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This Is Incredible.....

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10ClarionSt | 01:16 Fri 22nd Mar 2019 | ChatterBank
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....almost unbelievable. It's about my 4yr old grandson. Now I know everyone thinks their grandkids are wonderful, lovable etc. But this amazes me. He is able to tell you what any number is. If you were to write, say,
4,232,350 he would straight away tell you it's four million two hundred and thirty two thousand, three hundred and fifty. He is able to do 1st yr Senior School arithmetic, ie, addition, multiplication, division and subtraction. He is in pre-school nursery where his teachers are absolutely amazed and dumbfounded at his ability with numbers. His mum and dad have no idea where he gets this from. He also knows the full alphabet and can write short sentences. His parents (and us, his grandparents) are just as baffled as his teachers. When you ask him how he knows these things, he says he's read them. How can that be for a 4yr old? He recognizes and can say, huge numbers in the millions. I'm not making this up folks, honest! It's spooky. It's as though he's been implanted with this from somewhere, like Flight of The Navigator. I don't believe that for one second, but I wish we knew how he is able to do these things.
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Wow, that's amazing! Spooky and proud at the same time. Keep us posted! :-)
Precocious little so-and-so, isn't he?
;-)

(I'm sure that he's totally delighful really - and just as full of fun and mischief as any other 4-year-old).

My cousin was a bit like that. At the age of two-and-a-half he was reading stories (from books probably intended for 9 or 10-year-olds) out loud to me. Unlike the mechanical way that most small children read aloud, he was adding in all of the inflexions and nuances that an experienced story reader on Radio 4 would.
I'm also reminded of a tiny child I saw in Bratislava, playing chess on one of those giant chess sets you sometimes see in public spaces. He struggled to lift each piece (as they were nearly as big as he was) and, from such a low eye-level, he must have found it incredibly difficult to see the whole board at once.

However, in front of a large and appreciative crowd (who cheered his every move), he was wiping the floor with a succession of adult players.
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Thanks folks. Actually, from being able to talk, the first things he said were numbers. Not "dada" or "mama". And he loved going to the supermarket and shouting the aisle numbers and the prices. It really is strange, but remarkable. And we always ask the same question: Where does he get it from?
It's incredible, isn't it Chris? That ability must be there staright away and something must trigger it very early in some children. Thanks Patsy. If we find out where he gets it from, I'll let you know!
How wonderful, you're right they are a joy and constantly surprise and thrill you.

My eldest Grandson was similar with numbers , going so far as to invent his own numbering system at one point - quite fascinating.

Continue to enjoy him and encourage him.
While I might not have been as advanced as your grandson, I loved numbers (and everything to do with them) from a verey early age.

At around 8 years I would get my Dad to carry a notebook when we went into town, on the top deck of the bus, each Saturday morning. I'd point out each car we were passing and get him to write down the number part of the registration plate. When we got home I'd get him to test both my memory and my mental arithmetic by asking me questions like "What number do you get if you add together the numbers of the 3rd, 17th, 18th and 43rd cars we passed and then take away the sum of the numbers of the 11th, 21st and 52nd cars". I never got one wrong.

Annoyingly though, my memory (and my skill at chess) was never as good as a guy I met when I was teaching. He could play, and beat, ten members of the junior county team at once without ever seeing the boards. (He had his back turned to them).
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Thanks mama. Yes, he's great fun too!
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Now that IS incredible, Chris! :o)
Aren't out grandchildren wonderful!
There is a theory that we inherit knowledge via our genes. Genetic memory it’s called:
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/genetic-memory-how-we-know-things-we-never-learned/

His parents will have to make sure he’s kept ‘entertained’ in maths at school and there’s the dilemma between having him assessed so that he can have special educational allowances and him having the stigma of him being ‘special’ in a normal school. Teachers will have to be asked to keep an eye out for bullying.

Sorry, not trying to put a ‘downer’ on his rare ability but it’s not without its problems.
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Thanks Zacs. The thought had already occured to his parents. There is an element of jealousy already from his older sister, who keeps asking is she good at this?; good at that?. Is it as good a her brother? As you say, it could be a problem they don't want.
Smart little lad. A natural ability. Odd thing, the brain. :o)
Just remember gifted children can get special needs support now. He may get frustrated at school when it's just 'sums' and they might be able to get funding for a skill appropriate teacher.
Excellent! Perhaps he should telephone Mrs May,she also has a big problem he might be able to solve ;-)
You have every right to be proud of him.

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