put it in her desk each day, and she said there's no room.
I asked what's in her desk that everyone else doesn't have, and she said she has three library books. I asked why she has three library books in her desk.
At breakfast, DS 3.5 keeps eyeing a new Halloween Candy box sitting on the counter, then flees to go "fix it". He sees that it's not aligned properly. He comes back and says, "I'm an exceptional unusual candy box fixer!" I ask, "What makes you unusual?" He say, "No, it's an unusual candy box, it's shaped like a house."
DH and I both holding our breath at the moment he said, "exceptional and unusual." Like, did he hear us talking at night? Has he figured something out. LOL Whew! Nope-just describing the candy box.
DD11's Observations from history class: Pocahontas suffered from Stockholm Syndrome, Lincoln was a racist (but just not compared to other racists of the time), the girls in the Salem Witch Trials were hysterical drama queens. For the latter I sent her on a 'witch hunt' to Google ergot poisoning -- that should make for fun class discussion.
That's one intelligent kid! She sounds fun to talk to.
DS2.11noticed a lady sitting across from us was wearing Chuck Taylor shoes like his. He pointed them out and she replied, "But I think yours are cleaner." Without missing a beat, DS says, "Oh, that's because I preserve them in formaldehyde."
When you are getting the kids loaded to go to a pumpkin patch and the first thing your 3 year old says after getting in the car is, "Is time travel real?" Proceeds to enjoy pumpkin patch as any kid would. Then you load them up to go home and as soon as we hit the road he asks, "What happens when everyone is dead?" In and out of normal childhood, in an out of existentialism.
When you are getting the kids loaded to go to a pumpkin patch and the first thing your 3 year old says after getting in the car is, "Is time travel real?" Proceeds to enjoy pumpkin patch as any kid would. Then you load them up to go home and as soon as we hit the road he asks, "What happens when everyone is dead?" In and out of normal childhood, in an out of existentialism.
Your 8 year old's play date was spent making something to take things from the second floor down without damage. That part is probably not that unusual for boys but here's where it was a bit unique - they spent a LONG time drawing up designs (various gliders and parachute designs) and even more writing a lot of equations to figure out which of their designs to go with. The equations are pretty funny, I don't recall there being a constant for air resistance but according to DS and his friend AR=56.
As the kid left he was yelling "and next time we're going to do tonnes and tonnes of amazing math". Love that my oddball has found a kindred spirit.
My children have never really been into bathroom humor, for some reason...they did, however, embark on an "opposite" version--which, naturally, devolved into an intense discussion about double, triple, etc. negatives, as these endeavors usually do...
I remember watching E.T. in the theater as a very young child and feeling sick to my stomach that I had to suffer through it as I found it heavy-hande, cheesy, and unnecessarily manipulative.
DD is more like SO who had much more age-appropriate responses to movies and books. She loves Frozen and really identifies with Elsa but thankfully, she got over the songs very quickly and now she only sings them when she has Frozen-loving friends over.
I'm not sure if I posted about this, but ... A few weeks ago, ds4 says to me, "Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to be a scientist working at the zoo. But first, I need to build a robot to assist me. That's why I need to bring this notebook and pencil. I need to start writing my ideas and hypotheses."
On Sunday when we were watching the 49ers versus the Broncos, Peyton Manning set the "all-time passing touchdown record." Or did he?
According to DS the answer has to be "no, he did not." Because: "There's no way to know if someday another player will throw more, and then another person further in the future and on into infinity. So nobody can have the 'all-time' record."
OK - good point. I'll send a message to ESPN, but I fear they won't make the correction to "holds the record for all time up until now."
Toilet training looks something like this. (Back story: DS has a sticker chart where he earns 1 sticker per toilet attempt. At 50, he can earn a coveted toy.)
DS retires to the washroom.
Me: Would you like to try using your toilet? You'll earn another sticker toward your backhoe if you do.
"I'm not sure if I posted about this, but ... A few weeks ago, ds4 says to me, "Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to be a scientist working at the zoo. But first, I need to build a robot to assist me. That's why I need to bring this notebook and pencil. I need to start writing my ideas and hypotheses."
He is serious."
I had the almost identical conversation with my DS! Love it!
When your 3.5 y.o. asks you to teach him to count from 100 to 200 so that he can learn to count all the way to 1000. I agree (oh but so exhausted) and then I say, "Did you know that not everyone loves numbers?" DS: "Who? Who are these people?" Me: "Just some people don't LOVE numbers, they like other stuff." DS: "Who are these people, can you tell me their names?" Total disbelief at the possiblity that someone couldn't love the very things that electrify him. Too cute.
When your 3.5 y.o. asks you to teach him to count from 100 to 200 so that he can learn to count all the way to 1000. I agree (oh but so exhausted) and then I say, "Did you know that not everyone loves numbers?" DS: "Who? Who are these people?" Me: "Just some people don't LOVE numbers, they like other stuff." DS: "Who are these people, can you tell me their names?" Total disbelief at the possiblity that someone couldn't love the very things that electrify him. Too cute.
I love that, toothpaste! Halloween has got to be my least favorite holiday- every year the costume ideas become more and more complicated and elaborate (and basically impossible to achieve)!
Her original idea involved a famous historical decapitation. I was so grateful that one went by the wayside, because I could not begin to figure out how to "execute" that plan.
When, at parent teacher conferences, the first grade teacher at DD-6's immersion school shows us examples of DD's math work... and sheepishly points out that DD has been correcting grammar errors in her 3rd grade workbooks, in both Spanish and English (as well as getting all the answers correct).
when your DD4 is being supervised by someone at a bbq for 10 minutes, and the adult comes down and says "wow your daughter is really clever" after modest nods, "no she's like really, really clever" "compared to other 4 years olds she is really clever" I said oh what did she say, "oh nothing she is just really really clever" with that look that says have you thought about calling the newspaper because like wow.
DD9 is a writing and drawing fiend. Since kindergarten she's written numerous illustrated journals that are strewn all over the house. Now she's writing fantasy stories - the latest is "Allsas' Journal (fantasy - none will believe - but true!)" a book that includes step by step details of how one dies from the plague, including illustrations done with an old fashioned quill pen and ink (from my art school days). She is waiting to start writing in the NaNoWriMo young writers' event!!
Oh, this reminds me of DD's astronomy phase last year. She too wanted to be the sun and she wanted to round up 8 friends so they can dress up as planets and orbit around her.
She still thinks she ought to be the center of her parents' universe but she is slowly learning that with just about everyone else, it doesn't quite work that way.
DS3 hosted a children's Hallowe'en party last evening for some of our neighbors. When he discovered that one guest's father is completing a residency at a local hospital in emerg, DS ran up to him with his toy cat:
"Oh good, a qualified doctor! My cat has fractured his vertebrae. I think it's a c-spine fracture. We need to get him into imaging now. I've secured a temporary brace."
DS was thrilled to learn that the hospital has a full complement of radiologists and anesthesiologists.
A few of the parents, also doctors, stood aghast. I have a feeling my response to some of their questions ("he's really into medical imaging technology these days") did not satisfy their curiosity.
Oh, this reminds me of DD's astronomy phase last year. She too wanted to be the sun and she wanted to round up 8 friends so they can dress up as planets and orbit around her.
She still thinks she ought to be the center of her parents' universe but she is slowly learning that with just about everyone else, it doesn't quite work that way.
we have a shop here called the pumpkin patch, dd wanted to wear a dress from there because well it was a pumpkin patch dress.
Not quite three, DS vociferously declined be a scarecrow, but I did suggest he wear his red waterproof jumpsuit and yellow raincoat ("in case it rains"), his pull-on red puddle jumper boots ("in case it's muddy), and his firefighter helmet (because he liked it). At the doors, when people said "what have we here? Oh, a firefighter!" DS solemnly corrected them: "No, I'm NOT a firefighter, I'm DRESSED as a firefighter"
Fast forward 20 years, DS is a theater major. Not a method actor, apparently.
DS was a Mini Cooper this year, which luckily is the same thing he was last year. DH took a rubbermaid bin and cut a hole in it and then attached wheels from an old stroller and made a windshield out of an old trash can we had. It's adorable and pretty sturdy! A little heavy for a little 3 year old though. I'm hoping he'll be good with wearing it next year too.
NotherBen, my son is also a little thrown off by dress-up. I think he's a little worried that his disguise is too good? Or just wants to make sure everyone has their facts straight...
aquinas, I have a story to share with you, now that your DS is going through a human anatomy phase.
DD fell on her knees one day at a park. It wasn't a bad fall but she seemed to be in pain so I made the mistake of telling her if the pain doesn't subside, we might have to take her to the doctor. For a few days, she kept on insisting that she couldn't walk and wanted to be carried around everywhere. I was skeptical since I caught her walking a few times when she thought I wasn't watching. Still, after 3 days of limping and hopping, I took her to her pediatrician's office and his partner was working that day. He was speechless about DD (3.5 back then) going on and on about how she felt radiating pain originating from a spot located beneath her left patella and that she suspected a possible fracture. He asked me if she was really 3 and I just nodded.
After seeing her limp around in her office almost in tears, he ordered a x-ray and we had to take her to a children's hospital that's out of the way because, well, they are more used to children.
As soon she was done, she started walking just fine and asked me with a huge grin, "When can I look at my x-rays?"
My DS10 is TV obsessed right now (animated Star Wars, Marvel etc.). They have a project in his class at school about Native Americans, and he was assigned Inuit (which I thought he would love) to do a report on. This morning he told me he thought Native Americans were boring (which I do not agree with at all, in fact I am so into this project I have to hold myself back from obsessively researching the Inuit myself.) So I asked him what he was interested in right now, fully expecting to hear about something Star Wars or Marvel related. Instead he said he wanted to learn more about genetics....
LAF - not to get serious in a quirks thread, but might he have the freedom to combine the two topics? There's lots of great possibilities, such as what we know about where humans originated from and migrated to, based on genetics of populations - where did the Inuit come from, how do we know they crossed the Bering Strait during an ice age, etc. Or unique health and disease patterns in the Inuit that relate to shared genetics? Or to get really serious, issues that genetically-isolated populations have with researchers loving to use them as guinea pigs for all sorts of genetic-tracing studies, and maybe how this kind of research can be done well to benefit the health and well-being of the studied population? I could go on - as you can see, I love genetics too!
Dude, I can relate. DD wants a drum kit for Christmas. She asks me to take her to music stores that sell drum kits all the time. I told her we are not paying for more music lessons. She says she'll teach herself how to play by watching youtube videos.
I told her that we are not getting her a drum set since if we get anymore instruments squeezed into our tiny apartment, we'll have nowhere to eat or sleep. She says she'll give up her playroom and toys to house the drum kit since she is too old to be playing toys anyway (it is true that she never plays with her toys; we keep them around for play dates).
I have to think about this but I really don't want to live with a drum kit.
... when your 15yo college student impishly notes that she nearly missed her math professor's apologetic plea to the class to be sure to at least LOOK past the first quiz question so that they can look up how they would approach the last problem...
WHY?
Oh, because she was busy finishing the LAST question at the time.
"Mom, it was this AWESOME angular momentum problem!" Then she provided me with details, including excited and expansive hand motions, and sighed wistfully. "Physics is SO BEAUTIFUL with calculus. SO beautiful."
We have a drum-playing child. We do have a full acoustic kit, but if you're short on space (physical and sound), I'd vote for electronic drums. Or a sound-proof room. You need headphones one way or the other, as you don't want to blow out your ears while you're only a child. Our drum teacher just suggested not buying a kit at all initially, but using a practice pad only, at the beginning, to work on stick control and rhythm patterns.
"Mom, it was this AWESOME angular momentum problem!" Then she provided me with details, including excited and expansive hand motions, and sighed wistfully. "Physics is SO BEAUTIFUL with calculus. SO beautiful."
That is awesome because physics is beautiful with calculus...
... when your 15yo college student impishly notes that she nearly missed her math professor's apologetic plea to the class to be sure to at least LOOK past the first quiz question so that they can look up how they would approach the last problem...
WHY?
Oh, because she was busy finishing the LAST question at the time.
"Mom, it was this AWESOME angular momentum problem!" Then she provided me with details, including excited and expansive hand motions, and sighed wistfully. "Physics is SO BEAUTIFUL with calculus. SO beautiful."
While I never understood physics or calculus that well (my mind works in a different way) I completely and utterly understand finding the intense beauty in something that few others see/understand. I actually got happy reading your post because I love that she felt that way.
I think I would feel that way about microbiology or archaeology for instance...
Yes, if we were to get a drum kit, it'd have to be a digital one but if I recall correctly, even the cheapest model was around $500.
No drums around here for awhile.
SO is a competent drummer so he could teach her the basics but I already tried that with piano and it doesn't work with DD as she thinks we're not "real" musicians.
