Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Age or Ability Specific Forums Pre-school Is my child gifted

"We don't push anything on him but he loves to learn" and with that all of the listed milestones. Of course he's gifted! Read some of the books on gifted children/parenting, you'll feel much better. You can't make a 2 year old learn skip counting if they don't find it enthrawling.

Your son is very advanced for his age and sounds amazing! Re: school, I would recommend that you start doing your research on all available options. When i was in your situation, the wise folks on this board recommended play based school. My dd is 4.5 yo and has thrived in a play based school that has zero focus on academics. Since Your son picks up things on his own, you may find that he learns a lot more in an organic setting than a structured one. Also multiage classrooms might work as he will get an opportunity to watch the older kids and learn through osmosis. Montessori schools might also work depending on how flexible they are. At home, keep doing what you are doing now in terms of following his lead.

Goodness, that's quite a list. Your child seems to be very good with patterns and codes--words, numbers, etc and these skills are all definitely very advanced for the age.

I think at this point (almost 3, right?) I would concentrate most heavily on developing motor and social skills. These things are probably not as much "fun" but it's essential to get a good foundation before kindergarten. I've found that it has been a total uphill battle to get appropriate accommodations for what my DD does well *because* her relatively poor fine motor skills (very important for writing) and social/emotional skills (very important for succeeding in any group) are held up as blockers at every turn.

Some various suggestions:

* Montessori preschool--IF you can find a GOOD one with GOOD teachers--provides very excellent & interesting activities that develop fine motor skills. A good Montessori classroom is very ordered so may be appealing to a child who strongly values order. They are also typically multi-age so will have materials (math/reading/social studies) to accommodate diverse skillsets. My DD did 2.5 years at Montessori and when we had great teachers, it was a very rich experience for her.

* A play-based preschool could be a good place for developing social, emotional, and creative skills. My DS (4.5) is in a pretty good daycare center right now that has been very excellent in these areas.

* If you are in the US, consider getting an evaluation through your local school district for possible sensory issues, maybe fine motor (spoon usage may be a concern?). Your local school district must provide services to children from age 3 up who qualify, which could be something such as occupational therapy, etc. My DD did this as well and was in the district's preschool for 1/2 year which was very helpful to her in many ways.