New Homeschooler of Three Boys, One Highly Gifted...Help!

[MeredithMcC]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm beginning homeschooling this year and am very excited. I have three boys (all elementary) at different levels. My 9 year old is highly gifted. I took him home so I could offer more learning opportunities at his pace (whatever that may be), and now I'm starting to panic. How do I meet his needs while teaching two others? I would love to hear any advise and imput from all of you out there with experience.

 

Thanks for your help and encouragement!

 

Meredith

[mmasmommy]

Meredith,

 

I have no advice as we're just starting this journey as well. Just wanted to say hi and welcome. I'm glad to see others just starting out too, it's good to know I'm not alone!

 

Amy

Newbie HSing Mom to my 3

DD-9, DS-7, and DD-2 along for the ride

[HeidiD]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm beginning homeschooling this year and am very excited. I have three boys (all elementary) at different levels. My 9 year old is highly gifted. I took him home so I could offer more learning opportunities at his pace (whatever that may be), and now I'm starting to panic. How do I meet his needs while teaching two others? I would love to hear any advise and imput from all of you out there with experience.

 

Thanks for your help and encouragement!

 

Meredith

 

 

No need to panic! Really, it's not difficult at all. :)

 

I'll share some of my lessons learned along the way, and once you get started, you'll find even better ways to run your own little schoolhouse.

 

I like Charlotte Mason's slogan - "Education is an atmosphere, a discipline, a life". So we set up the house to facilitate this ideal. Lots and lots of books, science tools, art supplies, reproduction art masterpieces hung here and there, classical music playing. So much learning is easily absorbed this way.

 

Also, it can be helpful to group your kids together for lessons. I've been reading the boards here for the past month, trying to decide on books and curricula for the upcoming year. "Living books" and multi-level programs (or at least some that adapt well to various levels) are really helpful when teaching multiple kids.

 

I share the lament of so many people posting here who find that their plans fizzle rapidly because their kids go through the books far more quickly than expected. I made a planbook which consists of subject templates rather than a lesson plan format (mostly empty at this time of year - they'll be filled in as we go along). That kind of system allows for a plan, but also plenty of flexibility to adjust as needed, without a lot of erasing. Also I pick out some books/workbooks for each elementary-aged child that they'll work in independently throughout the year. And these materials, and also their individual reading materials, are where I mainly differentiate between the various ability levels among the kids.

 

Often, after we've read a book together or done a project or whatever, this will light a spark of interest, and hopefully after that, they'll go off on their own and do something else related to the original topic (this is where having so many books and supplies around really pays off). It can also get ugly though, like last week when they were arguing fiercely over who got to use the microscope. They were all struck with the same spark at once that day. :lol:

 

I resisted the idea of a schoolroom for the longest time but finally set up our family room as a schoolroom with desks, etc. I have boys too, and they can be WILD at times. Less mischief occurs when they are seated at separate desks and I can move between them, keeping them all on track with math, copywork, etc.

 

Oh, and when teaching multiple kids, it helps to start your school year with kind of a trial run. For the last couple of weeks we've been starting to ease into the new school year (officially it starts the beginning of August). This way I can get a feel for how realistic our tentative schedule actually is, a sense of whether the books/curricula I've picked out are going to be too easy, too hard or perhaps too boring, and adjust accordingly.

 

So this is how I deal with the challenge of teaching the elementary school crowd. We also have homeschooled teenagers and haven't managed to ruin them yet, so something must be working right around here. :)

 

Best of luck - I hope you have a terrific year. :001_smile:

[MeredithMcC]

Thanks Heidi and Amy!

 

I really appreciate the welcome and am so glad to be jumping in the deep end with you, Amy.

 

Heidi, that was an awesome post! I am still mulling over your advice and a couple of things stuck out to me. I will need to have more books on hand, especially for my gifted son who reads them like he's eating potatoe chips. Also, I'm very interested in the "environment" of learning you quoted from CM. I'll have to put some thought into that. Not creating another "school" but rather an environment. hhhhmmmm.

 

I cracked up at the separate desks for boys thing. That's why we got a minivan...so the three of them wouldn't have to touch eachother. Never really thought about it throwing the same wrench into learning. We may have to do some garage sale shopping for desks. :lol:

 

Thanks again!

 

Meredith

[JennW in SoCal]

Atmosphere for my homeschool definitely isn't creating a school, but is more of an attitude that learning is everywhere, happens all the time and simply is what we do as a family.

