Is my 5 year old gifted?

Question

My son is turning 6 next month but always had advanced reading skills. By age 2 he taught himself to read & then progressed to counting & numbers by 3 he could count to 100 & tell time.

Now he is in Kindergarten & his teacher suggested placing him in an advanced reading class (he had the reading level of a 4th grader before) what I have recently noticed does not seem normal.

He recently asked me to teach him multiplication & I told him no because first he needed to learn addition & subtraction. Well he did not like my answer so he taught himself addition, subtraction & multiplication in three weeks!

I purchased some multiplication post it notes & gave them to him on his own he solved them all correctly then systematically lined them up on his wall!? I ask this question because recently he has started to misbehave in school too.

Is this normal 5 year old behavior?

Other Interests:

Dinosaurs, solar systems, calculators, golf?

Answer 1

that's a smart one. just buture his natural talents. put him in the gate or advacnced classes. that is not normal behavior, he's obviously gifted. as a parent it would be important to make sure that u emphasize being creative and social as well so that he doesn't turn out highly intellectual , but being unhappy and unable to relate in any capacity to his peers.  send him ff on playdates regularly where the center of focus isn't hw, but playing (amusement park-roller skating,swimming.drawing....)

Answer 2

Sounds like he's gifted.

You should really consider placing him in more advanced classes/clubs.  The reason he's acting out is because he's bored in the classroom.  It's not challenging him enough...

Congrats!!!!!!

Answer 3

He sounds incredibly gifted, he needs to be placed in advanced classes so he does not get bored and loose interest.

The Dinosaur, solar system etc, is natural 5 yr old behavior but multiplication at his age and on his own is amazing!!

Answer 4

You have a super special child. Advance him as far as he'll go. This is amazing.

Answer 5

He sounds very gifted to me! Well if you both feel comfortable with it you might want to follow up with his teacher's suggestion and advance him in certain things good luck!

Answer 6

It does sound like he is gifted and would benefit from some advanced classes. It is not uncommon for very bright children to start acting up and misbehaving if they are bored in class. On his days off of school, maybe you can take him on some field trips or something like if there is a planetarium or a museum in the area, that might be fun for him as well as educational. You could take him on a nature walk if that's feasible for you. Find things that will engage him in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Make sure he doesn't miss out on being a kid while still stimulating his mind. Sounds like you've got your hands full.

Answer 7

You know how the world is this one big box, and most people fit into that box, go with the flow and are like everyone else, well,  then there are people who do not fit into the box, HIS MISBEHAVING, and this is why, they don't want to fit in the box, the want to MAKE THE BOX and are different thinkers, they enjoy fiction and not NON FICTION, they want to learn whats REAL not,  whats not real.  The little red riding hood is not true, so they are not interested, a fox doesn't TALK.  My son is like yours, he likes REALITY, presidents, what they did and when, mental math, no need for paper, the thing about school is, he needs someone who knows how to teach a child like him.  He likes attention probably, and loves ENCYCLOPEDIAS!  They thrive on things that are real.  

The thing is Virtues, these books even though not real have TRUE meaning.  They need to learn that these books teach you something you should know.  I would try going to a library and finding a set of books of Virtues, explain to him how these relate because by the third grade, where my son is now, they need to understand these things and also, things he will lose, is how to read with Emotion, does he read with emotion?  His voice, does it change?  This is learned from reading non  fiction usually.  Help him now, so his years to come will be less stressful.  Make sure you  have the diagnostician in your school, test him, I think by second grade they do this.

Answer 8

That's quite good. I met those benchmarks at his age, and now I've got a 3.9 GPA (I got an A- in English sophomore year), I'm a member of the National Honors Society, and I'm taking 4 AP classes.

Answer 9

I would say that he is gifted. He is getting into trouble because he is bored. Get him into some gifted classes!

Answer 10

Yeah, he's a smart one good thing and a bad thing- at least thats what i have experienced.

My son was the same way when he was 5- he could do some simple algebra by 6, read long stories when he wasn't in school & so on. He was bored in the advanced classes also & misbehaved in the advanced classes. So they wanted him to skip a grade, I didn't approve because I didn't want him to be the young kid and never really fit in with other children. I skipped a grade in middle school I went from 7th to 9th grade- it wasn't really the best thing to do for me so I didn't want him to end up in the same position. He's 8 now.

Answer 11

Holy c**p is that kid ready for college now?!?!?!?! He should skip to grade 6 in a private or catholic school because he might be made fun of with his size and age in a public school.

