teaching gifted kids

[lgliser]

I'm strongly considering homeschooling my triplets next year for first grade and on. I've been using this year to really research and think about things. I've talked to lots of people and one thing that I hear from parents with gifted children is "Oh I couldn't teach him/her. I just wouldn't know what to do....." etc.

 

I don't know if any of my kids are gifted or not but I'm just wondering what a homeschooling parent's reply to this might be.

 

One worry I do have is that maybe I wouldn't recognize if one of my kids were gifted. And even if not "gifted" how will I realize if they need to be challenged more...? I guess just if they're zipping through work? And how do you know the difference between gifted and just pretty bright?

 

Thanks!

[lisabees]

The beauty with homeschooling is that you can meet your child's needs, whether he needs to slow down or speed up. I am not sure why a parent would say she cannot keep up with a gifted child. It's quite the opposite. There are many resources for homeschoolers - online courses, academic competitions etc. This flexibility is not usually available at the typical public school. Most gifted kids have a strong, if not obsessive, passion for something. This is where homeschooling also shines. If your kid wants to learn Japanese, he can. If your kid is obsessed with marine biology as a 9 year old, he can learn it and live it. If your kid wants to work 3 years ahead in mathematics, he can.

 

So, you see, you don't need to know whether your kid has an IQ of 100 or 140. As a homeschooler, you meet your child academically, no matter where he is. Of course, you can get him tested and that is helpful to some. But in the end, you just follow your child's lead.

 

I suggest you look at past threads on the Accelerated Learner Board. There are many threads that can help answer your question.

 

Best wishes.

[thebacabunch]

The best part of homeschooling is meeting the kids right where they are. I have 2e kids and I can see that my dd8, for instance, eats certain math texts for breakfast. SHe loves them to pieces. She is ahead in reading by several years, but she is hyperlexic and doesn't always understand what she is perfectly reading. I notice things like which kids like to cut and paste and make lapbooks and which want a large pile of literature and science kits. It is a fun ride, homeschooling!

[Rosie_0801]

I'm strongly considering homeschooling my triplets next year for first grade and on. I've been using this year to really research and think about things. I've talked to lots of people and one thing that I hear from parents with gifted children is "Oh I couldn't teach him/her. I just wouldn't know what to do....." etc.

 

I don't know if any of my kids are gifted or not but I'm just wondering what a homeschooling parent's reply to this might be.

 

My reply would be "Oh well, I'll find out." Quite possibly, the people you are talking to don't want to take on the responsibility because they'd have no one to blame it on if they messed the kids up. Most people around here feel just the same, but we're being brave enough to risk it!

 

One worry I do have is that maybe I wouldn't recognize if one of my kids were gifted. And even if not "gifted" how will I realize if they need to be challenged more...? I guess just if they're zipping through work? And how do you know the difference between gifted and just pretty bright?

 

From what I hear around here, they hit you over the head with it. :p

 

My eldest is the same age as yours, so I'm not homeschooling guru, but knowing when they need to be challenged more hasn't been any different since we've started schooling to what it was before. Dd gets frustrated, fidgets, whinges, nags, deliberately messes up things I know she knows and generally seeks attention in really annoying ways.

 

There are several hundred people on here willing to give advice and it's very rare that nobody knows the answer to a question. :)

[boscopup]

The reason I'm homeschooling today is because my son is gifted. A b&m school can't meet his needs. He was way ahead in reading and math, but average or a tad behind in the physical act of writing. One mom asked why I didn't just grade skip him. Well, he'd still be ahead in reading and math, and he wouldn't be able to keep up with the writing. :tongue_smilie: And he was in a private school, not public. There was just no way for a teacher to meet his needs while meeting the needs of all the other students also. Now at home, he can progress at HIS pace in each subject individually.

 

Knowing whether the kid is "gifted" or "just bright" really isn't important. Meet your kids where they are. If they find something easy (and it's usually easy to tell), you up the level until it's not easy. Sometimes you need to skip things because the kid already knows them well. For example, in the early grades of math, we skipped chapters and sometimes a whole semester's worth of work because my son could demonstrate knowledge on the chapter or end-of-semester tests. Hasn't hurt him one bit to skip those things. He already knew them and has demonstrated them again and again in later math.

 

Now the kids that are hard to keep up with are usually the PG kids, and I don't think a b&m school would have any clue what to do with such kids. So again, they're often better off at home. Even "gifted programs" aren't enough for those kids because they are so much more gifted than the regular kids in the programs. And then you have the 2e kids (often included in the PG group) who are another source of angst for parents, but again would not do any better in a b&m school. What does a school do with a kid that is able to do calculus in elementary school, but can't memorize his/her math facts?

