Enrichment Enhancment Programme?

Question

My daughter is now 2 years plus. She has a nautral gift and started reading at the age of 1 and half years old. By now she can read better than most 5 year olds. She had just joined a pre nursery school but i am also looking out for a special programme to help her developed her reading potential.

Anyone has similair experiences with their child or good suggestions to which enrichment programme i can go for?

Answer 1

Montessouri is in almost every large community in every state...

Either that or get her into a prestigious private school early, with both you will pay.

I just work with my gifted daughter constantly, at home.

Answer 2

That is fantastic!  It is a great idea to help your child reach her full potential.  It is a true gift.  Being able to read will ensure her academic success!  You are a great mom.

Please remember to balance out her academics with her social skills.  Many people disregard this in an effort to help their child advance only to be disappointed that their child has very few people with whom they can relate to or interact.  Make sure to find programs where she can socially interact with her peers.  Be sure to watch for signs of positive play skills.  Just remember that children don't get "bored".  I have found that the "bored" children are the ones who do not know how to interact so they prefer activities that do not require interacting such as computer time, reading alone excessively (they should do this alone at times but not more than they interact) and puzzles.

Being a genius will get you a job interview as an adult, but having social skills gets you the job!

Answer 3

Gifted or precocious? There's really no way to know. It is possible that by the time she's in grade 1-2 many of her peers will have caught up with her and be reading at a similar level.  That's why I'm not a great supporter of "enrichment programs" at the preschool level.

In grad school, I wrote a published journal article on preschool gifted education. The truth is that any good program is good for children of all abilities as a good program should be planning activities based on children's individual interests and abilities.

It's great that she can read, but it is important to focus on all the other areas of development. As someone mentioned above, social skills are especially important. If she is truly gifted and more intelligent than her peers, she may find it difficult to interact with them.

Try to think of her education as being broad and horizontal rather than a vertical peak you are trying to push her toward. What about science? writing? math? art? music? What is SHE interested in? If it's frogs this week, then read books about frogs, look at pictures of frogs, learn all you can about them. Talk about what an amphibian is. Visit the pet store. (The whole "frog" thing would be considered a project and very good preschool programs will be doing projects based on the interests of the children, but you can also do that at home with her.) Enroll her in a music or art class.

What about physical development? Is she in swimming lessons? playing a lot outdoors?

There's so much more to children's learning than just academics, especially more than just learning to read. It's important to help her be a well-rounded, balanced person.