how to challenge a 5 year old

Hey - managed to drag 3 DGC to local Nature Reserve today (yesterday!), under the pretext of going to the excellent adventure play area. Tricked them into a walk round the lodge, and up to the weir and was rewarded by their excitement when we spotted the local kingfisher. I discovered that the aforementioned 5 year old DGD had previously thought that a kingfisher was a fish and was looking for it under the water. When she saw it fly across the water she said in amazement, "A fish with wings!!" I don't think she'll ever forget that moment when she realised it was a bird. Neither will I!

We also watched the two swans with 6 'teenage' cygnets and identified moorhen, coots and mallards on the lake and 2 grey wagtails on the rocks on the river. They chatted with the camera carrying 'Twitchers' who were out in force and thoroughly enjoyed themselves before spending another hour 'exercising' in the play area. A great afternoon with the right kind of 'challenges' IMO!

Some very good comments here. But I just wanted to add that we should give all children the chance to develop their interests and aptitudes. They've all got them, very bright or not. What about late developers?
As some people have touched on.

sluttygran, you'll be delighted to learn that Child Genius is back - it seems to be on Channel 4 nearly every night next week. I agree that it's terrible...but I'll be sitting in front of every episode, with a face like this. There was one boy in the last series who'd put himself forward. He was a joy, and his parents were average parents who were just shell-shocked by the cuckoo in their nest!

I'm a great believer in boredom as a spur to expanding those fine minds. Leave them to their own devices for an afternoon and they'll develop a bit of creativity and find their own way to occupy themselves. In my opinion it does them a lot more good than having an adult hovering round thrusting endless activities at them.

It isn't about 'challenging" it is about using every opportunity to extend and develop knowledge and to realise that all play and every outing is a learning opportunity for a child. So you hold conversations about things and follow where the child leads. You can then extend that by providing things that support what the child was interested in. So child playing in garden notices birds or flowers, both can lead on to identifying different ones, looking them up in books, counting how many on different days, feeding birds, planting seeds, and so on. Introduce art and creative activities and make it even more interesting. Keep diaries, write stories. Children are like sponges the more you present them with the more they soak up. And none of it needs to be formal.

Talk, talk, talk! Introduce new words. And encourage her to investigate anything she is interested in. GS1 often surprises me when he remembers things we talked about years ago

Rather than giving a child challenges devised by an adult I'd like to see them investigating the world around them, exploring and setting their own challenges. So many children are dependent on adults finding them things to do and then doing them with them that they have no initiative of their own. Adult dependent. Then they are lost in the classroom or even later at university when they have to motivate and organise themselves.
At school I once suggested to a six year old that he should fill in 5 minutes before lunch by looking at a book. "I can't" he said. "I haven't got my grownup."
Sorry about the lecture. I am a bit passionate about adults taking over childhood!

starbird just thinking about your post. My DGD's two siblings were very similar at her age but then their Mum bought them i pads and phones. Their enthusiasm for school has all but disappeared. They used to be avid readers and were always doing something, making things, writing stories, plays etc etc. Guess what is their only interest now? On the other hand if we can break through the moans and drag them out they love it eventually when we take them to the local woods, rivers, lake or somewhere, not that they like to admit it!! I would love to ban all technology but sadly I don't have the power. Their parents are not a great example.

The first few school reports are usually very positive, so lots of parents think they are rearing a child genius!
I think it's sad to hear of "academically gifted" 5 year olds. Just let them be children and explore the world around them.

Just to say - children do get very tired when they first start school and especially towards the end of the summer term, so attempts at 'challenging' or 'hothousing' during the summer holidays could be counter-productive.
Lots of fresh air and exercise is good!

At primary age my grandson was very good at maths - at home we played numbers games and he loved it, he was faster than me at multiplying long numbers in his head which I used to be very good at. He was top of the class, getting through tests so quickly he was allowed to leave the classroom and do something else, but then he got bored and then careless with it. Now at secondary school, his only interest is sport. He, along with the whole class, did go in for a Nationwide maths competition and he won a bronze medal - but when I looked into it this only means that he scored about 60% which was a grade C in my day. Thanks to computer games he does not have an enquiring mind which I think is the greatest gift of all.

I think my 5 year old DGD is extremely bright though I know I am biased. She did receive the 'Student of the Year' award from school this year in Reception Class however so I am not the only one!

She is an all rounder and is good academically and at art and craft. What she can do independently with cardboard boxes, felt tips and sellotape is amazing. She great at sports and PE as well, can dance and do the splits (which I never could!) She knows all the songs I have rehearsed in her hearing for my choir and many many more, and seems to remember any facts she is told. She has a great sense of humour and knows how to make people laugh. She cannot yet tell the time but I have one of those clocks with 12, 3, 6 and 9 only and dots in between and when asked what time it was she giggled, 'It's dot o'clock!' She arranged all her plastic and wooden cakes into a circle and announced it was 'Cakehenge'!

