Thank you for all these ideas! I have been looking into some and will continue researching the rest. Keep the ideas coming! :D

My dd is a really talented songwriter. She writes both secular and christian songs and comes up with tunes for them as well. She cannot write music, but she plays a little piano. She's not all that interested in playing an instrument, but she loves to sing. So here's my question. We live in a very rural area without a lot of opportunities for homeschooled kids, no less gifted homeschooled kids. I'd really like to nurture this passion of hers, but how? Has anyone ever done online voice lessons? I have seen some recommendations out there for those. Any other ideas about how I can help nurture this passion and talent? ETA: I had to edit my post because I must really be losing it! My dd is no longer 11, she turned 12 in October. :ohmy: :001_rolleyes:

Thank you for sharing this! I missed this year's conference in Orlando, but I plan on attending next year. We've moved past the tantrum stage to the full-blown anxiety stage. :( I need to find resources for that as well. I second the book Living With Intensity. That is a very insightful book.

Or, if you know of any pen pal resources, please post here. TY!

My dd thinks it might be really cool to have a pen pal. I still remember my pen pal when I was that age. Her name was Lisa Battista and she lived in Anchorage, AL. :) PM me with your info if you are interested. My dd is homeschooled, will be 10 on the 29th and is in grade 4. Thanks. :)

I think you hit the nail on the head here. I don't know if your kids are gifted or not, and it really doesn't matter at this point. What you know is that they were ahead, and now they are behind. I agree with the deschooling idea. If I were you, I'd spend the first 4-ish months or so simply letting the kids choose what they want to learn about/read/make/write about. I'd go completely in the direction of unschooling and then slowly start implementing what you SEE that they NEED and WANT. The thing is, you will only know what they need and want by observing them. So observe for a while while they de-stress and de-school. I'm sorry your kids have had a hard time. :(

:( Sorry, I think this thread wasn't what you wanted to hear. Both of my girls had sleep issues. DD1 did nap until she started to talk. DD2 never napped. But she did have some serious sleep issues that we found help for through a DAN doc.

hahaha! I was thinking the exact same thing!

Awesome! Thanks so much for posting this!

I didn't make it in time, but I look forward to checking out all your blogs this year! :)

Yes, the validation is nice. :) Perhaps one day she will attend a summer camp, but right now she's too young and not interested. I will check out the day programs! I hadn't seen those yet. ETA: Ah, I see the day programs are M-F.

and now I'm like :confused: . Don't get me wrong, I'm really proud of her. Just going and taking the test was an accomplishment for my introverted and shy girl. :thumbup: I wanted her to take it becasue here where we homeschool, there just aren't a lot of options for "more" available and I want her to have every opportunity that comes her way if she chooses it. Have any of your kids gone through this program? We use the EPGY open enrollment now as kind of a supplement but I am still the primary teacher and intend to continue to be. I have so many questions. And my skeptical nature is now kicking in. If anyone wants to indulge me and throw in their .02 I'm happy to listen. :) 1. Will taking any of these classes "matter" as far as her future is concerned? 2. Are they worth the money? 3. Are they REALLY that challenging? I mean, I can challenge her enough at home. 4. I need to look more in depth, but I was hoping for some kind of interaction among peers and so far it seems like that will be minimal. 5. Since I already teach math, science and a langugage (Latin), would a fun subject, like chess be a good idea? My list of questions is endless. I kind of remember someone giving a pro/con list for CTY not too long ago. I should go search for that . . . .

haha! Good one too! Or. . . how about, "My Odd Child Whose Interests Change Like The Wind" subtitle:" You'll find something in our store to keep your child's interest for 3 days or so."

Great thread! My dd is also wanting to build her own robot. (Or save $30,000 for one she saw in a magazine.) :) We have made the solar powered things in the kits but they are a bit too easy. My mom found this link for us. I can't wait to get my dh involved in this one. It looks a bit too complex for me. http://letsmakerobots.com/start

I'd be interested again this year if I can come up an idea. I'm completely blank at the moment. :) I'll be thinking . . .

Yes, yes, yes! I wrote a blog post about it.

That made me chuckle and I say that all the time. My test results were very likely invalid based on how my brain seems to operate these days. lol For me, homeschooling satisfies a certain need, as others have said, yet I find myself dreaming about working f/t in a more challenging position. I teach h.s English part time but can't seem to shake the feeling that I want to do more, more, more. The problem is that this is not always good for my girls so yes, BALANCE (as someone else mentioned) is key - but a difficult thing to maintain since my needs and the needs of my girls are constantly in flux. Good thread! ETA: I wonder how many of us are introverts here? I am, and if I don't get my alone time and quiet SPACE frequently, everything else is harder to balance.

Click on the "Talent Search" link. There are certain tests they will accept. Not sure if one of them is the PSAT though.

I was going to type a reply but this says exactly what I was going to say. I do like Holt and many of his ideas ring true for me as an educator, however, I bet many of the people who "liked" or "shared" that quote truly don't know what he was all about; they just "liked" it because he is so popular among many homeschooling groups right now.

Thanks for the replies. I have a current gifted student (I teach h.s. English online) who went through CTY as a youngster and his dad said similar things - about it being okay. If I am going to fork over the $$ I want it to be FANTASTIC and not something I can give her myself kwim? Crimson Wife would you mind pming me the name of the other program you are talking about?

I am going to have dd take the SCAT and see if she will qualify. Based on her IQ testing she will. She'll be in 4th grade next year and I'm just thinking ahead. . . . wondering if anyone has experience? I'm struggling with whether or not it will be worth the $ at this point. I'm just not sure. . . . It's nice to have a place to bounce ideas around! :)

Florida Virtual School is excellent (and global) and has just implemented their elementary program. I know they have a fabulous ESE department, but I'm not sure how they handle gifted students. I've actually been wondering the same thing about my 9 year old dd. How do you like Athena's Academy? We use EPGY and she likes Brain Pop too.

You can choose an umbrella school (but then technically you are considered a private schooler.) You can have your child take a state standardized or nationally normed test. You can have a certified teacher do your yearly portfolio evaluation (that's what I do). :) Or you can have a psychologist complete a psych eval (which are very expensive, not to mention time consuming.) See my site for more info. :) We are in Central FL. Not too far from Orlando.

When we used EPGY I also used Teaching Textbooks and Singapore. I ditched Singapore recently in favor of Right Start Math (LOVE IT!) and we still use Teaching Textbooks. I love Right Start because it is FUN. Lots of games and really fun activities. Oh! I forgot. We also use Life of Fred (which we LOVE.)

We homeschool in FL and I'm an evaluator too. :) FL law says that you must submit your annual evaluation on the anniversary date of your intent to homeschool letter. Lots of people pull kids out of school and so their intent letters are mid-year. Evaluators are not supposed to look at "school year" progress, but individual progress so if you want to homeschool 2 grade levels in one year you are welcome to. If you want to take 1 whole year to get through one "grade level" you can do that too - as long as your child shows "progress commensurate with his/her ability." And, by the way, putting a grade level on your evaluation form is not required by FL law. Contact me through the link on my website if you have any more questions. :)