<p>Oh how funny. My kids are polar opposites. One is a musician, very random in his thinking, artistic, and was never much of a “studier” for his academic subjects. He managed to slip by with a 3.2 unweighted GPA in high school…with SAT CR 730 and Math 590. Truth be known…he is probably much smarter than his very hard working sister who was top 5% of her graduation class with an unweighted GPA of about 3.6. Her CR was 590, and Math was 650. She is analytical, sequential and very orderly. She will probably be an engineer, but if not, certainly something in the sciences. She is a good musician as well, but doesn’t have the “artistic heart” that her brother has. Study habits??? Ha ha. DS really didn’t really study (although he practiced his instrument hours and hours a day). DD studied like crazy. Now…my son is exactly like me…and my daughter is exactly like my husband.</p>
<p>Polar opposites is an understatement for my 2.
If you took the fabulous characteristics of each one and put them together, you’d have the perfect kid.
If you took the (ahem) “suboptimal” bits and put them together, you’d throw the towel in.</p>
<p>I have three kids, all very different.</p>
<p>D1 is into math/science, she’s logical and methodical, has AWESOME study habits, and is straight A student without a single word or any kind of assistance from the 'rents. Very quiet.
D2 is Artsy, musical, emotional, disorganized, (ADHD). Pretty good study habits and after years of “behavior modification” turned out to be a very good student with a 3.8 hs average. D2 is loud, very social.
D2 scored 60 points higher on the SAT than her older sister. D1 was higher in math, D2 in English.
Both girls were highly motivated and were insulted if we even asked them about homework in HS. Both loved to read fiction.</p>
<p>S is good at math/science but is completely unmotivated. He hates to read, has terrible study habits and comes to us for help w/homework because he’s procrastinated and wants us to do it for him. (In all fairness he is currently being evaluated for ADD) He is non musical, but is truly a gifted athlete. Give him any kind of ball and a stick and he’s happy. He’s very social, but on the quiet side. </p>
<p>All three kids excel in very different things.</p>
<p>I’ve got Mr. Left Brain and Mr. Right Brain. </p>
<p>The oldest (left brain) taught himself to read before he was three, figured out multiplication before he was four. He discovered computers in second grade and hasn’t looked back. He taught himself enough computer programming to take the AP course as a freshman, and says he shouldn’t have bothered with the course, he should have just taken the exam. He’s way smarter than either parent, but we never needed to get him tested so we don’t know how smart. I used to think he ought to find at least a few peers in school until I saw the results of his 7th grade SAT scores, he missed SET by ten points but his scores were way on the right side of the bell curve and that was in a gifted cohort. On the other hand, he’s probably a borderline aspie. He tends to be overwhelmed if he’s around too many people, he doesn’t like loud noises, he’s quirky. He’s a big procrastinator, most of his college applications got sent off electronically hours before they were due. He never ever worked as hard as any of his friends, and never cared enough to be the tippy top of the class.</p>
<p>Younger brother was the last of his social group to learn to read. He finally got it in the fall of first grade. (When he went straight from Nate the Great to Harry Potter!) He always seemed to be about six months behind the program at school, we finally had him tested for LDs in 4th grade. His IQ subscores were all over the place, but there was no real diagnosis, though he had a 504 plan for extra time and keyboarding for a few years. He ditched it, and is mostly a B student except for history which he loves. He’s doing AP World History this year as a sophomore and is in heaven. He also plays violin. He thinks he’s not an artist, but he’s got an incredibly good eye and spends inordinate amounts of time on any project that has a visual element. I think he’d be great in advertising or doing the graphics for video games or stuff like that. His friendship circle isn’t much bigger than his older brother’s but he seems much more social. He’s always had to work harder than his brother, which I think will serve him in the long run, but I think it’s very hard to follow after a kid who is soooo bright.</p>
<p>
OMG! I think I remember that spread. He was a cutie.</p>
<p>Both kids are bright and do well on standardized tests, and both want good grades. But DS, the older one, takes the time to read, study and understand what he’s learning. DD, younger, just wants to do whatever she has to do to get an A. DD is probably better organized which may contribute to her working more quickly, but 6 months after a class ends, DS probably remembers most of it. I doubt DD does.</p>
