Is The Younger One The Brighter One? Help!?
I am homeschooling our four year old daughter (kindergarten) and six year old son (first grade). They are only 19 months apart in age. Last year, my son was in kindergarten and my daughter in a 3-year-old program at a Christian school. My son did wonderfully! He works kind of slow (methodical and deliberate), but is advanced in his abilities. My daughter also is advanced, and actually started reading last year.
This year, we decided to home school because of location (we are out in the country and it takes 1 1/2 hours to drive them to school and get back home). Also, the school did not want to place our daughter in kindergarten, even though she was already accomplishing kindergarten tasks (such as reading and simple addition) and would be four-and-a-half at the beginning of the school year.
Although I know my son is advanced for his age when compared with his peers, now that we are homeschooling, he is observing that my daughter is picking things up (especially memorization) more quickly than he is. He is starting to ask questions about whether or not she is doing this or that “better” than he is. If he were with his peers, I think he would realize that he is doing great. But little sister is quickly catching up to him in academic abilities, and he is noticing.
HELP! How do I keep my son encouraged that he is doing well when his younger sister is catching up?
I’ve been in that situation myself, and the best advice I can give is to suggest reassuring your son by telling him that it is because his sister has the advantage of having an older sibling (HIM) that she is able to catch on more quickly. Your son is the true PIONEER.
Little boys and little girls mature at different rates. Girls do well in primary school, boys don’t excel until high school.
I recommend Drs. Raymond and Dorothy Moore’s Better Late Than Early. Most libraries have it as do most homeschool suppliers, Amazon, B&N, etc.,
When he asks that, just let him know that everybody learns at different rates and that if he wants needs help in certain areas, you are there for him. Also, you need to realize that the younger child’s brain is developing at a much faster pace. They start slowing at 4 and 5. He needs to stay engaged. Go to MathTutorDVD.com and buy the first 2 DVD levels, unless she already knows her numbers 1 – 10; then just buy the 2nd one, which is 1st through 7th grade. It should keep both of the busy for a while. Once one of them learns their multiplication table real well, go to Brainetics.com to help him with their caculation abilities, memory, and focus. At that point, he will be able to do things at a much faster pace. Just keep them both engaged as much as possible and don’t take off the summers.
Once he gets to the Algebra levels, you should really start researching his potential college career. You can go to CollegeBoard.com and learn all you can about AP, CLEP, and online dual credit courses that are available through the local community college. With an advanced kid like yours, he can take advantage of these and save alot of time and money. The more he takes, the more apt he is to get a major scholarship, especially in a rural community school. The universities will take that into account because rural schools don’t generally offer these classes, so they will see that he is not only advanced but a hard worker as well. Good luck!