... when your 15yo college student impishly notes that she nearly missed her math professor's apologetic plea to the class to be sure to at least LOOK past the first quiz question so that they can look up how they would approach the last problem...
WHY?
Oh, because she was busy finishing the LAST question at the time.
"Mom, it was this AWESOME angular momentum problem!" Then she provided me with details, including excited and expansive hand motions, and sighed wistfully. "Physics is SO BEAUTIFUL with calculus. SO beautiful."
Love this. Physics with Calculus is so beautiful isn't it. Wish my school district understood this better and offered AP Physics C for the kids who have completed calculus already.
When your 2 3/4 DD considers it her responsibility to organize who will be doing what household chores and when, and she does a good job at it. She is also not afraid to jump in and lend a hand when and where she is needed, but is smart enough to not help when she knows she is too small or otherwise unable to be helpful. She is the type of supervisor for whom I really enjoy working.
your 2 yo ask for a Philips screwdriver and you realize your smartest course of action is to provide the screwdriver, so that you can supervise her disassemble her tricycle rather than wonder how the tricycle became disassembled, and your screwdriver became missing. (Please do not believe that we have not attempted to child proof our house, but what good does that do against the child who asks for a Philips screwdriver to take her tricycle apart? We do as well as we can.)
your 2 yo ask for a Philips screwdriver and you realize your smartest course of action is to provide the screwdriver, so that you can supervise her disassemble her tricycle rather than wonder how the tricycle became disassembled, and your screwdriver became missing. (Please do not believe that we have not attempted to child proof our house, but what good does that do against the child who asks for a Philips screwdriver to take her tricycle apart? We do as well as we can.)
Miss Phillips Screwdriver, a please allow me to introduce your future soul mate, DS3, aka Mr Robertson Screwdriver.
When your DS7 is currently halfway through 6th grade math and working a pre-Alg book over lunches decides to start a formal Alg class (EPGY). You hear, "ARGH! STOP with the lectures and let me do the MATH! No more lectures! I just want to do the math!" You are grateful he is no longer in a classroom as computer based lectures with stop buttons still move too slow!!???
your 2 yo ask for a Philips screwdriver and you realize your smartest course of action is to provide the screwdriver, so that you can supervise her disassemble her tricycle rather than wonder how the tricycle became disassembled, and your screwdriver became missing. (Please do not believe that we have not attempted to child proof our house, but what good does that do against the child who asks for a Philips screwdriver to take her tricycle apart? We do as well as we can.)
Miss Phillips Screwdriver, a please allow me to introduce your future soul mate, DS3, aka Mr Robertson Screwdriver.
When your 8 yo's Christmas project is writing a book about the elements, inspired by Theodore grey. He and DH are attempting to take their own pictures of every element in the periodic table and he writes his own texts and designs the pages using indesign, copying out the relevant chemical in formation from Wikipedia where he needs it. DH, who is a science teacher in high school, takes him in the labs on afternoons and weekends to photograph the more arcane elements (and I get the cutest pictures of DS in a lab coat and goggles earnestly handling sodium or something with tongs). They have decided that they will have to include drawings of the elements even DH is unwilling or unable to procure (some of the more radioactive stuff will have to wait) to have it ready for Christmas to give copies to the grandparents. He will come running into our bedroom in the mornings while I am still bleary eyed, sipping my tea, and yell excitedly that indium will have to be blue because he just found out the name is derived not from India but the colour indigo and I'm like uhhh yeah, did you change out of your pjs yet!
When your five year old runs up to you and hands you a piece of paper and proclaims that it is a picture showing your skin cycle. She then goes through the stages on the page, which you realize is a flow chart, explaining how your body sheds skin. Then she runs off to her room to play dress up.
Your son, on his fourth birthday, asks seemingly out of nowhere how the world ends. It began, so it must end. And agrees with your explanation of it contracting and having a new Big Bang. And asks hours later as he goes to sleep how can the people be not here when the Big Bang comes. Uh, have a cupcake!
your child is able to quickly find, during a discussion about a story in a book, ONE WORD he read in that book few weeks ago. In our case it's the name Lucille!
DS3, who prefers to not show that he can read, today leaked a bit more of his ability. After asking me to turn to the last page of our book upside down so we could read the story backwards and inside out, he suddenly says, "rehtorb". I ask him to repeat himself because I didn't catch what he had said. He says, "mama, rehtorb is brother backwards. See?"
The page had literally been open for about 3 seconds when he said that, and the page was covered in text. What is his little brain doing?!
This doesn't totally fit but it made me smile so I thought I'd share anyway.
Long story leading up to this but I was making small talk at the grocery store and the cashier says something about there being a lot of poisonous things in Australia and said he couldn't remember the name but there's even an animal with a venomous spike on its hind leg. Without even thinking I respond - "oh yeah that is the platypus" (There is NO way I would have known this without DS8 in my life). The cashier then says "no, I don't think that is it". I then look to DS to back me up (after all he is the definitive source of animal trivia). He then says "No, my mom's right, it is the platypus" and then goes on with a few more details and continues to debate with the cashier.
The cashier beside us turns around and says "what are you talking about now..... you keep having the weirdest conversations...". I had to smile at the ~16 year old cashier. I feel like this whole adventure with DS has opened up my eyes to seek out gifted kindred spirits.
Yesterday my 26 month old told me, "I prefer bigger kids like [brother] because little kids like me don't really talk much."
Teachers told me that DS5 invited a classmate over for a play date and suggested that they turn the radio dial between stations and listen to the radiation leftover from the big bang. The teacher reported that the other kid said, "huh?"
So I thought DS4 was slowing down in math a little because he's been writing addition sentences and skip counting patterns for quite some time, but he wasn't really moving onto subtraction. He could figure out the answer to a given "subtraction scenario" but he wasn't writing out problems. Not that it matters, but it was just odd to me. It was one of those times where found myself thinking, "Well maybe the gap will close. Maybe it will all even out by third grade."
Then a few days ago we were reading a book about the planets & DS was quite impressed with some of the negative high temperatures listed. The next day he was writing while I was making dinner. When I looked at the paper there were several subtraction problems with negative answers (eg, 20-50=-30). Sooo... Maybe the gap won't close after all.
While enjoying this, it also brings to mind a recent story from world news. Have you seen any of the news articles announcing that China has banned puns? This is not a humor rumor, evidently some believe that word play may mislead children and bring about cultural and linguistic chaos.
While enjoying this, it also brings to mind a recent story from world news. Have you seen any of the news articles announcing that China has banned puns? This is not a humor rumor, evidently some believe that word play may mislead children and bring about cultural and linguistic chaos.
A ban clearly doomed to failure, given the pervasive nature of punning in Chinese. Note the comment late in the article speculating that this is a preemptive strike on political commentary.
And word play requires some significant metalinguistic skills--something one would expect is to be cultivated in children.
while getting ready for bed, your three year old says: "Reading is like eating spicy food. When you first try it, it burns your tongue. But the more you have it, the better it gets."
PS: I've been reading this forum for a while but this is my first post. Everybody around me always gives me this odd, blank stare when I share the things my daughter says, so I've started keeping it all to myself. I am so thankful for this outlet and for an audience who understands.
One of my other favorites: A month before my daughter turned 2 she was drawing jellyfish, and I reminded her, "Don't forget to draw the tentacles." And she looked at me with disgust and said, "Mom, it's tendrils, not tentacles." I had to google tendrils. That's when I knew I was in for a really good ride.
When you take your children to the library and your DD6 spends the afternoon alternating between a high school level book on Black Holes and a Rainbow Magic book about fairies.
PS: I've been reading this forum for a while but this is my first post. Everybody around me always gives me this odd, blank stare when I share the things my daughter says, so I've started keeping it all to myself. I am so thankful for this outlet and for an audience who understands.
The whole family is under the weather. When DS3 saw I was succumbing to the family cold, he said, "Aww, Mama, I know what you need to feel better: more white blood cells! I'm going to make you hot chocolate like an adult, and I'm going to add macrophages to eat your virus cells and natural killer cells to poke holes in them to make them die."
Bless his heart.
This offer was closely followed by a request to, "please wipe my nose, Mama."
When you sneak to the library without the kids and bump into another woman loitering in the children's section also filling a wheeled suitcase. Definately knowing looks were exchanged
Your 8yr old wants for Christmas : a katniss costume, having started and nearly finished the Hunger Games series in the last 2.5 weeks.... AND "teddy needs a backpack, to wear and keep his things in".
The whole family is under the weather. When DS3 saw I was succumbing to the family cold, he said, "Aww, Mama, I know what you need to feel better: more white blood cells! I'm going to make you hot chocolate like an adult, and I'm going to add macrophages to eat your virus cells and natural killer cells to poke holes in them to make them die."
WOW. That was AWESOME. Is he reading AP Biology books? LOL.
The whole family is under the weather. When DS3 saw I was succumbing to the family cold, he said, "Aww, Mama, I know what you need to feel better: more white blood cells! I'm going to make you hot chocolate like an adult, and I'm going to add macrophages to eat your virus cells and natural killer cells to poke holes in them to make them die."
WOW. That was AWESOME. Is he reading AP Biology books? LOL.
Haha, thanks Peter. That's just what happens when I follow DS down the rabbit hole. He's got an app that shows the function of different systems of the body that DH found free one day on promotion. When we were looking at the circulatory system, we were able to zoom in as far as the cellular level, and talked about different blood cells' functions. He really likes to probe for as much information as I can give. The cute part was seeing him "play" white blood cells after with his trucks, where the road he made was a series of blood vessels.
You know that you're dealing with a gifted child when you explain that "hands come in pairs. Hund's not so much," in an effort to provide a method to remember the definition of Hund's rule, and this results in mad giggling rather than groans.
DS3 had his first appointment with an ophthalmologist yesterday. He has some sensory issues, two of which are photo sensitivity and a dislike of being handled by strangers (not unreasonable, if you ask me.) The ophthalmologist was a genuinely nice man, and his bedside manner likely would have been appropriate for a typical 3 year old. As you'll see below, he was unprepared for DS.
DS (upon meeting the ophthalmologist, extends hand for a shake): So you're the ophthalmologist, are you?
Doc attempts to begin examining DS without any discussion of the procedure or requesting permission to touch DS, against my advice. DS does best when consulted as a partner in the process. His pediatrician has learned to talk about her research with him, to good effect. The learning curve for this one was not so steep.
DS: You're shining a light in my eyes. Stop that please.
Doc (pulling out some Sesame Stree figurines in an attempt to elicit compliance and speaking in motherese): Ooooh, do you know who these guys aaaaare?
DS: I assume they're TV characters. We don't watch much TV.
Doc attempts to shine light again.
DS: (Covers eyes, becoming indignant) You're shining the light in my eyes again. Would you stop it please. I want to get down. I don't like this.
At this point, I stand between Doc and DS and chat calmly with DS about the procedure, explaining next steps. After a moment, DS is calm enough to do more light-free tests.
Doc attempts to pre-emptively buy DS' compliance to the light with stickers: Would you like a nice sticker of a robot?
DS: No, I would not.
Doc offers a few more.
DS: No thank you. I am not interested in your stickers.
Doc shows DS a sticker of a pteranodon: Would you like a dinosaur sticker? What noise does a dinosaur make?
DS: That is a pterosaur. No thank you.
Doc shines light under his fingertip to show the blood illuminated and whispers: Wooow! Look at the light.
DS (clearly unimpressed): Yes, you are seeing your red blood cells.
Doc pulls out a lens for DS: Look at my little window!
DS begins to place his fingers near his eyes and wiggle them. I know what is coming on DS' end...
Doc: Oh! That's a good idea! Let's play peek-a-boo with my window.
DS (clearly concerned that the doctor genuinely enjoys peek-a-boo for his own entertainment): I am a gargoyle, and I am trying to intimidate you.
At this point, I just go get a book to read to DS to keep his mind occupied while the visit concludes and don't allow the doctor to shine any more lights.
At the end of the visit, the doc inquired whether we had any behavioural diagnoses for DS, to which I replied, "No, he is a smart little boy who expects respect and consideration from medical professionals. That is a reasonable expectation. He was politely voicing his disagreement. That is something I not only accept, but encourage."
I think the doc was surprised that children need to be treated differently from potted plants, and that a parent might expect something other than blind obedience from a child.
Ugh- can I just say that the pediatric ophthalmologist was the worst experience *ever* for my DS? Very similar, and the man could not adjust his approach. You could tell it never entered his mind to actually explain anything, he was visibly irritated when DS asked questions and we also had the babyish tv characters waved all over, etc. Unfortunately, we had to tolerate him for several years- kids were overjoyed when they were allowed to graduate to an adult ophthalmologist.
Quite a difference from the dentist, I must add- DS loves that place, and always emerges with a pile of disposable stuff, newly acquired knowledge about all the gadgetry and a gleam in his eye- the people there are remarkably patient and understanding.
