BTDT moms & dads: How did you approach middle school/logic stage with your ALs?

[Runningmom80]

I'm wondering if anyone changed things up for middle school / logic stage for their GT kids.  (grades 6ish - 8ish)

 

Did you ramp up in preparation for high school?

 

Did you back off the rigor and give them space and time to themselves?

 

A combo of both? Neither?

 

Did you give them more control?

 

Anything you would have done differently?

 

 

I'm trying to figure out what our next couple of years are going to look like before high school.  We've also had a rough month and I'm always reevaluating where we are and where we are going.

[regentrude]

Lots of control to the kids. Mine set their own schedule. I stipulated the amount of time they had to work on school and chose the resources, they decided when to work on which subject with which resources and for how long.

We used very eclectic resources: lots of books and documentaries, some college lectures (Great Courses), high school math and science.

We did not "back off the rigor" - my kids wanted to be homeschooled so they could learn more than in school. Since our school day was only 5 hours, they still had plenty of time for themselves.

 

I did not view any of these as measures "in preparation for high school".  My kids did not need to be "prepared" for high school - they needed to learn at their level.

My DD took her first college physics class in 8thgrade, DS in 9th.

[Runningmom80]

Lots of control to the kids. Mine set their own schedule. I stipulated the amount of time they had to work on school and chose the resources, they decided when to work on which subject with which resources and for how long.

We used very eclectic resources: lots of books and documentaries, some college lectures (Great Courses), high school math and science.

We did not "back off the rigor" - my kids wanted to be homeschooled so they could learn more than in school. Since our school day was only 5 hours, they still had plenty of time for themselves.

 

I did not view any of these as measures "in preparation for high school".  My kids did not need to be "prepared" for high school - they needed to learn at their level.

My DD took her first college physics class in 8thgrade, DS in 9th.

 

This is a lot like how I would *like* to home school these next few years.  I have a HG kid who is not intrinsically motivated when it comes to academics. 

[regentrude]

I have a HG kid who is not intrinsically motivated when it comes to academics. 

 

Is he motivated by goals? Praise? Feelings of accomplishment?

Is he at least cooperative?

 

 

[8filltheheart]

Similarly to Regenetrude, I have never "changed" what I am doing with my kids.  We just progress based on whatever they individually need.

[Dmmetler]

Well, middle school content for us was divorced from middle school age. For middle school content, we just did the next thing

and gradually ramped up content. She hit middle school age this year, and the primary differences are that she is both more independent and more social. That was one of the major reasons why we started classes at the CC-because going to school and being in a room with other people and having that control is a big thing for her, local high school classes have been less than successful, and online classes just don't quite give her what she wants. I figure at this point, the CC is providing a pretty good middle school experience :)

[Runningmom80]

*please don't quote, I will probably delete for privacy.*

 

 

Is he motivated by goals? Praise? Feelings of accomplishment?

Is he at least cooperative?

 

Praise, as much as it pains me, yes.  We have always praised effort over achievement, but he still really strives for praise for achievement. He does have feelings of accomplishment from his scratch projects and he also writes songs and produces music on Garage band.  He's very musical, that's his "thing," so he doesn't look like most of the kids on this board. He learned to read super early, and was 3 grades ahead in math at one point, but over the past couple of years he has been fighting the challenge, and I've given him space to figure it out.  I don't need him to be ahead in everything but I do feel like if it weren't for me he would skate by at grade level.

 

Cooperative, depends on the day.

Edited March 9, 2017 by Runningmom80

[eternalsummer]

Mine (in 6th now) really runs on praise too.  She likes more than anything to *win* and if possible to get a ribbon for doing so.  I have begun to use that to motivate deeper study in some areas where she has a natural talent but not as much desire to push herself - if there is a competition with the possibility of a ribbon or a certificate or something, she will work harder and be more satisfied with life for a bit.  

 

DD is also humanities oriented and is not, not, not motivated toward subjects she finds difficult or boring or both.  Science has been a real struggle. 