 

My boys were surrounded by books, and all the supplies they needed to explore or create: legos, paper, scissors, markers, crafty doo-dads, magnifying glasses, magnets, science kits and how to books. Even a digital camera and video camera were part of school. We had educational games, watched every NOVA program and Mythbusters and documentary on tv (or at the library), went to museums and the zoo and other activities regularly, listened to audio books in the car, listened to NPR. Most importantly, we talked and shared our discoveries, our opinions. My boys have remained open to new ideas, receptive to all sorts of topics, and are really good writers as they've figured out how to put all those ideas and opinions onto paper.

 

We tackled formal school, really skill subjects such as writing and math in the earlier grades, foreign language and logic were added in the teen years, at a designated time, but reading, science and history were all intertwined and mostly driven by interests.

 

It will take you a while to figure out all the details of how to juggle your three boys, but get used to it as every year you'll have to figure it out all over again as they age and have different needs. Keep a sense of humor, don't feel obligated to get to every single little plan you have. Just as your family is the same but different from every other family out there, your homeschooling life grow and develop into something unique and wonderful. Just do the next page in math, keep a journal of all that your boys do and read so you can reassure yourself that they ARE learning.

[mmasmommy]

I'm so excited to read eveyone's ideas! When I first started contemplating the crazy idea of HSing I thought I NEEDED a boxed curriculum. I was so insecure in my ability to teach my kids the things they needed to know. After reading, reading, and more reading along with doing a summer "trial run" I'm realizing that the boxed currculum I thought was so great is actually the opposite of what we need. Reading what others are doing and have done is giving me the inspiration and confidence I needed to jump in with both feet.

 

Thank you to everyone that has shared. I am now okay with not trying to stuff my out of the box kids into a box and I know we're all going to be happier because of it! :001_smile:

[MeredithMcC]

Thanks Jenn! Education/learning as a way of life. An atmosphere of exploration, questioning, discovery. I am inspired.

 

Meredith

[EKS]

What's going on with the other two?

 

The reason I ask is that biologically related siblings are generally fairly close in intelligence. If they are not, it's a good idea to determine if there is a learning issue.

 

The reason I bring this up is that when my younger son was very obviously showing signs of being highly gifted, I stepped up my efforts to understand what was going on with my older son. Turns out that the older one has dyslexia, ADHD, and sensory processing problems that were getting in the way of his intellect. The older one's most recent IQ scores show that he is right up there with his brother.

[melmichigan]

What's going on with the other two?

 

This would be my question too. Most studies show biological siblings to be close to each other. I've had three of my five tested so far and they are all close in IQ, my twins are only 1 point apart, although you wouldn't know it yet on achievement, one has APD.

[MeredithMcC]

Kai and Mel,

 

Thanks for this insight. This is one of the reasons I'm bringing them all home. I'm not exactly sure where the middle guy (7) falls on the spectrum and I want to find out. He was in a class at school this year with a nice enough teacher, but there were many issues in the class itself...adhd, autism, behavior problems. All great kids, but a really tough mix. The teacher struggled all year with classroom management. My kiddo is pretty mellow and toes the line - just his personality. He also does well in school, so I'm pretty sure he was just sort of "there" flying way under the radar.

 

His report cards showed good marks and he excels in math, but he's not easy to read so to speak. I don't necessarily see the same signs of HG as my older one. However, I know it shows itself in many different ways, and this is one of the reasons I'm excited to have him home. I want to actually know my son and who he is in this area.

 

Maybe you all can give me some of the signs to look for in terms of different learning disabilities. That's one of my concerns about homeschooling...how will I know if there's a problem? I'm not trained in that!?

 

My little guy (5) learned to read from 2 hours of preschool 4 days a week last year, so he very well may be HG. We'll see. Part of the problem is I need some other markers to evaluate besides academic performance, which is what the schools generally go by. Any ideas on a book that might help?

 

Thank you so much for your insights!

 

Meredith

[mycalling]

I agree with watching the other two. My oldest ds9 is the one I think of as most gifted...he's not. They just snowball each year to where he's years beyond his brother who's only 15mo younger, yet his brother is exactly where my oldest was at that age!

 

It's easy to focus on the one leading the gifted pack as they always seem so much farther ahead because a year in early elementary for a gifted child easily equals 2+ years in knowledge/development.

 

Now that your boys are out of school and able to develop at their own progression, outside interference (like your 2nd son's classroom) won't bog down their potential.