I have a 12 year old who *could* graduate at 16 (she wants to, as she said, just "get on with the rest of my life", lol,) but I'm not so sure about it. I don't want ot hold her back, but my mind is reeling with the thought of figuring out when she'd need to take tests like the PSAT, how to deal with scholarships, etc. I still consider her to only be in 7th grade, but she will have about 4 hs credits by the end of this year. Have any of you dealt with this? I think I'd be safer to assume she'll graduate early, have her take the tests according to that schedule, and then if we slow down or we decide we don't want her to actually graduate that young we can just test at the pushed back dates again? I really don't want to have to decide NOW. Any thoughts? Ack.

All of our girls are very bright, but our 2nd dd was asking how she could know that her life was 'real', that she wasn't just dreaming, when she was 3 or 4. The question (and others like it) really had her worked up, and she was so focused on things like that - existential type questions- that we knew something was different about her. She also started reading one day out loud b4 we knew she could even sound out simple words. Surprise! -Jen

Yep, she did timed tests, and even had a little time left over for each section. Sounds like her actual scores should be pretty close, then. Good to know!

Just a quick Q: How accurate have you found the scores your child gets on practice ACT's at home versus the real test? If we can believe the practice scores my dd will do very well, but I don't want her to feel bad if there isn't actually as strong a correlation as we think. Thanks! -Jen

I was in gifted programs in ps as a kid, and I think I qualify as hypoglycemic - major mood swings if I don't eat for a while or if I eat too many carbs. I also remember going skiing as a teen and getting shaky and losing my vision bc it'd been a while since I'd eaten and I was excercising - does that sound right as a symptom? One of my kids is very much the same way, but 2 others don't seem that sensitive to the food thing. They're all gifted.

We're doing RS Latin1 this year. My reason is primarily for the vocabulary enhancing effects; I want the kids to recognize the Latin and Greek roots for our English words. I don't think I'd have them study it to the point that they were "fluent", I just want them to have a basic familiarity with it. We'll pick another language to work on next year - maybe Spanish, which also uses lots of Latin roots, and that's the one we'll focus on as our foreign language.

Yup, me too! If I let my blood sugar get low, well, let's just say my husband keeps me well fed to avoid the consequences ;) We try to keep our dds blood sugar stable ( not too many carbs, no extra sugar except a few times a year, include the protein at most meals), but at least one of them (the most obviously gifted) is very sensitive to sugar swings also. Really interesting theory - where'd you come across it?

:iagree: We found we could skip all of Saxon 6/5 with 2 of our kids - another needed a little extra reinforcement so we did half of 6/5, then moved to 7/6. It's all the same material!

I really like the looks of Apples and Pears...as you said, the issue isn't really the phonics - she gets that - but when to use "ea" vs. "ee" vs. "ie" etc. for the same sound. Karin - what kind of mnemonics? I can't picture how that would help, so I'm curious. It sounds like a lot of you had success with AAS, so if Apples/Pears doesn't work out, at least I have something else to try with her :tongue_smilie:. Thanks everyone!

I just wanted to make sure you knew about National Novel Writing month (this month) - she'd probably enjoy it and there lots of resources on the website. Look up Nanowrimo on google.

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll be checking them out today. I think she's right-brained, stuck in a family of left-brainers, so it's hard for me to figure out how to help her. My older 2 just seemed to pick up spelling intuitively -J

Houston, we have a problem. My 3rd dd (9) is extremely bright, accelerated in math and reading, and gifted artistically. BUT, I cannot figure out how to help her with her spelling!!! Any advice? She reads like a dream, and loves to write, but can't seem to figure out the spelling rules. When she misspells, it is always a *phonetically* acceptable version (e.g., "whirled" to her is spelled "whorld", "might" is "mite", etc.) We've gone over the rules, used "Natural Speller" and a few other resources, but nothing sticks.:confused: She did great with Explode the Code when she was younger, but still, when free-writing would make all the same mistakes. I wonder sometimes if she has a touch of dyslexia or something - she also used to write mirror-imaged and didn't realize it, but she no longer does that. I'm sorry this is so long! Any help would be appreciated. -J