<p>My two boys are about as different as they could be in terms of personality and academics. </p>
<p>Older son is very bright but always has been a master procrastinator and put in only enough effort to get by in school. He never wanted to challenge himself by taking honors or AP courses in high school but stuck to a college prep curriculum and usually pulled B’s with an a sprinkling of A’s and sometimes C’s (the latter in math and science which he tended to dislike despite years of doing very well on math aptitude tests). He is 21 and admits now that he practically never studied throughout high school. He never prepared for SAT’s either but always scored well above average in them. He ranked just within the top 50% of a very competitive high school class. In elementary school he was never shy and would talk so much in class that his teachers would move his desk away from other kids so he (and they) could focus better. In high school he channeled this by often initiating class discussions. His teachers always enjoyed his ability to see the gray areas of issues and ability to take on a devil’s advocate position to make discussions livelier. Never shy about oral reports in front of a class but hated writing papers and long essays. Socially outgoing, cannot stand to be on his own, even since small. Interestingly, it was not until he was about to graduate from high school that it was determined that he was ADHD and had worked around it all those years. Tried college for a while and decided it was not for him “right now”. Back living at home with us again while working and paying us rent- until he “figures out his next move.” Says he will definitely go back to school one day when he knows what he wants for himself. </p>
<p>Younger son (age 18) is more of an introvert and very quiet with people he does not know well -rarely talks in class. He tested into gifted program in 5th grade and is especially gifted in math. Very logical, math-science type who works methodically (but slowly) as he tends to be a perfectionist. Enjoys himself with others but is just as happy being on his own. Always took the toughest classes in high school and challenged himself. A self starter - we never knew when he had tests coming up or papers due. He just did them. (Big brother always had to be dogged on that stuff!) Scored very well on his SAT’s and AP exams with some self prep. Was in the top 10% of his class at a very competitive high school. A freshman in college now, studying engineering.</p>
<p>As I often say, we raised them both the same but they turned out different. Older one takes after me in looks and temperament somewhat. Younger one is a chip off his father’s block.</p>
<p>wow mathmom! That’s sure funny you remember. H is a photographer and friends always asked him to pose for their threads. We didn’t do the “my don’t we have a beautiful baby” routine.</p>
<p>He plays the violin like you S2, but right now he seems much more interested in his choir.</p>
<p>DD and DS are so similar that they both chaired their mock trial team when the opportunity arose.</p>
<p>She’s very artistic too, and was a semi-professional ballet dancer, but she is suppressing all that because she has turned into Ms. pratical, pragmatic, activist.</p>
<p>DS wants to be a musician (composer or conductor) and a doctor. I don’t know exactly how it’s going to work out.</p>
<p>Everyone’s weakest subject is math (not like your family) but since both were NM commended students, not too low. DD got 800 on writing, but I think mainly as a fluke.</p>
<p>After my multiple sibling experience, I may have willed it thus, but my two boys are very very similar in talent, IQ, charm factor, compassion, athleticism, study habits (minimal through high school/intense in college), physical appearance and interests. The biggest difference is that one is an extreme extrovert and the other is a serious introvert who can fake extroversion like a pro (same as his father).</p>
<p>I probably got a two-fer because I was too big of a wimp to handle polar opposites. Thank you Lord!</p>
<p>My two S’s are complete oposite. If you saw them you would never know they were brothers, oldest dark hair and eyes 5’10" and thin, hated school only goes to local Jr. college because I bug him. In 5th grade got rid of all of his toys got a guitar and now is a sucessful singer song writer who with several tours and CD’s behind him and is very social. The younger (15 months apart) is 6’2" 220lbs (think HS linebacker, which he was) light brown hair and green eyes, loves school always got good grades, scholarships ect.
He started college as an MT major and has switched to Opera, loves all things classic. Is less social. They are from two different planets even though their IQ’s are two point apart.</p>
<p>Two boys, 15 months apart.
One is 5’10" and 115 lbs. the younger is 6’3 1/4" (he’s grown AGAIN) and 230.
