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Well hate is probably too strong, maybe "doesn't enjoy" is a better description.

I have a 5 year old son who generally doesn't like math, though he is extraordinarily talented. I'm looking for books or something that can capture his imagination and excite him with the math he's learned and introduce him to new ways of looking at it. Amazon has a ton of books about fun with math, I feel lost in a sea of these... and most seem to be around arithmetic. That might be interesting, but he'll be starting calculus soon so I'm not sure how much they would help this cause. His favorite movie is Flatland, basically a cartoon that starts in a 2-D world to eventually introduce us to 4-D space. That really caught his attention.. I'm hoping there's a similar adventure in book form for algebra, trigonometry or calculus that makes math more of a pleasure.

The reason he's been able to fly through math may have to do with his strong desire to do as little math as possible. He's always coming up with these clever tricks to solve problems faster and in doing so necessarily has to really understand the math from different perspectives (was going to say angles :). That's why I was thinking a book on math tricks might spark something.

I thought programming would be a great way to get him enjoying math... his knowledge of algebra certainly made understanding variables, functions and comparisons second nature. And programming seems to be fun too. However, he has a long way to go before he's writing code that requires the math he's working on now. Maybe there's a programming book, course or software that allows him to have fun with math and programming?

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5 years old is very young to start calculus, especially for someone who "does not enjoy" this. Do not push too hard on him. – Artium Jul 2 '11 at 9:00
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He'll be starting calculus soon, and you're worried he doesn't like maths? Either you're making this up, or you are force-feeding the poor thing -- in which case I'm not surprised he doesn't like it. – TonyK Jul 2 '11 at 9:10
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I suspect OP made a typo. Talented math son is likely 15 yo. – user12849 Jul 2 '11 at 9:43
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Are you doing all of this for your son's benefit, or your own? – Zarrax Jul 2 '11 at 15:14
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I don't know what to make of the confluence of "five years old", "doesn't enjoy math", "will be starting calculus soon". No child should be learning calculus before high school unless they are so thrilled with mathematics that they take it upon themselves to learn. If this question is for real -- which I am not entirely convinced of, although perhaps part of me just doesn't want to believe it -- then I have a lot of concerns for the child. – Pete L. Clark Jul 2 '11 at 17:25
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1 Answer

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Your son does indeed sound very talented. However, let me give some advice: please be careful with your son in the sense that you do not want him to lose interest in mathematics at such a young age. It is not unheard of to have very talented children to lose complete interest in a subject merely because the people around them do not "manage them properly" so to speak.

In particular, instead of teaching him route methods to do things (e.g. calculus) it would be a better idea to introduce him to mathematics that requires real creativity. (I do not mean to suggest that calculus does not require creativity; integration, for example, does but work is necessary to reach the stage where one can appreciate this.) For example, it could be a good idea to teach him number theory (e.g. modular arithmetic) if he is indeed capable to discovering clever tricks. On the other hand, if your son is interested in space, then it could be a good idea to teach him Euclidean geometry. If you take this option, try to emphasize the intuitions of Euclidean geometry rather than the rigor, at least for a first reading.

Of course, you could teach him calculus but I would advise against it particularly because, as you say, he "dislikes mathematics". One substitute might be to teach him group theory; for example, I recall learning the very basics of groups a little before learning rigorous calculus and I found it quite fascinating. Your son might too if you present the subject well. This being said, I would recommend this after a few years.

I hope this (brief) answer helps!

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@at01: The first two sentences of your above comment are really distressing. I wonder how intentionally provocative you're being. As I wrote in my comments above, your desire that your 5-year old should learn calculus does not seem like part of a coherent long term plan (unless being able to have him say "Yes, I finished with mathematics entirely when I was 10 years old: I could do all the problems but never really liked it" is your plan). I think you should seek opinions from people who have experience teaching prodigious children: they will know what not to do as well. – Pete L. Clark Jul 4 '11 at 6:00
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@at01: I got the calculus part from your question. I didn't say it was your only goal: rather, I asked you what that was. How much math do you want your not-interested-in-math son to learn? The equivalent of an undergraduate degree? More? What I am trying to say is that, beyond a certain point, you can't learn mathematics unless you are deeply interested in it. Anyway, it is definitely not my business to tell you how to teach your son, and I am not even qualified to try. But I hope you will consult other professionals in this matter. – Pete L. Clark Jul 4 '11 at 8:45
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@at01 I think one should also maintain in one's mind that there are more ways than mathematics to stimulate the brain. You could teach your son languages because it is in fact the perfect time to do so; it is easiest to learn languages when one is younger. – Amitesh Datta Jul 5 '11 at 1:09
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@at01 You could bring some grammar books of various languages and also use internet resources. I believe that a knowledge of multiple languages at a young age is very healthy for the brain. May I please ask if your son has studied algebra and trigonometry? These are prerequisites for calculus. The reason I would suggest you to wait a few years before teaching your son calculus is that your son might become more interested in calculus when he is 10 years old, for example. In the mean time, you might want to consider giving him the more "standard life experiences" of children in his age group. – Amitesh Datta Jul 5 '11 at 3:23
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@at01 "He may never like math, but he'll go far in it and appreciate that I pushed him". What is the point in going far in mathematics if you never like it? If he is curious about science, then why not teach him science? One does not need to know calculus to appreciate many topics in science. Algebra and trigonometry are sufficient for the most part at the basic level. When he reaches a certain level in a particular branch of science (e.g. physics), you could teach him calculus. There is no need to rush into calculus especially since he does not like it. Also, calculus is not "far". – Amitesh Datta Jul 6 '11 at 1:53
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