[8filltheheart]

If you simply teach each child as an individual meeting them at their level, then they will progress at the appropriate pace for them. It will be irrelevant whether or not they are slow, avg, bright, gifted. They will be receiving a customized educational plan that helps them reach their highest levels success.

 

 

[....]

One worry I do have is that maybe I wouldn't recognize if one of my kids were gifted. And even if not "gifted" how will I realize if they need to be challenged more...? I guess just if they're zipping through work? And how do you know the difference between gifted and just pretty bright?

 

Sigh, I hate posting this, but my "gifted" kids have signs of other things - like they're not just advanced academically. My 8 yro will goes through periods of time where she has blatant signs of Aspergers. And I know Aspergers doesn't come and go. She also spent a good part of 2012 afraid of Anthrax. I had to cancel cable about 2 years ago, because my oldest daughter would become very worried over any September 11th footage that seemed to just keep playing on every channel (it was September at the time). My oldest daughter would also sit in the back seat of the car and try to calculate how many gallons of gas my minivan needed versus the cost of gas per gallon and she would want to compare that with how much money I had in my account (this was around age 6). They are extremely intense people. I can't get my 8 yro to stop talking/shut off her brain and go to sleep at night. My husband and I are exhausted.

 

As far as being academically advanced - they're really not that advanced when they're younger. In fact, I did not know my oldest daughter tested into the gifted category until our school district called me (she had been in ps at the time). Before that, her teacher had complained to me about how slowly she worked. Mine seem to be little "experts" in certain areas. I have a Bachelor of Science in biology and my 5th grader knows more about plants and animals than I do (I'm serious). My 8 yro built a molecule of keratin for me as a "present". :crying:

 

And homeschooling methods...the more unschooly we are, the happier they are. In fact, this is probably our last semester using a plan until high school.

[Wheres Toto]

The reason I'm homeschooling today is because my son is gifted. A b&m school can't meet his needs. He was way ahead in reading and math, but average or a tad behind in the physical act of writing. One mom asked why I didn't just grade skip him. Well, he'd still be ahead in reading and math, and he wouldn't be able to keep up with the writing. :tongue_smilie: ......... There was just no way for a teacher to meet his needs while meeting the needs of all the other students also. Now at home, he can progress at HIS pace in each subject individually.

 

 

 

This is basically why we homeschool my son, along with suspected adhd, general social quirkiness, not being able to turn off the brain at night.....

 

I have one very bright child, who was considered gifted by test scores, that did very well in public school. She was the type of kid teachers loved - attentive, tried hard, wanted to please, had friends, was very social. But what's right for one may not be right for another.

[kristinannie]

I have found that most people who don't homeschool respond to the fact that I homeschool by saying, "I couldn't homeschool because..." I feel like they are justifying their educational choice in their own minds more than they are offering up real advice.

 

That said, as far as homeschooling gifted children, I think that the home is the best place for them. My son is almost certainly gifted (although I am not planning on having him tested unless I think there are other issues that might be covered up by his giftedness). It is ideal for him to go at his own pace. He has serious behavior issues if he is too challenged or not challenged enough. I try to keep him always slightly challenged. That isn't as hard as it sounds. Honestly, gifted kids like to take ownership of their education and have a lot of choices as to how they do a project or approach something so that is much easier to do at home.

 

I was gifted and went to PS. Aside from the two years (4th and 5th grades) when I was in an all-gifted class, PS never served my needs. The all gifted class was amazing. We were on individualized programs for every subject. Basically, we were homeschooled by a teacher. :laugh:

[Uff Da!]

nm

[AimeeM]

It is a rare public school that meets the needs of gifted kids.

Bingo. Unless, of course, you count the once a week one-hour enrichment class as "meeting their needs".... or the completely gifted school that determines eligibility solely based on standardized test scores (that have to be met across the board even though I don't personally know any SINCERELY *gifted* child that is highly gifted across the board).

 

OP - you've been given great advice already. You are better equipped than anybody to understand and meet your child's needs. You WILL know if they need more challenge; you WILL know if they need to fall back a bit.

[wapiti]

I'm strongly considering homeschooling my triplets next year for first grade and on. I've been using this year to really research and think about things. I've talked to lots of people and one thing that I hear from parents with gifted children is "Oh I couldn't teach him/her. I just wouldn't know what to do....." etc.

 

I don't know if any of my kids are gifted or not but I'm just wondering what a homeschooling parent's reply to this might be.

 

One worry I do have is that maybe I wouldn't recognize if one of my kids were gifted. And even if not "gifted" how will I realize if they need to be challenged more...? I guess just if they're zipping through work? And how do you know the difference between gifted and just pretty bright?

 

Thanks!

