Getting Real With Shadra Bruce
My son, Parker, is 12 years old. He just finished 7th grade, having started kindergarten a year early. Academically, he’s continued to remain ahead of the majority of his peers. He received high 90s on all of his finals without even cracking a book.
Parker can do algebra and trigonometry, but he can’t tie his own shoes, opting instead for velcro (which are difficult to find in a 10-1/2 wide). He can read well beyond his level and analyze literature better than most high schoolers, but still has trouble using scissors effectively. (He never learned how because when they were teaching it in kindergarten, his four-year old fingers just did not have the fine motor skills necessary to be able to grasp the concept.)
The connection between the development of motor skills and cognitive ability is very strong, and that only makes having an academically gifted child more challenging, because you’re always having to balance between academic acceleration and sometimes slow progress with physical skills. Over the years, as Parker’s fine motor skills developed, we’ve seen growth in his maturity.
Before his newly developed tween ‘tude that surfaced this year, summers were agonizing for Parker. He loved being at school, focused on academics. When he was younger, we often had to remind him it was OK to be a little boy and just spend time playing. He would have rather played school and do math workbooks. We’ve had to balance carefully his obsession with learning and his need to devel0p fine and gross motor skills by learning to ride a bike, playing ball, and running. We’ve also had to help him with socialization.
If you have a gifted child, it’s absolutely a great idea to encourage their curiosity and academic growth. I also think it’s important to foster creativity. Writing stories, imagination play, reading and talking about the books we read are all important ways to make your little thinker expand his or her views. But it’s also good to keep the following thoughts in mind:
- Children need to run to learn balance and coordination.
- Children need to practice tying shoes, threading beads, and other similar activities to improve fine motor skills.
- Children need to climb, skip, hop, and jump rope. Not only does physical activity ward off obesity and teaches them to be active in life, but it improves their motor skills and mental abilities as well.
- Organized sports such as soccer, T-ball, and basketball help with motor skills and social skills and can be very beneficial.
