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I have an eight year old. She likes to swim and be in water as much as we can allow her to.

We her parents are not swimmers and dont have much background/ knowledge on swimming or any sport as such. Looking at her stamina and interest I put her in competitive swim practice club, and so far these are her best times after six months of hard work:

25 Free: 18 sec

25 breast/back~~ 22 sec

25 butterfly: 29 sec- She has not practised these much yet.

She is determined to work hard. We are determined to support her. I still want to know if this is good time for her age and if she can dream about swimming in Olympics.

I read only top two swimmers from a country go in Olympics. Can she go in Junior Olympics? With such times can they swim in any group events? Will this effort pay her?

I have questions related to gold investments. In USA is it possible to get loan based on physical gold coins. In India banks give loan on very low interest keeping the Gold coins. Second question , Is it possible to invest in Gold like we do ETF Gold in India. In that case we deposit cash and we can convert it to physical gold when we need. The cash increases same way as Gold.

I want to know when can a child learn to do addition with carry and subtraction with borrow. I have an almost five year old. Her teacher is teaching her these at preschool. I thought it is early. My daughter is learning this but I don't see these concepts in early elementary Math books. It is Montessori based preschool and my daughter's 3rd year there.

I was wondering what is the approximate age when children start writing sentences?

My daughter who is 50 months just started writing sentences on her own. She writes sentences like 'I love school' 'I like school' 'I love mom dad' etc.

She brings home few words everyday written in her own handwriting. She goes to montessori preschool. Writes words like butterfly, chair etc.

I thought she should actually practice writing words more before begin to write sentences but apparently she is extremely interested in framing and writing the sentences. How do I encourage her?

I also have a separate question. How do we determine the reading level? I know it is too early but she seems to be at pretty advance level.

She can read the spelling word list meant for Grade4 at SuperTeahcerworksheets.com. She can read very quickly if spelling list is grade 3 and under in general. She started speaking very clearly since 18 months. She can spell few words in her brain if they are completely phonetic like frog, pond etc. Words like 'stone'.. she will miss last letter e at times. She has a lot of interest in learning things and is extremely curious about everything around her.

I was wondering what is the approximate age when children start writing sentences?

My daughter who is 50 months just started writing sentences on her own. She writes sentences like 'I love school' 'I like school' 'I love mom dad' etc.

She brings home few words everyday written in her own handwriting. She goes to montessori preschool. Writes words like butterfly, chair etc.

I thought she should actually practice writing words more before begin to write sentences but apparently she is extremely interested in framing and writing the sentences. How do I encourage her?

I also have a separate question. How do we determine the reading level? I know it is too early but she seems to be at pretty advance level.

She can read the spelling word list meant for Grade4 at SuperTeahcerworksheets.com. She can read very quickly if spelling list is grade 3 and under in general. She started speaking very clearly since 18 months. She can spell few words in her brain if they are completely phonetic like frog, pond etc. Words like 'stone'.. she will miss last letter e at times. She has a lot of interest in learning things and is extremely curious about everything around her.

My four year two months old can read very well. She has been reading since she was three. Now she can read small chapter books, picture books like Frog and Toad, Mouse Tales, Napping house etc. She can read books up to level 2nd grade quite easily. The only problem is she does not pick up a spot and book to read by herself. She needs someone to listen to.My elder daughter started reading at 4 but was able to read by herself very quickly. My younger one has been reading since long but has not yet developed a love for it. She is somehow very sensitive towards sound and picked up reading by listening as I used to read her a lot since she was a baby. She is very mature and I don't think it is her age which is responsible for her to not spend much time alone reading. She has not watched TV so far... Hardly few minutes couple times. Though my elder daughter and even we watch a lot of TV. No interest in TV is fine but lack of interest in reading books surprises me. Her preschool teacher has told me that she is the most advance kid in the class(it may be even in whole school- 200 preschoolers) but I want her to be able to enjoy the books on her own. What do I do? Will it come naturally with time? Also one more thing, though her reading level is grade 2 but her understanding level is much more advance. Usually kids read phonetically and even if they can read sometimes they can't comprehend it. With her the problem is quire reversed. She can not read a very complex sentence but if I read she can explain the meaning. She will go to Kindergarten (public school) after 1.5 years from now. I have no idea what will be her level by that time. She can swim with board, can copy alphabets of any language and can draw fine pictures..

Looking for Private KG for 4 year 9 months old 2011-2012 year

Is there any private school in Rockville, MD area accepting children in Kindergarten who are Dec end born.

I know the cutoff in MD is Sep 1. My daughter is Dec 21 born. She will be 4 year 9 months on Sep 1 of 2011.

I am exploring some school who can accept her in kindergarten for her for next year.

I do not mind if she has to repeat the Kindergarten is 2012 at public school because I have experienced that they do have arrangement to keep kids occupied with their level of interest and they do promote in next class if found necessary.

