So what do I do with a kid like this?... I honestly don't know. Generally speaking, I subscribe to the philosophy that children should play as much as possible--
Bronxmom,
Seems like you are getting the crash course in 'maybe my kid isn't so weird after all' - it's been lovely to read throught this thread and watch you be delighted. Yippee!
Seems to me that we have to broaden our definition of play. For a kid with 'brain on fire' play may look on the outside like what other kids do 'because Mom makes me.'
Then there is work ethic. I don't know if at age 6 it's so important to spend time on the 'challenge areas' but I take a 1/3s: 2/3rds approach. For every 2 educational experiences that are sheer joy, I want my DS to be getting some of the types of challenge that he has already become reluctant in. One good days, I can take a unit studies approach and suggest ways that he can get practice in the challenge areas in the service of the joy areas.
An example:
We started Afterschooling in 4th grade, and at that time, DS would pretty much hid his love of learning from everyone but me, even his Dad. Then one day I came home and DH told me that they had spent the afternoon together with DS spending hours making graph paper because he had gotten curious about graphing the curve x=y squared, and they didn't have any graph paper, and DS decided to make his own.
DS had always be reluctant to do fine motor stuff like handwriting, and he had certianly never been willing to show that much intensity for learning in front of his dad. It was a very exciting moment and a nice pay off for the hours and hours of struggling that had come before.
BTW - Last year, DS's handwriting went from terrible to 'just fine' - do I think that him spending 2 hours of making his own graph paper help lay the foundation for this? Amoung other things - yes!
Love and More Love,
Grinity
