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Mensa Challenge!
Sunday, 8 March 2009
My son Jordan is 15 and a bit of a brain box, I'd like to be able to say he gets it from me, but it would just be a big fat lie!!!
He's been able to do 500 piece puzzles form the age of 4 and has been able to annihilate the most ardent chess player since he was about six!
When he was 5 and got his first connex construction set, I proudly made a cube, turned to show him and he humoured my creation while showing me the racing car, complete with a working steering wheel he'd built in the same amount of time.
He's taken most of his exams early, is doing 5 A levels, and is going to be an architect...I have no doubt he will do it, he seems to be able to swan through his school terms and exams with relative ease.
As Jordan's intelligence is common knowledge, one of his uncles bought him a Mensa challenge calendar for Christmas.
Great idea, it has a difficult mental challenge each day to 'give your Brain a morning work out' and they range in difficulty from 1 to 5. On the difficulty 1 and 2 days I breathe a sigh of relief, because after that, they really are hard.
Jordan loves them and always, tests me on them after he's completed them without too much trouble.
And I have to say, I hate feeling stupid compared to my own child. Oh, he left me way behind in his maths class work and stuff years ago but on something like this, I want to feel like I am keeping up! I consider myself an intelligent woman (most of the time), so I refuse to back down.
I have now officially lost the plot...when did I realise this, at five o'clock this morning, when I got up extra early (and on a Sunday too!), so I could sneak a peak at today's Mensa challenge and figure out the answer before Jordan was awake!
Ha! This'll show him...now when he gets up to do it, he'll test me and I'll be able to give the answer really quickly!!!
competetive...who me???
8 March 2009 at 17:42
Beating the kids up was never a problem. (oh wait that doesn't sound right) Getting up before the kids was never a problem.. keeping up is a whole differant story.It doesn't bother me that my kids are brighter then me. I actually am happy about that. It only means that at some point,I headed them in the right direction. Being smart doesn't mean a thing if you do not apply what you have learned to make a better life for yourself and others.
8 March 2009 at 17:49
actally you're right, sometimes i just get fed up with feeling stooopid lol!!!!and i think the lessons we teach our kids are less about academic intelligence and more about emotional intelligence!...i hope! time will tell!
8 March 2009 at 17:56
Wow your kid seems like a genius to me..Oh and btw thanks a ton Sally on tips for good housekeeping. God knows how handy this tip will come..hahaa I am off to buy a few 'get well soon' cards..
8 March 2009 at 21:15
Great idea! I have so much trouble with my son's math homework. I am not a math person. I always feel completely stupid after a math session. I am going to try the "Get the Answer Early" trick! Thanks!
9 March 2009 at 14:33
LOL! I love it!!! Waking up early to find the answer...so don't leave us on pins and needles....waking up an hour early...were you able to figure it out? ;0 Was he impressed?
Too funny..there is a show in the US called...."Are you Smarter than a 5th grader?" and it pits an adult against a few 5th graders in a simple question session...I WILL NEVER GO ON THAT SHOW. I don't want to embarress my family.
Your son is sooo handsome! Looks and brains! What a future!
9 March 2009 at 15:17
LOL, we have that show too, its called are you smarter than a ten year old...the short answer is 'NO' and the brave/foolish contestants NEVER are...why do people put themselves through it.
yes i figured it out, but it took me an hour...the question was...a piggy bank hold £12.15 made up of 4 coin denominations...the largest being £1.00 same number of each coin...how many coins...what value..
and this was an easy one, difficulty rating of 2...of course J solved it in less than a minute...
but the look on his face when he did it, handed it to me with a grin and said 'there you go mum', i pondered it a moment gave him the answer...
it was worth losing an hour of sleep, to see something resembling respect on his face!
9 March 2009 at 22:11
So funny Sally. Sometimes we have to throw our braniacs a curve ball!