My son has finnished his entire Maths curriculum for this year already

[QuintessentialShadows]

He went through all the exercises in the book within 3 days of getting it out. The teacher tried to stop him, told him to wait for the others to catch up. I spoke to the headmaster and told him I think this is ridiculous as he cant not be challenged and sit bored for an entire year, and get used to NOT applying himself and not doing any work. So the teacher let him continue, and now he is working his way through next years book.

But, since then, he has not had any home work home for the last 2 weeks, so now I have no idea where he is. NO reading, no writing, no maths, nothing.

I guess I should go and talk to the teacher.

[mumto2andnomore]

if all they do is work through a book sounds like a rubbish school to be honest.Maths should be practical, applying knowledge to different situations, playing games etc not just filling in boxes.

[edam]

Blimey QS, another problem cast in your way. About time your luck changed, woman!

[asdmumandteacher]

Lucky you! My son is behind by a year or so... i wish i was in your position

[QuintessentialShadows]

I should propbably explain more.

My son started reception in London age 4. In April of year one we moved to Norway. He started in a year one class here (no reception, equivalent to reception is in final year of nursery here) together with some other children who had turned 6 already.

Here children start school at 6. My son was 6 in April. Year one and year two are mixed together and split into three classes, so he has both year one and year two children in his class. The teaching is very practical. Last year they spent a month on "playing shop" for maths teaching, so were writting shopping lists, adding up prices, paying with exact "money" etc. At the end of last school year I was told he was on the same level as the year one pupils, and it would be natural for him to follow the teachings of year two this year, and possibly move up to year 3 with the year two class.

He can read in both english and norwegian. He is good in maths. He was good in maths in London, he is good in maths now. He is a clever boy, who would be in year 2 in London, and so be in his third year of school. Here he is in his first year, and with a teacher who seem to insist he shall follow the learning of children who just started in August! It is ridiculous! They are learning the alphabet! They are colouring in 4 blue squares and just learning shapes!

I despair.

[CarGirl]

can you home ed in Norway? Although presumably your parents would not be happy about that prospect.

[QuintessentialShadows]

Sending your child to school is a legal requriement, as far as I know. I dont think home edding is done, tbh.

[Piffle]

tis imo an indictment of uk starting formal ed at 4
And I say that as mother of two gifted kids this far
Your son is now very ahead but there are things you can do to support him in class,perhaps he can work alongside those trying to learn?
Teach him depth of maths and literacy
Books encyclopaedias
Sorry seriously it is hard having a child who is way above their year
But ds1 survived

[QuintessentialShadows]

I dont know if my son is gifted. He is just way beyond his peers because he has had 2 years of learning already. He is reading a lot at home. We are doing "science projects", we stimulate his thinking, he is playing violin and will start tennis again soon. We swap between reading English books and Norwegian books. He reads the newspaper eagerly. I am just hoping it is enough. That he doesnt end up relaxing through school and dont get used to working. And, then, in a year or two when his schoolfriends catch up, he will be stuffed, because he is out of the habit of applying himself in school.

[Piffle]

ds1 has always been 1-2 yrs ahead (he now is 14)
We diverted him outside of school. School like yours were very much he should learn this (chip kipper book) when he was already storming through harry potter and chronicles of narnia
So essentially we ignored played lip service to school and pretended

[QuintessentialShadows]

Harry Potter is a good idea. I think I have one somewhere, I guess I should start him on it in English, as he has a much broader English vocabulary?

[QuintessentialShadows]

Or is 6 too young for Harry Potter?

[robinpud]

Interesting one. I went to meet about teaching children in their second language last week and the advice was to teach to their cognitive ability rather than their grasp of the language if that makes sense.
Are the school under estimating his cognitive ability because he is new to Norwegian?

My son went to Oz after a term in Year 1 and spent it cruising as he was so academically ahead of them thanks to our crapola way of starting education so early.HOWEVBER he made massive progress socially becuase the relative lack of academic pressure allowed him the space to concentrate, albeit subconsciously , on playing am making friends and working out how life was lived over there.

I think you may have come up against a less than creative teacher. There are plenty of ways to challenge a child with your son's abilities without needing to be in the slightest bit formal.

If I were you I would talk to the Head again and explain your anxieties. I would also consider what it is about the Norwegian education system , that despite starting children FAR later into formal education than we do, produces results for 15 year olds that FAR exceed ours. Can you see where it is all going to fall into place- can you see how he will be stretched in the future. If you can, then hang on in tre and wait it out, but give him plenty of chances to develop socially, physically etc If you can't do that, then maybe an international school might be an option.

Try things like chess, complex construction kits, using digital media to make movies etc- things to stretch him creatively.

sorry, it's a bit rambling, but is he unhappy.. or is he being an extra bit of childhood?

[robinpud]

god should really preview.

Last bit should have said " is he unhappy, or is he going to relish a little bit longer of unfetttered childhood?"

[QuintessentialShadows]

Very interesting robinpud.

He is building complex lego sets for age 14.
He is making "technical drawings" and instructions how to build things, and frame by frame explanations of things, such as recycling. He is an odd one. ...
He is making stock motion animation pictures using toys such as his brothers WallE, and his own lego figures, either with his dads webcam, or my digital camera. He is currently building an airport with planes, luggage carts, terminal, from no instructions what so ever, as he is just using the pieces from countless lego sets that has been built, and pulled apart.

He is very happy in school. He has never had as many friends as now. He is more physically active than he ever was. He is really good at terrain cycling now, and will shoot up and down hills, with mud, rocks, roots from trees, without getting dirty, and now he can even jump his bike as it slides, to avoid getting hurt. He climbes trees, rocks, jumps from great heights, he has lost the fear he had from a "playground life" in London. He loves fishing, and has developed a mean hand at flyfishing....

Maybe you are right. Maybe I should just leave it. He has developed so well the last 6 months, and is really doing fantastic. He is also near fluent in Norwegian.

[madness]

Is there no way they would move him up a class.
I had just started school in one country when I moved to Oslo where "my age" children where still in kindergarten. I was nevertheless able to continue school despite the fact that the children in my Norwegian class were 2 years older than me.

[QuintessentialShadows]

I am going to have to consider pushing for that. Seing as he is already in a mixed class, I originally thought he would learn the year 2 curriculum, and now this is not happening. They say it is for social reasons, but how can it be, when they are in the same class anyway, and most of his friends are in year 2 as those are the children he met and made friends with last year. I just dont get it.

[madness]

o, how doed he manage that "not getting dirty", can I send ds?

[QuintessentialShadows]

he jumps, sideways off bike, as it falls.

[QuintessentialShadows]

so, out of curiousity, are you still in norway?