Oh, yes-- DD loves our allergist, and he won her over by permitting her to handle his stethoscope and otoscope when she was just 2, and by taking her questions seriously.
On the other hand, she really DID love stickers, so that was pretty much the only highlight of a visit to our primary care physician for many years. (We eventually ditched him when DD11 refused to entertain the notion of EVER seeing him again; she now sees his nurse practitioner, who also treats her as the intelligent and sensitive young lady that she is.)
I'm actually thinking I'll request that our pediatrician not refer us to pediatric specialists, where possible, as I have found they usually have a saccharine, condescending way of speaking to children that sends DS running for the hills. Far better to just see a specialist who covers the same condition in adults who is nonplussed about actually seeking patient consent. I could see DS lose all respect for the ophthalmologist, and it's really not healthy for a 3 year old to doubt the qualification of his health care providers.
We had a visit with a pediatric dentist when DS was 2 who claimed to have a good understanding of the needs of SPD children, but who went on to shine lights, talk loudly, and touch DS without asking or explaining. This after being told at length that DS' strongest sensory defensiveness is oral. I was impressed that DS didn't deck him at the time. I ended the visit after 3 minutes. Suffice it to say, we have a good friend who lives of of town and works as a dental hygienist. We will be making the 2 hour pilgrimage to her office because she gets DS and is willing to take the time needed to make the appointment mutually satisfactory. That, to me, is worth the extra effort.
I'm willing to be assertive and disliked if medical care for my son doesn't meet my standards. I have no problem wearing the project manager/taskmaster hat with medical professionals. I am a taxpayer--or a paying customer, in the case of dental visits. They work for me and I set the preconditions for their work.
Aquinas, I love how you are so clear at seeing it's the Doctor's issue and not yours. I felt awful about the dentist.
Thanks MON! I need to be DS' advocate if he isn't receiving the care he deserves. I like to think I have a 3-minute statute of limitations on BS, after which I launch an intervention, though some days my hair tigger is pretty sensitive...
DD has similar attitudes. Ever since she was tiny, she complained about adults who crouched down to talk to her 'at her level' because she said she found it condescending. I once explained that this was standard advice for people working with children, but she was having none of it. And she loathes when people talk in a 'baby voice' when speaking to her.
Now that she's 11, the problem is resolving itself, and our primary care doctor, dentist, and optician are all great and basically treat her like an adult.
When your DS3 counters "I love you son to the moon and back a million times" with "Mommy I love you to Saturn and back a billion times, no wait, a trillion times, no wait a gazillion, just kidding that's not real, a trillion times, because you know Saturn is much farther than the moon." Expressing love in his own way! awwww finally.
DD: Numbers go on infinitely on both directions, right? Me: Yes, I think so. DD: But not days. Me: You mean time? DD: Yes, time. It had a beginning. Me: I guess so. DD: So it will have an end. Me: Why? DD: How can there be a beginning if there were to be no end? Me: Hmmm. I don't see why that can't be the case. DD: It makes no sense for it to be infinite only on one direction. Me: Really? DD: Really.
DD: Numbers go on infinitely on both directions, right? Me: Yes, I think so. DD: But not days. Me: You mean time? DD: Yes, time. It had a beginning. Me: I guess so. DD: So it will have an end. Me: Why? DD: How can there be a beginning if there were to be no end? Me: Hmmm. I don't see why that can't be the case. DD: It makes no sense for it to be infinite only on one direction. Me: Really? DD: Really.
Any movie/book recommendations?
We are having the same conversations here! When my husband and I met, we half jokingly decided to stop talking about time/space because I was practicing living in my body and not just my mind (long story but a professor told me to get out of my head and he was right) and now this little person of ours, DS3 is taking us right back to this place. It's already strange enough to watch your children grow so fast and time is hard to grasp when you wake up to a new little person each day, let alone DISCUSS time in this way with your child. Mind boggling.
Thank you Portia for being a sounding board. DD is a different child these days and she no longer watches science programs or reads science books. She seems to be getting into dinosaurs a little bit but her interest seems superficial. I was surprised that she even brought up this topic out of nowhere. Since she is thinking these things on her own at an intuitive level rather than through exposure to external sources, I wasn't sure how much I should get involved in her thought process. She is rather indifferent about learning units of time although she gets very distracted by timers.
She hasn't talked about time again since then so I'm going to talk a wait-and-see approach.
I had the same conversation with a friend in college too about not living in my head.
This was rather uncharacteristic of DD. She lived very much in her head between age 2 and 3.10 or so but these days, she's all about having fun. I do wonder if it pops up once in awhile because she still think about these things once in awhile or she now processes ideas internally and only shares when she has a crystalized thought in her head.
I think I found her a friend who would enjoy talking to DD about the universe and other abstract ideas. It'd be interesting how that friendship would develop.
[quote=Mana]I had the same conversation with a friend in college too about not living in my head.
Being told that changed my life, especially coming from a philosophy professor who I felt knew the real me. I'm happier for sure. Now looking at my little guy seeing him think about such heavy subjects young breaks my heart some but I will help him balance his life between his head and experiences.
After a late night dinner en famille, DS3 passes a store sign with curved lines radiating out from a fixed point and says, "Look, a diagram of sound waves." He sees physics everywhere.
When your 4 year old raises her hand in preschool and asks the teacher, "When are we going to learn about negative numbers here? All we ever talk about are positive numbers. And how about some adding and subtracting? Maybe some multiplying and dividing too? There is so much more we can be doing here."
... when your super-compliant, teacher-pleaser DD happily reports that she is being louder (by which she means talking more and being a goofball) in class, that she has found a partner in this crime, and that they have prompted one extremely nice teacher in particular to repeatedly ask, "Do I have to separate you two?" She reports that school is much more fun when she's loud.
And rather than admonish her, you congratulate her, and remind her that you'd been advising her to do this kind of thing for years.
DD categorizes this partner as a "frenemy," which she defines as a former enemy that she has turned into a friend. A year ago, this was the same kid who was bullying her severely enough that I had to contact the school. Now, as DD describes it, "She's still mean to people, but she's not mean to me."
DD categorizes this partner as a "frenemy," which she defines as a former enemy that she has turned into a friend.
I love this definition of a frenemy! Much better than the love/hate frenemies/rivals pervasive in most of the secondary institutions with which I am familiar.
I had a laugh at DS3 and DH last night. DS had requested a pair of socks for bed, and DH was goofily trying to put them on DS' hands instead. After DH had tested out DS' receptiveness to wearing socks on his hands in many scenarios (in space as added insulation inside a space suit, in a parallel world where socks are called mittens, etc), DS curtly replied: "Daddy, stop your nonsense talk." DH burst out laughing and said to me, "He's obviously your son!"
DD categorizes this partner as a "frenemy," which she defines as a former enemy that she has turned into a friend.
I love this definition of a frenemy! Much better than the love/hate frenemies/rivals pervasive in most of the secondary institutions with which I am familiar.
I agree.
I'm not even sure she knew it was already a word with a different meaning. Language is considered to be a favorite play toy in our household, where inside jokes, intentional malaprops, and invented slang are commonplace, so this might be another example of the latter.
In the same conversation, to the surprise of no one, she announced that her and Frenemy were inventing their own language, which so far consists of (unintelligble) and (no idea, really). She's been playing this particular game with every friend she's had since she was at least 5.
Dude-- this is my daughter's test of potential friends and romantic partners to this day-- and she evaluates their worth as friends by how well (and enthusiastically) they can participate.
She loves wordplay. Happily, college is proving to her that a lot of other smart people enjoy it as much as she does, and it tends to be the mark of quirky people with a robust sense of humor.
Dude, I love that she's coming out of her shell. I am hoping for this for our daughter (5). She's an observer and a bit of a hider. She'd rather take it all in than participate much of the time.
Your 3y.o. runs in the room and says, "I just heard about a job where you can study all kind of subjects, like anything you want all the time! What is that called? I want to do that when I'm an adult!"
I'm thinking that's called, "You."
*This thread make me laugh to tears everytime. These stories are hilarious.
When your son talks you into peeling off his gross, soggy, mucky winter boots from equally mucky snow pants, and you agree - in return for a Super Hug.
Minutes later:
Me: "That was no Super Hug! It was barely a hug at all."
Him: "Well Mommy, you can hardly expect sincerity when it was extracted as payment."
When your child, who has been reading Exidus, asks why women were considered unclean after childbirth in the mosaic law... Then u derstands and doesn't get grossed out as you explain what lochia is.
You find yourself holding back sharing your child's early milestones on a local gifted support website's commiseration thread because your child's milestones precede most of the other children's milestones by a large margin.
I love this forum, dare I say because it feels nice for my child to be "normal" in a group. Being a singularity is exhausting.
Your 7yo asks you to make a game about poetic meter and handily scans a few lines of poetry you read aloud. When your husband does a double-take at "trochaic tetrameter," he asks if she knows what the line's from, and she says utterly offhandedly, "Macbeth."
My kids aren't nearly as advanced as many of the cuties on this forum, yet I love reading about every one of them. I enjoy anyone's delight in their children. But I know what you mean. IRL, I am selective about my childhood stories, depending on the audience, for a similar reason.
Aeh/mahagogo5-- I just adore the diversity of interests and abilities here. I think it's a real treat to hear about what everyone's child is doing, because there's value to celebrating each child as a special person! I throw a little party in my brain when I read these anecdotes because it excites me to think that, someday, other posters' children, or like-minded children, might be DS' friend or colleague!
you tell your DD6 about neanderthals and early modern humans interbreeding, and she hypothesizes that neanderthals didn't really die out, they just got absorbed into the human population. Further investigation reveals that this is actually one of the viable hypotheses that scientists are debating.
I always enjoy this thread so much, too! I figure in some areas DD is average, but then she does something like that... Anecdotes on here blow me away, but I just love being able to share freely.
When you realize that your 3 year old has started guiding an improvised tour at a local aquarium, and her pupils are listening as much for the value of the information she is providing as the entertaining method of her delivery.
When your 4yo queries at storytime, all about pigs today: "Is that an alliteration?" Garnering gasps of surprise/delight. I tried to blame big sis the poet, but I was hiding in the back working on my novel, so...
When your bedtime chat covers evolution, big bang, how viruses and bacteria mutate, earth history, how the dinosaurs died out and a few more topics. Did I mention she's 6 and this was all in the space of 10 minutes. I'm used to this with DS but lately DD has become the quiz master.
When your DD10 was the only child invited to speak to a group of adults at a local river watershed association fundraiser about a summer river camp that she has attended for the past 4 years or so last Saturday.
Among other stories she happily told them how I had been very impressed on a birdwatching/dog walking trip along the shore of a nearby reservoir when I had pointed out some teeny tiny snails in the water to her and she had exclaimed "That's a gilled snail so the water here must be very clean!". The director then interjected that it how similar the gilled and the lunged snails are and that you really had to know what you are doing to be able to tell them apart when DD blurted out - "yes! one opens on the right and the other to the left. She had learned this at river camp once over 2 years ago!
at playcentre, DD set up a dinosaur museum exhibit complete with fossils and bones. When the other 3 and 4 years showed little interest she started taking the mums for tours. I had one comment to me later, she talks like she's reading a book, as though she's thought out what to say and memorised it.
I guess that's true she does talk like that. I love those playcentre mums, they don't get DD on any level, but they DO love and accept her, and are very happy to help extend her.
When you have to watch movies like "Apollo 13" as a lead into your vacation (because vacations have to have a museum/educational bent to them) at Kennedy space center. And as the parent you have to keep a laptop or tablet nearby during the movie to help answer the questions that come up. Otherwise you will never get through the movie, because we HAVE to do further research on everything and everyone involved.
My DD says she has an invisible computer in her brain that remembers everything. She says this invisible computer takes pictures of all music scores and remembers everything forever.
Definitely not the world's most reliable computer but I must say, sometimes, it feels like she has a computer chip in there.
(This is a skill we're trying to inculcate in him.)
Just proceed with caution.
My DD has been voluntarily doing my chores every night this week to win back her privilege of playing with her friends after school, so I say, inculcate away!
(This is a skill we're trying to inculcate in him.)
Just proceed with caution.
My DD has been voluntarily doing my chores every night this week to win back her privilege of playing with her friends after school, so I say, inculcate away!
I like to teach life skills he'll need as an adult, even if there's a little short term inconvenience as parents. The cleaning sounds like an irresistible offer.
(This is a skill we're trying to inculcate in him.)
Just proceed with caution.
My DD has been voluntarily doing my chores every night this week to win back her privilege of playing with her friends after school, so I say, inculcate away!
I like to teach life skills he'll need as an adult, even if there's a little short term inconvenience as parents. The cleaning sounds like an irresistible offer.
