To be honest, I am a little embarassed to be posting and asking this because I believe all parents hope that their child is a genius in the making, a future ball player, or maybe a gifted artist. I want to be sure that I am looking at things with objectivity! I resist pushing things because I just want to be sure that his love for math is his, not something I want for him. In any case, I am hoping that I can get some feedback on our 6 YO son and his math skills.
To get straight to the point, my son (youngest of two) absolutely loves math. So much so that he asks if we can do word problems during tuck-in time before bed.
Admittedly, my golf buddies think this is a little odd! He is comfortable with subtraction (including negatives), addition, multiplication, counting by 2's, 3's, 5's (forward), is able to write out solutions for basic algebra, and has a basic understanding of the powers of 10. He even grasps the concept of exponents (ie; 5
6). Here are examples of problems he is able to complete. Of course, he's not always 100% correct! Then again, neither am I.
28 6 14 39
-13 -9 +15 + 3
--- --- --- ---
5 3 10 1000 1000
x 4 x 7 x 9 x 13 x 100
--- --- --- ----- -----
n + 8 = 13 5 + n = 1 n - 4 = 2 4 x n = 16
Finally, I will spare you an example of the word problems we do, but they are generally a fun story with multiple math problems tied into it (ie; Four pirate ships sail out of the harbor with 6 pirates on each, how many...)
I know that problems like these are not kindergarten fare, and I know that some of them have not yet appeared in my 3rd grader's curriculum. What I do not know is what I have on my hands and/or if I should pursue additional testing to see where he is at, or even where to go to do so.
Candid opinion, advise, and ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Best Regards,
MadManMoon