One is brown hair/brown eyes, the other is blond and blue. Noone who sees them thinks they are related. One has been reading since three, started writng stories in Word Perfect at four. (I still have them.) One refused to read “dofey baby books” and went straight to 4th-5th grade science books at the end of K, because that’s what he considered “reading.” One is all math and computers, the other history and environmental science. One does sports, the other doesn’t. They tested within 2 points of each other on the WISC-III, but the subscore scales were dramatically different. Both ADD-inattentive, expressed in very different ways. Organization is a struggle for both, though one has improved dramatically with age. The other is showing signs this year of getting it together. One does sports; the other abhors them. My introverted one is coming out of his shell (at least I THOUGHT he was introverted – he’s busting that one down by the minute); my extrovert is learning to appreciate down time. One thinks before doing; the other needs to see/touch/do to think clearly. One studies very hard; the other hardly studies. The grades do not reflect this pattern, which is is more than a little discouraging to the one who actually studies for tests.</p>
<p>Very different kids – but enough common traits that they get along quite well. Both love current events, quirky humor and have wicked wits. Dinner time is like stand-up comedy for nerds. I have a blast.</p>
<p>Darn too late to edit. Fall of second grade. We were worried about our non-reading kid especially after the first one.</p>
<p>I was wondering how you could find it worth mentioning that a new first grader couldn’t read, Mathmom! I’m glad it was a typo. I thought it was another example of this forum pushing posters to see normal as sub-par, but that didn’t sound like you at all. Someone else said their son learned to speak late when he was not quite two years old; I hit the same mark at about three… I hate to see what category that would put me in!</p>
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</p>
<p>Puts you perhaps in the category of the kid in this story: The child was healthy and lovely, yet did not speak. Age 2, 2-and-a-half, 3, still not a word. Mother was beside herself, had every test done, no problems could be diagnosed. </p>
<p>One day, the Mom was standing at the stove, making oatmeal. (It’s an old story.) Tasting it, the child said, “Aw, mom, the oatmeal’s cold.”</p>
<p>The mother wheeled around. “What?! You never said anything before!!”</p>
<p>Child replied, “Of course not. Up until now, everything’s been fine.”</p>
<p>My two learned to speak at about the same time, even though they are 15 months apart. DS1 had 6 words at 22 months (lots of ear infections and that was where he regressed when DS2 was born), but he really took off between 23-26 months. DS2 spoke at 8 months old. DS2 has always been my auditory one, so when DS1 started talking DS2 joined right in.</p>
<p>P3T,
I can only hope said child hasn’t been complaining ever since! 
Funny story!</p>
<p>:D </p>
<p>Perhaps all late talkers are rude kids who are pre-occupied with food. </p>
<p>The first time I ever spoke was in the car at the grocery store. Our conversation went something like this:</p>
<p>Baby Corranged: “I want to eat.”
Mommy Corranged, very surprised: “What, honey?”
Baby Corranegd: “I want to eat now.”</p>
<p>Of course, I spent the next seven years moving from speech therapist to speech therapist in order to get someone other than my mom to understand me! It all turned out fine in the end, though, and people today are shocked that I had so much trouble with correct pronunciation. (Truthfully, there were probably some hearing issues involved, since I have early memories of not being able to differentiate between some spoken words. I had frequent ear infections as a kid and am somewhat resistant to antibiotics, so the infections were sometimes hard to beat.)</p>
<p>Actually, I know of a true story in which a two and a half year old was on his way to being IQ tested because he had never said a single world. His mother was frantic.</p>
<p>On the way to the text he read, “auxiliary” off the side of the bus, his first word. Since they were on the way to the psychologist, the mom just kept the appointment, and the kid scored off the charts. Her day brought her the opposite information than what she feared, though I think the boy must have given many clues to his genius-level intelligence.</p>
<p>In a kindergarten readiness interview he defined the difference between plants and animals thus: an animal takes in oxygen and exhales co2, and a plant takes in co2 and respires oxygen. The principle encouraged the mom to put him in a gifted school, which she did.</p>
<p>My older son was much slower to talk than the younger one. My theory is that he was learning to read at the same time. He seems to have a photographic memory. I remember once reading Temple Grandin’s book *Thinking in Pictures *where she describes that pulling up memories is like rerunning videotape. He said, surprised, doesn’t everyone think like that? He told me that during spelling tests he just remembered how the words looked as the teacher was writing them on the blackboard.</p>
<p>My younger son talked a blue streak, but made so many letter substitutions that he was impossible to understand. He grew out of them, but I think it slowed him down reading. He also has a hard time with memorization. He took forever to learn how to use the VCR for example when he was little, and he was really slow with multiplication tables. Of course he seems to have no problems memorizing Star Trek weaponry and ships… :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Ha ha. Might come in handy mathmom. S wrote his main college essay on STAR WARS and had good luck with it too.</p>
<p>Both mine spoke very early, but D kept on speaking; S is on the quiet, “still waters run deep” side.</p>
<p>Although two years younger, he learned to read easily first when I was teaching D. This frustrated her enormously so I had her eyesight checked; turned out she had tracking problems and could not use both eyes together and all sorts of other skills. After therapy she learned extremely quickly so that by the beginning of first grade she read perfectly.</p>
<p>Now same pattern. S - - musician, doesn’t read much. D has read Anna Karenina among many many great classic works. S has such a good memory and is such a little sponge he was the literature expert on his schools varsity academic team just based on his gleanings of our conversations!</p>