I get a feeling that my DD's teacher might not describe DD's relentless negotiation tactics as a little inconvenience. Hopefully, both she and I can look back and laugh about this when she is older.
[quote=aquinas] (This is a skill we're trying to inculcate in him.)
Just proceed with caution.
My DD has been voluntarily doing my chores every night this week to win back her privilege of playing with her friends after school, so I say, inculcate away!
I get a feeling that my DD's teacher might not describe DD's relentless negotiation tactics as a little inconvenience. Hopefully, both she and I can look back and laugh about this when she is older.
Eh, DS is still a fervent nurser, so I'm insulated from stress by the delightful hits of prolactin and oxcytocin throughout the day, whose pleasure-inducing effect has been likened to that of cocaine. Maybe the view from the inside is rosier than from the outside in our case. Ha!
When your Kindergartener asks you if there are levels of giftedness like there are Different belt colors in Karate. He then asks when can he take the test to move up since he finds his Gifted class so boring!
You find yourself holding back sharing your child's early milestones on a local gifted support website's commiseration thread because your child's milestones precede most of the other children's milestones by a large margin.
I love this forum, dare I say because it feels nice for my child to be "normal" in a group. Being a singularity is exhausting.
There are many things I do not say to anyone anywhere for that very reason. This is/was especially true regarding dd's very early babyhood. Her 1st year of life was so surreal. I sometimes do not believe what I saw and heard, and I was there.
Now it is getting to feel normal to me. dd3 is just another one of the decision makers of our house.
Awhile ago, DD's teacher wanted to discuss how we can best handle DD's persistent negotiation and she shared with me what transpired between them earlier in the week and it went something like this:
DD: Would you please give me another choice? Teacher: You have two choices to choose from and that is all you get at school. DD: I want a third choice, please. Teacher: Thank you for asking me so politely but no. DD: But neither of your two choices are acceptable to me. I don't see why I cannot have a third choice. Teacher: I'm sorry but we do not have the time to have a discussion about this right now. If you cannot choose then you can sit out of this activity. There are no other choices. DD: That is a false dichotomy. (This comes straight from SO; he's been talking to her like this since she was 1) Teacher: ...I am giving you a last chance to choose. DD: You're always telling me to be flexible and I think it's only fair that you set a good example.
I told her, I really did not know how to make her stop either but in moments of desperation, I have resorted to giving her bribes incentives to stop, which probably made the problem even worse. I'm just grateful that her teacher has the patience to deal with DD without losing it.
I think the key part of negotiation is anticipating the range of acceptable values of your counterparty, and the strategy of offering a limited menu of choices impedes that learning. That perspectve taking before the negotiation begins is crucial because it anchors your Bayesian calculations during the negotiation. Why not ask your DD to make an offer, where possible? I find DS is quite reasonable when I give him carte blanche, and if his initial suggestion is unreasonable, I explain why and ask him to try again without making a counter offer. Only when his opening offer is reasonable will I participate, and I force a null outcome at impasses.
I do this for two reasons:
1. It requires him to evaluate both our ranges. 2. It trains him to make the first offer, which the negotiation literature says is a more successful strategy due to framing and anchoring.
Would your DD be open to practice exercises with toys, or if given hypothetical scenarios for others?
Or, perhaps you could discuss the social contract, and how, in a school setting (among others), there are necessary restrictions to individual freedoms that arise from the need to prioritize the needs of the group. In this case, offering a wider menu of choices may not be in the best interest of the majority (having a lengthy discussion about this during instructional time certainly begins to impinge on the interests of the group).
...though I know that these discussions always have the potential of opening up even more cans...
It's also worth keeping in mind that there are a lot of adults who implement the idea of giving children choices poorly, by only offering two, neither of them considered desirable by the child, and making a stand-off out of it. It's like you're at a buffet, and you want the child to have a vegetable, so you say, "broccoli or carrots - choose!", when the child would be perfectly happy to meet your requirements if a salad or corn were also options. And they're right there in reach!
We don't know much about the situation and the choices offered in this particular scenario under discussion, but from what little was presented here, that may be what the teacher was doing, and in that case, the child was showing superior social skills by respectfully requesting more options.
I've always found it more productive to tell my child my requirements, and why I'm suggesting these two choices, and if she can come up with an alternative that meets both our needs, I'll listen. Some of her proposals have been brilliant.
Oh god, Mana, that is my life with DD. It makes me want to run screaming from the house on a regular basis.
Personally, I feel like this is not really so great for kids. It may be great one day when they are adults. MANY adults strongly DISLIKE this from a child. I wish we had negotiated less when DD was small.
I've always found it more productive to tell my child my requirements, and why I'm suggesting these two choices, and if she can come up with an alternative that meets both our needs, I'll listen. Some of her proposals have been brilliant.
This is a good intermediate strategy, because it's explicitly communicating your minimum acceptable offer.
And that's fair if there's a legitimate reason for following a predetermined course of action, like wearing seat belts or not massively impeding classmates' ability to learn. But there is a strong undercurrent in North American culture of either spoiling children and giving them anything they want or expecting mindless conformity, with no middle ground. Why not teach kids to be good citizens and empower them with the ability to self-advocate on reasonable terms?
It's also a question of determining the guiding principles of justice in your home. For us, we follow a Pareto efficiency approach--we want a negotiation to be a Pareto improvement, resulting in everyone collectively at least as well off as before the negotiation, with no person worse off. Otherwise, the negotiation doesn't happen. DH and I actively use parental veto when needed because we're parents and have better judgment than DS on account of experience and perspective, and that's teaching DS that he has to be reasonable. We definitely still end up with some red faced, teary "waaaaah"s, but that's part of the learning process.
Personally, I feel like this is not really so great for kids. It may be great one day when they are adults. MANY adults strongly DISLIKE this from a child. I wish we had negotiated less when DD was small.
A lot of adults dislike this for reasons that reflect poorly on the adult, so there's nothing you can do there.
Then again, it's also important for the child to learn when to stop.
The third choice that my DD was pushing for without actually saying it involved giving a spot already taken by a much older child to DD. DD knew if she made big enough of a scene, the older child who is a real sweet heart would have felt pressured to yield to her but her teacher wasn't having it. Yes, I realize I have an extremely manipulative child.
DD now gets to "park" her concerns/objections until a designated time and discuss them for a limited amount of time 1:1 with her teacher. It seems to be working for now and I like that DD is learning to calmly state her position after a cool down period. I should try this at home too.
We've tried to explain to DD about how relationships work at home and school but you know, she doesn't exactly accept that things need to remain the same.
A lot of adults dislike this for reasons that reflect poorly on the adult
I absolutely agree. However, said adults can make it very hard for children in the meantime.
Some people are very careful about where their kids go and what environments they are in. This is not us. I am not one to heavily vet my children's experiences beforehand. I don't hang around, I am not a "class parent" type, and I don't involve myself too much with my kids' classes and experiences. (I find a lot of teachers prefer this anyway.) They go to like 10 different summer camps and most of the time I know not much about those adults at all when I leave my children there in the morning. Therefore, my children encounter a wide range of adult authority figures and need to be able to comply with them and not make them angry. While DD has improved, she is still not a very adult-lovable child due to her intense desire to negotiate and question. In some ways, I love this about her, but in other ways, I think we went a bit astray early on. I don't know that we 100% did her a favor by allowing all this back and forth. Everybody else's MMV, but I think it's one of these things that sometimes becomes more clear as children get older....
Oh god, Mana, that is my life with DD. It makes me want to run screaming from the house on a regular basis.
Personally, I feel like this is not really so great for kids. It may be great one day when they are adults. MANY adults strongly DISLIKE this from a child. I wish we had negotiated less when DD was small.
Oh you guys...seriously...I'm almost in tears I'm so happy to know other people's children argue with them effectively!
I try to teach the older ones how to tell from tone when an authority figure has had enough but the little one? I just have her tell people she's precocious. At lease most teacher/adult people see that as a cute/positive thing and I'm hoping that saves her because otherwise I'm going to butt heads with teachers again and I'm praying those days are behind us.
My own addition? I knew I was parenting a gifted child when she asked, "Why does the teacher get mad at me for looking out the window but won't let me read a book?" (She was finished with her in class work twenty minutes earlier than the scheduled end time.)
When your 3 yo regularly gives very good advice for you that also sneakily servers her own purposes. Ie. She suggests your favorite meal from a restaurant that is right next to the pet store where she can later ask you to get her dog a doggy treat "since we are already here."
It's another round of, "He scored low only because the answers he was giving were WAY too complicated for the WPPSI and I can't tell him to just give the obvious answer and move on. And then toward the end he got bored and gave the shortest answer he could think of, appended with 'and that's all.'"
It's another round of, "He scored low only because the answers he was giving were WAY too complicated for the WPPSI and I can't tell him to just give the obvious answer and move on. And then toward the end he got bored and gave the shortest answer he could think of, appended with 'and that's all.'"
When your second grader answers all the questions on a math test about the time needed to travel from point A to point B in seconds (correctly), instead of days, hours and minutes�
_________________________________________________________ �Do not be encumbered by history, go out and create something wonderful.� -Otellini
whne your 4 year old refuses to go to bed until they have mastered counting to 10 in Chinese, French and Spanish - that they started 10 minutes before bedtime, Didn't take long....
When you spell out the name of one of your 3yo's Easter presents at lightning speed to a friend on the phone. Your child is chattering away happily to himself as you're doing this, so you think all's safe. He perks his head up and says, "I'm getting a scooter?!!! Awesome!!"
You then decide to spell the names of the other presents backwards to your friend, and DS then starts giving you "codes" to crack later in the day that are words spelled backwards. This is the kid who can read but insists that Mama read all his stories still because he "needs fast delivery" (his words, and I don't mind because I love our cuddly time together.)
LOL about the spelling. I have two kids who are really on the ball...but we did use the spelling backwards for the longest time without them catching on. Don't know why they never caught on that we were spelling backwards.
I figured the first time we spelled "maerc eci?" and magically there was ice cream that they would crack the code.
It's crazy, isn't it, Cookie! I should have known better--he performs when highly motivated.
In Canada, we have an ice cream chain called "Dairy Queen". One day last summer, my dad proposed taking us for ice cream using the international radio alphabet...something like, "Aquinas, shall we go to Delta Quebec?" Literally a second later, DS screams, "yeah, ice creeeeeeeaaamm!" I occasionally use that alphabet when spelling out travel confirmation codes or addresses with merchants, so I guess he picked it up that way?
aquinas: For some reason, pig latin still works for us, in lieu of spelling out words in cryptic code etc. Granted, we try not to overuse it, but... maybe worth a shot? lol.
I'm glad I'm not the only one! I regularly have to ask my 8 yr old for my library card number and parking spot number in a garage.
And another one - he told me a few days ago that the reason he's good at tag is that other kids just "scramble around" but he pictures the angle associated with where another kid is running and then goes there to cut off the kid.
Personally, I find it both handy and vastly amusing that I have my kids to turn to for assistance on many things. I still remember driving home one night from some place I had just been to for the first time, and debating whether I should or should not turn at the upcoming intersection, when, from the back seat, I hear the two-year-old pipe up, "Turn left here!" Correctly, of course.
And, HK, your story reminds me of my parents' solution to the tax question, which was to turn the entire tax filing process over to the ten-year-old...
Been there. DD and DW preceded me on an interstate holiday by a week, and as I was making the trip, I ran into severe traffic. After more than an hour of going nearly nowhere, and needing to know whether I was nearing the incident or needed to find an alternate path, I phoned DW and tried to guide her through her sister's Apple Maps to the traffic view. Ten frustrating minutes of dealing with both DW and her adult sister later, DD came to my rescue by seizing the phone, flipped immediately to the right features, asking, "Where's Dad?", locating my position correctly on the map, and handing it back to DW, who only had left to tell me the location of the incident.
You buy a Roku box and sign up for Netflix and Amazon Prime not for the movies and hit series but for the commercial free and seemingly infinite documentaries to show your 6 year old daughter.
When your child loses their glasses and you have spent months looking for them and then finally just buy her knew ones. Which she forgets to wear because she got used to not wearing glasses. Then one day she says, "Hey mom, found my old glasses!" Come to find out she put them in her telescope case when she was looking through her telescope.
Also she helps me list books on my online bookstore, trying to start a used bookstore. She corrects my mistakes in the condition comments. My fingers type faster than my brain works. She stops and actually reads it and fixes it. Thank goodness for a super smart kid, who will probably be my business partner when she's old enough...LOL
DS3.5 loves to express his intentions in double negatives lately. For instance, "I will not not fall asleep." It's a cute insight into his internal process of reconciling his wishes with mine.
aquinas - your first story reminded me of our family's "opposite-bot" game which was started around that age and the kids still love to do.
