Shish reading the bird book - this time armed with a highlighter. This marks a massive leap in reading ability :-) Shish is especially interested in birds.

"As a mother or father, it will be important for you to recognize your youngster's areas of specialty and understand how to build upon them. Doing so will make your youngster feel tremendously valued, because you are communicating that you “get” the importance of the Special Interests (i.e., areas of passion and intrigue). Special Interests may be used as links to life-defining opportunities in learning, relationships, and employment.

....

Identifying your youngster's Special Interests isn’t difficult. His Special Interests are those things that — more than anything else — he really enjoys doing. He may love to:

• Create models or other three-dimensional replicas of it
• Draw it
• Read about it
• Re-enact or personify it
• Research it at the library or on the Internet
• Sing about it or create musical interpretations of it
• Take copious notes about it
• Talk about it
• Watch it on television
• Write about it

Your youngster's area of intrigue may correlate directly to an academic area of school in which he excels (e.g., math, physics, music, etc.). He may also indulge his Special Interest through extracurricular classes or clubs, or after-school or weekend activities. He may “set you up” with questions in which he grills you for answers that only he may know, and then feign disbelief that you don't provide the very complex, intricate correct response. It may be easy to become annoyed or distracted by your child’s focus or to fall victim to the idea that it represents “strange” behavior. It will be important for you to learn that your youngster's Special Interests are an amazing strength to be recognized and validated."


I don't know much about birds but I am learning fast.