He's going to be the first one to invent sunglasses with a small almost unnoticable button that goes up and down. Up for lighter and Down for darker. :)

Answer 12

He is going to be SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO smart...

Answer 13

He is gifted! Go with it. Challenge him! If he keeps working at this pace, he will be very successful when he grows up. We need more children like him!

Answer 14

As a Mom of a gifted child all I can say is this...never push him.  It doesn't sound like you are, it sounds like he is pushing you.  My son does the same thing.  Get him books on things he is interested in, nurture his talents.  If he is misbehaving in school, he may be bored.  Meet with his teacher, get him into some advanced programs if your school has them.  Just be sure he knows that it's okay if something is too hard for him and that all that is expected of him is that he gives his best try.  I have told my son that if he does his best and brings home a low grade, that's fine, so long as he can assure me that it was his very best effort.  Gifted kids are tough sometimes.  My 7 year old asks me questions I don't know the answers to sometimes, we make it a game finding the answer on the internet.  Good luck!

Answer 15

I would try the advance classes.. He is probably misbehaving because he is bored in this class.. cuz he knows it all already! Good Luck hun!! and Way to go on such a smart child!

Answer 16

Congratulations, he'll be the next Albert Einstein.

Answer 17

he's probaby misbehaving at school because he's not being challenged enough, he sounds like he is way ahead of the other kids i would definitely look at advanced classes

Answer 18

they use to think Albert Einstein was slow or acting up.. he really was bored... my son is ahead of his age too so the teachers put him advance classes.... you can take him to a college and have him tested... just to find out what level he is at...he could very well be acting up because he is bored in school...

Answer 19

Yes he is more gifted than me *sob*, I wish I was like him. I was dumb when I was 8 and younger but usually have 1st honor always now! Am I gifted, too? Please e-mail me!!!!!

Answer 20

yes he is smart. don't push him. I like your answer when he asked to learn multiplication. I was reading by 3 1/2 and in kindergarden was reading at a 3rd grade level. I was recommended for a higher reading course, but my parents turned it down. I greatly appreciated it, because I have had social skills for a long time, and i know that being so young with older kids would only make social issues worse.

I love that he's intrested in dinosaurs. That is very normal, as is space and sports. keep working with him but don't, don't, don't push him. encourage him to be outgoing and do your best to raise a humble, though gifted, child.

Okay so, reading some of the other ones, i agree that maybe he should be in advanced classes if he is acting up. I wasn't and never got 'bored' but then again i was a very shy little girl, not a hyper boy.

Answer 21

Could be, but most schools don't use that term any more. Talk to his teacher and principal to see what ways they can help provide enrichment for him.

When my son was in K, the teacher often put him in charge of doing storytime, since he was the only one reading fluently. He also helped out other children in the class.

Formal IQ testing was done in grade one, followed up in grade three. School provided enrichment and of course we did TONS of home.

You need to be careful of the boredom factor.

Answer 22

I have four kids and they are ALL gifted. My 11 year old daughter (fth grade) is taking mostly 8 and 9th grade algebra,science and english lit classes.....My 3rd grader takes 7 and 8th grade classes, my older girls had fully paid college scholarships in the 9th grade...GO FOR IT..do not subdue him!

Answer 23

sounds like he could be... why not take him to see an educational psychologist who can tell you for sure and offer you some suggestions/options on what to do. They might be able to give you some tips with the misbehavior too. Ask at your school.

Answer 24

You have a very intelligent son. He is acting out b/c he's bored. Get him into more advanced classes, and on your own find new things for him to discover and learn. The world has endless possibilities of knowledge to discover. Take him to the library, and the zoo, and the aquarium, etc. Let him know, that learning doesn't stop when school ends, really that's when it truly begins, because he is in control of what he wants to learn when he is with you. Not some "curriculum".

Answer 25

Duh. He is obviously brighter than the average kid.  Just make sure he gets to be a kid. Games, playing with others, chores and other things that keep him grounded.

Get some finger paints. Legos, Chalk to drive on the driveway.etc common toys

My oldest son now an adult was doing long math, divide etc in Pre School. His favorite game to play with me was School. I made sure he was a kid. He played baseball, soccer etc.

He is a very bright adult now. But he is also very human and keeps his genious pretty much to himself. He is humble and kind.

Please make sure your son doesn't take on your pride and become what he thinks is better than others.