Oooh do you think it would count as a publication?!! 'The Rebels Hand-book', could look good on the old CV :P

Kind of, I learnt to speak and to read relatively soon and started to write poems at 4. However my parents never wanted me to be placed ahead in my group at school and they encouraged me to go and play with other children although I would have preferred to stay at home reading or composing music. Even more - before I started school I insistently told them to teach me to read but although they could have done it (they are both primary teachers) they refused because they thought I should just play around like any other child. I think they made quite a wise choice however.

The teachers at my primary school were quite critical of my mother for teaching me to read before I went to school; but I don't understand why. It was a massive help being able to read at a young age. There seems to be an argument about that still: teachers want to introduce some form of
phonetic reading, or something, and don't want parents "interfering" in that by teaching kids to read before school.

Anything but. I was a mediocre child then went loopy at 15 years of age and left school with next to no qualifications!! Got married and had a family whilst young then thought I had better get my act together and did an access course which actually shown I was quite bright much to my surprise. I do know my IQ but am embarressed by it so won't reveal *blush*
Don't think my brain capacity will change the world though!! My eldest 3 kids all do ok and I do think my twins are very bright and will be trying to channel their talents as far as possible...but no way to an extent like some of the parents on the TV were!!!

it's called 'synthetic phonics', juno, and it's a really successful strategy, but any experienced teacher will tell you that it's best used in conjunction with other methods (English isn't a phonetic language - all the rules have exceptions).

I think the main thing is that kids are taught to love books and read them for the immense pleasure they can bring. Sharing a book with even the youngest child is magic, and if they see adults reading then they are having good habits modelled to them as well.

found a short article to explain more eloquently than I am able (for you juno )

http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/5to14/specialfocus/earlyintervention/issues/phonics.asp

Thanks Insomniac; quite interesting. Strangely it put me in mind of Chinese language with their ideopgrams or pictograms or whatever they're called; quite a similar concept to phonics? Or maybe I misunderstood it (quite likely)

I was good at maths. i dont know why as I cant add up at all now!

I heard from a friend that there has been a load of tabloid press about the wierdo family & someone who interviewed them said they really are woo woo.
Both parents have "other" kids from earlier relationships which they have abandoned.

So true, childhood ability so often levels out later. I swear I got dumber with age instead of the other way round. Far better if we'd all started at the bottom and spent life being pleasantly surprised. As it is I think I peaked at about 11 :S

I was thought of as a gifted child by my family because my dad taught me my timestables and i had a strange fascination with dinosaurs, and this amazing display of genius was confirmed by passing the elevan plus and being the only kid on the estate without any offences and/or a heroine problem. Sadly reality hit home as pubity took hold of me and education looked dull. But, if at first you fail- reassess success and settle for a comfortable mediocre existance

I learnt to read very early on and had managed two or three hundred books aimed at teenagers by age books with ease by age 6. I had read a lot of 'classics' by the age of 11 - even if I hadn't appreciated the finer points of the prose! lol

On the flip side - my GCSE teacher in Year 10 said I should be lucky to pass. A number of years later, and my PhD has a large historical element to it!