Hi, ,I've been a :lurk5: for the last year and have learned alot here. We have homeschooled since the beginning. Our 4 dds are 13,12,9,and 4. We only realized about a year and a half ago how advanced our girls are - we thought what they were doing was *normal* ( I still think they're not that unusual for hslrs). Thanks to all of you who've BTDT for the advice on testing/etc. It's been really helpful. I hope to get to know you all more this year - I'll also be over on the high school board quite a bit :001_smile:. -Jen

My dh & I were both in honors classes in college, and the main reason was financial - it was basically a $500 scholarship if you qualified for and joined the program. It was basically an english honors course, something different each semester but pretty in-depth. I really can't say it was worthwhile, apart from the scholarship $. Those that continued in the program got to design their own independant projects during their senior year, which may have been interesting. One other thing- we went to a secular school, and the honors programs in particular were extremely hostile toward those with christian views/beliefs. Just my experience. -J

:lurk5:...:bigear:

Let's see... 6AM wake up ( after the 4y. has been in been with hubby and I since 5, saying : "Mom, it's 5 3 4 now. Mom, time to get up, it's 5 4 3. Mom, Mom, it's 0 0 6!") 6:45 brkfast 7 chores for kids 7:30 tea time with hubby 8 kids walk dogs - a LONG walk 8:45 start school; one dc start their laundry & do the dishes, one plays with 4 yo, one starts math with me ( I always go over the new concept with them); then they switch, til all have their math done. Ususally they also get their Latin or piano or art lesson completed during this time, which they can manage themselves. 11 the 4 yo starts asking about lunch. I take her on a walk. Sometimes hubby joins us ( he works from home). 11:25 I've stalled all I can. :tongue_smilie: We eat lunch. 11:45 naptime for 4 yo; rest/ free reading time for other 3. Sometimes dd13 works on computer for writing class for an hour. 1:30 everyone comes down and we read history (Story of the World) together. Then science ( just finished Apologia Physical Science, starting Biology this week). Anything that wasn't done b4 gets done now, and they alternate playing with 4 yo again. 4 older 3 go take care of chores again. Followed by playing outside (3 of them) while one helps make dinner. 5 we eat dinner 6 sometimes soccer, hubby coaches dd9's team & helps with the older dd's team; otherwise, free time. 7 alternate getting ready for bed, read our current read-aloud (going through Liitle House on the Prairie again now) 8 4 yo to bed, rest can read for another 20 min. to an hour, depending on age; time for yoga with hubby, then couch surfing while we flip back & forth between programa on the Roku 9:30 or 10 Bedtime for hubby & I That's just a rough look at our typical day! -J

Hi, So sorry for the loss of your dad. It sounds like you're really overwhelmed right now. Try not to worry about the activities for a season; you still have the soph. & junior years to fulfill that goal if you still feel it's a problem later. He's involved in music and church, right? That's about all I did my freshman year of hs and later, in my junior year, I got more activities (sports, Nt'l. Honor Soc.) and had no trouble with college apps. We also live on a farm, and my dds are involved with 4H, another thought if your ds enjoys the animals (or any of the other things 4H offers). It's not unusual for kids that age to NOT have a strong passion for one particular thing, and some kids are just homebodies ( I have one like that too). Mostly I just want to encourage you to give yourself permission to relax for a little bit. Things have changed a great deal for you, and sometimes it's hard to adjust. God bless you & your family! :grouphug: -J