An opposite-bot is a robot that does the exact opposite of what you tell it to do. In our house it generally ends up in loops like this - In your best robotic voice - "I am an opposite-bot" "If you are an opposite-bot and you say that you are an opposite-bot then that means the opposite so you are not an opposite-bot but if you aren't an opposite-bot and you say that you are then that means you are...." and so on.
I recall some odd looks when the game devolved to this in the checkout lane and the kids were 4 and 2....
When you're reading and discussing Shakespeare with your newly-turned eight year old but your four year old (whom you've previously considered weaker on language arts) keeps piping up with relevant questions, and ends the day saying he hopes we can read Romeo and Juliet again. (We offered him a comedy next though.)
When you're reading and discussing Shakespeare with your newly-turned eight year old but your four year old (whom you've previously considered weaker on language arts) keeps piping up with relevant questions, and ends the day saying he hopes we can read Romeo and Juliet again. (We offered him a comedy next though.)
... your child uses the computer unattended, then later when you worriedly check browsing history you find a search on "inner workings of particle accelerators".
You show your ten-year-old a pattern in the sequence of squared numbers, and she picks up your pen and immediately finds a non-obvious pattern in the sequence of cubed numbers.
You show your ten-year-old a pattern in the sequence of squared numbers, and she picks up your pen and immediately finds a non-obvious pattern in the sequence of cubed numbers.
Wow.
That's really neat, Val. I bet that would have been something to witness!
Your not-quite-16yo forgets to print an important portion of an assignment (thereby losing the points for it in one of her classes, and earning a B rather than an A on something which is a significant portion of the class grade). Oh, and then attempts to lie to us about the discovery of this particular problem (she leaves paper everywhere and I saw the cover sheet with the remark on it that it was MISSING)... and
AND
The following day, that same child learns that the "scary" professor (the one that terrifies the other majors with her intensity and-- em-- sharpness-- but has a mutual fanclub thing going on with my DD) has hand-picked her to be assistant director next fall (when she will be just 16yo) in one of the university's 3 major productions for the next year. For a VERY well-known Shakespeare play. Because she has "vision" and a big-picture understanding in a way that most undergraduates do not, apparently. Why yes, this professor does know about Hamlet, the musical tragi-comedy.
I can't decide if we should treat her as though she is four.... or twenty-four. Asynchrony, they name is {Insert DD Name Here}.
Your not-quite-16yo forgets to print an important portion of an assignment (thereby losing the points for it in one of her classes, and earning a B rather than an A on something which is a significant portion of the class grade). Oh, and then attempts to lie to us about the discovery of this particular problem (she leaves paper everywhere and I saw the cover sheet with the remark on it that it was MISSING)... and
AND
The following day, that same child learns that the "scary" professor (the one that terrifies the other majors with her intensity and-- em-- sharpness-- but has a mutual fanclub thing going on with my DD) has hand-picked her to be assistant director next fall (when she will be just 16yo) in one of the university's 3 major productions for the next year. For a VERY well-known Shakespeare play. Because she has "vision" and a big-picture understanding in a way that most undergraduates do not, apparently. Why yes, this professor does know about Hamlet, the musical tragi-comedy.
I can't decide if we should treat her as though she is four.... or twenty-four. Asynchrony, they name is {Insert DD Name Here}.
Awesome! Good for your dd--what an experience that will be!
The other day, when saying goodbye to our friends, my DS5 exclaimed, "there are four of us, so we can give one another twenty-four different combinations of hugs!"
When reprimanded for telling me to "shut up" this morning (thank you, DH, for not reading our expurgated version of "Berenstain Bears get in a Fight"), DS3.5 says, "I'm sorry Mama. I think my blood sugar is low and I need to eat."
And then there was the post-11:00pm bedtime debate DH and DS had last night about the line "rain rain, go away, come again some other day" from a children's song, but with time replacing rain. (I'll admit that we have a problem of bedtime obstinacy, which we've solved, for now, by anthropomorphising time and casting it as a villain that tries to trick you into letting it sneak away with opportunities for fun by wasting your life dawdling. So far, so good.) DS was adamant that the sudden absence of time in the new version of the song, and its return after a sufficiently long interval that would have otherwise elapsed absent time's ceasing to exist, required the start of a new day. DH kissed DS goodnight and said, "tomorrow I'm going to introduce you to a man named Mr. Einstein who might have a few things to say about time." DS quips, "Another day, eh?" {Facepalm}
The following day, that same child learns that the "scary" professor (the one that terrifies the other majors with her intensity and-- em-- sharpness-- but has a mutual fanclub thing going on with my DD) has hand-picked her to be assistant director next fall (when she will be just 16yo) in one of the university's 3 major productions for the next year. For a VERY well-known Shakespeare play. Because she has "vision" and a big-picture understanding in a way that most undergraduates do not, apparently.
This isn't very surprising. I often got the impression reading your posts that your DD's heart was in theater.
When your 5 year old emergent reader is sitting next to you classifying her animal trading cards into various subgroups for fun leans over and says, so did you just type **************? And cracks up laughing, she is soooo busted. I'm a 80 wpm typist and had a toddler obscuring some of her view. She's now watching Sesame Street online while I change all our passwords.
So we're eating lunch in a restaurant with our 15 yo twins, having an long and animated discussion about possible causes of the unusual seasonal cycles in Westeros (Game of Thrones). The discussion gets a bit heated when it digressed into the effect of the moon on the tilt of the earth's axis.
As we were leaving the restaurant, a woman eating by herself two tables down pulled me aside and said, "I overheard your conversation and I am a retired gifted teacher -- I sure hope those kids go to a good school!"
I had a reality check on how non-normative our family's experience was today when I realized DS3.5's association with the name Nemo isn't an animated fish, but rather the captain of the Nautilis from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.
Aside/tip: This book is great read-aloud fodder for this age!
Aside 2: I'm grateful that DS enjoys good literature. Given the volume of books read each day, it's good for my sanity that our material be writing I enjoy, too! He's been begging to read the original Frankenstein, but I think we'll have to hold off there for now.
So we're eating lunch in a restaurant with our 15 yo twins, having an long and animated discussion about possible causes of the unusual seasonal cycles in Westeros (Game of Thrones). The discussion gets a bit heated when it digressed into the effect of the moon on the tilt of the earth's axis.
As we were leaving the restaurant, a woman eating by herself two tables down pulled me aside and said, "I overheard your conversation and I am a retired gifted teacher -- I sure hope those kids go to a good school!"
When you take your 20 month old to the pool and he says "Mommy look at vortex!" and you realize the last time you showed him a vortex was last summer at the pool when he was 10-11 months old.
I checked on DS9 while he was taking a bath this evening. He was reading a new recreational math book he had just gotten. Except he was so absorbed in what he was reading that he didn't realize the book was partially submerged in the water!
Your normally talkative 5 and 8 year olds fall silent when you start playing the audio version of Bill Bryson's "A Short History of Nearly Everything." A few minutes later, the 5 year old is arguing with his brother about Pluto being a micro planet while brother is telling him it was a dwarf planet and now isn't... but that he doesn't feel like getting into the whole explanation because "then you will never leave me alone about it."
Books getting wet in the bath were the bane of my existence as a child and I still enjoy a long and luxurious soak in the tub. But (drum roll please) thanks to this:-
I can still soak like a hippo for an hour or so and still keep up with current affairs via Safari, keep track of various forums or read eBooks! Progress is a marvelous thing when it actually does have a positive and liberating effect on one's life :-)
Your first grader comes up with the accounting / inventory approach of lifo / fifo (last in first out / first in first out) on her own...She says when you drink from a straw, you are drinking water from the bottom of the cup. On the other hand, when you put toys in a toybox, the toy you take out first, is the last one you put in...
DD11 has memorized the quadratic formula but comes out of her room in mismatched clothes because I didn't tell her there were clean clothes in the basket next to her bedroom door that she walked past probably 10 times while getting ready this morning.
Your child's teacher thought it was adorable that she got up in the middle of class and announced that she'd had enough of school thanks very much and if it wasn't too much trouble she'd be leaving now. Thankfully brilliant teacher figured out dd thought the math was too hard and managed to convince her that some effort might be worth her time.
Your child's teacher thought it was adorable that she got up in the middle of class and announced that she'd had enough of school thanks very much and if it wasn't too much trouble she'd be leaving now. Thankfully brilliant teacher figured out dd thought the math was too hard and managed to convince her that some effort might be worth her time.
Your second child (not yet tested) announces to you that he will be in first grade when he is five (is starting K at five in the fall, this prediction will not come true without an acceleration). Then, after you say, "well, perhaps, if you learn all there is to learn right away for K," asserts that "I'm going to just go ahead and go all the way through grade 8 next year."
So we're eating lunch in a restaurant with our 15 yo twins, having an long and animated discussion about possible causes of the unusual seasonal cycles in Westeros (Game of Thrones). The discussion gets a bit heated when it digressed into the effect of the moon on the tilt of the earth's axis.
As we were leaving the restaurant, a woman eating by herself two tables down pulled me aside and said, "I overheard your conversation and I am a retired gifted teacher -- I sure hope those kids go to a good school!"
Love it! You know, the unrealistic season thing really bothers me about ASOIAF. However, I think GRRM once commented on it to the tune of "it's fantasy, fgs!"
Your 6 year old tells you that going to his gifted classroom from his regular classroom is like going from living with the Dursleys to live with Sirius Black.
Your 6 year old tells you that going to his gifted classroom from his regular classroom is like going from living with the Dursleys to live with Sirius Black.
Your 6 year old tells you that going to his gifted classroom from his regular classroom is like going from living with the Dursleys to live with Sirius Black.
Our local library has a summer reading program where kids get one marble for each book they read to put in the marble run contraption that they have at the desk.
This is the first week that we've done it and DD6 gets her marbles and looks at the setup for 5 seconds and determines that it is stupid because there is no way for the marble to go through two of the sections. The library worker then comes over to see what she is talking about and eventually realizes she is right and they rebuild it so it will. The funniest part was that they worker started off by arguing with her and then realized that she was actually right. I'm used to being outsmarted by my kids but it is always fun to see the look on other adults faces when it happens to them
Your 6 year old tells you that going to his gifted classroom from his regular classroom is like going from living with the Dursleys to live with Sirius Black.
If this isn't all kinds of awesome, I don't know what is!
Five days into kindergarten, your child declares "I can't wait for first grade." Why, you ask "Because I want CHALLENGING homework."
(And here I was, being glad that it was so simple it was being completed before leaving school, not personally being a believer in homework at those grade levels...)
Five days into kindergarten, your child declares "I can't wait for first grade." Why, you ask "Because I want CHALLENGING homework."
(And here I was, being glad that it was so simple it was being completed before leaving school, not personally being a believer in homework at those grade levels...)
Whereas my first grader just told me he was not so excited about going to the first grade because it is that much closer to going to college. He is really scared of the fact that he will have to leave home for college.
Five days into kindergarten, your child declares "I can't wait for first grade." Why, you ask "Because I want CHALLENGING homework."
(And here I was, being glad that it was so simple it was being completed before leaving school, not personally being a believer in homework at those grade levels...)
Whereas my first grader just told me he was not so excited about going to the first grade because it is that much closer to going to college. He is really scared of the fact that he will have to leave home for college.
Oh... I know how that goes, too! Our ODS was terrified by the thought until just recently (he's nine now). The younger one says he is going to move with us to the place he wants to attend college. So maybe that's a solution for your son, too? ;-)
I did tell him that he could just attend the state college locally so that he can come home every week. I am not sure weekly visit is enough comfort for him because he keeps bringing it up.
DS has told us many, many times that he is never going to move out. Now that he's 9 he has said that he *might* consider moving next door (as an adult). Maybe.
In the last couple of weeks he's really latched onto the fact that you don't HAVE to be an adult to go to University. He's been obsessed about exactly what one must do to get to go to University and how young the youngest possible age is.... I'm a bit fearful about where his thoughts are going on this one.
DS9 intends never to move out and is only willing to go to university because I told him he could go to our local university and live at home. Glad to have company in this boat. Thomas Percy you could tell him that he'll probably be able to do his undergrad on a computer in your basement by then!
Grandma asks DS3.75 his opinion of Magic School Bus books and he replies, "They were appropriate for me when I was two, but they're too simplistic now and the stories are namby-pamby."
DS has also been enjoying pretending to be a volcanologist lately and was using the term "pyroclastic surge" at an intersection on our walk to the library at 9:30pm. Both of those things got a few odd stares.
Star Wars is eminently quotable in our house. We are nerds.
My DS7 has also told us he's never moving out, and has asked us several times which universities and colleges are close by. DH keeps trying to convince him he'll eventually need or want to move out - I just figure (hope?) he'll change his mind when he's ready.
