BryRon Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I have this fear that I am not going to be able to teach her everything she is capable of doing...I feel inadequate, actually. I know I have to start somewhere, but she's so advanced for her age that I just am at odds about what is "right" and "challenging" enough for her. Can I challenge her enough? I am also trying to reassure myself that she will retain all of this new information...I certainly do not want to inundate her with facts, figures and whatnot. She is used to being in a 1st grade PS class in which 1/2 of the kiddos can't read nor do any type of math, save the 1+1, etc. She's already working on multiplication/division. I have a 5 course curricula set up, which includes Latin...she is going to be 7 on the 30th of Jan; intellectually she is around the 5th grade or so, but emotionally she's still a 1st grader (well, maybe a little more mature, but not much). She is very excited about starting, as am I, but I am kind of afraid that she's going to freak out with all of this stuff...guess we'll take it day by day. It certainly isn't a static program, and can be adapted. Long story short, I guess I'll just have to dive on in and flounder about a bit. Thanks for "listening". Any advice/thoughts would be most welcome! :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newbie Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I have been floundering for 11 yrs. Every year is new and every learning course for each child and parent are not the same. But, you just take baby steps. You are going to do a great job, and if she loves education, she is going to thrive. Welcome and blessings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Wow. My best advice is just to take it one day at a time and know that in the beginning, no, it is not going to be perfect. Not everything you picked will be the perfect fit. You will tweek and change, adapt and scrap. That is all part of it. But you will find your groove and so will she...just don't try to overwhelm yourself with teaching everything at once and perfectly. Remember, they learn over time and after almost 2 years with my youngest ds and 6 mos with my oldest, I am completely seeing that I am NOT a homeschooling failure. They are learning, they are doing great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mesa Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I have a son that tested "Gifted" this year. It's been an adjustment for me... I know he's smart, but I need to remember he's still a kid and goofing off is fairly normal for his age, as well as the whining and complaining about his workload....LOL I always assumed all gifted children just picked up new things easy as pie and did their work quickly ROFL. SOOOOO not the case with my son. Yes, he's bright. but it takes us awhile to complete our school work. His ADD tendencies certainly make things more complicated than they need to be. Just an idea... when we first started homeschooling I just did 2 lessons a day until I found a place in our curriculum that started to challenge my son more. I didnt make him to all the work on all the pages, just every other problem or so. That way I was sure he didnt miss anything, yet we were moving so quickly my son didnt get bored out of his mind either. Good luck, IMO you'll find homeschooling is a much better education for gifted children in particular. You get to tailor your curricula to your dd's interests and educational needs. My son is thriving in the homeschool environment. Jackie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 You can do it! I'm surprised what my daughter retains. Last year in K we went over the water system for about 1 minute, this year when it was foggy and muggy, after I explained that fog was low clouds, she explained the whole system to me verbatim! We have a book called "Leap Through Time Transportation," it shows the history of roads, cars, planes, etc. We read through it once or twice, when she saw a road being built near us, she again told me the entire history of road building correctly, going from dirt roads to cobblestones to modern roads. On the other hand, it takes days or weeks for her to memorize an addition fact. So, we spend a lot more time on that, make sure we do math every day, and try a lot of different things. The last thing we tried, recommend here, was very helpful. (Flashmaster, but it doesn't sound like you need one.) The beauty of homeschooling is that you can focus on what they need to work on, and explore more deeply in areas they are interested in. And, if something isn't working well (like math facts for us), you can get the advice of other people who have struggled in that area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 May I make a suggestion? Try starting with just one subject tomorrow. Seriously. Especially if you've pulled her out of public school. Sometimes the transition can be tough for kids and they can balk if they are hit with the whole kit and kaboodle at once. Sometimes it can be tough for the mom/teacher too. ; ) I read some advice a long time ago to start one new subject a week until you build up to a full schedule. I found it to be very wise. I didn't have to necessarily wait a whole week between each subject, but I found that if I made that my expectation, then if I got to add a subject before that because things were going well, I felt great ; ). I recommend that you start with a minimal amount and leave her wanting more rather than groaning that she has too much to do. Good luck! It's scary starting something new, something that feels so "big" as homeschooling. I bet you'll do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryRon Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 It never occurred to me to do it like that. I guess I just assumed that she was so starved for knowledge after spending 1 1/2 yrs in the PS that I should feed