Ready for New EL Adventures!

[Kerileanne99]

Okay, so I have debated posting this request for help for the same reasons I never discuss my daughters progress with anyone local!  And I finally came to the conclusion I was expecting the same reaction...I LOVE the support from everyone on this forum, I just think I am so used to negative reactions that I am hesitant...but I know that there must be many of your exceptional children out there experiencing the same issue, so I would love some help!
Okay, so we are on day 63 of LR and LM...my LO seems to enjoy it so we do it every day...the problem is, I have yet to see a new word for her inLR.  I looked all the way to the end of the year curriculum and there are only a handful of words (mostly animals!) that I know she hasn't seen...she is picking up on much of the BrillKids background info, so she is getting something out of it! (ex: she has started quoting LR phrases like 'your BELLY BUTTON is in the middle of your belly!'
She is reading phonetically, or so it seems anyway, as she has started playing 'beat the computer' in the phonetics portion...I have yet to find a word actually, in any book we read, that she doesnt seem to figure out...given that she is just two and her pronunciation is not perfect!
We took her in for an interview at the Montessori school locally, and they informally told me she is reading at a second grade level, with comprehension around that of a kindergarten aged child, but I am fairly skeptical of this- first of all, sorry, but American standards are just not the same as the rest of the world!

Math-wise...oh, this is her LOVE right now! She DEMANDS math with every activity we do during the day, from telling time to counting 'some traction and addition' with time, meals, anything. She insists she wants to count to a million, knows money, length, weight, can count to one hundred by ones, fives, tens, twos...not just memorization or with objects, but in her head and that sort of thing...she memorized numbers like crazy, things like Saturn has 59 moons, 365 days are in a year, 7 colors in a rainbow, that sort of thing...

Languages, not so much...in fact, she pretty strongly objects to hearing other languages on DVD or CD, unless it is involving music or numbers...she had learned counting to ten in multiple languages just from an IPhone App.

I guess I am looking for some direction.  Has she already moved to more Left Brain thinking?  She LOVES TW and seems to pick up mountains of information from them...
I have SO many maths programs and science programs, almost all of which we do regularly...she loves music and art, geography she only seems to need to see once or twice (I LOVE you Introtogeo app!)..I want to introduce her to other, more RB activities, but...she has a seriously opinionatd stance on her activities...

It seems unlikely that she will be attending the Montessori preschool...it seems that the teacher for the 18 mo-3 years has strongly felt that she cannot meet my daughters needs, and the older set is made up of primarily 5-6 year olds...A would still be 2 in with them, and just really lacks the maturity and practical skills to keep up...so, not a whole lot of options there...I am actually quite excited about the prospect of keeping her home with me anyway!

Anybody with a kiddo with the same issues? She seems really into Speed Reading at the moment...I am waiting to hear back from JonesGeniuses about wether their Speedreading program can be adapted for younger children!  We also bought MemoryMagic and she literally begs for it! She has figured out how to access the new MemoryMagic apps and tries to do this regularly when Mommy 'isn't looking'! Gee, some an unobservant mommy!

Also looking for tips on books for her! We are currently going through anywhere from 15-30 books per day...we read them ad nauseum, then she won't look at them again..really liking the Berenstain Bears books at th moment...we got her on video reading a new one out loud to Grandma for her birthday!  What a treat!

Thanks for getting to the end of this post, I know it is long and I really appreciate any advice and help! She is the first and only, so Idont have too much to compare it to!
Cheers!