However DD10 excitedly tells us of all the places she's going to visit when she's old enough and all the pets she's going to buy when she moves out. LOL
Aquinas - LOL about the Magic School Bus books. My kids also outgrew them early - but not that early.
And try as I might, my kids steadfastly refuse to watch Star Wars - because, you know - it's about a _war_!
When your teen explains that all of that time, when she was smirking and seemingly "somewhere else" while being yelled at, lectured to, etc. etc. as a young child, she was actually playing this GAME... with the speech of others...
and proceeds to describe this point scoring system that is a bit like, well-- Scrabble-meets-anagrams, with scoring based upon consonant/vowel combinations and repetition. Only she was doing it in real time with the words that other people were using in speech-- sort of like a super-synesthesia based on her spelling prowess and untouchable processing speed.
"So really, when I explained that I wasn't smirking AT you, I meant it-- I was just thinking 'Wow-- a FIVE! That word was a FIVE! It's not often that you hear a word that is a five-- most excellent...'"
and then she also describes a game of pretend with a laser network imagined in a real room that she had to mentally map and navigate.
Sigh. No wonder time-out was never terribly effective with this one.
My DS7 has also told us he's never moving out, and has asked us several times which universities and colleges are close by. DH keeps trying to convince him he'll eventually need or want to move out - I just figure (hope?) he'll change his mind when he's ready.
LOL. My DD10 had her own existential crisis over moving out at about the same age. I think it was triggered by the fact that we'd just skipped her a year, and she translated that into us hurrying her through school and out the door. She saw it as a year of lost childhood. We recognized that, even though we're talking about her as an adult, we were speaking to her then as a small child, with the fears and uncertainties associated with that, so we were the ones who talked about which universities were close by, how a lot of young, working adults are staying at home these days for financial reasons, etc. DD then began taking note of how many houses were available for lease or sale within our neighborhood, and that seemed to relax her. She decided she's going to live next door (or as close to it as practicable) when she moves out at all.
I'm sure that how she feels about it at 18 will be different from how she felt at 8, but we'll worry about that then.
On the other hand... this IS the girl who, just yesterday, declared to me, "I'm never going to be a responsible adult." This led me to pointing out how she's already a very responsible child. I worked from home yesterday to take DW to a medical procedure, and we left DD behind to continue her online lessons. I used that as an example of how responsible she is, rhetorically asking, "What did you do when we left you alone?"
Her response, without missing a beat, "I ate chips and watched cartoons."
A few years back, my DS made plans to move out when he got older. He told us he was going to marry one of his friends, live in a castle, and keep 18 chihuahuas. I told him to not expect us to visit.
A few years back, my DS made plans to move out when he got older. He told us he was going to marry one of his friends, live in a castle, and keep 18 chihuahuas. I told him to not expect us to visit.
A few years back, my DS made plans to move out when he got older. He told us he was going to marry one of his friends, live in a castle, and keep 18 chihuahuas. I told him to not expect us to visit.
I decided to spend some time drawing with my DS4 this morning. I drew a horse because that's the thing I'm best at drawing (I was obsessed with them when I was little). My son looked at my picture and announced that it was very nice, and almost as good as something my DD6 would draw.
Unfortunately for me, this is pretty accurate. At 6 she draws better than me, and has better penmanship as well.
this morning my 8 year old dd was talking to me, usually she is very girly about stuff and the subjects she wants to talk about reflect that, but this morning as I shifted my attention to what she was telling me I realized that she was talking about biomes, two different types, and how their weather patterns differed..
First day of school DD's teacher at OOD spec Ed school decided they needed a "class motto". Off the top of her head DD10 suggested "We walk the road of individuality yet we are all one."
Walking around the school during yesterday's ice cream social I saw this is now hung outside the classroom door, quoting DD as if it were from a famous historic figure. She doesn't see what all the fuss is about...
First day of school DD's teacher at OOD spec Ed school decided they needed a "class motto". Off the top of her head DD10 suggested "We walk the road of individuality yet we are all one."
Walking around the school during yesterday's ice cream social I saw this is now hung outside the classroom door, quoting DD as if it were from a famous historic figure. She doesn't see what all the fuss is about...
Your first grader is selected to represent his school at the State Legislative Education Day to lobby for gifted programs. He will be meeting with the Senator and Representative from our district as well.
Your first grader is selected to represent his school at the State Legislative Education Day to lobby for gifted programs. He will be meeting with the Senator and Representative from our district as well.
When your 8 year old DD manages to startle the Professor of Astrophysics at Oxford University by asking him about the effects of dark matter and dark energy on gravitational microlensing and detecting transits when searching for planets I'm sure he thought she was going to ask about kittens in space
Yes, she's AWESOME. And I do love we can go to things like that - she loves going to university Last time was in among the 20 year olds at an open day playing with their 3D animation systems (and because she's so cute they all let her go first, haha). Meanwhile the school doesn't want to accelerate her because she doesn't recall her two-times-tables fast enough … Hilarious really
...your DS2 tries to put a glow necklace on you, but when it gets stuck on your head, he quips, "Mommy, you look like a planet."
Aww! You must look out of this world!
my ds 2.5 told me I look like Benny from ABBA last night, despite the fact that I have more than a passing resemblance to Agnitha, sigh. I think /I would have preferred a planet!
When your child consistently selects characters from mythology, the arts, or literature for the subject of dress up or Halloween. Yes, the costume-which-must-be-explained-in-detail. {sigh}
This year it's The Snow Maiden. She looks amazing... but already knows that it's mostly going to be lost on everyone else. She might be anything from Elsa to Marylin Monroe, and the guesses are likely to be that far afield, if past experience is anything to go by.
Back in the day at Harry Potter parties, it was Fleur... (which, once explained, got looks of downright AWE because it was that good a costume-- DD liked it for the "No Fairy Princess" quote from the books, however).
This one is another one that good, but even more obscure. DD has a reputation of being a "cold fish" among her more volatile college peers, particularly in theater. Perfect.
But obscure. I figured this is a place filled with other parents who can identify-- and just noting that they never really grow out of it!
That's too funny. I think our DD's are on a similar wavelength. Mine gets too shy to do the follow through right now but I can see that coming to an end soon.
There is hope, by the way-- her college bestie immediately not only "got" it, but found it incredibly clever on every level that she'd intended (if you're familiar with the opera, it's an interesting metaphor for being PG). He also said that she looks "amazing," (and she does, dressed in pale blue and white, and all covered in frosty glitter).
There are a few other unicorns in this world of ponies. No surprise that this is another accelerated math-plus double-major, huh?
Our kiddos may never have a complete tribe to call their own, but they do have friends that understand what it is like to live this way.
When DD was 7, she dressed as Frodo, and recited the entire "one ring to rule them all" poem at every house. Much to the amusement or bewilderment of the adults each time.
You are checking out a pile of Life of Fred books (algebra with biology, physics, etc.) for your 9 year old to read for fun. And you think that's normal.
When DD was 7, she dressed as Frodo, and recited the entire "one ring to rule them all" poem at every house. Much to the amusement or bewilderment of the adults each time.
I wish that your DD had visited my house for Trick or Treating at 7. It sounds so cool.
On a related note, DS8 dressed as a Red Ninja and recited the witches chant from MacBeth at every house this year with dramatics, sound effects and cackles - much to the confusion and bewilderment of everyone. But, he was told that he might end up as an actor in his later life!
When your 16 month old knows better than his dad what gets thrown in the garbage and what goes to recycle...and where to put them, respectively. Every. Single. Time.
When your DD5 is officially subject accelerated to 5th grade in reading and math at a private GT school. And the school's curriculum coordinator adds, "it's still probably not going to be very challenging for her but she's only 5. Not everything she does has to be hard."
When your DD5 is officially subject accelerated to 5th grade in reading and math at a private GT school. And the school's curriculum coordinator adds, "it's still probably not going to be very challenging for her but she's only 5. Not everything she does has to be hard."
Do they take 4 year olds? It sounds pretty terrific.
While watching A Wrinkle in Time your first grader says, how can a brilliant scientist not realize her daughter needs to be homeschooled?!!!! And Charles Wallace doesn't need to be schooled at all!
Reading Pride & Prejudice to DD7 (and she's seen the 1995 miniseries, so she knows the characters well). She popped out with this insight: "Mrs. Bennet TREASURES Jane most, but she LIKES Lydia most." She's absolutely right.
You know you are parenting your second gifted child when your five year old middle child is getting The Look for the texts she is writing on her artwork during the New Year's Eve party (which you never realized were unusual, for hey, at least she is doing horses and princesses and unicorns, not nuclear plants like her older brother) and the other parents are starting The Questions...and you just. Don't. Care.
You know that you're parenting a gifted child when you reassure your teenager that her college friends are probably fine-- and she stays up late worrying about them anyway until she hears from them that they are okay... as they experiment with behaviors that she has no intention of EVER engaging in.
It's a strange, strange world when your 16yo is "Momma" to her 21 year old friends who are experimenting with recreational substance use and experiencing major (and foreseeable) relationship woes. It's like she's their Concigliere; she advises, is on-call, keeps her opinions (mostly) to herself when they are hellbent on self-harm, drives them home when they need it, and offers them tea and sympathy (and ibuprofen or a ride home) the day after.
It's a weird change from the early acceleration days when she was more like a strange pet.
-your 3 year old twins are arguing whether tomato is a fruit or a vegetable. -your 3 year old twins are arguing whether the moon is following us, or leading us. -your 11 month old twins have figured out they can move heavy objects "together" closer to the fireplace. Then one lies down on it, and signs or "tells" his brother to climb on his back to get to the things on the mantle. -your 4 year old asks you what kind of matter is fire? Liquid or gaseous? -your 4 year old tells a friend scared of the hurricane - "don't worry, a rainbow will come after the rain".
The teacher is complaining that your child is too young to be in the grade he's in while simultaneously complaining about having to make up extra worksheets just for him because he finishes the regular classwork too quick and easily.
She sees 1977 Star Wars for the first time on her 9th birthday and rationalizes, quietly, when the Death Star is fatally hit and lurches, sending everyone sliding and falling, "Hmmmm... well... maybe in *distant galaxies gravity's laws are different..."
DS7: Can I practice chess on the computer? DD's 6th-grade friend: Oh! I'm really good at chess. I put everyone in checkmate. Do you want to play me? Rest of us: (Tactfully worded comments about DS playing competitively and being good at chess for a 7yo) DD: (Looking at small goofy boy) No, let's play. I'm really good. DS: Okay, I'll play you. (10 minutes elapse.) DD's friend: Dang. (tips over king)
Also, here's an odd one: DD recently learned the Star Spangled Banner on her band instrument, and then I saw her playing it fluently on the keyboard (she has never taken any piano lessons and is not particularly musical in a traditional sense, but has been teaching herself keyboard). She did not have sheet music in front of her. I commented on this and she told me she remembers all the actual *notes* from the band sheet music (as in, the song goes "A g D e F G," or whatever--that's obviously wrong, speaking of unmusical) and can then play them on the keyboard, since she also knows which keys are which notes on the keyboard. This struck me as a completely strange yet DD-typical way to do it...
Oh, um... is that strange? Because that completely makes sense to me, and in fact, that has always been how I've approached things-- and, I suspect, so does DD, having watched her translate melody across instruments.
Depends on the population--in music school, this was most definitely not strange, as that community selects for people who can do this. And then there are others who remember all the notes by their "color" or timbre (not necessarily actual synesthesia, though that may be the case for some).
And still others who are like my #2, whom we took to a concert at age 4 (stayed awake for the whole thing, too, lasting until about 11 pm), then heard playing pieces from the concert on the piano the next day. Still can't read music though, several years later, despite my best (okay, more like indifferent) efforts to teach score literacy.
Sometimes I can't tell the difference between #2 playing on the piano and SO.
DS7 was able to play on the piano the songs from this game called "Singing Monsters" when he was five, less than a year since he started learning piano. He did not read notes. All he went by was the sound he knew from the songs. He was also able to put a harmony using both hands. The longest piece he had to play in his recital was 10 pages long and he memorized all of them. However, getting him to practice is always a struggle
Your three year old memorizing the correct Icelandic pronunciation of Eyafjallajökull for fun. And then at seven or eight, the entire word and correct pronunciation of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch . There is a great video on YouTube for anyone who wants to learn:
Your three year old memorizing the correct Icelandic pronunciation of Eyafjallajökull for fun. And then at seven or eight, the entire word and correct pronunciation of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch . There is a great video on YouTube for anyone who wants to learn:
I guess my DS7 is not the only one who's having fun with saying the village name Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. He must've watched that video
Slightly off the original topic but I just wanted to share...
You know your child is in a gifted class when - the school (k-grade 6) had a dance party hosted by a local radio station and the gifted teacher brought the class's sets of noise cancelling head phones so some of the kids (mine included) would participate in the fun.