 

This list of gifted characteristics might help: http://www.gifteddev...ed/characgt.htm

 

FWIW, gifted kids may develop asyncronously, i.e., unevenly, dramatically ahead in some areas and not as far ahead in other areas (it's also possible to be twice-exceptional, gifted with LDs, which is a whole other degree of unevenness). Work that is insufficiently challenging is just as likely to result in moaning, feet-dragging, daydreaming and distraction as it is to result in zipping through. So, while zipping may be a sign, lack of zipping doesn't necessarily point in the other direction.

 

For multiples in general but especially for gifted ones, I would anticipate that there may be different strengths and weaknesses among them and developmental spurts at different points in time that land them in different places academically (at least that's been the case for my twins; they're in a school that allows for these differences, though such schools are hard to find, and as has been mentioned, homeschooling provides the ultimate custom-fit for academics).

 

As a PP mentioned, see the Accelerated Learning board.

[Five More Minutes]

I'm strongly considering homeschooling my triplets next year for first grade and on. I've been using this year to really research and think about things. I've talked to lots of people and one thing that I hear from parents with gifted children is "Oh I couldn't teach him/her. I just wouldn't know what to do....." etc.

 

If you want to homeschool your kids, whatever their ability, then you can.

 

I don't know if any of my kids are gifted or not but I'm just wondering what a homeschooling parent's reply to this might be.

 

One worry I do have is that maybe I wouldn't recognize if one of my kids were gifted. And even if not "gifted" how will I realize if they need to be challenged more...? I guess just if they're zipping through work? And how do you know the difference between gifted and just pretty bright?

 

Thanks!

 

I really wouldn't worry right now about recognizing giftedness. You meet them where they're at, even if it means doing work that's typically categorized as Grade 3 when they're 5 years old . The beauty of homeschooling is that you're right there and you can help them find the level that they need to be working at.

 

We are homeschooling because our daughters are bright, and one is extremely accelerated in one area. (I haven't bothered doing any giftedness testing.) The b&m school that she was at for her K5 year was wonderful, but had no hope of coping with her. Her teacher, who had 30 years of experience, had never met a student like her: she wanted to challenge her, but at the same time was dealing with a classroom of 25 kids, 5 of whom had special needs or extreme behavioral issues. It wasn't an environment where a student like ours could flourish. We decided to homeschool her for at least one year, and after watching how she's thriving, we're feeling that we're in this for the long haul.

 

I've found the threads on the accelerated board to be really helpful, and advice from people there on specific subjects where we're accelerating has been invaluable. I'd recommend hanging out there for a bit if you think you've got kids who will be chewing through school material.

[Jen in NY]

Homeschooling is so fantastic - and can be a life lived with very few labels. I am definitely not saying that labels aren't sometimes helpful and necessary.... but in my life, the fewer labels that give people preconceived notions about me or my kids, the better.

 

I think, therefore I am. Meet your kids where they are. Give them things to think about, ponder, take apart, write about, struggle with. Give them a foundation on which to plant a ladder to climb to unforseen heights. When they find their strengths, you will know. When they need help, you will know. When they love something, you will know, and so will they.

 

Since they don't need to be age/grade/ability sorted in your home, they don't need to be. :)

[briansmama]

A few thoughts about giftedness and the beauty of homeschooling:

Gifted children often lose motivation for repetitive work they've already mastered. This is where individualizing a child's curriculum really helps.

Giftedness and anxiety often go hand-in-hand. Homeschooling often allows a gifted child to thrive in a less anxious environment.

Gifted children often do not relate to others their same age, and this can lead to isolation. Being able to make friends based on shared interests and similar skill level as opposed to limiting contact to mostly other children born their same year is a huge benefit of homeschooling.

[Walking-Iris]

I'd like to turn the question on it's head and ask, "How would you homeschool if a child had learning issues or special needs?" That is essentially why I continue to homeschool. My oldest is bright in a lot of ways, but also struggles in others due to being ASD. I honestly don't feel that the local schools here would challenge him academically while also taking into consideration his other needs. I honestly feel he would be in special ed and it would do him a huge academic disservice.

 

My Kinder is really bright and social and could likely thrive in ps socially, but he also just shuts down with too much schoolish type busywork. We have to talk and discuss most things and he prefers to do real meaningful stuff. Typical Kindergarten would bore him to tears.

 

My youngest is the one that I suspect of giftedness. It will be interesting to see how my homeschool changes when she's more involved in the mix.

 

I believe that children who have any sort of different-ness thrive in a homeschool. Too often schools are not set up to adequately deal with these students. They like the straight A toying the line studious kids. But those kids aren't necessarily your "gifted" ones. There are plenty of kids who seem to be the trouble-makers or the lazy ones because they are bored or they refuse to just do what is expected. I remember a friend in high school who teachers wrote off as a lost cause because he skipped classes and generally made it well known he hated being at school, but he was incredibly brilliant. Unfortunately that can be a characteristic of giftedness as well---questioning authority. And public schools often have no desire to really help the gifted, brilliant kid who despises and sees through their entire system, kwim? Possibly being put through the 12 years of "the system" would be detrimental to the gifted child. Homeschooling helps these kids learn without too many authoritative restrictions put in place. They can and often do (even at age 2!) resent boundaries they think are "stupid."

