Tips for new homeschooling mom....

[mommyto4QT]

Hi, I plan to start homeschooling this fall. I will have a 2nd grader that is gifted. We are removing him from his current public school for a variety of reasons. His favorite "subject" in 1st grade is his Gifted program (a 2 hour per week pull-out).

 

I would like tips from anyone homeschooling a gifted/accelerated learner. What is the best curriculum (in your opinion), other activities that you've used, etc. that have kept your child from being "bored" with HS?? Also, what has continued to develop your child's love of learning??

[JennW in SoCal]

I don't post very often any more as I'm pretty much done with homeschooling, but here I am with my 2nd post on the accelerated learner board today. I just can't help myself when it comes to suggestions for the early years of homeschooling as I have such fond memories of those days!

 

So much of the curricula that folks are using today were not around we we started 12 years ago, but I didn't use much curricula any way except for math. We used Miquon and Singapore pretty much through the elementary years. I used the principles from the WTM to do my own language arts, having my kids do copy work, dictation and narration (not all in one week and not all in the same year -- we worked up to written narrations). Grammar was though games and diagramming sentences, and vocabulary was built through reading. Spelling was a nightmare. I did try every program out there, but ultimately it just took time. Correct spelling slowly got ingrained through edits and rewrites and e-mails to the grandparents.

 

I never used a history or literature "program" in my 12 years of homeschooling. My kids didn't have a formal science course until high school. We read, explored and did lots of hands on projects, and then we read some more and talked about everything we read, saw or did.

 

Curricula is a tiny part of homeschooling. Really. Curricula may be the be-all end-all of a school, but homeschooling is something different. You have to tweak your thinking a bit to think of learning as happening anywhere and everywhere, that it isn't limited to time "doing school". A true love of learning comes from living interesting lives and from pursuing interests in depth. We read aloud through the teen years and still share books and love to discuss what we like or don't like. We spent hours at the zoo and museums, attended plays, went on guided tours or attended lectures. Even in high school we sometimes would drop everything just to go to the zoo for the afternoon. My dh and I modeled what it is to be an engaged, lifelong learners, and now my grown up kids are engaged in the world around them, asking questions and staying interested in whatever is in front of them.

 

My kids always had strong interests and the flexibility of homeschooling allowed them the time to go in depth into their interests. My oldest was a volunteer at the dinosaur exhibits at our local natural history museum -- when he was only 8 years old! Later as a young teen he started learning the ropes of the tech department at our church. By the time he graduated from high school he was being hired to design the lighting for school and youth theater productions. My younger son interned with an electrical engineer and did such a good job that he was asked back to help test boards when there was an overload of work.

 

My personal bottom line? Work on basic skills each day, then spend hours reading aloud, playing games, doing crafts and exploring the world. Even if those crafts and books are from a program, recognize that history, literature and science, the "content" subjects, are the fun part of the day. The skills are what will give your student the tools to do higher level work one day. Allow lots of time to pursue interests. Don't worry about holes in their knowledge as they naturally get plugged as the years go by. Just keep that light in their eyes burning bright.

[SuperDad]

My personal bottom line? Work on basic skills each day, then spend hours reading aloud, playing games, doing crafts and exploring the world. Even if those crafts and books are from a program, recognize that history, literature and science, the "content" subjects, are the fun part of the day. The skills are what will give your student the tools to do higher level work one day. Allow lots of time to pursue interests. Don't worry about holes in their knowledge as they naturally get plugged as the years go by. Just keep that light in their eyes burning bright.

:iagree:

 

There are already plenty of tips on the Web for general homeschooling, so I'll try to offer advice specifically pertaining to the homeschooling of gifted kids.

 

1. Give up on everything you thought you knew about homeschooling. For that matter, give up on everything you thought you knew about education in general. Your child WILL break the rules... so try not to set any. (I don't mean rules like "don't bite your sister".)

 

2. Focus on meeting your child where he is. Not where you think he should be. Not where the how-to-homeschool book says he should be. Not even where the experts say he should be. Where he actually is.

