A mother is lucky to get one genius in a son or daughter, but for Claretta Kimp, she got two in both of her young sons. And that’s not all, her two geniuses are graduating this Mother’s Day weekend–what a Mother’s Day present!
They are both graduating from high school and college this weekend at ages 11 and 14, respectively. Carson Huey-You, her oldest, is leaving Texas Christian University with a degree in physics and minors in Chinese and math. Cannan, the kid brother, will head to TCU next fall to study astrophysics and engineering. The first wants to get a PhD, the other wants to be an astronaut.
According to Carson’s mother, one of the first indications of her son’s ability to stay focused came during a visit to the eye doctor, who commented on Carson’s ability to pay attention instead of squirming and trying to escape like most other babies. By age 2, Carson was reading chapter books. By age 3, he could add, subtract, multiply and divide.
When most kids his age were entering kindergarten, Carson was working at an eighth-grade level and Cannan wasn’t far behind.
But they’re not just smart. They’re not your typical child prodigy’s who only think about school and calculations all the time. The boys are social, have manners and are fun to be around says Kimp to the Washington Post.
“My boys have more social skills than most adults,” she said. “They are just normal little boys who do normal little boy things.”
The brothers wrestle and laugh and hold the door open for women, just like their mother taught them. They are also star wars fans and love sci-fi.
Four years ago, at age 10, Carson made news after he was admitted to TCU in Fort Worth and he began classes as an 11-year-old. On Saturday, he’ll become the youngest graduate in the university’s history.
Kimp, who studied early education and business at Southern Illinois University, said she converted the spare bedroom in their home into a classroom before Carson was even walking. At first, he played with blocks there. Then she started sitting him in a chair for class.
He was so excited to learn, Kimp said, that they created a set school day from 9 a.m. to noon. But Carson would blow through the curriculum she planned in an hour. By age 2, he was reading books with chapters, and at age 3 he told his mom he wanted to learn calculus.
“I always wanted to do something science-y,” Carson said. “I wanted to figure out how things work, like on the subatomic level. That’s why I like quantum physics most. I want to do research and learn about different things.”
One thing that is common with many child geniuses is that they are home schooled for a period of time before moving up in grade level. The same thing for the Huey-You boys. Kimp home-schooled Carson until he was 5 years old and…
… learning at an eighth grade level. She knew he needed to “get out a little bit,” she said, but she struggled to find a school that was willing or able to accommodate him. Just when she was about to give up, she found a small Christian school that was suitable.
Carson, and five years later he graduated as co-valedictorian.
Kimp eventually moved the family closer to campus, so their commute shortened to eight minutes. And the juggling act got even easier once Cannan started tagging along to TCU.
“Sometimes I think we’re crazy for doing this, but it’s our normal,” mother Claretta Kimp said. “The boys see everyone at TCU like our family. I couldn’t ask for a better support team.”
Because Kimp never wanted to make her sons feel in intellectual competition with each other, the divorced mom tried to avoid forcing Cannan down the same path as Carson. She wanted him to find his own way.
Cannan began on the traditional route, attending kindergarten with kids his own age. But my second grade, he was bored, and asked to be home-schooled like Carson, reported the Dallas Morning News. Kimp thinks her eldest son’s thirst for learning rubbed off on Cannan.
Even after she would complete lessons with Cannan, Carson would swoop in to help with homework, demonstrating on the whiteboard in their home how to breeze through complex math equations.
“They know that they are blessed to have a sibling and to have each other,” Kimp told The Post.
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