After the previous 5 years of school drama I just can't express how grateful I am that he is where he is now. I'm seriously in love with his current teacher and school situation.
Your three year old memorizing the correct Icelandic pronunciation of Eyafjallajökull for fun. And then at seven or eight, the entire word and correct pronunciation of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch . There is a great video on YouTube for anyone who wants to learn:
Also make it very obvious why Icelandic and Welsh never took off as the World's lingua franca LOL
My DS8 is currently looking up Icelandic words on Google translate for fun - then he uses them and wants us to guess what he's saying. I need to show him this video - should keep him busy for a while!
OT but kind of a fun travel memoir was Travels in an Old Tongue; the author Pamela Petro travels around the world seeking out Welsh-speaking communities. And finds them. Sort of. And she shares the warm fuzzies of Welsh.
When DD was little she became the unofficial mascot/ adopted little sister for one of the sports teams at DH's university and watching them play was a big part of our lives. The last couple of years "her" players all graduated and she moved on to other interests but DH remained loyal to the team and we still have many friends who attend every game. Tonight the team was poised to clinch their first ever league championship so I thought it would be nice if we all went to cheer them on. Nope... DH and I went but DD decided she would rather go see an opera performance of one of her favorite Shakespeare plays. Yup my 11 year old chose opera and Shakespeare over attending a game. "Mom! Seriously - it's SHAKESPEARE!!!"
You come home late, and your child, who should be in bed dreaming, sleepily asks "How would it be if your senses were lying?" and then you get into a long conversation with her about severely mentally ill patients who have visual and olfactory hallucinations, and the talk segues into a talk about how the Nazis were able to kill Jews yet go home and treat their relatives with kindness. What a bed time conversation.....
DS11 comes down for breakfast still glued to the same quantum mechanics text he was sneaking under the covers last night. Then spots Dr. Seuss on the coffee table and abandons it with glee.
Re DD and the music, I think of it being quite typical for musically gifted people to be able to play music by ear after having heard it, even without training. She will try to do that, but she's not especially great at it--it takes her a while to pick out even a simple tune (eg, Star Wars theme). To me, what's weird is remembering the full written score to a piece and then being able to effortlessly play it on another instrument (that she's also not been taught). We don't actually think of her as terribly musical. She also can generally play all her band music (to be fair, it's still easy, as she's been playing 6 months) without the sheet music. Just naturally happens for her by accident.
BTW, she does have synesthesia, though I haven't heard her comment that it affects her sense of music...but who knows.
You come home late, and your child, who should be in bed dreaming, sleepily asks "How would it be if your senses were lying?" and then you get into a long conversation with her about severely mentally ill patients who have visual and olfactory hallucinations, and the talk segues into a talk about how the Nazis were able to kill Jews yet go home and treat their relatives with kindness. What a bed time conversation.....
OHhh, wow-- having some flashbacks reading that post.
You come home late, and your child, who should be in bed dreaming, sleepily asks "How would it be if your senses were lying?" and then you get into a long conversation with her about severely mentally ill patients who have visual and olfactory hallucinations, and the talk segues into a talk about how the Nazis were able to kill Jews yet go home and treat their relatives with kindness. What a bed time conversation.....
OHhh, wow-- having some flashbacks reading that post.
And your DD is doing fine - right? I walk away from my DD sometimes with my head spinning and wonder what kind of person she will become. I think she's cool and amazing, but she hasn't found others like "her".
DS started learning the violin this year. He is on his 5th year learning another instrument as well as music theory with another instructor. He could not get around to practicing his violin pieces for the whole week because of too many things happening (including prep for adjudication for his 1st instrument and a school test plus sport tryouts). He walked into his violin class and nailed the 3 new pieces that were assigned as homework having never opened his violin case for a week. The pieces are not advanced and he can easily sight read them. The instructor held DS up as an example to the other child struggling with the same pieces. He told that other child that being exceptionally smart (the struggling kid is a chess prodigy) does not mean that violin will come naturally. He said that kids who slog at violin like my DS will be more successful than kids who think that because they are smart they never have to practice (hint: he thinks that my DS is not very smart like the chess prodigy in the room! He went all dramatic and said that "the instrument will always win against super smart kids who are complacent"). We are leaving this teacher in March to move to a reputed teacher, so, I simply commented that no one can look inside other people's brains to figure out how smart they are. But, my DS had a giggle about the teacher thinking that he was not very smart and had slogged all week on the simple pieces.
A bulk update about DS4, as it's been a long time since I was last here:
1. DS eating crackers today
DS bites cracker. "Look Mama, a straight angle." Bites again. "Right angle." Bite "Obtuse angle." Bite "Acute angle. Aren't you a little cutie angle...NOM!!!"
2. DS in the elevator with strangers
DS pouts visibly and glares at strangers when they enter the elevator.
Stranger: What's up, Buddy?
DS: Oh, I'm just fuming about this city's fumes. There's so much smog here it's disgusting.
3. DS on inventing/philosophy
DS runs up to me after running multiple circuits of the house, extending his palm as though displaying an invisible tablet and scrolling with his index finger over his palm.
DS: Hey Mama. Know what this is?
Me: Is it a time lapse slideshow of your running circuit with you on it?
DS: No, it's a device that lets me see into the afterlife.
Me: That's interesting. How did you decide to create that kind of device?
DS: Well, science can answer most questions, but nobody has any real knowledge of the afterlife. I figure it would be pretty unique to have that kind of information.
Me: It sounds like you've stumbled onto a niche area of knowledge. I'm intrigued. Do you want to tell me more about it?
DS: Well, it's in development, so I can't really comment.
Me: That's fair. Maybe I can see a prototype?
DS: We'll see.
4. DS' catch phrase
The phrase that pays for DS these days is, "To recap..." He seems to be using this more frequently with adults when they don't seem to understand what he's saying. Because...4 year old pronunciation.
I also overheard him using these expressions with his Grandpa:
"Grandpa, correlation is not causation." (In reference to a documentary that had just been on TV and made some pretty overextended arguments.)
and
"That sounds like specious reasoning to me." (Someone had said something pedantic to him, and he bristled at being talked down to.)
5. DS socializing at the library with parents
DS to lady: Hi M'am. My name is DS. What's yours?
Lady: Hi DS, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lady.
DS: I see your little girl is toddling around among the books. She's a real cutie. What kind of books does she enjoy most?
Lady: Thanks DS, that's nice of you to say. She really likes animals.
DS: I think we all have a soft spot for animals. And how is your day going otherwise? Are you enjoying yourself here? I'm just here with my mum, reading some books, before we go for a swim at the pool.
Lady: That sounds like a wonderful morning. Yes, we both love the library.
DS: Well, don't let me interrupt you. Have a nice day! It's nice to meet you.
My note-- he does this ALL THE TIME. He will go up to a family, introduce himself to an age peer, then befriend the parent. He recently started chatting up a parent about the US election, and is surprisingly conversant about favorite sports teams.
And DS is obsessed with "The Hobbit" and is begging for me to read him the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. I doubt he'll be able to stomach the prose, but he loves the themes.
I was having a snack with DS4 at Starbucks and drew his attention to a "Coffee Belt" world map. I mentioned that the shaded areas were where coffee beans grow. His eyes flickered to the map and he almost instantaneously said "Oh, they grow in Mqdagascar, I wonder if lemurs eat them." No one heard that, but we did get some funny looks later when we walked by the map again and he said "I notice that coffee grows in Australia, but only in a very small area."
Both my DD's were working with "Perler Beads", and DD10 created a design so that a white bead sat next to a clear bead with rainbow colored beads in a half circle around the clear bead. She started a information session about how the clear bead was acting as prism creating a rainbow effect, and DD12 just got cranky because she was being "crafty" and didn't want to hear science talk. DD12 is all about hair and cooking and 6th grade events. DD10 cannot figure out why that stuff is so exciting. It kind of puts into perspective why DD10 find herself on the outs with many of the other 6th graders. I, of course, find her educational talks quite interesting!!!
A bulk update about DS4, as it's been a long time since I was last here:
DS to lady: Hi M'am. My name is DS. What's yours?
Lady: Hi DS, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lady.
DS: I see your little girl is toddling around among the books. She's a real cutie. What kind of books does she enjoy most?
Lady: Thanks DS, that's nice of you to say. She really likes animals.
I had a big smile on my face as I read your post. Not only is your DS coming up with some great conversation, but he is oh so polite as well!! I would have liked to see the Lady's face while she listened to DS!
The middle school principle takes you aside when you drop something off for your DD and she tries to tell you that your sixth grade DD really ought to be taking the bus to the high school next year for Maths to take honours Geometry.
This school district has come a long way in the last 3 years! They have really done their best to encourage and accomodate our DD since we shared her testing results.
DS runs up to me after running multiple circuits of the house, extending his palm as though displaying an invisible tablet and scrolling with his index finger over his palm.
DS: Hey Mama. Know what this is?
Me: Is it a time lapse slideshow of your running circuit with you on it?
DS: No, it's a device that lets me see into the afterlife.
Me: That's interesting. How did you decide to create that kind of device?
DS: Well, science can answer most questions, but nobody has any real knowledge of the afterlife. I figure it would be pretty unique to have that kind of information.
Me: It sounds like you've stumbled onto a niche area of knowledge. I'm intrigued. Do you want to tell me more about it?
DS: Well, it's in development, so I can't really comment.
Me: That's fair. Maybe I can see a prototype?
DS: We'll see. .
This should be made into a Calvin and Hobbes comic.
...your DD8 gets a call at 4pm Friday from a friend asking if she wants to be in a math competition with him on Sat. morning - the first day of Spring Break, and she says yes. Then, hearing about the competition DD13 decides she should check it out too - eventually decided she would give it a go also. Then at the competition, DD8 and her team place 2nd in the team portion of the competition, DD13 places 6th for individual and 1st for team. Neither of them have ever done a math competition before or knew what to expect, but both now want to do more.
5. You find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers and look completely socially inept because you have no idea how to relate to normative behaviour.
or when you find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers the way you normally talk to your child and they give you the deer in the headlight look because they have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say! lol
ha – so true!
i often totally forget my kid is really weird – after prolonged exposure, she seems normal to me! well, at least until i have other parents assuming she's just the tiniest 12 y/o they've ever met... (she just turned 8.)
but i guess this is totally fair, since i actually have no idea how old their kids are, either. DD is friends with a girl i assumed was around 11 – they dance in two classes together, and she's a lovely, lovely friend. and apparently 14.
The middle school principle takes you aside when you drop something off for your DD and she tries to tell you that your sixth grade DD really ought to be taking the bus to the high school next year for Maths to take honours Geometry.
This school district has come a long way in the last 3 years! They have really done their best to encourage and accomodate our DD since we shared her testing results.
I think I must be parenting a GC because he's often more observant than I am...
We were reading a picture book from the library entitled Julia's House for Lost Creatures and I mentioned that it was such a great book that I should look up other books by this author. DS6 pipes up and says "But mommy, he's also the author of Zita the Spacegirl because look, look and look..." while pointing to the image of Julia (who bears a strong resemblance to Zita), a star (that looks like a star in the Zita books - I had to check), and a ghost (that looks like a "blob" creature in the Zita book - I had to check). Yes, Zita the Spacegirl is indeed a graphic novel by the same author/illustrator that we read last month.
When DS6 asked about the letters TM on a logo and received an explanation about trademarks, he immediately expressed concern about the Pokemon cards that he has designed and made himself. He accepted DH's reassurance that it's ok as long as he doesn't try to sell them in stores.
A bulk update about DS4, as it's been a long time since I was last here:
DS to lady: Hi M'am. My name is DS. What's yours?
Lady: Hi DS, it's nice to meet you. I'm Lady.
DS: I see your little girl is toddling around among the books. She's a real cutie. What kind of books does she enjoy most?
Lady: Thanks DS, that's nice of you to say. She really likes animals.
I had a big smile on my face as I read your post. Not only is your DS coming up with some great conversation, but he is oh so polite as well!! I would have liked to see the Lady's face while she listened to DS!
Thanks Greenlotus. He's a cutie but, like all kids, he operates within a wide confidence interval.
DS runs up to me after running multiple circuits of the house, extending his palm as though displaying an invisible tablet and scrolling with his index finger over his palm.
DS: Hey Mama. Know what this is?
Me: Is it a time lapse slideshow of your running circuit with you on it?
DS: No, it's a device that lets me see into the afterlife.
Me: That's interesting. How did you decide to create that kind of device?
DS: Well, science can answer most questions, but nobody has any real knowledge of the afterlife. I figure it would be pretty unique to have that kind of information.
Me: It sounds like you've stumbled onto a niche area of knowledge. I'm intrigued. Do you want to tell me more about it?
DS: Well, it's in development, so I can't really comment.
Me: That's fair. Maybe I can see a prototype?