 

3. Be willing to try new things and think outside the box.

 

4. Seek out support. Parenting and homeschooling a gifted child is one of the hardest things I have ever done. I couldn't have done it alone.

 

OK, now I'll try to offer some help on curricula. Here are some programs that seem to be popular among homeschoolers of gifted kids (this is definitely not a comprehensive list, just things off of the top of my head):

 

MATH

Singapore Math (some use the whole program, others take just the IP/CWP books and use them to supplement a different program)

MEP

Beast Academy (what is out so far)

Miquon

 

EVERYTHING ELSE

Building Foundations of Scientific Understanding (BFSU)

Michael Clay Thompson (MCT) Language Arts

Interest-led studies

Tons and tons of reading

 

Don't forget enrichment studies like music and foreign language.

 

HTH!

[Tracy]

There are two things that I have done with dd7 that have made a world of difference. The first is to make sure we spend lots of time focussing on what she loves, and in her case that is history and geography. The second was to work hard on writing. At the beginning of this year, she was slightly behind in writing, because she just didn't have the stamina to do it, and she struggled with spelling. So I spent a lot of time pushing copywork and spelling this year, and I am so glad that I did that. In spite of some initial tears, she is now able to do things requiring writing that she wants to do, which have recently including writing letters to family, keeping a journal, and writing a report on something she read about. It has opened up a whole new world for her that she didn't previously have.

[Lorna]

Wow! I couldn't agree with JennW more! What a wise lady! Our oldest starts high school next year (skipping 8th grade), and we will have a third grader and first grader both in their second year of homeschooling. I homeschooled the oldest until fourth grade and I went back to school to finish my RN degree. I give the background because I see how different my oldest daughter's ways of thinking, etc. are because of years of exploring, reading to her, field trips, living everyday life, etc. Most days it didn't even feel like school. Our state doesn't mandatory test until third grade, so I really had no idea if she was at grade level, below, or above. Of course, sometimes I worried that we weren't doing enough "school". Then, we sent her to public school for those 2 years and she was in the gifted program and was asked to take the SAT and scored higher than I did as a junior (new scoring taken into account)!

 

It's not so much the curriculum but you, the teacher. You know your child and his interests better than anyone else. You've known him the longest and you know whether he likes to complete worksheets for hours on end, work puzzles, or spend all rainy afternoon reading. The most highly touted curriculum in the world is worthless if it isn't a fit for your child. For us, I researched the philosophies of homeschooling rather than the endless curriculum choices. Once I found the way I preferred them to be educated, it was easier to find choices that fit the philosophy. Hope that makes sense. It is also necessary to be flexible. If you need a break, take it. When you are a slave to a super strict schedule, you might feel you are accomplishing it all, but chances are you child will be miserable.

 

I also want you to be encouraged as you start this journey. The task seems daunting, but you know what's best for your child. With my youngest daughter that started off K-1 in public school, this year was tough. The first nine weeks or so, she complained a lot and missed her friends...and told me about it every chance she got. But, by mid-year, she started really coming around. We kept in touch with some of her closest buddies and put her in an extracurricular activity that allowed her to see some of them and also make new friends! Expect some bad days, but don't let it get you down.

 

Best wishes and hope some of this rambling helps! :001_smile:

[AK_Mom4]

Three Cheers for JennW! That advice is right on target.

 

DD11 would tell you that homeschooling is fun! Of course, that means I'm usually scrambling to keep ahead of her with challenging material lined up. But she enjoys what she is learning and we have time to do fun stuff (library, music, trips, visit friends). Have Fun!

[Crimson Wife]

Unless your child is only slightly accelerated and working at a similar level in all subjects, avoid "boxed" or "integrated" curricula. It's an exercise in frustration using them IMHO because they require so much modification that it defeats the purpose of getting them in the first place. Piecing together your own curriculum seems like it's more work but in practice it's actually easier.

 

When in doubt between two levels of a particular curriculum, get the harder one and just go at a slower pace. You'll avoid having to buy multiple levels in a short period of time.