 

I am also feeling the pressure of the transition from building a broad base of knowledge about things to a systematic study of various disciplines.  In some areas she has been doing the latter for a while, and in other she is still not quite ready (ahem, science, ahem).  She is compliant but if she's not invested she doesn't retain any of it, so I fail to see the point.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for the thread OP as I am listening too.

[Loesje22000]

Middle school changed a lot for us as we have required grade 6 and grade 8 exams.

So we had to jump through several hoops to be able to homeschool highschool.

[Mike in SA]

I'm wondering if anyone changed things up for middle school / logic stage for their GT kids.  (grades 6ish - 8ish)

 

Did you ramp up in preparation for high school?

 

Did you back off the rigor and give them space and time to themselves?

 

A combo of both? Neither?

 

Did you give them more control?

 

Anything you would have done differently?

 

 

I'm trying to figure out what our next couple of years are going to look like before high school.  We've also had a rough month and I'm always reevaluating where we are and where we are going.

 

Didn't really change things, or do anything in preparation for high school.  Courses certainly got more rigorous content-wise (workload is not rigor, imho) - partly that was due to maturity, partly because it was the next level of content. 

 

They definitely help select their own path, and they are responsible for their own work.  It's not black-and-white, but we try to work towards full independence.  They won't have much help from us in college, if any.

 

If I were to change anything for our older one, it would have been to go all-out with more rigorous content earlier.  The grading difficulty could have been more lax than the content, but the fundamental concepts would have been well-placed for more advanced materials.  It's just an approach that would work better for his style - he needs to see where he is going in order to master content.

 

For the younger one, it's hard to say.  I think it's just about right - so far.

 

[ebunny]

I'm wondering if anyone changed things up for middle school / logic stage for their GT kids. (grades 6ish - 8ish)

 

Did you ramp up in preparation for high school?

 

Did you back off the rigor and give them space and time to themselves?

 

A combo of both? Neither?

 

Did you give them more control?

 

Anything you would have done differently?

 

 

I'm trying to figure out what our next couple of years are going to look like before high school. We've also had a rough month and I'm always reevaluating where we are and where we are going.

Not BTDT, but in the trenches as we speak.

 

*This is going to be a super long post and I might delete all of it later, so please don't quote*

I brought Dd back home late 2016 after 3 years in B/M schools when we felt her academic requirements outweighed the social benefits.

 

Honestly? The first 3-4 months were very rocky as we had to reset and re-establish routines, boundaries, attitudes. So, I sat DD down and we had a long discussion on what interests her and why she wants to learn what she does.

I also needed to understand the landscape of middle school homeschooling and how it looks for an advanced child. After a few weeks of back and forth, I managed to get clarity on my educational goals for her and her educational goals for herself. Given that she is only 11 and her goals might change as she develops, I had a big picture idea of what we need to do in middle and probably high school.

 

I created a master list if skills, abilities that are crucial for her academic and general future. The *what*(content) is a mix of what she's interested in 'at this point in time' and what she might need for the future.(In my experience)

The *how* (modality) is left upto her. She is using videos, reference books, audio books to learn what she needs to learn.

The *when* is a compromise between me and her. She gets to her daily schedule that conforms to the overarching weekly/monthly goals set by me.

The *why* was established during multiple long conversations, documented, and is referred to occasionally.

 

Ymmv, but hope this helps.

[Runningmom80]

Mine (in 6th now) really runs on praise too.  She likes more than anything to *win* and if possible to get a ribbon for doing so.  I have begun to use that to motivate deeper study in some areas where she has a natural talent but not as much desire to push herself - if there is a competition with the possibility of a ribbon or a certificate or something, she will work harder and be more satisfied with life for a bit.  

 

DD is also humanities oriented and is not, not, not motivated toward subjects she finds difficult or boring or both.  Science has been a real struggle. 

