Teaching to the gifted brain

[MASHomeschooler]

I have read many places, and completely agree, that gifted students can and should do more than just accelerate - they should go deeper, use higher-order thinking skills earlier and more, etc. My oldest was in one self-contained gifted program for K and another for 1st and the first quarter of 2nd, after which we started homeschooling (one quarter ago). They both touted this idea, but I didn't feel they actually did it. Now I feel like I've not been doing it either, at least not "enough." So, I'm looking for input from others. How do you do it?

Is there a curriculum that you find does this well (any subject)?

Is there a book you read that helped you see how to do it?

Is there something you just do that you can explain?

Any other resources you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

[MinivanMom]

I don't think there is an easy answer to your questions. If there was an easy answer then brick-and-mortar schools wouldn't have any problem accomodating gifted learners and there wouldn't be so many parents on these forums searching for the right curriculum materials. That said, there are a few things that I have personally found helpful:

 

1. Reading books, articles, and websites about gifted children. Not everything I've read has been equally helpful, but it has helped to know that I'm not alone. It's also nice to have all those ideas rattling around in my head when I encounter a new obstacle.

 

2. Reading books, articles, and websites about how to teach individual subject areas in a rigorous way. I've found that there is a lot to be learned from those who are experts in individual fields and that has helped me to know how to delve deeper.

 

3. Developing a personal attitude that encourages depth and quality over speed. If I'm concerned with getting through a workbook so we can move onto the next workbook then that attitude shows to my children. The more I let go of the need to compare my children to others or to the average, the more I am free to support them in moving at their own pace. That gives us the freedom to savor our learning and dig a little deeper.

 

Some books I have enjoyed along the way and that I felt were helpful to me (in no particular order):

Einstein Never Used Flashcards

The Read-Aloud Handbook

The Hurried Child

Punished By Rewards

For The Children's Sake

The Well-Trained Mind

Growing Up Gifted

A Parent's Guide to Gifted Children

Nurture Shock

Deconstructing Penguins

Knowing and Teaching Elementary Math (I think that's the right title - the Liping Ma book)

 

Some curriculums that are popular among those with gifted/accelerated students (I have not used all of these; they are just the ones that get mentioned most often.):

Singapore Math

Art of Problem-Solving

MCT Language Arts

Real Science 4 Kids

CPO Science

*I'm probably forgetting several wonderful curriculum resources, but these are the ones that occur to me in the moment.*

[JennW in SoCal]

I agree that they should go deeper, and I'll try to explain what worked for me by using your questions as prompts..

 

Is there a curriculum that you find does this well (any subject)?

Except for math and Latin, I didn't use any curricula until high school when I only added science text books to formal science courses. Oh and a year of formal logic in high school when I used the Memoria Press program. In my most humble of opinions, most curricula for science, history and literature is very closed ended -- the writers and editors have a specific scope and sequence planned for you and are looking to prompt students to having a set answer to a limited set of questions. To me that isn't an education. Instead I think it is more important to learn to ask your own questions, search for answers, to articulate a defense of an opinion.

 

ETA: there are many new curriculum resources out there now that weren't around 12 years ago when I started homeschooling. MCT language arts is an example of one of them -- I used them the last 2 years of homeschooling high school.

 

Is there a book you read that helped you see how to do it?

The Well Trained Mind and The Well Educated Mind

 

Is there something you just do that you can explain?

My 2 college boys were just discussing this with us over Christmas dinner. The best thing I did, according to these 2 very successful college boys, was reading aloud and discussing things for hours every day. The second best thing I did was feeding their interests by getting every library book and documentary DVD I could find on a subject, taking them on field trips or to lectures to learn more about the subjects, and getting them hands on experience, whenever possible, with adult mentors. This is how we covered history and science for most of the first 8 years of homeschooling, though I would introduce concepts or historical periods if I felt there was a gaping hole somewhere, or if there was a lapse in their own interest.

 

I introduced them to great literature through reading aloud or listening with them to audio books, every day for hours. I'd pause to talk about points in the story, or sometimes something would come up later and we'd talk about it. We still talk together about everything we see and do. We ask questions aloud, someone invariably starts googling, then we debate what the google results say. We talk about movies, about tv shows, about art, and about books. All these discussions, according to my homeschool grads, are what prepared them for college and made them good writers because they didn't spend 12 years learning to take standardized tests or answer set curricula questions. They learned to think for themselves, they enjoy class discussion, and simply put onto paper what they would say in our discussions.

 

We played lots of games -- math games, strategy games, logic games, word games. We even diagrammed Mad Libs sentences a few times!

 

My kids also had lots of free time for building with legos or drawing or just creating. I just made sure they had the materials on hand and let them at it.