We started with CTY last year. Our younger dd was in 6th grade then, so yes, we sent in ITBS scores to qualify her and then she took the SCAT to qualify for courses through them ( she also got a nice certificate for high scores on the SCAT, which gave her a nice boost in her self-esteem, so I would do the talent search even if I had no intention of taking courses through them). As far as taking the ITBS out of level, I asked the same question a few months ago. I worried that they may not make the cut-off score if we tested out of level, and someone here told me they get their out of level ITBS scored by age and by grade. I think they used Bob Jones to score it, but if you search you should be able to find the thread. We decided to stick with their age - level ITBS for qualifying for CTY and end of year reporting, and just use the ACT or SAT scores to see how they were progressing, as they've basically topped out of the ITBS for their ages. CTY is expensive, and I wouldn't use them for courses in science (my strong suit) or math, but the writing course my dd took last year (Process of Writing) was well worth the expense. The teacher was very, very good. Our older dd is taking Crafting the Essay this year and so far it's been great and a real challenge for her.

I've been reading Captains Courageous to the kids at night, reading The Fountainhead for myself, and *playing* with RS Latin1...so much to learn...so little time...

My 2 oldest went through the process last year - one for 6th, one for 7th. We decided to let the 6th grader take a writing course. Her writing REALLY improved, and she gained alot of confidence in that area. The teacher was fantastic; very positive, but alot of *meat* to the critiques and suggestions. We'll be letting our older dd take a writing course this fall. I'm not sure I'd pony up the $$ for a math course (or science), since I think there are better options, but the writing course was worth the expense to us. The other benefit, as stated by some previous posters, was that they got to take an out-of-level test and see how they did/ get comfortable with them. We chose to have our 7th grdr. take the ACT...it's easier to access than the SAT here in OH for some reason. HTH. -J

Hi, My hubby & I graduated from Rutgers in 1991. We were both at the Cook College campus ( now known as something like the College of Biological and Environmental Sciences...). It is a huge school, but the way the campuses are set up it really doesn't seem TOO big or overwhelming, in my opinion. Don't know that much about the eng. school, but there is alot of green space (as you mentioned) on or near most of the campuses. The big classes (e.g., General Bio or Gen Chem) were huge and they really didn't seem to care if you showed up/kept up/ did well/ were failing. That said, a self-motivated individual can do well there. The school is well-regarded and the eng. school has a reputation for being very competitive. The other caveat is that the school has a pretty liberal attitude - more evident in the humanities/ poli sci type majors. A science major probably doesn't need to worry about it too much, except in the Honors program, should that apply. Of course, if you're pretty liberal yourself it doesn't matter. :) Good luck - hope this helps. -Jen

We get our tests through BJU; who exactly would we contact to arrange this type of scoring? The ITBS folks? I never knew that you could do this!

Thanks for the confirmation! I guess we'll just keep doing what we've been doing... and look forward to the ACT / SAT. I'm not familiar with NARHS - can someone enlighten me? I've been lurking on this forum for a while, and I gotta' say, I've been learning alot. -Jen

Thanks JoAnn - that's what I'm worried about. I think I read some of your dilemma on another post. I definitely want to keep the access to the above - level courses I know of so far. We've taken 1 writing course thru CTY so far & the growth it spurred in my daughter has been inspiring. I think I'll probably keep them where they are as far as their official papers, it just bugs me to pay for a test that's not going to show us much (barring a disaster of some kind :tongue_smilie:). -Jen

I'd like some advice on how to handle the ceiling we've hit on the ITBS with my 6th & 7th dd's. Got the results back and as usual they did really well - 98 or 99th NPR. The grade equivalencies were all 13+, with the exception of the geography/ maps subtests (which were still at 12+). I know they're gifted, but I don't think I want to *officially* say that they're in a higher grade...wouldn't that end up penalizing them for entrance into GT programs if they take higher level tests and then only get, say, in the 90th percentile (or lower)? I feel that the ITBS will be of limited value at this point, but part of our notification includes standardized test results, so do I just have them take it at their age/grade level (and of course, pay for it :glare:) and accept that we just won't learn much from it? The gifted programs they've been involved in allow them the opportunity for out -of-level tests (i.e., SAT &/or ACT), which is great, but I guess I just want to check my thinking about not actually bumping them up a grade or 2 officially. Thanks for the input! :001_smile: