Let me begin this post by saying that I have {so far} 2 completely “typical” children. I don’t believe either are academically gifted, although they are not challenged academically either. I have good ol’ normal school boys, and I love them just the way they are!
So, what is an advanced tot?
Recently I have noticed a few and they sparked my desire to share some insight about this {along with a few emails I have received about this topic}. As always, these are just my opinions and are in no way correct in the grand scheme of things, just my opinions…feel free to completely ignore me!
I have watched little Nathan grow up through Tot School since he was 15 months old. Here is his very first Tot School post. Nathan is now 2 1/2 and is blowing my mind with what he is able to do. Nathan is what I would call, an advanced tot. You’ll see why below!
I don’t believe there are guarantees that advanced tots will always be advanced academically, it is often too early to tell. Many children will all catch up to about the same level academically by about 2nd or 3rd grade {when taught well}.
I am NOT a fan of comparing children, but I do think it is beneficial to notice differences if it can help us better adapt our own homeschools for our young children. What was right for Krash, certainly would not be right for Nathan at this point. I say this to help you feel OK with the fact that your tot will probably not be mastering skills at the same rate as any other tot, they are all different. This is why I say STAGES are much more important than AGES with the younger ones. Exposure is key, not mastery…but what do you do if your tot masters things earlier than the rest?
So, why do I believe Nathan is an advanced tot? Check out these photos below, and I will also share what I believe is a bit more typical for the same age {based on my experience as a mother and as an early childhood educator}
- Here Nathan drew specific items with chalk {age 29 months}, which his Mom labels for you here on her blog,
More typically I believe this stage occurs closer to age 3. Not a huge difference, but if I just compare my boys to Nathan, Pac Man didn’t begin drawing with purpose until over 3, and Krash didn’t begin until closer to age 4! Obviously there is a wide range of what would be considered normal, and they all fall in that range.
- Nathan also writes letters {age 29 months also}…
More typically, this is a late preschool, early Kindergarten skill. Krash at age 4 is just now beginning to learn to write letters and still doesn’t write any on his own.
- Here Nathan {age 29 months} drew and A for Apple inside of his apple on a coloring worksheet ;-). You can read more here.
I’d be lucky to get Krash to even color the apple, let alone identify a beginning sound and write the letter on his own!!!!
- Here Nathan {at age 27 months} is sorting by shape and sequencing by size, using the exact toy we own!
Krash didn’t master this toy until closer to age 4, this is one that most children would probably master younger than Krash did, but probably not quite as early as Nathan did {unless you also have an advanced tot}.
Those are just a few examples, if you browse through all of his Tot School posts, you’ll see different examples also. Now, it is common for girls to be a bit more advanced than boys {typically, not always}, so many of you with girls may be at or even beyond Nathan’s abilities! Nathan is a very advanced tot in general, another example I know of is Alyssa from Tot Play. Rocker Tot from The Linton Academy is a bit older now, but he has always been advanced for his age too. I am sure there are many more out there. Those are just a few I have noticed.
So what should you do with an advanced tot, if you have one?
- Go with the flow!!!!
- Keep doing exactly what you have been doing, following your child’s lead.
- You don’t necessarily need to do anything differently regarding the format of Tot School, just keep things engaging, fun, and reasonably challenging.
If you need a refresher about what I believe regarding teaching tots, you can read a portion of an eBook I am writing here. I don’t plan to release this book for a long time {lack of time to actually finish it is the problem}, but will release portions if I feel it would be helpful along the way.
I think it’s important to move along with the academic growth of your child, while also being sure to not push too hard. It is a beautiful thing when a young tot enjoys learning {those of us with more resistant tots are really jealous, just so you know}, the worst thing we as parents can do is to squash their zeal for learning. It is a delicate balance ~ challenging our young children, while not pushing them to the point of frustration.
PBS Kids Child Development Tracker-is a great site for information regarding child development. I compared Nathan to many of their stats and found that he is indeed, advanced for his age ;-). I think it is the best site that I have found-meaning it’s both concise, helpful, and easy to read/navigate.
A special thanks to Nathan’s mom Katie for allowing me to use her precious son as my example for this post! You can visit her blog, Wilson Ramblings, here.
Edited to Add ~ Here are two other posts that might be helpful {these were written after this post, about my daughter, Ladybug who ended up being a bit more of an advanced tot than my boys were}
