A gifted child...

Not that I expect all the answers, but... there are some (ex)teachers here.

My wife has a child in her private school kindergarten class. This child
is constantly making noises, and being generally disruptive. It turns out
this child is capable of maintaining full cognizance of three concurrent,
disparate activities in the classroom, only one of which the child is
immediately involved in. Having the child be a classroom assistant
provided no measureable success in "engagement".

Anybody have any bright ideas about getting this boy some rich soil to grow
in? I hate to see the light smothered...

David A. Smith

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My wife (a Montessori teacher) asks if it is a Montessori school.

She also suggest that the boy be given access to computers.

My suggestion is to give him access to a library (including materials that
are appropriate for kids much older than him) and let him read whatever
interests him. Provoke and encourage him with questions about what he reads
and set deadlines. Let him give little oral reports to the class in the
format of letting him 'learn to be a teacher.' Keep his mind moving
forward.

That is how I learned algebra at age 8 - special educational 'nourishment'
from a teacher who understood that exceptional students require exceptional
teachers and methods.


Tom Davidson
Richmond, VA

Dear tadchem:

"tadchem" <[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote in message
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No.


That they have in plenty. Search engine training recommended?


Thanks Tom. I'll pass this on.

David A. Smith

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My youngest boy was diagnosed borderline hyperactive. The best classroom
method we had was to separate him from other children to an area where he
could work on one or more projects at the same time while standing up. This
allowed him to 'vibrate' from foot to foot giving him an outlet both his
nervous energy and to split his concentration till it settled on one
project.

Of course this did not work 100% but we continued it when needed till grade
six. Now in grade 8 and his teachers are complimenting on his ability to
focus, such that you want to be cautious if interrupting him.

Every child is a unique case though. Good luck and thank you for your reply
to my particle/wave question. It made my head hurt so my thinking must have
bent a little.

Hyperactive kids are usually brilliant, since their blood vessel is trained
to
transport blood into the brain. However, such kids usually peak early then
gradually decline after 30s. I am one of them. I am dreadly scared of the
arrival of my 30th birthday..









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Dear Fat Cat:

"Fat Cat" <[Only registered users see links. ]> wrote in message
news:41fdcf17$[Only registered users see links. ].sg...

Don't sweat the small stuff. Until organs start "falling off", keep it in
high gear. If you didn't/don't take recreational drugs, most of your
organs will stay with you until the end. Stay active, keep trim, and your
heart will make it too. I didn't think I'd make it past the year 2000.

David A. Smith

Fat Cat wrote:

Stop dreading; I was one of them too; I'm now 52 and think at least
three times faster than most people I know (except one grandson who says
he doesn't like talking with all the "slow" people).

And those arteries also carry blood elsewhere. I'm 150 lbs of muscle
and bone, physically much stronger and faster than I look.

Yeah, there's been some decline, but compared with the
wannabe-superman jocks of my age cohort who now need help just to get
out of bed because they blew their joints doing sports back when I was
devouring libraries, I'm not doing bad at all.

And my wife is prettier than their exes. ;>)

Mark L. Fergerson

N:dlzc D:aol T:com (dlzc) wrote:

Face it, he's a natural multitasker.


Likely because one of the few things he isn't interested in (yet) is
"leadership".


First off, get all the refined sugars and bleached flour out of his
diet; he doesn't need them just now. Feed him frinst more vegetables
with complex sauces for him to figure out. This does two things; it
reduces his actual excess nervous energy (and any tendency to diabetes),
and any kind of complex sensory input will help capture and focus his
attention. He has a lot more attention than other kids, so give him
complex things to focus it on.

I agree with the suggestion about computers and libraries. Watch to
see what _does_ interest him, then flood him with that. Then, watch for
other related interests to grow (like dinosaurs can lead to geology and
archaeology, biology, and like that) and keep flooding. Don't worry
about overloading him, but DO NOT try to steer him. He'll expand into
other areas of interest _to him_ on his own. Music frinst can lead to math.

The noisemaking and "disruption" is just a byproduct of his nervous
system running faster than everybody else's, especially the teacher's.
Try to find a school with at least one teacher especially trained to
work with hyperactives. That's what my stepson did for his son, and it's
working beautifully. He's stopped spinning his wheels to stay back with
the other students and is accelerating smoothly.

Another possibility is Martial Arts in a few years, and I don't mean
for fictitious "burning off energy". Aikido helped me just to learn how
to sit and stand still by learning to focus my attention. Finding a
Sensei who can handle him may be a challenge, but if you can, it's worth it.

Mark L. Fergerson