My daughter will be turning 4 after 3 weeks. She seems to be ready for Kindergarten including all aspects even now. She has been attending Montessori school since last 1.5 year. She is very mature, sensible and really has gifts from God. She is in general ready in other things more than academics. I can not describe those things but I can do for academics. In academics she can read and comprehend like a first grader now, counts beyond 100, writes easily up to 50.. adds one digits mentally. Solves easy comprehensions. She was able to read picture books before she turned 3. She plays and enjoys her montessori preschool very much but the fact that she herself says that she wants to do harder work bothers me. It will be same class next year too. I have inquired several school but no one will accept her Kindergarten next year. Thus she has two full year to go to kindergarten. What exactly I should do so that I feel her time is being utilized well. She goes for swimming. And has another class for her mother tongue as well. I don't want to put her in any other extra activities but was looking something she can do at her school day itself which is long and not that productive. She is somehow very different than usual kids. Her sleep is substantially less. She goes to bed very late and wakes up fresh every day.

Will anyone accept her in KG at least next year?

My almost four year old has just started reading.

She can read quite well but her reading span is not very good which may be due to her age. I need help in finding good books for her. She prefers to read story books so all usual picture books (Like Wonder book series or Beginner Books etc) are not very helpful. She wants the flow and story in one book. Like small chapter books, with some pictures, some text and a complete story. Does anyone have any such list of books?

I do a lot of research on books of children age. I do go to library also quite often. I still need help.

Mu daughter is 3 year 8 months. I think she is very advance per her age. I will send her to public school when she is eligible. So far she goes to Private Montessori. I am a working mom with 12 hour work schedule including commute so I am not able to spend much time with her.

She knows counting 1-100 and little beyond. She can read small picture books (like, Spot books). She can draw pictures of living and nonliving things. Can write numbers 1-100 by copying, 1-30 without looking anywhere.. All alphabets. She could color very well within lines since she was 2. She was out of diaper (during day) when she was 20 months. She knows the taste differences (like 2% milk and whole milk) and also knows the similarities between taste like Raisin and Grapes taste similar etc since she was very young. She is able to read my mind at times. I feel, I have a unique child but I don't spend much time with her. After hectic work schedule whatever time is left I have to pay some attention to my elder one who is in 3rd grade. She could talk very well at age 18 months. By age 2 any one could understand. She speaks two languages fluently. She learnt swimming with a board in just few lessons. If I allow her she can swim in deep water.

She is so alert that in the middle of the night also , if I wake her up and ask her a question not only she answers she will also ask more logical questions. She holds pencils so well that my elder one could not hold at age 5. (I know I don’t have to compare… )with my little one it is so stable. If she has not done something before, she gets scared and does not attempt easily but after she does attempt she does that over and over to get better on her own… She always wakes up fresh even if she slept very less. Now few other things Strange.. (I don’t know the reason of those)

1. She is extremely sensitive to sound. (Can differentiate the sounds too)

2. If she has a choice she prefers adults over children to play with

3. Things she is scared of like Fire, Police, Beasts, Trash etc she wants to see pictures of those again and again

I want to know at what age we can get the IQ test? Do we have a direct advantage of those tests? Do above things really sound like something gifted or she is really old enough now to do these? What kinds of activities I should put her into? Also can I run certain tests at my home to test her IQ? Do we need to make special arrangement for her school? I just want to do my best as a parent?

I have an eight year old. She has very good spelling and vocabulary and is really reading at Middle grade level since she was seven only. Her grades are always outstanding in school. Her teachers always say good things about her language skills. I started taking her to educational spelling bee/vocabulary contest since last year. She did very well in the beginning. Recently last 2-3 times, she does everything correct in written rounds but I think she gets nervous in front of audience and does some mistakes in spelling or picks the incorrect meaning in vocabulary out of confusion. I do encourage her a lot but may be once I was not that understanding and said that you did not prepare well or so. I think that has impacted her and she gets more nervous just because she thinks that parents would be disappointed. Or may be due to stage fright. Now I just want her to overcome this fear of audience and nothing else. I can stop signing her for these contests as these are always optional but that will probably not give her a right message. I keep encouraging her and always admire her for being so good at language but I see that she is losing her confidence too. I also feel that her level is not going up. Any idea what we should be doing? At the end all I want is her happiness. I did scold her at one time for her careless mistakes but that was something so that she can pay right attention when it is needed. I also feel that I should not be watching such contests where she is on stage, will that help? Please advise.

I have a Bachelor degree in computer science and engineering(1995). I used to be a software developers till 2001. Lately I stopped coding and moved to Business Analysis field. I however always wanted to switch back to development and source coding. I am currently getting an opportunity to do so in addition to my current job.But I am nervous as I have not done any coding since

last nine years except writing some pl/sql queries for testing and analysis. Could you please suggest what I should do? Any recommendation on text books to learn coding Pl/sql with latest technologies?

My daughter is almost 3.4 years. She can read books now. Books like 'Are you my mother' 'Hand hand ... Dum Ditty dum' etc.

Part of it is from memorization too.But she can read now. Also if she can not read a book on her own, then if we read the book to her just once she can read it next time. She has a very good common sense of vocabulary and sentences. I started reading to her when she was about six months and I read to her everyday. I sometimes do it for 5 min only though.But the main thing is she still does not want to read by herself even for short time. All she wants is 'me doing all reading' and 'She listening'. I know we should not be forcing her too much... but it is so much delight to hear her reading that I want to encourage her. Her teachers also say that even if she can do it, she hesitates and does not have enough confidence.