Not only that but she makes friends easily and is invited to lots of parties. This weekend I watched her holding hands and encouraging another tentative child she did not know to bounce at the Trampoline park.

No she's not perfect. She gets frustrated when things don't go her way, "The worst day ever!!" She can be sulky and stubborn (especially when she is hungry) and is fussy about what she wears sometimes, especially socks and tights that have bobbles and are uncomfortable!!

I just hope she eventually achieves her dream of being an artist or an architect!

Yes music is supposed to be very good, apparently it uses the same part of the brain as you use for maths.

Luckygirl
"Albert Einstein, Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison are usually at the top of the list of famous dyslexics. According to LD lore Einstein failed to talk until the age of four, the result of a language disability. It is also claimed that Einstein could not read until the age of nine." so the brains could have come from his mum.

Having been a TA for 30 years, I have always found the very bright ones didn't have much comment sense.
Think it's something that parents and grandparents should teach it's just as important as being bright and clever and funny too.

Morgana - introduce the child to music - suggest she play an instrument - this will level her and give her a life-long hobby she can turn to when academic gets to her.

Simple musical instruments - you can buy sets with several different types to try, although my DGD have enjoyed making their own with rice in plastic jars etc. etc - and then devising and putting on a show for us!

www.pinterest.co.uk/maestroclassics/homemade-musical-instruments/?lp=true

Simple sewing - DGD made some hand puppets out of kits and then does a show for us occasionally too.
www.amazon.co.uk/Jungle-Animal-Hand-Puppet-Sewing/dp/B005NICB0G/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1502115127&sr=8-3&keywords=puppet+making+kit&tag=gransnetforum-21

I remember going for a country walk with my DN when she was about 6. She had been given a children's book on identifying wild flowers etc and knew the names of every single one which we saw along the lanes. I don't think her parents pushed her in any direction, she just absorbed knowledge like a sponge.
Some places hold creative craft sessions for children in the holidays - my DGD have enjoyed going to these and really enjoy making cards, pictures, collages etc.

I look after 2 primary school aged grandchildren for a week of every school holidays and the favourite activity is the craft box. It has all the usual stuff - paper, pens, crayons, paper plates, paints, glue, string, old mags to cut up, pipe cleaners, stickers, a special writing book each, sticky tape, scissors etc. They write cards and letters, make books, create an art gallery each time (string blu tacked to the bookcases and art work held up with pegs), beads for jewellery etc. We take picnics to the local parks and playgrounds and at the end of the week they go home happy and I sink into a chair with a large glass of wine and a big smile.

I was reminded of that terrible program on TV - Child Genius, I think it was called. The poor children competing were all exceptionally bright and gifted, but their pushy parents were abominable. One little chap said that his father would beat him if he didn't win!
What chance of a happy life do these children have? Better to be a contented Mr Average than a tormented genius.
I agree with previous posters. Let your bright little sparks flourish at their own pace. Love them, hug them and encourage them to be good and kind. If they are exceptional, they will make their own mark on the world with no more than your support and love.

I'm with mcem - Before anything else, encourage her to ask questions!

Encourage all kids to ask questions and then say 'what a great question' but never answer it as this can squash a child's interest in asking more - instead ask them where we might find the answer.

Although he is the godfather this is not in any religious way. He would be the guardian should anything happen to her parents. God forbid.

Thanks for your suggestions. Don't think I explained myself very well! The family is very supportive. They are a very practically minded family and already do lots of activities with the child. They r a bit unsure how to foster her other abilities. They live quite a way from me otherwise I would gladly help more. They r happy to try out any suggestions.

Five is far too young to start making judgements. Just give them opportunities to explore anything that takes their interest.

Anya, we have two massive walnut trees that produce kilos of nuts. If we miss a few these dig in an produce saplings that are so difficult to dog out, even at 20cm!.

So plenty of opportunities for you DGCs to develop tree felling skills. Can feed them on vast quantities of courgettes, onions, potatoes and the odd egg. Large pool to clean up in! Ever heard of HelpX?!

Offer opportunities, not challenges.

I am intrigued by the fact that this is your DS's Godchild - what do her parents think and have they asked for advice?

As her Godfather, should he be more concerned with her spiritual welfare and leave her academic opportunities to the parents themselves?

I don't think you need do anything, just answer questions and provide books, paper and pencils. DD was like this at five and she used to write stories that were made into books. The school recognised her high IQ and she was enrolled at a Saturday school that allowed her to mix with like minded children. DD is very musical and we commenced piano lessons as soon as she turned six, a child's brain is like a sponge.