 

It is better to up the challenge level by going "deeper" than by going faster. It's not a race to see whose child can get to algebra the fastest! Sure, a gifted kid could skate through an easy curriculum like TT or MUS but IMHO the parent is doing him/her a disservice. Far better to go more slowly through a harder curriculum like Singapore with the IP's and CWP's, MEP, or Beast Academy/Art of Problem Solving.

[Beth in SW WA]

I don't post very often any more as I'm pretty much done with homeschooling, but here I am with my 2nd post on the accelerated learner board today.

:001_smile:

 

We miss your posts!!

[calimom04]

We started out with abeka which is great for advanced learners. K-3 I loved abeka.Christian light education is good too.

[La Texican]

If you plan to send him back to school then you should try to keep him working at his grade level and add extra "enrichment classes" if you want him to "fit in the box" when he goes back. *unless you're going to send him anyway and he never would fit in the box

 

If you just want to ignite a fire and fan the flames then you can do a lot of work before you even buy your first cirriculum. *Study this forum and study the amazon book reviews for ideas on how other people and books are teaching skills and use your words, pencil and paper, and a whiteboard with a bulk supply of markers to demonstrate a skill. *

 

Here Nan in Mass explains twtm narration, dictation, and copywork.

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=255839

 

From what I gather you verbally work on orally summarizing from one piece of literature WHILE you work on the writing skills by copying lines from a different work of literature. *In other words good note taking and study skills start off early with a handwritten copy-work of well written sentences (can be found in good literature). *A sentence a day goes a long way. * A great start would be discussing the plot of a movie like Shrek, or a book like Charlottes web. *They should orally retell the story with their own words and they will get better with practice. *At the same time they can hand copy lines from any book you like so they learn what writing a good sentence looks like, and a paragraph, and so forth.*

 

You Tube has great educational videos like these:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUHFzH06HqU&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

 

Here's the worksheet:

 

http://www.homeschoolmath.net/teaching/md/multiplication-number-line.php

 

Ps sign up here for a free daily math word problem. *Good Times!

 

http://bedtimemathproblem.org/

 

Which is why a whiteboard is cheaper than workbooks, especially with asynchronous gifted kids that "get" stuff in fits and spurts. *

 

If you're enthusiastic about this and you just keep teaching as long as they want to keep learning and you just want to try to stay one step ahead of them (that's called the zone of proximal development- it means whatever your kid can do with a little help today they're getting darn close to being able to do it independently) then I don't even think you have to do everything every day, just do something every day. *Measure bi-weekly or longer term goals instead of daily goals . *From a second grader you might want to get practiced up in reading, writing, & arithmetic. *Spend a little time reading online about how different books are presenting the materials you're going to work on next. *

For example montessori does this for place value and I'm jealous, but the materials are too expensive. *

 

 

So I used pennies, dimes, and dollars. Pennies go in this column, dimes here, dollars here. *If you have more than ten make change and carry the one.*

 

I just saw these lessons on how to use an abacus to show place value. *http://rightstartmath.com/home-school/ipad-sample-lessons

 

So you see there's a lot of ways to get an education across to your child and a lot of people are talking about how to do it online. *You can read more about it and spend less time teaching *it and still get the skills across while your kid has most of the day free to play with their toys or go outside. *

 

I like Draw Write Now. *I think one of those books is really worth the money. *Ed Emberly and Jann Brett have how to draw videos online. *

 

There's a free life science textbook I've been reading out of here:

http://www.eequalsmcq.com/homeschoolers.htm

(we don't do nova and such but Alice in Quantumland is sitting on my bookshelf for when it's time.). **

 

Look in the following thread for Lewlema's posts on page 1 & 3 which really goes to show you why science is more like Sid the Science Kid says, "investigate, explore, discover" (& log) rather than memorize, copy, and follow directions.*

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263107

*But like you can *also work on a little textbook info using this

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=378388

 

From what I gather twtm suggests a spiral approach to science and history where there's three cycles in twelve years and the first round you just expose them to the vocabulary, introduce the characters, then go over it again for the details. *

