He picked up a picture book and read it out loud at 20 months. I knew it wasn't a memorized story. He also spontaneously wrote the alphabet at 2 1/2 on his magnetic whiteboard easel. We never taught him how to write. Now, I only learned how gifted recently when an inexpensive testing opportunity for the Woodcock Johnson popped up in my area.

Would you be interested in this? A Different Mirror by Ron Takaki https://www.amazon.com/Different-Mirror-Young-People-Multicultural/dp/1609804163/ref=la_B000APV34C_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1503189214&sr=1-2 He was one of my professors at Berkeley.

maybe the books from Sonlight's or Bookshark's Eastern Hemisphere core?

Resurrecting this thread...Did anyone do this on their own? My son just took an abacus summer camp and really liked it.

@rjand4more... I was considering if for maybe 4th to 6th grade or 5th/6th. Does it work for that? I'm also contemplating play dough economics as well.

Has anyone used this? I stumbled across it and was thinking about using it for a co-op class. https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Economics-Using-Childrens-Literature/dp/1561836303

I skipped SIB because we wanted a science by time period. This is why we like it so much. I'm on my third year of teaching it at my co-op: the 4th book of the series is Science in the Age of Reason. I really like the context of history, geography, culture and theology/church history in there alongside the science.

5 is young for BA3. The issue is more a child's tolerance for BA's approach. The first chapter in BA3 is notorious for its difficulty. You can try, but you'll know quickly whether or not you should set it aside and wait on it. I am one of the ones who uses BA a level behind SM. I use both because I find value in both approaches. I just finished SM5 in the spring with my 8yo and am making my way through finishing BA5 now before I move on to pre-A.

I have the Apologia books on hand and while it can be used with younger kids, it is more suitable with the 5th and 7th because of the type of discussions I would want to have. I'm planning to start GGC series once we finish the self-paced VP Bible course this year.

@jordotrom...that's good to know. It was unclear whether or not the session was recorded to watch later in the description. Off to talk to DH again about this.

Is anyone doing the new live MCT courses from Royal Fireworks. The cost is steep. It's 900! Unless this is a completely amazing beyond belief...I am having a hard time with that price point for a non-upper grade course. http://www.rfolc.com/courses/fall17.shtml

awww....it's 8 AM PST for the live lesson. Hubby just nixed this because our kiddo is not a morning person. I think this is the link to signing up for the fall with details about how this works and pricing. http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=qbuzdm9ab&oeidk=a07eedp71j448a0dfbb

SnapChat recently changed their app so that users can see where you are now. A lot of parents are not aware about this feature. This is a huge potential risk for young people. So, it would be prudent to use ghost mode. https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/2017/07/14/your-teen-snapchat-ghost-mode-and-track-their-time/460966001/

ohhh! This is perfect. My son took a chess class over the summer for 3 weeks and is super interested and asked to take the class again. This totally fills that niche.

It's a whole new way of parenting now because of tablets and smartphones...This was posted on Crosswalk which is a Christian website, but it's helpful to be aware of what these apps are and what your family is being exposed to by using them. http://www.crosswalk.com/slideshows/the-9-most-dangerous-apps-for-kids.html

I never do tests. We use the Standards edition. The reviews in the TB and WB were plenty to assess how he was doing. You could totally just use that as your test. For homeschoolers, tests are often not necessary as you have a pretty good sense of where your kiddo is as you go along.

Concise History of US published by K12 would be better than the 11 volume Hakim series given your age ranges. I have both sets.

Well, Mind Benders 3 & 4 are aimed at Grades 3 to 6. Level 5 and higher are Grade 7 to 12. Does that help you?

He he...I went to Cal and know plenty of recent grads from Cal due to some alumni groups. It is completely possible to graduate in 4 years, but you have to be intentional and strategic about how you go about doing it.

The first 1/3 of Jacobs is pretty much pre-algebra. So I vote go for it as well.

Oh yes, I almost forgot...the Disney Imagineering DVDs are great. I have access to this at the library as well. https://www.dep-store.com/Science-of-Disney-Imagineering-Bundle-p/77e44vl00.htm

If you can find the DVD series based on those books, they are fantastic. My library has a set in circulation. https://www.libraryvideocompany.com/The-Way-Things-Work-Series-CE2188-p/ce2188.htm I can't remember if you use any Christian materials, but I am really liking Apologia's Exploring Chemistry and Physics book. About 2/3 of it is physics focused. Even though I have used the rest the series - astronomy, botany, zoology and haven't loved them (my son likes them), this one I liked much better. I have the human anatomy one and haven't used it yet. This youtube channel is great as well: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicswoman

Grammaropolis is pretty fun if you are open to an app. They run deals on this all the time of homeschool buyers co-op.

Buying the pdf was worth it for me. I just waiting until they did a sale and bought them all.

Yes, but it is a large one of 120 families. There are other gifted families at my co-op though it's not a widely known fact. I have been able to get him in a few classes that are out of his age range but within his ability, but it's either because I am in there with him or that parent teaching knows my kiddo well. I teach a science class he takes at my co-op and aim it at a higher grade level. It's known to be on the rigorous side and challenging, so families know that up front before signing up for my class. I mostly go for non academic classes though where it is least about grade levels. For example, he is going to take California history, art appreciation, social etiquette and geography games class.