Amie's brag on her 2 year old got me to thinking about things my kids can and can't do that are "normal" for PS kids their age, like... My 8 year old can't tie shoes...but he has SPD and only wears Crocs year round, and our homeschool doesn't have a dress code so......there has never been a need or natural opportunity to teach him and he's never showed any interest... While my 5 year old knows most of his letter sounds and can read a handful of CVC words...he does not know the alphabet song, he doesn't like so he never wanted to sing it and I've never pushed it. What quirks do your homeschoolers have? Things they know (or knew) at 2 or 3 that most 5th graders don't know or things they never learned or experienced?
My 6 y/o still wears a pull-up to bed, has a lot of physical delays, has asperger's, and has spd, but yet he's extremely advanced academically. He's very odd compared to his peers. My 3 y/o is mostly normal except that he's academically advanced. He doesn't stick out like a sore thumb the way his brother does.
My kids are all a bit awkward in group settings.. when they see other kids acting like "normal kids" do. Rylee especially.. she just stands there looking at them like "they are strange". Reagan goes and tries to join the crowd.
My kids are pretty "normal" (I hate that term though). Older DD: fits in with others well, is right on track academically, road a two wheel bike at 4yo, and can do a one handed cartwheel LOL Younger DD: is very clingy/shy and won't mingle, knew her colors at 1 1/2 years old (because the pediatrician told my older DD that she was too young to do that-she loves a challenge LOL), not as coordinated as older DD, has a bit of a speach slur because of excesive nunu use (part of the clingy/shy issue).
My 13yo twins, dd/ds, have no interest in the boy/girl drama that goes on in ps jr high! Also, ds can identify alot of the fox news personalities by voice! :lol:
I remember that when my daughter was just over six months old we went to an employee Christmas dinner where two other families had their six month old babies. I thought my daughter was a bit advanced, very aware of her surroundings even at two weeks old so her doctor told me, but it was at that dinner that I really noticed the difference. The other babies were lounging in their baby carriers mouthing little rattles and toys while my daughter was sitting up in a high chair and turning to try to see the waiter's face who was standing behind her asking for our orders or trying to see from where a loud noise came. At her first casual piano recital in a coffee shop, she approached some of the younger brothers and sisters of the other participants during intermission. Being the youngest performer, she was 4½ and closer to their ages. The piano teacher gasped as I was talking to her and said that my daughter was playing with R! I am thinking, so? He NEVER plays with any girl, always runs away from them, she told me. I explained, as we had been good friends for years, that I had told her many times that my daughter seemed to have a gift with people and children, like extremely shy children or children with developmental challenges. I guess she just thought I was the typical doting parent and this was just the first time my friend had seen the child's gift in action. That boy would not play with any other girl there, btw. After that, I just saw no purpose in comparing her to what is "normal." She just is who God made her to be.
I see mine as normal and many ps'd kids as socially inept. Is that ok?? My older two kids rode 2-wheel bikes at 4. My son's (age 14) printing, drawing and handwriting still looks like a 3rd graders. He can't thow a football. On the other hand, he's smart in other ways. Very computer literate and hands-on. Designs own detailed lego models that look really really good. DD15 is artisticly inclined. She talked in sentences at 14 months. She's serious minded and smart, but has some trouble keeping friends. Not from being inept or awkward. She is very confident, strong-willed and articulate. She stands out as different among other girls her age. DD7 is something else. Very crazy but sweet. Didnt talk til late, age 3 1/2, due to hearing problem. Had tubes put in at that age. She still gets tongue tied and mumbles some but we're working on it. She is also gifted in art.
Josie, I could have written your post :lol:. Ds is 7 and I recently thought about the fact that he does not know how to tie shoes. He wears crocs and before that it was always velcro shoes. He also never cared for the ABC song. At the age of 6, dh was mortified when he asked ds to sing it. He couldn't. Yet, he could identify every letter and sound at the age of 3. He just hated the song. Or, I have to laugh at a memory of ds singing it when he was younger. He had 2 friends named Emma. So, completely innocently, he would sing LMNOP as Emma Emma too.:lol: I find ds can socialize with any aged kid. However, he gravitates towards the older kids and has told me before that age does not matter, just as long as they have things in common. I thought how true! As adults, we don't pick friends because they are our exact age, we find people with common interests. After one homeschool activity, I had a mom trying to arrange a playdate for my son to come over. I assumed it was for the daughter that was 1 year younger than ds. Nope, it was for the daughter that was 4 years older, because they had "more in common".
Oh Josie, my 14 year old son did not learn to tie his shoes til he was 10!! I wasn't too worried and he found ways to get along but at age 10 I drew the line and we practiced until he got it.
