The "Bragging on my Kids" thread

“Le Subtle,
Now thats funny!!!”

“Big Foot, scullcap & pekka: Thanks for the compliments! I think I'm going to have a handfull in about 10 years!

Le Subtil: Reminds me of my early days! We drilled holes in my friend's muffler for that "cool" sound. We were too cheap for glass-packs!”

“Hikin Mike: I have a matched pair to those, ages 6 and 9. Totally wonderful little country girls. Kindergartener can read better than some adults I know. Smarts must come from Mom, looks too for that matter.”

“One day a Clown and a young boy were walking throught the woods.

Little boy said, It's getting dark and scary

The Clown said, Tell me about it, I'm the one who has to walk out of here alone.”

“Well I talked to an admissions guy from Northern Mich., which is the local U where my daughter lives, and she is guaranteed $3,500 a year just for her ACT score. That would be most of her tuition. Hope that the schools she wants to go to are at least equally generous, but hopefully more so since they are more expensive, too. However, she is eligible to compete for one of 10 full rides at NMU, too. A dad can always wish........I told her that with the money we saved if she went to the local U (let alone with a big scholarship) I would take her to Europe every summer. Talk about win/win (for me at least), LOL.”

“it's funny. There aren't too many of my friends or family that I can brag about this to, BUT since ya'll don't know me from Adam . . .

my 6 1/2 year was tested for the gifted program at school. His IQ is 167. High Genius.

His Mom and I have no clue what to do with him.”

“Give him lots of good books on lots of different subjects. Talk to him in a way that respects his intelligence and verbal abilities. Let him discover the incredible joy of learning things other kids may not have much interest in yet, but which he will need to challenge his thinking ability. Travel if you can and give him lots of different experiences that will stimulate his creative and analytical abilities. But don't overprogram him, either. He'll need time to daydream, which is what those with powerful intellects are sometimes criticized for by those who don't spend much time inside their own heads thinking. Try not to be overwhelmed by the fact he may see things differently than you. He will have the smarts, but will need your help to develop wisdom.

And don't forget that socialization isn't ruled by IQ. So let him play and be a kid, too.”

“"But don't overprogram him, either. He'll need time to daydream"

IMHO, this is the most important part to remember. My two children are in the gifted program (6th and 2nd grade) and I remind myself all of the time that they are only 11 and 7. I think the most important part is to give them the opportunity to grow,,,,,not to "force" them into growing.”

“I agree, My 9 year old was IQ'd for gifted at 145, Be glad they're smart and let them be children too. Its interesting watching them devour books, puzzles, etc. We don't even have cable TV.”

“i was placed into the gifted program in the 2nd grade. Best advice is to feed their heads...BOOKS...tons of them..all subjects...video games too *grin*..it helps our hand eye coord and lets us be comfy with comps. they will exhibit strong passions about certain subjects...and care less about others. But all else..make sure to keep them rounded out...plenty of outdoor activities, sports, friends. Also keep in mind they may become bored at school since the public education system is a crock. Keep strict..but be mindful of why they might be doing things.”

“Thanks for the ideas:

He DOES read a ton . . .he reads at a 6th/7th grade level. The problem we have is contextual . .that is, he can read virtually anything you put in front of him, but doesn't have a world view/base of knowledge that allows him to him to digest it.

The problem we have had is finding books for him to read that are challenging, but appropriate. He is a machine . . .and guns down books faster than we can feed them to him.

So much of the stuff out there for kids is just CRAP. And what is worse is the stuff for 6th/7th graders . . .he certainly doesn't need to be reading about adolescent angst at age 6 1/2.

He works at his own pace. We have never drilled, or coaxed him. He used to sit at the kitchen table at age 3 & 4 for hours at a time working on spelling, reading, and math . . of his own choice. For bedtime "reading" last night he was working on a 4th grade math workbook.

He is a good kid.”

“...and all the while, remember the world around them is operating at 40 points below their ability. Everyone is an imbecile.”

“Lee,
I guess he's read the Harry Potter series, the Hobbit, Tolkein's trilogy. There are plenty of great books. My son's favorite is "How Things Work." Its a coffee table book with really useful info. My son had to put down Dante's Inferno after a few chapters. "Dad, that's toooo creepy." He was six or seven at the time. He did like Utopia, though. He read along with "Julius Ceasar" (the one with Marlon Brando.) I found the screen play on the net.
Opie makes a valid point. Public schools, for the most part cannot deal with kids who are at the extremes of the Bell curve. My son's 1st grade teacher had no idea that he was a reader at his report card conference IN THE SPRING. (He was reading at the HS level.) He has been home schooled for the last two years.
Good Luck!!! (and keep it fun!)”

“Plop the Narnia series in front of him...he'll love em. try to find the set...sams has all of them in one huge paperback now..too big!
My big deal was dinos and the civil war. once into middle school Louis lamour is a good author. I'll try to think of more later...oh..and a new set of encyclopedias...not a cd...hehe..i really read through them twice..and no it wasn't a punishment”

“I read encyclopedias too. Smart kids seem to just devour that sort of thing. I would concur on the paper copies, too. You can't take your computer to bed and read off of it until you fall asleep.”

“Nice to know I wasn't the only encyclopedia reader as a kid. Classic literature usually doesn't have the same issues of appropriateness that many modern books have when it comes to early readers, just the archaic vocabulary at times. But certainly give him Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels, Captains Courageous, The Leatherstocking Tales, etc. No swearing that I recall, nor lurid sex scenes. Just adventures and history and some ideas.”

“Pekka,
Funny, I'm reading Captains Courageous right now!”

“Yah I read a lot of old stuff too. Try and find a dictionary that give the meanings to some of the archaic terms, and stock him on Robert Louis Stevenson.