Please advise how to encourage her to be more confident. She does want to read sometimes when she is really really excited.

From those instances only we figured out that she can actually read.

My daughter is about eight year old. She is very good at spelling and vocabulary. She has immense interest in reading. She enjoys reading a lot. Her reading level is clearly upto middle grade whilie she is just in grade 2. Not only she can read at that level, she can solve language puzzles, crosswords, do workbooks at the same level. She can write a good comprehension without any spelling mistakes. She even has interest writing books.She can read book and also write a letter to author what she liked about the book and what she recommends to make it more interesting (her own view).

I think she has potential to participate and also win at National Scripps Bee. How can I find a good coach for her. English is not our major and is also a second language for us (parents).

I have a 3.25 year old. She picks up new words, new concepts, new games very fast and does not forget. Also she does not want to repeat the things. Like she knows 'How to write numbers from 1 to 20' did write few times but now does not want to. She is really forcing me to work with her on her academics and she is really highly interested. I want to know the drawbacks of doing such things early. I want to know why we should not give worksheets to young children. I know we should not give those coloring books as that affect their imagination so I do take care of it and give her plane paper only. She draws freehand pictures. I keep all different varieties of markers, papers, colors, whiteboards, boards etc. Sometimes she does ask for coloring books and colors with all different colors which at the end looks like have been colored by her elder sister who is almost 8.I did not want to push her and have really ignored her interest in academics so far. She also had phases when she showed less interest for and I was relaxed. These days she is really into learning addition and if I don't teach her she will probably struggle and learn anyways. What are the other things we can do with her? We already used toys, dolls etc to teach her additions and she has the concept. I think she can work on worksheets but I do not want to rush it and have any negative effect in long run. So thought of asking this. She can read simple words and has been knowing letter sounds since she was 2.

My 3.5 year old can count upto 25 without any assistance and upto 100 plus with some help. She also knows one-to-one correspondence. Like 14 is 14 and 17 is 17. If there are 18 butterflies she will count 18 only. She has started to get some concept of additions too. I was wondering what actually is the next step.. Should I let her understand the numbers upto 100 first or should I help her with additions. She really has lot of interest in numbers but I don’t want to push her. She can write from 1 to 20 on her own. She has a lot of interest in writing too but I want to know if kids at this age do writing can it spoil their handwriting in future as their muscles are weak at this time.Though I don’t give pencil that often.. She writes with markers and crayons.. I have a second grader at home. My first one did not do any of such things before she turned four.

My 3.5 year old can count upto 25 without any assistance and upto 100 plus with some help. She also knows one-to-one correspondence. Like 14 is 14 and 17 is 17. If there are 18 butterflies she will count 18 only. She has started to get some concept of additions too. I was wondering what actually is the next step.. Should I let her understand the numbers upto 100 first or should I help her with additions. She really has lot of interest in numbers but I don’t want to push her. She can write from 1 to 20 on her own. She has a lot of interest in writing too but I want to know if kids at this age do writing can it spoil their handwriting in future as their muscles are weak at this time.Though I don’t give pencil that often.. She writes with markers and crayons.. I have a second grader at home. My first one did not do any of such things before she turned four.

I am looking for some workbooks for elementary/middle schools. Something like Mental Math, Logical Reasoning questions.

Please help.

My 7 year old has been learning Piano since she was four. She can do a bit of sightreading and can play at beginner/inetrmediate level. Can someone tell me some places from where I can get Hindi(Bollywood) songs music so that she can read and play and we can enjoy more and really figure out where she stands.

We can purchase it or anything available for free (website) will be great help too.

I know knitting. I have lots of old clothes at my home. I want to use those to knit rugs at my home.

I do not know crochet. Is there anyway I can learn making beautiful rugs out of knitting without crochet?

I have a 33 months old. She can trace all letters, numbers. Can writes few letters.

She knows all letter sounds etc. She can count till 10 and sometimes beyond.

She can make few pictures like monster, house, sun etc.

I think she is smart per age. But I also think that she has not learnt anything in last six months.

She has been knowing the letter sounds since she was 22 months. Since then she is not able to

join the sounds and form a word. The most important part is, I am not sure from where she has

learnt these sounds as I don't think I ever taught her this. She has some likes and dislikes

about books also. She does not want me to read books from where she can learn the phonics.

She prefers stories (even long) over big picture(with few texts) books. Since she has been knowing few things since long ,

I want her to be able to join the sounds and put them together. I think I am not able to do it in a

right way. Is that the reason she is not picking? Is it because she is so young?

On the other hand she has not gained any weight also in last six months. May be she has gained 0.5 inch of height.

I don't think there is absolutely anything in learning part. She was toilet trained before itself, she was knowing all these academics etc since long. I sometimes feel that there is something not right.

There is a difference in my routine. Earlier I was working next to my home and now I am spending 3 hours on road. That gives me some less time with her. It has cut down the time I used to spend with her every morning.

Any suggestions?