 

I am also feeling the pressure of the transition from building a broad base of knowledge about things to a systematic study of various disciplines.  In some areas she has been doing the latter for a while, and in other she is still not quite ready (ahem, science, ahem).  She is compliant but if she's not invested she doesn't retain any of it, so I fail to see the point.

 

 

Anyway, thanks for the thread OP as I am listening too.

 

Science here has been sort of non-existent other than random books and field trips up until this year. We found Uzinggo (Thanks dmmetler!) and we are now getting lots of great Science in.  Just thought I'd mention it in case it helps.

 

As for the praise thing, I think some people are just wired that way.  We try really hard to emphasize hard work for the sake of self satisfaction, and DS is always like, "yeah, but don't you think this is so great?" :banghead: :lol:

[Runningmom80]

Middle school changed a lot for us as we have required grade 6 and grade 8 exams.

So we had to jump through several hoops to be able to homeschool highschool.

 

That makes sense.  We are opposite, we are planning on B&M high school, so that's probably where this is coming from.

[Runningmom80]

NM, quoted someone who asked not to be quoted!

Edited May 25, 2017 by Runningmom80

[Arcadia]

As for the praise thing, I think some people are just wired that way. We try really hard to emphasize hard work for the sake of self satisfaction, and DS is always like, "yeah, but don't you think this is so great?" :banghead: :lol:

DS12 has been complaining about lack of achievement daily. We have less outsourced classes this year and he feels like he is stagnating. Apparently academics don't count unless it is an outsourced class like his German class and his calculus class which has classmates, grades, teachers. He did Roy Speed's Romeo and Juliet class which he enjoyed but that apparently doesn't count to him. Qualifying for AIME doesn't count either because he did the AMCs for fun. He is not a sports person and not a project person. So back to lots of outsourced classes in Fall.

 

DS11 is happy with "doing nothing".

[MamaSprout]

We're still in the trenches, but we just cruised forward with high school level work. Dd is motivated by free time to create and follow bunny trails, so she hits her stuff hard first thing. She also is not wildly asynchronous like some on this board. She has the curiosity of a TAG, but is more like a bright high schooler in a middle schooler's body. I have found we fit better on the high school board sometimes than over here.

 

I try to keep her hours per day appropriate for her age grade. ie, no more than five hours a day when her age grade would be fifth grade. And I limit screens, even for things like Scratch, to make sure her free time is creative. Those school times include things like music practice (two instruments), but not sports.

 

She has say in what she studies, but I'm driving the bus. She gets to choose between a few options usually. For example, for biology this year, I've given her choices among a couple AP Environmental Science Lab projects for the last section on ecology because she prefers the investigative nature of them over the standard ones that she's mostly already done.

 

I nix anything that looks like busy work, but do require mastery for things like vocabulary and grammar in languages.

Edited March 27, 2017 by elladarcy

[regentrude]

As for the praise thing, I think some people are just wired that way.  We try really hard to emphasize hard work for the sake of self satisfaction, and DS is always like, "yeah, but don't you think this is so great?" :banghead: :lol:

 

Yes, that's a personality thing. While internal satisfaction about a job well done is nice, most people also want external recognition of some kind - either in the form of praise, appreciation, or tangible rewards (salary, raise), and many people also want to measure their performance against some kind of scale (grades, test scores, competition with other learners, "employee of the month".)

 

I am an extrovert. I have a very strong work ethic, am a perfectionist and really good at my job, but I want my work to be acknowledged and appreciated by my colleagues and students. I would be unhappy doing a great job to the best of my abilities if that was not recognized; just knowing in my own head that I'm good is not satisfying.

I find external appreciation to be a great motivator and don't think that is some character flaw - it's just my "currency".

Edited March 27, 2017 by regentrude

[kiana]

As for the praise thing, I think some people are just wired that way.  We try really hard to emphasize hard work for the sake of self satisfaction, and DS is always like, "yeah, but don't you think this is so great?" :banghead: :lol:

 

For what it's worth, I've always been wired this way as well, and it goes back to early childhood. Doing a great job and not having anyone to show feels terribly unsatisfying.