DS: We'll see. .
This should be made into a Calvin and Hobbes comic.
I should introduce him to Calvin and Hobbes. He'd probably love it.
5. You find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers and look completely socially inept because you have no idea how to relate to normative behaviour.
or when you find yourself speaking to your DC's age peers the way you normally talk to your child and they give you the deer in the headlight look because they have absolutely no idea what you're trying to say! lol
ha – so true!
i often totally forget my kid is really weird – after prolonged exposure, she seems normal to me! well, at least until i have other parents assuming she's just the tiniest 12 y/o they've ever met... (she just turned 8.)
but i guess this is totally fair, since i actually have no idea how old their kids are, either. DD is friends with a girl i assumed was around 11 – they dance in two classes together, and she's a lovely, lovely friend. and apparently 14.
DG
/also - HI everyone!!
Hi again DG! Welcome back!
Yes...we definitely still have this going on, but with the advantage that DS is verrrry tall for age. I remain--years later--still incompetent at identifying other children's age. Even on a pure size basis, I often under-estimate other kids' age by 2-4 years.
Your 5th grader comes home from the annual school trip to the amusement park and tells you about one of the rides being removed by saying "the infrastructure was still there - I was incredulous!"
And after seeing the look on my face asks "What? How would you expect an 11 year old to say it?" Then giving me the "Really mom?" look when I say "Oh I don't know maybe 'Some parts of it were still there - I couldn't believe it'..."
Your child repeatedly asks for "harder middle school math books" for their birthday, specifically Algebra. Harold Jacobs is on the way... happy sixth birthday kid!
When your DS7 wakes you up saying he's going to be sick, and as he's throwing up into the toilet says, "I feel fine! I just woke up and felt the food coming up my esophagus."
On the last day of school, all the kids were chatting and socializing, while my child convinced the teacher to pull down the poster board atlas. He sat in front of it and studied it intently. He said he never gets a chance to look at it during the regular school year.
...when your 7 year old leads the kids at the park through playing a pretend game of being "prehistoric nomads" scavenging for food and seeking shelter.
... when your son's 2nd grade teacher informs you that he finished his class assignments early and requested to borrow a copy of her personal dictionary to read at his desk for fun.
When your DD11 explains that our dog is perfect in every way except being NOT perfect.
Our DD11 says our dog is perfect as well. We were discussing our very not perfect dog in the car (the dog drives me crazy!!!). But then she asked if there is no perfection in the world, "Why is there even a definition of perfect?". And it went on from there. Who defines perfection? How would we know what perfection is?
When DS comes home at the end of the school year and gives you his AP Calc AB textbook in new condition with the spine un-cracked. You ask, "did you even use this book?" He replies, "Didn't need it." You ask, "how did you do the homework?" He replies, "it wasn't checked or graded so I didn't need to." You face-palm yourself and recall your meeting with the head of the math department in which you requested that your son be able to skip AP Calc AB and go directly into AP Calc BC and were denied because that would be too difficult. Then you look at your child and marvel at the ability to get an A+ in AP Calc AB without breaking a sweat. After that brief reflection, your child says, "I could have learned everything in that class in a week." You warn him, "The first 3/4 of AP Calc BC will be rather boring for you next year." #RigidSchoolsAdminS*ck
You find yourself researching scholarly articles on GI tract colonization in Colobus monkeys to answer your four year old's question.
We saw a nature show that said that they have gastric bacteria that helps them break down poisons in the leaves they eat and my son wanted to know how the babies get this bacteria in their stomach before they eat leaves for the first time.
You drop your 11 year old off for the first day of summer camp. It's Shakespeare camp and she has been looking forward to it for months. The director tells us they will be working on "A Midummer Night's Dream" and DD shreiks with delight, jumps up and down and does a happy dance. Every adult in the room breaks into ear-to-ear grins. Every kid in the room looks at her side ways and raises their eyebrows as if to say "What the ...?"
I'm guessing the camp may have been chosen for the other kids by their parents. Hoping DD's enthusiasm will be infectious. But either way SHE is going to have a blast
when you get a library card to your small town library, and you have read almost every kid's book in the place at the request of your two year old.
Shes getting a handle on letters and words, and is not yet reading independently, but we read, at minimum... 40 books yesterday. Work is a welcome rest, HA!
When your 8-year old son is explaining to another kid about the awesome skid marks our dog left around the base of a tree when he chased a squirrel and he explains that Dog "couldn't find purchase" and you have to intercept to avoid the argument with the parent who is starting to say "that's not what purchase means." Oh - and you have no idea where DS learned this meaning of purchase.
DS4.5 described me as his "culinary acolyte" when I helped him make homemade lemonade.
He also decided to play "pet vet" yesterday. At DS' behest, the action included stem cell transplants, nanobots, and treating a seeming epidemic of croup. At one point, we had to refer to an ophthalmic surgeon (also played by DS). Luckily, all the patients were saved, no matter how dire the initial prognosis.
When he tells you that he has a lot of questions, like why is he here, and what would life be like without him, and why are there shapes, and why is there school, and so on and so on. Oh, and he's still only 6. Philosophical, much?
Your 5 year old easily completes and wins the 4th grade computer game at the library (involving multiplication, division, 3 digit addition, subtraction, and fractions) and then immediately starts playing the Go Diego Go game that is supposed to help preschoolers learn to recognize numbers from 1 to 10...
DS10 is like a magnet for other quirky gifted kids.
Last night during his team's throwing warm up he's discussing radioactive elements, which ones exist naturally and the periodic table numbers of the various elements with his throwing partner (also age 10). They were both right into it.
Same thing happened on his hockey team this year. What are the odds that he keeps finding these kids? There must be some invisible force at work
Your 5 year old easily completes and wins the 4th grade computer game at the library (involving multiplication, division, 3 digit addition, subtraction, and fractions) and then immediately starts playing the Go Diego Go game that is supposed to help preschoolers learn to recognize numbers from 1 to 10...
Here's one of my own for DS4.5. He had to attend a medical appointment yesterday and was thoroughly enjoying asking the nurse questions during intake, like what the hospital does to dispose of the biohazard sharps containers. Do they use an autoclave? A disinfectant? Fire? Can any of the pieces be re-used, or is it all irretrievable? How does the oxygen saturation monitor work? The two of them were having a great conversation.
Enter condescending medical resident, who proceeds to treat DS like a lump of clay and attempts to examine him with an otoscope without first asking his permission. DS grabs the otoscope, says, "I don't think so," unscrews the head of the otoscope from the handle, and hands her the pieces. She stares at him agog. I explain to her, "You need patient consent from children, just like adults." I was secretly laughing inside at DS' move. I didn't even know you could disassemble an otoscope that quickly!
Your DD who is 3 years accelerated in Maths gets the highest score (out of those taking it this year) on the regional HS Honours Geometry pre-screening test.
I haven't been on here in a while but had to share this one from last night. DD12 is trying to teach herself Russian and has an old text book (We own a used bookstore) and as she is trying to sound out the words she looks at me and asks, "Is that right?" Sweety, I love you but I have NO idea.
We are getting a tutor for her. And this is an after school thing because our school only teaches Spanish and only at the High School.
DD13 regarding being a freshman at her new high school:
Last week: "I'm not going to tell anyone I skipped a grade and I'm not going to be a huge nerd and take every advanced class because I just want to be normal."
Yesterday: "It's too bad they won't have a botany club... maybe I should start one! Can I be a botanist and study astronomy?"
(I suggested astrobiology and reminded her of The Martian -- cue huge excitement... glad she wants to be normal)
First day of Multivariable Calculus. The teacher, referred to by DS as The Keeper of All Knowledge, tells them, "all the other math classes you took are just one long test to see if you belong here." They can't wait.
When you're trying to help DD10 make a Littlest Pet Shop bathtub that she saw on a Youtube video and when I'm a little upset because it doesn't look quite the same, she quotes the Marilyn Monroe quote hanging on the bathroom wall "Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it's better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring".
When you have to specify to your child to just clean up the magnatiles and not sort and arrange them by color, because you have other stuff to do. It makes me giggle.
It sounds like something was amiss in the housing/durable goods pricing. You can always suggest that your DS buy up the businesses that produce the more scarce products (e.g. vehicles, homes) and price discriminate. (Has he learned the different types of price discrimination yet? If so, try to have him optimise based on 1st degree price discrimination.) That should reduce demand for the durable goods/houses so it better aligns with his inputs, because demand will, presumably, be pretty inelastic for those consumption categories. Gotta love running a monopoly!
At bed time we were talking about him one day being the grown up and trying to get his kids to sleep. Somehow this got to how long I'd live.
DS5: I think you'll die of old age when you're 105. Me: That is pretty old. When I'm that old, you'll be an old guy too. DS9: How old will he be? Me: Let me think...
Two seconds later DS5: 73
More time passes.
Get out phone calculator because my working memory is horrible.
Confirm he is correct.
DS9 to DS5: You should be a mathematician instead of a fisherman (his current proclaimed future occupation)
When your seven year old comes home from his first day at a new school, and says he didn't do anything but run from place to place all day, and couldn't even learn anyone's names because there was SO MUCH RUNNING AROUND... but he *did* have time to get into a heated argument about scientific notation.
(Hi guys, I'm back again. My kids are still crazy, and so am I. But at least they're in a better school now...)
You decide to see what books the online tool suggests for your 8-year-old's newly tested Lexile and the first one it spits out is The Scarlet Letter, followed by Pride and Prejudice, etc.
This is on the not fun of it side of things. DH said to me, as we discussed a possible relocation "it makes me sick to my stomach to think about having to start a conversation about ODS' (now in a mixed acceleration) placement with a new principal."
I don't think that worrying about meeting a new principal is on the list for most parents. It made me really sad to hear this, because I feel the same way but hadn't put it quite like that yet.
Okay, this is a nerdy 16yo not an adorable toddler, but I still found it amusing….Ds was holding his square waffle to take a bite at breakfast this morning, and said 'hmm, my waffle has a saddle point."
...when you are really worried that the random sub teaching your third-grader's class is going to accuse him of plagiarism on his big report because of how beautifully it reads....(but you know he wrote it himself)
When your kid (12yo) takes a college level placement exam and scores in college level for reading and writing. So you show her former teacher and her eyes grow wide and she says, "well that explains a lot." And all you can think is yes, yes it does because being in the gifted program wasn't good enough. Shaking my head. Sorry just a little frustrated at times.
Cassie lol! we had a similar experience. We had a sit-down with all our child's teachers to be on the same page with some issues he was having. I brought up the ACT scores, and after a second, one said, sounding just like Jay Leno in his commercial "well, that's...pretty good."
Your 2E 6th grader - whose special Ed school responds to every concern raised by telling you she needs to learn to self advocate and you keep responding that she KNOWS how she just chooses not to when she feels they are not receptive to hearing it - insists on attending her IEP meeting so she can hear for herself exactly what is or is not included in her IEP. A minute or 2 into the meeting she says "Excuse me - may I interject? I know this all may be frustrating for you but this is my life. One day I will have to walk out of here and into the real world. When that I happens you all won't be there to help me figure out what to do. I have to be able to do all of this independently."
And we were off...
She remained polite, focused and calm as she spoke up every single time she needed to.
Umm... Yeah... I guess they will be taking self advocacy off the table as a distraction when an issue arises.
DD9 told a Fibonacci joke* at the dinner table with our extended family which resulted only in blank stares. Realizing that they didn't know what the Fibonacci sequence was, she tried to explain it. After she had written some of it out, my father (still somewhat confused) exclaimed, "But why would anyone ever try to count like that?!?"
*"I went to a Fibonacci conference last weekend and it was as good as the last two combined!"
Not exactly about my own DCs, but this reminds me of when DC#1 was a toddler: my dear sibling decided that teaching the baby to count the Fibonacci sequence was a good idea, while my beloved spouse thought that it was more important to teach baby the powers of two...
umm yeah that would have been completely different at our dinner table. My father (being a math teacher) would have told a lot more math jokes which only a handful of the people at the table would have understood.
Also when you have to rush home to tell your child John Glenn died before she sees it on the internet or on TV because you don't know how she will react. Yep, she was upset. All the Mercury Astronauts are gone.
We got DS a periodic table shower curtain, and a deck of cards with all the elements.
(I was/am proud of her-- honest-- I wasn't being mean. I just thought it was cool that she scored in the top 50K nationwide at that age, particularly never having any experience with standardized tests until then.)
Love it.
Especially if, as so many PG kids do, they learn to 'pass' as older more or less invisibly. That's both a good thing and a bad one-- if they DO mention their age, they can come off as insufferably boorish braggarts, and if they don't, then they risk others not realizing JUST how young they actually are-- and there are legal consequences, potentially, for older companions. Some of those potential consequences are quite severe. This is a significant social burden for very young college students, actually. 
