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Gifted and talented

Is this advanced, and if so, what activities will keep him entertained?

9 replies

polishthisturd · 25/03/2013 15:17

I've been directed here from the Behaviour/Development board as I posted there originally, looking for activities for my 2 year old. I have absolutely no idea if he is G&T as I come into contact with no other children except those we see at play groups. It's probably too early to tell anyway, but whether he is or isn't I'd still like some ideas for games and things that are a bit less dull (for him and me!) than puzzles or matching games! Haha!

I put this list up of things he can do in my original post so I'll just paste it here :

So far he :

  • Knows all the basic colours
  • Knows all the basic shapes
  • Knows all the days of the week
  • Knows his address
  • Knows the names and ages of close and extended family members
  • Can understand familial relationships (ie knows that his Nan is my mother and his uncle is my brother)
  • Can identify all letters except Q which he thinks is O, and tell you a word beginning with each letter
  • Can identify numbers up to 10, count to 20 and can tell you the amount of something you are holding (he counts by pointing)
  • Knows what denomination of pound note you are holding
  • Understands the concept of time, ie asks me what time it is, as 2pm is roughly nap time, 4pm is pick up daddy time, 10am is playgroup etc
  • Can hold a full conversation
  • Can sing Incy Wincy Spider/Baa Baa Black Sheep/Twinkle Twinkle/Happy Birthday/Candy by Robbie Williams

    Yesterday he called his dad from my phone on his own (ie found his name in the address book and pressed call) and said "Hello Dad, its me!"

    We read to him every night already and play I spy, talk about things on the road and road signs etc as we walk etc but any idea's for activities would be great!
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polishthisturd · 25/03/2013 15:24

When I say names and ages of close and extended family members, I mean he knows his grandparents and great grandparents real first names, not just calling them Nanny & Grandad! I realise most kids can do that one! Haha!

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FriendlyLadybird · 25/03/2013 21:57

I can't comment on whether he's advanced or not, as what someone knows depends to a very great extent on what they have been taught or had the opportunity to learn.

From this list, it looks as though you set quite a lot of store by knowing. Perhaps you are an analytic, knowing type yourself. If so, do you provide much space for creative play? Dressing up, role-play, messing around with paint and clay (not that I'd blame you if you didn't give him many opportunities for this), cooking? This last is perhaps not going to be very creative at 2, but it's a different sort of activity. My DS loved playing with water at that age -- he'd spend ages pouring things from one container to another, swishing water fast and slow and in different directions. This graduated into potion making with different colours and types of liquid ... until I couldn't face it any more!

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soontobeslendergirl · 25/03/2013 22:07

Lego or similar type of bricks where he can make things and understand how they work rather than just being able to learn facts and figures etc would maybe stretch him a bit. We also used to do jigsaws without the picture - No1 son liked to do them back to front i.e. with no picture - he enjoyed just seeing how the shapes fitted together. Dominos is good as it teaches them strategy rather than simply matching. You could do simple science stuff - lava lamps etc. or maybe music.

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BlissfullyIgnorant · 25/03/2013 22:14

Lego
Colouring books
Dot to dot
Card games (not poker)
'Kitchen science'

Check in with HV, too. DS was average for 4 at 18 months check up. She will be glad to advise.

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mercibucket · 25/03/2013 22:26

Lots of work on social skills and sports. Huge amounts of time playing outside, work on catching skills for instance, also fine motor skills with drawing and painting. Does he socialise well with other children? He sounds v sweet.

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mercibucket · 25/03/2013 22:26

Lots of work on social skills and sports. Huge amounts of time playing outside, work on catching skills for instance, also fine motor skills with drawing and painting. Does he socialise well with other children? He sounds v sweet.

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Snoopingforsoup · 26/03/2013 11:02

We used to fill time playing the guessing game, where I would be a character and he would have to guess who I was by asking questions. We'd then reverse it and he would be a character and I'd guess who he was.
We filled our commute to work and nursery with this game when he was between 2 and 4 years old. We both had to get more creative with our characters and questions.
Even now, he's 9 and we still play it on long journeys.

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ItsOkayItsJustMyBreath · 29/03/2013 23:46

I think it is important to ensure children are given the opportunity to experience differing activities, not just what we would deem 'educational' ones. My ds is also just 2 and at his 2 year check up I was told I would need to ask schools how they would deal with his abilities as he is apparently reaching targets aimed for reception age children. I have no idea how she can claim this after meeting him for 20 mins but there you go!

Things ds likes doing are:

Creating very long and detailed scenarios with his Postman Pat toys, almost like little plays.

Finding numbers and letters everywhere, seriously, he found a number 7 in a floorboard the other week Confused. It's quite a good game when you're out in town and there are lots of busses and billboards.

Playing 'Casualty', a game that came about because of his tendency to be a drama queen with minor bumps. He now knows how to call for help and what to say in an emergency.

Practising getting dressed and undressed, he loves taking clothes off more obviously Hmm

We do a lot of baking, he's not that interested but likes to play with the cake cases and eat the ingredients etc and just watch.

Hide and seek with his toys.

Um, I'm sure there are lots of other things.

Have fun and don't worry about it, I just want to encourage ds' sense of inquisitiveness as I think that's the key to learning.

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mamij · 04/04/2013 19:58

Charade for kids might be good to explore.

Playdoh, painting, drawing, colouring books.

Trampoline and outdoor activities. Maybe a little golf set?

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