Any parents of gifted children here ?

[clare]

tamarind:

I also read all the novels by 金庸 and 衛斯理 in secondary school. I also learnt to read traditional chinese on my own. As for the difficult words, I refer to the dictionary, but most of the time I could understand from the context. These books helped me to become one of the top students in Chinese in my secondary school and JC. That's why I believe it is important to read widely, when learning any language. It is much better than attending any enrichment classes, or doing any number of assessment books.
I also like to read 亦舒, and I have almost every one of her 200+ novels.

Hi Tamarind
Isn't it interesting that we taught ourselves to read traditional chinese which is so much more complicated than simplified... Maybe it's the lure of the books; motivation works wonders!
Ohhhh, you have a huge collection of 亦舒! ~drool~ If you want to clear shelf space one day.... let me know hor....

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Tamarind wrote [quote]I will only teach these books if my kids show a deep interest in maths. These books are good for preparing kids for the maths competitions I am teaching A-level maths now, and I don't think that these books are necessary, or even beneficial to prepare kids to learn higher mathematics in the future.[/quote]
Just bought book 1 but have not started yet. He is interested in book 2 when I showed him but I can only know until I really start. As to whether it is beneficial or not, most of the things my ds picks up are not really related to school work. As long as he is happy & school work is not in the danger of failing, it's fine with me.

[tamarind]

EN:

Just bought book 1 but have not started yet. He is interested in book 2 when I showed him but I can only know until I really start. As to whether it is beneficial or not, most of the things my ds picks up are not really related to school work. As long as he is happy & school work is not in the danger of failing, it's fine with me.

EN,
Yes I agree that it does not matter whether it is really related to school work so long as our kids are happy. A child who loves maths will love that book.

However, my impression of that book is that it is purely on problem solving ? Not much on creativity ? Not sure whether you agree. I have not read every question in that book.

Personally I will spend more time developing creativity, as compared to problem solving. Most kids of above average abilities can be trained to solve problems. In fact, many \"problem solving\" jobs, or technical support work, has now been outsourced to India and China where the labour is cheaper. Creativity and management skills are much more valuable in today's job market.

My aim is to prepare my kids so that they can have a successful career in the future.

If a child is very good with maths, that is, if he is very good with logical thinking, instead of encouraging him to solve countless maths problems, I would teach him a computer programming language. Like C programming, or Visual Basic. That gives him the power to create any computer programs. Instead of spending hours solving all those tedious maths problems, why not write a computer program that will solve those problems within milliseconds ?

[tamarind]

clare:

Ohhhh, you have a huge collection of 亦舒! ~drool~ If you want to clear shelf space one day.... let me know hor....

No problem :mrgreen:

[tamarind]

Dear all,

I just came across this forum about Gifted Education in USA/Canada.

http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Something interesting I read :
http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/showthread.php?t=122366
In our district (I'm in FL which places gifted under the ESE umbrella, making it mandatory to offer services for those identifed as gifted) we do not ever allow a student to enter school if born after the cutoff date of September 1. Gifted services are offered to children in many schools around the district and in most of them, kindergarten is a daily pull out program for one to two hours a day (we're full day). Some provide it full time. As far as I know beginning in first grade, gifted services are offered in self contained classrooms full time. However, the child must be five by 9/1 in order to enter, probably because maturity is a factor no matter how bright the child is.

Nancy

Looks like they cater to gifted kids as young as 5 years old.

[clare]

tamarind:

Dear all,

I just came across this forum about Gifted Education in USA/Canada.

http://www.proteacher.net/discussions/forumdisplay.php?f=40

Looks like they cater to gifted kids as young as 5 years old.

I think for public schools it depends on state requirements and individual school districts though. I know that the schools in the city where we are don't have much in place of gifted education.
Private schools can do a lot more better in this aspect; they have more flexibility in terms of early admission and curriculum etc, and in my experience they seem better equipped to identify and nurture the more gifted students.

[en107rn.01056yahoo.01056com.01056sg]

Hi Tamarind


Dont know what prompted me to buy the book. Someone told me that a person who is good in science is usually good in math. So, I sort of try to see if he is interested.

With globalisation, I feel there is a need for my kids to be exposed to international exposure ensuring that they are at ease interacting with people from different countries. They might not even end up working in Singapore.

So how does one develop creativity? Any suggestion or activity that can be done at home? On the computer programming side, agree if parents have the technical know how, why not.

If you read back on part 1 of this thread, there is a comment made by a teacher in gifted program name Ling. I think she has accurately describe gifted kid characteristics.

I’m using that to have a feel of what ds main area of interest/strength is. So far, I only know it is only science.

[metz]

Hi En,


To us, the book is more on number puzzles. Pretty interesting if the kid is into numbers as it introduces creative ways of solving problems. Not just plain drilling or rote learning. In fact, there isn't much questions for one to practise. Either the kids get it or they don't. I might be wrong but the book would be tough for kids who can't see or don't enjoy Math patterns. The creative part never comes into my mind.

Hi Tamarind,
[quote]Like C programming, or Visual Basic. That gives him the power to create any computer programs.[/quote]Ah, C programming. That was my favourite subject in the University. Hmm, never thought of it as being creative. But it really comes easy to me then. The thrill of debugging a program successfully :lol: Still remember those sleepless nights trying to think or debug the programs.[quote]why not write a computer program that will solve those problems within milliseconds ?[/quote]Answers is not the ultimate quest. But the ability to enjoy the process of solving questions is the joy and understanding one acquires. Perhaps this is what set a Math lover and a non-Math lover apart?

Like the book, I suppose C programming can be trained too. Even for Higher Math, Reading, Drawing, Music etc. But the important ingredient is the kid's interest and ability in the subject. Otherwise, it just plain rote learning/training or drilling and tedious work, no matter how creative one deems the subject is.

For creativity, one must be able to think out of the box and explore all situations. It's not question on subjects or topics that will make one more creative.

[metz]

clare:

In sec school, instead of cramming for exams, I'd be racing to finish 射雕英雄传 instead :lol: To me, the traditional chinese somehow lends so much flavour to the stories.

Hi 5! Can't remember how many times I was scolded by my mom for doing that!:P Can't agree more on the traditional chinese part. Usually, I won't bother to read the book if it's in simplified chinese. Somehow, the feel is different. Have you been reading any Chinese books lately? I have just picked up a Chinese parenting book recently. A refreshing view for me in parenting

[metz]

Hi En,


I recalled you mentioning about your son's interest in Lego. Take a look at this http://www.elpmis.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=26&Itemid=44. It might interest him. My ds is currently attending a 3 days Lego Robotics Workshop in his school and he loves it. I might consider the Elpmis Next Zero course if time permits.