5 yr old doing 2nd grade math?

Question

my sisters stepson is 5 and will start kindergarten this fall, he is already doing second grade math problems with out effort. I keep telling her she needs to have him placed in advance classes, but she thinks that it is normal...what do you think?

Answer 1

I have a masters degree in education and I wrote my thesis on why older children do better in school (rather than those who have skipped grades or started on the earlier side). I tutored some Indian children and the preschoolers were doing math that high. My advice: Don't start him in school and don't skip grades. If it is a good school and good teacher, the teacher will simply place him in the highest math group and if he is really ahead, she will probably borrow materials from other grades to teach him with.

Children I found in my study, who are younger, have more problems when they try to go from learning concrete to abstract thoughts (around grades 1-4). They also lack fine motor skills and some attention to detail. Also, he will probably not feel at ease socially with his class if he is older.

If the school is not being accomodating or the teacher ignores him because she is too busy focusing on the "bad" or "slow" kids, then seek to transfer him to another teacher or a charter school (public schools with higher education standards in most cases).

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

All research shows that retention after kindergarden or 1st grade is ineffective. I know this might be a hard pill to swallow, but your child might need specialized educational services. However, before we go that route, there are proactive measures that you can take to help your son. 1. have his hearing tested 2. have his vision tested If your child is having any problems with vision or hearing this can impact his ability to function successfully in any academic setting. Then assess his seating arrangement. If he is sitting by people that are distracting to his learning or that are harrassing him, this could impact his behavior and learning ability too. Sometimes if kids are with the same class mates for a long time, a class change may be helpful. If all is well with those things, ask his teacher to start keeping a log of interventions that she is trying with him. Ask her to document: 1. Frequency of behaviors 2. Duration of behaviors 3. The class period or time of day that behaviors manifest 4. Name the specific behaviors that your son is manifesting 5. Ask are the behaviors occurring in every classroom with every teacher he has, or with just certain teachers. 6. Ask about the antecedance to his behaviors 7. Share with the teacher any concerns you have with your child that are similar to the teachers concerns while the child is at home, church, with grandparents, friends, or neighbors. If there are concerns after this, I would take the child to the doctor and share my concerns. If there are no medical issues I would request that "special needs" testing be conducted. If your child has a disability, the problem can easily be remedied with educational interventions that the school already has in place for other students that are struggling just like your child. Hope that was helpful. I have included some resources below for you. God bless!

Answer 3

Tough one. I think you should keep the child on the path to a regular kindergarden program. Keep the building blocks fun still. By the time the child is in 1st, most schools test kids to be in some sort of G.A.T.E. program as well.

If you are still gung-ho, then maybe spend some time doing a gifted program on the weekend or get the child tested.

Word of caution: Make sure its something the child shows great interest in w/o any outside influences and isn't pushed into it. 5 years old is still an immature age. Being emotionally strong is another key element that also needs to be there before taking educational leaps.

Answer 4

I've always had to teach to each individual child. I've had children that were way beyond the "normal" level (whatever that means) and children that were struggling. I've had everything in between.

Thankfully, I learned the (ages) 6-9 Math Materials really well and was able to challenge those who were excelling in math. A good teacher will always be able to adjust what they're doing and challenge all the students.

Matt

Answer 5

Sometimes kids can go above their grade level, but doing the problems with out effort mean he could excell in an advanced class.

Answer 6

Is he reading on a second grade level? When I taught 3rd grade, I had a student that could read on a 6th grade level. But he would cry every day. And he would not try to do any work without reinforcement. 2nd grade math is not really hard. We had kindergartners who could multiply and divide using manipulatives.

Answer 7

Keep him with 5 year olds and the teacher will differentiate her/his maths programme. I have a 7 year old in my class doing 9 year old English. I cater for him. But socially and emotionally he is still 7. He needs to be with his peers. His English is great, his Maths is very good - he finds learning quite easy. But he still needs to be taught social skills and appropriate behaviors. He is a huge sulker and very competitive - 7 yr old stuff. Let the teacher cater for ALL this little fellas needs - it is our job.

Answer 8

Let the teacher's make the decision. There's more to school than achievement in scholastic issues. The child also needs to have a certain level of maturity. Relax, don't push.

Answer 9

2nd grade math? That's just addition and subraction stuff. Don't burden the 5 y.o. with extra homework... he's only in kindergarten.

If he was doing calculus, then that would be a different story.

Answer 10

show the teacher how well he can do 2ND grade math maybe she has an idea. Maybe it's to give him different math worksheets or to put him in a more advanced class,I would let the teacher decide. hope this helps