This goes directly to address the "gaps" worries. *IOW you're never going to know everything there is to know about everything. *You'll get back to it. *It will come back up again. *Trust me. *What you're really doing is building up brain stamina and learning tools and a knowledge bank. *

 

Don't think this long post means we spend all day studying. *More like I spend all day looking for something new at his level that I want to tell him or show him or share with him. *And I expect him to do a little work on his stamina every day (reading, writing, arithmetic). *Although I count drawing as writing and copy-work as writing and dictation as writing but I don't count written math work as writing. *Some days his math is written. *Somedays I write the answers for him. *Somedays our math isn't on paper. *It's been said here by at least one person that using math often and from a young age is beneficial. *The Bedtime Math website agrees. *None of our studies line up on the same grade level but on his personal zone of asynchronous proximal development. *

 

Pre-Algebra from what I've read is mostly a review of all the arithmetic leading up to it if you want to get a good look at what you're doing in elementary math. *

 

The homescientist has this somewhere on his website telling you how to keep a science log because quote, "Remember that the ultimate goal of a laboratory notebook is to provide a permanent record of all the information necessary for someone else to reproduce your experiment and replicate your results. Leave nothing out. Even the smallest, apparently trivial, detail may make the difference.". P.21. **

 

http://www.thehomescientist.com/manuals/ck01-manual.pdf#page21

 

 

I'm rambling too much. *I'm kind of into this. * My sister has an early childhood education degree and I'm always passing on info to her because I can't quit reading this board. * Sorry for the long post. *It took 2hrs to write. *

 

*I'll tell you what lessons I've bought if that helps but our kids are at different zone of development in a lot of places probably so I thought I'd be more helpful showing you how and where I find things to teach and how I decide what to teach. *He's my little hothouse flower but in a good way. *We planted the seed and watered and weeded.

[Alte Veste Academy]

:001_smile:

 

We miss your posts!!

 

:iagree:

 

Hi, I plan to start homeschooling this fall. I will have a 2nd grader that is gifted. We are removing him from his current public school for a variety of reasons. His favorite "subject" in 1st grade is his Gifted program (a 2 hour per week pull-out).

 

I would like tips from anyone homeschooling a gifted/accelerated learner. What is the best curriculum (in your opinion), other activities that you've used, etc. that have kept your child from being "bored" with HS?? Also, what has continued to develop your child's love of learning??

 

An oldie but goodie: Teach the child, not the curriculum.

 

And books. Lots and lots and lots of books...

[chepyl]

We love Singapore Math!! With the text, workbook, IP, amd CWP he is getting solid practice In his basic skills (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, fractions, measurement, and geometry) but being challenged to think more mathematically. He begs to do the CWP book!

 

We also enjoy rod and staff English. It is not particularly challenging in the early levels, but he is learning his grammar really well. It can he done quickly and orally. Next year we will have more writing, but he is excited about diagramimg sentences!

 

Don't assume you know where he is in math and spelling. Give him.placent tests. I did them slowly over the summer last year. I tested math with tests from Singapore's site. For spelling we use spelling plus. I tested him at the start of the year by just spelling a list every few days until we hit a weak point.

 

Just because he is gifted and accelerated does not mean you have to push hard through the harder material. Other factors may slow progress, and that is fine, let him go at his own pace. My son has no stamina for writing yet. We stop when he starts to get tired. Some days that is 6 math pages, 4 dictation sentences, and then a lapbook or coloring page for history. Other days, we get one page of math, one sentence, and only listening to history, science, or a few poems. When their brain works ahead of their fine motor skills, you have to slow down at times.

 

If he starts saying he hates school, you need to see why. Are you pushing to hard or not hard enough. Is the work too hard or too easy? Is it time for a long weekend or a Wednesday off.

 

We have had all art days, all lego days, and all educational games days (this includes a few wii and computer games, and some strategy games on my ipod, math bingo, yahtzee, and monopoly. They learn a lot from games. Yahtzee has been better for multiplication drill than workbook pages. Same for money and monopoly!