[Mandabplus3]

What a lovely problem to have congrats to you and her mummy! I can't say i have had the same problem myself, well not nearly to that extent anyway but I can maybe help a little.
Firstly don't worry about what they say her reading level is, at that age to get an accurate assessment I would need to assess her on multiple occasions ( at least 3) at different times over a few days using different tests. Basically 2 years olds are ficle, often moody and cooperative on their own terms only also it just doesn't matter. If you can still pick books for her she enjoys and she is still learning then I wouldn't worry about it. Also please realize that a two year old with a kindy kids comprehension is pretty special. Reading is one thing we can teach but comprehension comes from making connections to what we say and what she already knows.
I doubt she has completely bridged yet but we really can't tell from here. Her interest in math could point to bridging but it depends on how much she is using " logical thinking" and how much she is using her mental pictures to get the answers. Can she figure out math sentences that use questions with words? That could suggest bridging is occurring. Basically I would say if she loves math then run with it! She obviously knows what she wants and at the moment that is math. You will kick yourself if you hold her back in this area and she decides she doesn't like it in 2 months time! Just be sure to teach her all areas, cross check with the US ( or UK or Aussie) syllabus to make sure you cover all areas and don't neglect anything.
Try offering her language after she has had a good full lesson of math. Also try to incorporate math into her geography ( distance, length, quantity, probability, space, shape) and history ( time, date, probability, order, pattern)
Her reading will improve with practice it doesn't need to be your focus any more. I would just be sure to offer her the occasional challenge to read and be sure you continue to read stories just above her level to her.
It seems to me that her right brain training to date has made her an very fast learner with an efficient brain, it may just be that math is the only area that she can get her fix of info quickly enough. Teedlewink is quick too and that may be why she likes it too. Can you speed up your delivery of language and other info and see how she responds? Small fast and often...

[mybabyian]

Sounds like she is doing great!  Have you thought of making your own books for her or even making them together?  My son's favorite books are usually the ones I make for him.  He gets such a kick out of seeing the pictures of Daddy and the doggies (he could care less for the mommy pages but I am not jealous or anything. )  I think you said she likes new material often but personalized books of her and the family might be ones she likes to repeat.  She may enjoy and learn a lot from the process of making the books too. 

That's my only thought as I am yet to have your problem!  Good luck! 

[mybabyian]

Oops...one more thing.  You said she wasn't into languages so much.  I often make my books in Spanish as I have a really difficult time finding books in Spanish that he likes.  Maybe this would give her more of an interest.

[Kerileanne99]

MyBabyian-
Yes, thanks, we started doing this when she was very tiny, as it was her favorite even then! One tip I wish I had known then...I was buying books and typing out sentences, then cutting them and pasting them in...I finally bought a label-maker and this is just about 2 million times easier.  They are even adhesive-backed and water-resistant for teething kiddos
She never liked anything cartoonish or 'pretend' so we have almost always stuck to more animal based or early science based, and much of what she reads now are more bit-syle books made for her...
I even found a website that publishes your own stories and artwork onto board books.  Can't get my hands on the website at the moment, but let me know if you would like the info...my husband is a bit of an artist and we made quite a few fantastic keepsake story books for her based on her own adventures that are very professional looking- we also keep a 'learning/questions journal' in the same style!

[seastar]

Hi Kerileanne99,

I do not have much in the way of advice for you as we are not at your stage yet, but I wanted to thank you for starting this thread. It is such an inspiration to read about your daughter and how much she loves and begs for her early learning activities. Anytime I have doubts about whether early learning could be taking away from free play time, I like to come on here and read these kind of posts as it reinforces the idea that children simply love to learn.

I've been thinking about your post for the last few hours and here are some ideas/thoughts that may be useful:

*The only advice I have is something I think you are doing already and that is to ensure you go for breadth as well as depth in each subject area. Do your best to ensure she has some tasks that challenge her everyday.
*I think you are definitely covering all bases with your maths curriculum!
*I know you said she is not really that interested in languages, but maybe the is due to the issue most 'gifted' children have where they do not know how to cope when they finally come across something challenging. Maybe you could get her to make her own books in other langauges. Maybe you could try doing math in other languages too.
*Because she is such a quick thinker, I'm not so sure that she has bridged to left-brain thinking but maybe you could try contacting the TW people to see what they think.

It might also be worth checking out site for parents of gifted kids to see what those parents are doing with their children.

And, finally, well done to you, your husband and your daughter for all your hard work!

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