If you don't mind him reading Science Fiction, a lot of Heinlein's early stuff is aimed at adolescents. You know, the Golden Age of Science Fiction, 12-16.”

“Lee, read, read, read, and read some more. It sounds like you are doing a great job encouraging that and everyone else gave great book suggestions as well. I read about 4 hrs. a night at his age. Even if he stays awake for hrs., let him do it. I had insomnia very badly at that age and being able to have a quite, mind-enhancing activity really helped. My reading ability tested out at college level by the time I was a 6th grader.”

“My son Ian finished in second place out of four schools (70 runners) in his cross country meet yesterday!

He worked pretty hard all summer to get ready for this season, it was nice to see him do so well. I think he was thrilled.”

“I bet Belle could do better than that! 70? Sheesh!








heheheeeee!”

“Tell him congrats! for me Fritz! That is terrific!”

“Send Ian to Aero; he has scholarship money for runners.”

“That's great Fritz. Congrats to Ian.”

“Quit Fragging your kids!”

“OH!


n e v e r m i n d .”

“Congrats proud Dad!

It is so wonderful to see kids really work towards a goal and then enjoy success!”

“Today my 7-year-old son, he of the East Rosebud Trail fame, found out that he succeeded in his audition to join the Oakland Ballet for a December performance of The Nutcracker as a Ginger Snap. This is usually an honor reserved for kids at least 8 or 9 years old, so it is pretty exciting. He is so psyched about it he can hardly contain himself! I'm not a dance expert (music was more my thing), but watching him dance is quite impressive. Anyway, enough bragging for one night (I'll come back on Saturday to post brags about how many goals he got in his soccer game....)....”

“Meow!”

“That's cool, martyb!”

“My high school drop out is pulling all A's in his first semester of college, double major in Journalism and Photography. My alter ego and he doesn't even realize it. He's loving it, we are breathing a sigh of relief.”

“Martyb, that's great. I'm taking Newergirl to a showing of the Nutcracker here in Dec. I saw my first Nutcracker when I was two, so I'm going to see if she digs it too.

Pathman, WONDERFUL news! Give him lots of encouragement. Education all the way. (I'm supposed to be studying for a Bio. test right now, which I'm going to flunk tomorrow and ruin my 4.0. But all the same, education all the way.)”

“Very cool MartyB and Pathman. The kids can really surprise you, eh?”

“...as her senior pictures testify, but my daughter just made National Merit Semi-finalist (one of two in a class of 300+) and was voted "Class Brain" in the senior poll.

Those who wish to offer scholarships please form an orderly line...we will listen.”

“That is fantastic, Pekka! So where is she going to go for college? Has she narrowed her choices down?”

“My ex-wife was just contacted by Duke University. They want my 12 y/o to sit for the ACT in February. They want him to take a trial run at it to guage his scholarship potential. He finished 6th in the state on his PCAT's a couple of years ago.”

“My 7 year old was just contacted by Iraq's government (because of his reknown as a nuclear scientist) to assist in their nuclear developement program.”

“Uh, well, uh .... my 9 year old got a 100 on her vocabulary test!”

“LyndyS: Currently she is looking at U-Michigan, U- Rochester (NY), and Harvard. She got 35 composite (of 36) on ACT. It'll be the financial aid that swings the final deal as much as who accepts her. Wants to major in German with a double in Film Studies.”

“I took the kids for a swim this morning, but I don't think that has anything to do with the topics being discussed here.”

“pekka, if financial aid is a key issue and if she is smart enough to consider Harvard ("the Stanford of the east" - heh heh), she might want to check out Stanford. Don't know how Harvard (or other private schools) does financial aid, but here's what Stanford does: they figure out how much you can afford, then call the rest "your scholarship." It was cheaper for me to go to Stanford than to UC Berkeley....

My general unsolicited advice: don't worry too much about which univ. has which major - go to the best school you can, and figure out the major stuff later. You can always pick a more focused grad school later. I don't think I know anybody who decided on their major in high school....”

“Dancing, theatre, and soccer...

This kid will never be admitted into the HMWHC.”

“Thanks, martyb, for the tip on Stanford. For some reason, she really wants to go "East." But I'll put that bug in her ear too. Harvard has actually a pretty similar set up from my understanding -- the best endowment in the world allows them to offer quality financial aid if you can get yourself accepted. I hope a very bright, accomplished, well-balanced student (academics/sports) from a fairly obscure part of the country (the U.P.) will be attractive for their admissions mix. Wherever she goes, it has to have a quality, significant study-abroad program or she won't even look at it.

As for major, she's a pretty focused kid. As for myself, I ended up majoring (a double actually) in just what I knew I would since junior high: journalism/English. I was momentarily distracted as a freshman by "public policy" studies, but came to my senses soon enough.”

“Sounds like she has a good head on her shoulders, pekka. Stanford has everything you and she need to know on their website - here's a link to their Overseas programs. I never went overseas as a student, but wished I had :-( .

If you/she want any additional info, I'd be glad to help - I did some academic advising a few years back when I worked there.”

“Cameron, break a leg!”

“WELL MY KIDS



gave me big hugs this morning just for the he!! of it and then told me they love me...


It was sooo cool that they still want to do that at 14 and 10yrs old

:D”

“Is no one going to tease Artex about his swimming with his kids?”

“maple leaf, now that's some cooool kids. You really are lucky to start the day so wonderfully!”

“Abby read herself "Goodnight Moon" the other night. She sat down with the book in her lap and turned the pages, saying the words she could..."cow, moon" on the page that says "and a picture of the cow jumping over the moon". I was pretty amazed. She's sooo cool. =D”

“thank you pekka,

even when I yelled at them last night for not getting homework done on time..


But they gave me love on there own. i guess im doing something right!”