Mumsnet Talk

My DD is in reception, hasn't been designated as gifted and talented but she has been reading (without any hot housing from me Or DH) since the age of 2. She has a good grasp of mathematics as well and has a very wide vocabulary.

My hangup is that though I was a early reader like her, my own education isn't up to much and apart from getting her books from the library and workbooks, I haven't a clue how to really help DD to achieve her academic potential and also not to neglect other aspects so that she ends up well-rounded. Any advice?

For well roundedness - Get her on the list for rainbows/beavers. They can start rainbows at 5 & beavers from 6, but there are often waiting lists. Both my dd & ds really enjoy beavers/cubs & it exposes them to a lot of different activities. Musical instruments are also highly recommended, depending on your budget it could something as simple as buying a recorder & a starter book, or more formal lessons with her instrument of choice. It's great for sideways extension, & she could discover a new talent.

From an educational point of view, dont worry about doing anything out of the ordinary just expose her to lots of different things; castles, museums, nature reserve, theatre etc & then follow up on her interests (eg if she asks how planes fly, borrow books on it take to an airport/aviation museum, look it up on the Internet etc). Encourage her to ask questions & help her seek the answers.

I agree about following their interests; my DD is not dissimilar (in reception but fluent self-taught reader) and we introduce her to lots of things (museums, work-books, trees) and see what catches her attention.

Also, if she likes reading, ask the librarians for their recommendations too - there are loads of great books for her level. And don't forget about non-fiction books as well.

My DD is now 3 yrs 8 mths and started off exactly like your DD. She now independantly reads (and understands) almost anything she lays her hands on, so I just give her free rein to choose whatever books she likes in the library. Her teacher gives her quite a lot of non-fiction books, so that sparks some good conversations at home.
Aside from her main interest, she asked to go to ballet and now wants to start learning the violin - which suits me fine, but I can't find any local Suzuki groups which is where I started learning.

Thank you for your responses will definitely check out non fiction books, and she loves dancing so we'll see what takes her fancy. Will look into Rainbows too...

Non-fiction books are great, but be careful with what you buy. Some non-fiction books are genuinely the most boing things ever written. Check out more 'fun' or enthusiastic non-fiction books aimed at children. There are plenty of books out there for children (the horrid histories/geographies/everythingies) that should keep interest.

My 9 year old was designated as gifted and talented in Year 1. He knew all his times tables by Year 3. Reads at an incredibly high level. Top of class always. He started piano lessons aged 6, has just passed grade 2 with distinction. He has also been learning the Trumpet and is in an orchestra. At school he is popular and sporty. At home he is always wanting 'input'. Holidays are spent visiting all sorts of places. Discussions at dinner table include reasoning at an almost adult level. He is happy, but we do not want to push him as we think it is important to be among his peer group, to be able to form lasting friendships. As he goes in to secondary education we may step up our thoughts. Hope this helps.

We've been having fun with the Usborne 50 science things to make and do book with DD (reception & G&T). They have some other ones that she quite enjoys, but the science & cooking ones work best IME.

She's got her own purse and (some of) her xmas and birthday money goes in there for her to spend - she has to work out whether she can afford something or not, obviously with quite a lot of help at the mo, but I think it'll be good practise for mental arithmetic as time goes on.

DD also loves gardening - nothing better than being given a pot/bit of garden to plant stuff in, drown water it carefully and watch it grow. If it's edible at the end, so much the better.

School gives us non-fiction books as well as fiction, it's all fairly random but interesting - last week we had one about magnets, which led to lots of experiments with the fridge magnets to work out what they stuck to, how to identify the different poles etc. The one about floating and sinking wasn't so great though...

She'll be starting Rainbows after Easter (I run one of the local Rainbow units, so she'll definitely have a place ) which I think will be good for her as she'll get to try a wider variety of stuff than we do at home, also spend more time with a mixed age group which I think will be a benefit too.

just realised I was G&T as a child after reading this . Practically dropped out of school aged 14, no university etc. Don't be surprised if you DC burn out.

<went on to qualify as a solicitor while in work, but on my own terms>

HTH!