 

The skills part of school -- math, logic, grammar and writing -- were tackled at the beginning of every school day. We followed a math curricula (there are so many wonderful new ones out there!), just doing the next lesson each day. Logic was mostly games and the Dandylion work books (Logic countdown, liftoff and orbiting) or Critical Thinking workbooks (mostly Mindbenders) which my boys never thought of as school. I didn't use grammar or spelling programs, mostly because they seemed to not work for my particular kids. They'd do a lesson perfectly but never incorporate it into their own writing. So I dumped that and simply had them do lots of copy work and dictation, and eventually written narrations -- always using as my source material the books we were currently reading, whether science, literature or history. I would edit for mistakes and have them write corrections -- never overwhelming them with too much on any one day.

 

Any other resources you recommend?It isn't a specific resource, but a couple of catch phrases that stuck with me over the years to share with you. One was from a regular on these boards many years ago, and that is to keep the light shining in your child's eyes. If that light isn't on, he is bored. When that light is there, you've got an eager sponge on your hands. (Don't let the middle school years fool you -- there is no light, only a sarcastic rolling of the eyes. Just keep reading aloud -- they are still learning but won't give you the satisfaction of knowing it.)

 

The other catch phrase is to love the kid on the couch. (This is from College Confidential, the boards where all the college application angst spills out from students and parents alike.) In other words never compare what your child is doing to what you read here about other kids. Feed the mind of YOUR kid with whatever works for him or her and don't get frustrated that he isn't what you had pictured or isn't just like some other kids. Obvious advice, but we all need to remind ourselves of it at times over the years.

 

Do whatever works. You will have bad days, even weeks, but homeschooling is a marathon (oooh-- another WTM catch phrase!). Just try to keep an eye on the big picture! I found keeping a journal helped because I could read it during those bad spells and remind myself of all the wonderful learning that really was happening.

 

Thanks in advance.

I hope this long reply helped -- it may not be what you were looking for!!

[quark]

Any other resources you recommend?It isn't a specific resource, but a couple of catch phrases that stuck with me over the years to share with you. One was from a regular on these boards many years ago, and that is to keep the light shining in your child's eyes. If that light isn't on, he is bored. When that light is there, you've got an eager sponge on your hands. (Don't let the middle school years fool you -- there is no light, only a sarcastic rolling of the eyes. Just keep reading aloud -- they are still learning but won't give you the satisfaction of knowing it.)

 

The other catch phrase is to love the kid on the couch. (This is from College Confidential, the boards where all the college application angst spills out from students and parents alike.) In other words never compare what your child is doing to what you read here about other kids. Feed the mind of YOUR kid with whatever works for him or her and don't get frustrated that he isn't what you had pictured or isn't just like some other kids. Obvious advice, but we all need to remind ourselves of it at times over the years.

 

Do whatever works. You will have bad days, even weeks, but homeschooling is a marathon (oooh-- another WTM catch phrase!). Just try to keep an eye on the big picture! I found keeping a journal helped because I could read it during those bad spells and remind myself of all the wonderful learning that really was happening.

 

Beautifully said! Thank you!

[Kathy in Richmond]

One was from a regular on these boards many years ago, and that is to keep the light shining in your child's eyes. If that light isn't on, he is bored. When that light is there, you've got an eager sponge on your hands.

 

Kpzz, right?! I loved her posts!

[MASHomeschooler]

Thanks! Those are very helpful, and what I was looking for (as much as I was looking for anything specific). And, YES! To the light shining in their eyes. This is the best way to describe the main reason we took them out of school - their lights were dimming - most dramatically my son's, whose used to be SO bright, and within the first quarter of K was almost gone. :( It is coming back, but I want them to regain and keep full brightness. Thanks again!

[Pod's mum]

We are about grade level with the very basics.

 

For the rest...

We watch long, detailed DVD's -currently History of Britian

Attend adult public lectures together

Fill the house with good books

Buy more

And more...

Leave good non-fiction books all around, they do get read

Cultivate mentors/friends. Adults especially in the fields your kids like

Attend open days at museums, universities, art galleries, crematoriums etc etc

Join Science clubs

Have lots of time to play, read, think, discuss etc

Anyway, hope this gives feed for thought.

[Pod's mum]

(Back again, sorry laptop went flat.)

 

I wanted to add that there was a thread on the old board about doing-hard-things; not explaining everything (especially maths etc) but making them work through the frustration and come back to it until they work it out for themselves.

Of course there are some things they just will be blocked on, and this is something you'll get wrong at times, BUT I think it is a principle that works really well. (Yes even with hair-triggered teens).

"I can't do it, I don't know what they are asking."

"Read it through again, if you still can't do it then go on to the next one and then come back to it."

(etc)

I'd prefer my dd(s) not being accelerated if it means they need to be spoon fed. I'm happier for them to go a bit slower and work it out independantly.

 

I'm nasty at answering "I can't do it."

with "Well that's not the end point, you need to do it, so work out how you can."

We do this with everything, not just school work, but she sees me having to work out how to do difficult things all the time. Paying someone else is not usually an option, so we learn how to do it.

 

 

I'll go and see if I saved that thread, maybe someone here did?

[songsparrow]

One resource that I like is this blog: http://www.byrdseed.com/

Written by a teacher of 6th grade gifted students, I enjoy seeing what he is doing with his students. He doesn't post frequently, but when he does post they are quality posts.