Some of my children's oddities would be there whether or not we were homeschooling. But one thing sticks out at me. My kids have no problems getting along with kids of various ages. They don't see little kids as babyish or older kids and unapproachable. Last week my older kids had a friend (private school) over who my 4 year old likes to play with. The older child tended to ignore her. She had to continually repeat herself and then say "xxxx, I'm talking to you!" before he would respond to her. :lol: She isn't used to age segregation. My boys can sit and watch a babyish show without the feeling of shame that is promoted in schools. They just watch it in a different way (i.e. assessing all the errors Barney makes in his science facts). I don't think they would be so comfortable with different ages if they went to a public or private school.
I notice that with my girls too. But I think ours comes from the fact that they play with their cousins (11yo-10month old age range) alot. And all the cousins play well together (and all but my dd's are private schooled). They would rather play with the ones closer to their age, but won't exclude
My oldest, now almost 11, was always very advanced. When he was about 18 months he could speak in sentences and soon after said "wierd" things like "I'm feeling extremely fustrated" instead of throwing temper tantrums! Believe me, we got a lot of strange looks at the grocery store and restraunts! Now, he is extremely advanced - academically, and especially in soccer (he's been invited to board/trial with 2 major European clubs and here in the US, gets pretty much all his training with a #1 ranked club for free!) Because of this, he is usually with kids that are at least 2 years older -for school work and for soccer. When he is put into a social situation by age (homeschool group comes to mind & some classes/camps that insist on age grouping) he sticks out because he cannot really relate to other 10-11 year olds. He also is complusive about soccer and has a hard time finding kids that share his interest in soccer. He also has terrible handwriting! My middle son just turned 9 and he is very mature- he's been trying to keep up with older brother all his life- but on top of that, he is a BIG kid! My middle son is taller and bigger than his older brother, who is considered a tall, muscular boy. My 9 year old is around the 150% for both height and weight! Kids his age are literally up to his chin, at the most! No one ever believes his age. He is also very athletic and participates in a lot of sports. I literally keep a copy of his birth certificate with us b/c I know someone's going to protest! His spelling and handwriting, though are unbelievably bad! My youngest son is a pretty "normal" barely-8 year old. Academically on target, maybe slightly above, avg. to good at soccer, great swimmer, loves legos, race cars, animals, and superheros. But, he's abnormally good looking, in my opinion We also just realized he couldn't tie shoes (thanks to warm southern weather and flipflops, so we are all over that!) My 5 year old daughter is most like her oldest brother. She's an amazing gymnast - the only 5 year old invited onto the team - can do back handsprings, front handsprings, handstands, cartwheels on the balance beam, crazy flexibility, ect. She has recently decided its not for her (too much practice, 12 hr/wk at 5!) and has started soccer, where she is excelling. She's also been reading for a year, and is working around 1st/2nd grade level. She also doesn't relate well to other 5 year olds (sometimes she'll say, "aww, she's so cute" about a 5 y/o, like she's so much older!). Her soccer team is a year older and her gymnastics team was 7-9 y/o girls.
Oh, that is SO ok! My DS didn't have any "special" qualities that weren't there anyhow. His DS doesn't, really, either. But DGS is SO an "any age" kid. I have to say we have some great teens and pre-teens (all public-schooled!) in our church, so when DH and I are occupied in prayer meeting or Bible study with the adults, our youth "adopt" and welcome any kids who don't have a specific teacher/leader to be with at that particular time (too old for nursery, too young for adult class). So from age 5, DGS has thought he's part of the youth group! He gets invited over to play by a down-the-street neighbor boy who is 12. Next week he's invited to the 15th birthday party of an across-the-block neighbor girl. Last month, he went to a girl's 9th birthday party and had an absolute ball (even though she didn't get any toys HE would want to play with! LOL). The very-next-door neighbor boy who is 9 or 10, though, can be quite snooty and only plays with him when he doesn't have any classmates over...
Yeah, my son is like the 'pied piper'. He always attracts kids. He's funny and just an all-around nice guy so he makes friends with all ages.
My older son (almost 10) prefers the company of kids a little older. His best friend is about 4 yrs older. He has friends his age, but he seems to get along better with older ones. My youngest is fairly normal so far. They both talked and such a bit earlier, but as far as typical behavior I think they fit in with most other kids pretty much. They do both love hard rock and heavy metal music, though, so maybe that's one way. LOL
My 7 year old ds is an Aspie and still doesn't understand that boys and girls have different parts! (yea he is an only child!) He tied his shoes at 6, still can't ride a 2 wheeler, but can swim 50 meters in under 2 mins. He isn't good with his peers, but is great with kids around 2 years younger than he is. He is also reading on a 4th grade level. And as another mom said never learned to sing his ABC's because he doesn't like to sing.
A mom in our homeschool told me that her son thought it was cool that my dd who is driving age played with the younger kids. She didn't wear blue jeans until she was almost 15. Ds didn't learn to tie his shoes till he was 13. He just wasn't interested. The biggest difference is that they don't care what grade they are and always need to ask me.