it to her hand over fist. All of the above responses make me feel a lot better. And it is hard to remember that my little 7 year old isn't an actual "teenager", although she acts like one sometimes! I must remember that she is still a kid, and with that comes goofiness, play time, snuggle time, etc...I have really been lax in those areas, I'm sorry to say. As I'm sure most of you know, having a younger sibling that still requires a bit more attention can tend to push the elder into the shadows.... OK: deep breath! I can DO this! Thank you all for your advice - it does not go unheeded! May I make a suggestion? Try starting with just one subject tomorrow. Seriously. Especially if you've pulled her out of public school. Sometimes the transition can be tough for kids and they can balk if they are hit with the whole kit and kaboodle at once. Sometimes it can be tough for the mom/teacher too. ; ) I read some advice a long time ago to start one new subject a week until you build up to a full schedule. I found it to be very wise. I didn't have to necessarily wait a whole week between each subject, but I found that if I made that my expectation, then if I got to add a subject before that because things were going well, I felt great ; ). I recommend that you start with a minimal amount and leave her wanting more rather than groaning that she has too much to do. Good luck! It's scary starting something new, something that feels so "big" as homeschooling. I bet you'll do fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jen in PA Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Don't be scared -- do be excited! Remember that you and dd will find your way together, and that a great deal of her learning doesn't have to look like "school." Homeschooling means that she has so many more hours in her day to read/write/explore/experiment and just soak up what she wants to! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaKinVA Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Yup... all of the above! She's still six (turning 7), like my oldest daughter (she'll be 7 on the 28th). 3rd grade math (learning multiplication & division) is still hard work. We usually only do one or two lessons (if she's really into it) a day. I only focus on challenging her in Reading (and not all the time) and math. Everything else we do, we do more or less "on age-grade level." (She's doing FLL 1/2, Abeka Spelling 2, but Cursive for 1st graders). She loves pulling out our D'laures Mythology books to read herself... and she has lots of art/drawing time (her passion). I still want school to have some fun elements to it for her! Don't worry, and enjoy! Your daughter will learn and retain more than you can imagine -- but it doesn't all have to come through actual "school work." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Storm Bay Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Being nervous means you're smarter than I was. I foolishly thought it would be relatively easy. But it won't be as hard and scary as you think. I agree that there is a learning curve with what you've chosen to learn. Not all the same materials fit all gifted dc, and that's okay, too. I shed quite a number of things I used that first year, but learned along the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Remember that because of your love for her you are always going to struggle with thoughts of, "Am I doing the right things for her?". But because of this love you will care more and try harder than anyone else to do what is right for her. Take her cues as to how much is, too much or too little. You'll do fine as long as you are flexable and not afraid to change what isn't working. Have fun!:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryRon Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 I have to say, this first morning went pretty smoothly! We did math, history and art - her choices. Tomorrow we'll do language arts, science and something else (my latin books aren't in yet). Then just moved stuff back and forth as she wants, as long as it is something everyday (Mon-Fri). I am encouraged! She took the SOTW online quiz and the first time around she got 7/15. I don't think she thought about the questions too much. So, throughout the day, I would ask her what a "nomad" was and why they did what they did, what an archeologist was and why they do what they do, etc...we re-took the quiz and she got 11/15. Thanks so much, ladies! I appreciate your support. A lot!:grouphug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Oh, good! I wondered how things went today. I'm glad you've got that first day under your belt! Way to go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizabethB Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Congratulations! Depending on how your math goes, you might want to add a Singapore Intensive Practice book. While my daughter's very slow with math facts, she's good at math puzzles, they have some fun and challenging ones in the Singapore Intensive Practice books. They're inexpensive. We just switched from MUS to Singapore today, my daughter loved the puzzles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BryRon Posted January 7, 2009 Author Share Posted January 7, 2009 My dd loves to do workbook stuff, and Ray's isn't getting it. I am seriously considering switching her to either Singapore or Nurture Minds - it uses an abacus. I am already bored with Ray's, too... Congratulations! Depending on how your math goes, you might want to add a Singapore Intensive Practice book. While my daughter's very slow with math facts, she's good at math puzzles, they have some fun and challenging ones in the Singapore Intensive Practice books. They're inexpensive. We just switched from MUS to Singapore today, my daughter loved the puzzles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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