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Help me guide a new HS mom w/ Gifted child


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HI Ladies,

 

You may recognize me from the General Board and K-8 board...

 

I just met a mom today who is pulling her dd out of public school, and homeschooling next year.

 

Her dd was in K, reading on a 5th grade level, doing fractions and multiplication (concepts) but still needs drill work. She's very bright and loves to learn. She was in the gifted program and they still had no idea what to do with her. She whizzed through everything, and the teachers were stumped. They handed her a 5th grade book and she read it well. That's all I know.

 

The mom wants to pick my brain, because the support groups are all over for the year, and she'd like a little guidance. I personally think she should avoid curriculum as much as she can and just follow her gifted little girl's lead.

 

But especially for LA and Math, what should I recommend, and how does she know what level to choose? Her dd is so advanced in reading but obviously will need some spelling and penmanship, etc.

 

I am using some WTM, notebooking, tradtional LA and Miquon Math...I have some experience with more free-flowing styles so I feel I can guide her in content areas, but I'm stumped in LA and Math for a kid like this.

 

Thanks!

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HI Ladies,

I personally think she should avoid curriculum as much as she can and just follow her gifted little girl's lead.

 

 

I think that's the best advice! Singapore Math works well for gifted kids because it's easier to move through quickly, and just add extra practice as needed. There are placement tests at Singaporemath.com

The Hoagies gifted website has many articles and resources. (Sorry, I can't figure out how to put in a link) Creative Homeschooling-A Resource Guide for the Smart Family, by Lisa Rivera, has also been very helpful for me.

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It sounds like this little girl might be highly gifted. Gifted programs are very often not enough for these children.

 

I would pass along this link

http://www.ditd.org/

 

Tagfam offers a variety of great listservs for parents of gifted children, including homeschoolers.

http://www.tagfam.org/

 

Other than that, I second the suggestions already made. I use all different levels of materials. There is no "curriculum for your (insert level of giftedness here) kid," and frankly a lot of curricula/products that are labeled for gifted children are of no use at all to us. Most of the generic gifted information is written for parents with moderately gifted children, and if you have a hg+ kid, one can find it very lacking. Just like with any new homeschooler, taking it one step at a time and being flexible is key.

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I'd suggest Singapore math as a great program for gifted kids. I'd suggesting starting with Singapore Math 1A and expect to go quickly through 1A-2B but she'll need to take enough time to get the facts down as she goes. The books are so cheap, there is no need to feel bad if she goes through 2-3 years of books in a year.

 

Outside of math, I think flexible, open-ended curricula would be a good choice for a child with these capabilities, as they allow the child to explore and learn and stretch, without having to buy a new text book, or whatever.

 

For english, perhaps Classical Writing Aesop would be a good fit, as it can be adapted to a wide variety of writing abilities and can advance along with her. It is also very gentle and flexible. I'd get a handwriting workbook as well. And lots of good books to read.

 

That's what I'd start with! For history, SOTW1 would be a great place to start. The abundant literature selections in the IG allow you to pick appropriate challenges and one can really enjoy exploring the stories in depth with all the creative activities suggested.

 

For science, I'd explore with good books and experiment kits/books following the family's interests . . .

 

FWIW, I think it is a great idea to challenge really bright kids with a wide breadth of topics. For instance, my dc study instruments from 3yo on and are learning both spanish and latin. These studies stretch their minds in new ways and being so bright, they can spend a couple hours a day on "non-core" studies and still advance rapidly in the traditional academic core as well.

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I have to also recommend Singapore Math, and also she should probably do do (and I wish I'd known this sooner) Challenging Word Problems along with this. To help the mother learn to do SM and CWP I recommend my new find (new to me) The Essential Parents' Guide to Prmary Maths

 

For my eldest, hg dd, I let her basically pursue what science she wanted to most of the time. I've recently taken a look at Real-Science-4-Kids and think it teaches solid math concepts without any interpretation (by interpretation I mean evolution/ID/creationism).

 

Most of this will be the mother learning by the seat of her pants;). I recommend that she find out her dd's learning style if possible (it can be hard with kids this gifted as they don't always fit neatly into any learning style--mine don't, although I have one who's more vs and kinesthetic than anything else, but shows surprising auditory abilities at times.) You've already been given some good links.

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