Hoff is such a charming boy. Turning 5. His lips ready to smile and so do his little eyes. Whenever walking close and leaning forward to speak to me, his eyes capture my attention in split seconds and locks my mind in his. Space lost. Only his words. Heard.
He insists, "Don't need breaks." He is so sure that he could keep on doing the math problems, one after another. From numerical and rational numbers to operation, then measurement, estimation. He actually misses some items especially in areas that expect one to have practical experience in daily life context like money, time and travels etc etc. The point is that his understanding of mathematical reasoning comes from within, not tortured.
He keeps telling me that he knows only plus and minus. But then he can actually work out "how many legs that 4 donkeys have" and then each child takes 6 pieces of chocolate of there are 18 pieces for 3 children to fair share. He wants me to know that he really loves chocolate and each time he wants more than just 3 pieces.
It's always hard to predict the next surprise from these super evolved young people. When i ask him to work out 3 times 7, he says that he likes doing 3 times 9 (rather than 3 times 7) as 9 is his favorite number. Eventually, he gets 27 and minuses one 3 and then two 3.
The fact is, Hoff's performance is equivalent to a 8 year 3 month old and the results earn him the eligibility to do the talented youth math program (run by the Johns Hopkins University since the 70s). I hope he finds this program enjoyable and free to express his passion for learning.
To be honest, the assessment results would not be a big surprise to me. I can tell that Hoff is exceptional in many aspects, probably beyond our imagination.
During the math assessment, I point to a picture and ask Hoff what season it is. With complete confidence, he bets that his mom and dad can tell the answer. He suggests me to check it out. He is so cute.
He insists, "Don't need breaks." He is so sure that he could keep on doing the math problems, one after another. From numerical and rational numbers to operation, then measurement, estimation. He actually misses some items especially in areas that expect one to have practical experience in daily life context like money, time and travels etc etc. The point is that his understanding of mathematical reasoning comes from within, not tortured.
He keeps telling me that he knows only plus and minus. But then he can actually work out "how many legs that 4 donkeys have" and then each child takes 6 pieces of chocolate of there are 18 pieces for 3 children to fair share. He wants me to know that he really loves chocolate and each time he wants more than just 3 pieces.
It's always hard to predict the next surprise from these super evolved young people. When i ask him to work out 3 times 7, he says that he likes doing 3 times 9 (rather than 3 times 7) as 9 is his favorite number. Eventually, he gets 27 and minuses one 3 and then two 3.
The fact is, Hoff's performance is equivalent to a 8 year 3 month old and the results earn him the eligibility to do the talented youth math program (run by the Johns Hopkins University since the 70s). I hope he finds this program enjoyable and free to express his passion for learning.
To be honest, the assessment results would not be a big surprise to me. I can tell that Hoff is exceptional in many aspects, probably beyond our imagination.
During the math assessment, I point to a picture and ask Hoff what season it is. With complete confidence, he bets that his mom and dad can tell the answer. He suggests me to check it out. He is so cute.