[Crimson Wife]

Hoagie's Gifted has a lot of good information about giftedness.

 

Dr. Deborah Ruf has developed "Levels of Giftedness" that may be helpful, but be forewarned that her list IMHO places too high an emphasis on kids who are "early bloomers" and very verbal. Her list may underestimate kids who are highly or profoundly gifted but "late bloomers" or whose strengths are in the visio-spatial domain.

 

In terms of homeschooling, Lisa Rivero is in the process of revising her book Creative Homeschooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families (originally titled ... for Gifted Children). Not sure when the publication date of the new edition is, but I would recommend getting a copy when it is available if you do decide to HS.

[La Texican]

There's a guide to considering the pros and cons of homeschooling a gifted child. Yhe link is in the first post of the following thread.

http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/416844-new-davidson-institute-guidebook-homeschooling/

[Tracy]

I can't imagine putting my gifted kids in public school. My ds5 would be starting K in Sep, and he is already reading and can write in cursive. He is already adding double-digit numbers in his head. And now that they have all-day K here, I can't imagine making him sit through 6 hours of "see the letter A", and "lets count to 10." Gifted programs don't even start until 3rd grade, and even then I am not confident that they would be what they need.

 

Public school would be even worse for my dd8, who appears to be 2e (not testing yet). While my ds would just do the easy work to get it done, my dd would not be able to do the written work, and I don't know how I could advocate for advancement if she is unable to do the written work. I know people out there do it, but it seems easier to me to teach her myself rather than to expend so much energy just trying get someone else to understand what she needs, let alone agree to provide it.

[brendag]

I have b/g twins that I'm homeschooling and it's safe to say that both are gifted, but in different areas. We originally started homeschooling because of my ds. The lack of resources for gifted kids in our area is what convinced us. Both of my kids excel in different areas and are on target or behind in others. I couldn't imagine any of the schools here having college level anatomy books lying around so that my son could find out what the inside of the papillae (bumps on your tongue) look like. He likes to go real deep into subjects. My dd is more verbal, picks up languages easily and is a performer. They both started reading at 3 on their own and then they learned how to write the alphabet in a few weeks on their magnadoodles while I was scrambling to find good phonics and handwriting programs.

 

In the beginning, I thought I would be able to combine most subjects. Not anymore. I really think it depends on the kids whether they are gifted or not. They still do handwriting, phonics, and science together. I had to get a different math program for my son. I see that they will probably do better with different writing programs as well when we start next year.

 

I always felt like if I could make it through the first year with twins, I could handle anything! ;) You've got 3!

 

Good luck with whatever you decide.

[kohlby]

Agree that homeschooling usually makes schooling gifted kids easier. Plus, it's perfectly fine for your child not to be identified as gifted. You meet their needs, no matter if they're gifted or not, and all is good! Teaching gifted kids can be more challenging at times - but teaching children who think differently or have learning disabilities would also be challenging. It's been really good with my oldest. He thinks in a way that is so much like mine that not only can I handle this with ease, but I really understand it. I didn't realize he was gifted right away. And once it dawned on me, it was what he had already accomplished that helped cement it. My second child is a bit more of a challenge. She's also gifted, but in totally different ways than my oldest. It is more of a struggle for me to get her needs met - but I know I'm doing better than the public school. It will be more expensive, since they have different needs. I'm learning a lot about different curriculums as a result. Hopefully I'll be able to re-use someone's old curriculum for my 3rd child!

 

Public school would not be able to handle my oldest. What do you do with a 9 year old who has completed a very difficult Alg I course already - yet he can't tell you the months of the year in order? My second would have trouble handling public school. She's a perfectionist and has some social anxiety and thinks she has to do everything just so. So, that wouldn't be very good for her growth either since she would be stressed all the time - and more apt to take the easier route since she would rather be perfect in something easy than slightly imperfect in something challenging.

 

What is it that you think public school can do for a gifted child that you can not?

 

*

[thebacabunch]

Gifted education in the public schools is all but non-existant. The nclb program teaches to the LOWEST not the highest levels. My dd 12 would sit in class with a glazed look on her face as the teacher would explain 3 or 4 times, in a dumbed down manner, how to do everything. So glad I pulled her out. The work I give her makes her think and stretch.

 

One might consider AP or IB programs for a gifted kid, but those programs, when available, usually don't start till highschool.