Bright
Kids at Home - How do I homeschool my gifted student?
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"We
Love Math & Science" houses
a variety of resources for those students who have
special abilities in the Maths and Sciences. |
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"Opportunities"
lists plenty of places where homeschoolers can and
do excel! |
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"Identify"
gives basic information on a variety of topics
including: Identifying the Gifted Student, Gifted
Assessment, Is Intelligence Quotient Important?, Academic
Assessment, Learning Styles, and being Gifted with
Disabilities (Twice Exceptional) |
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Well,
now, there's a question. If you have a gifted child you already
know how intense life can be. If you're just finding out that
your child is gifted, hang on for an exciting ride.
There's
a lot of advice from experts available these days about kids,
even about gifted kids. What I have learned is that no matter
what the "experts" have to say, until they actually
have the field experience with your gifted student,
their advice can really only be viewed as "guidelines".
There's not a "how-to" manual anywhere for your particular
situation, but you can gather as much information as you can
to help you make your own situation work splendidly.
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There
are some common threads with most gifted kids, at least that's
what I've gathered and witnessed. As part of your "how-to"
lesson here, pick one or two of these characteristics to keep
in the back of your mind that you use as "themes" in
your homeschool.
All
of the ideas on this page are discussed in detail in my books.
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Even
after you settle on a homeschool method, and you discover
dominant learning styles, you can always go back to
these themes knowing that they'll bail you out of any dead end;
And with the ever changing environment you have with a gifted
student, you just may hit some frustrating dead ends.
Our
homeschool was more of an eclectic one and I use these two themes:
My student... has an evolved sense of humor
& takes pleasure in thinking divergently.
These themes dominate most of our strides forward and help transform
dead end paths to forks in the road again and again.
I
developed the following "guidelines" for those who
need a how-to checklist:
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Read
about homeschooling. There are plenty of books, articles and
websites on the subject. Most books will tell you that you are making
the right decision and that you can do it. They are right. The right combination
of confidence and research will have you on your way.
Our
Pages on: [ books ]
Understand
the logistics of homeschooling.
Our Pages on: [ Getting
started homeschooling ]
Determine
what your local and state laws are regarding homeschooling.
Notify your local school district using the means that are accepted
by local homeschoolers. Recognize that by homeschooling, whether you
think so or not, you are making a political statement. Keep abreast
of items that may effect homeschooling in your area. Remember, in
order to be protected by law, you must comply with the requirements
of the laws. Sometimes the school district does not acknowledge your
choice to homeschool, sometimes they do. It varies by state.
Our Pages
on:[ legal information
]
Detoxify
If you are removing your gifted student from a school, give
them time to "detoxify" - get anything negative they
may have experienced in school out of their system. Think about adding
travel to your game plan.
Our Pages
on: [ adding travel ]
Get
in touch with support groups in your area. Get on an email
list that seems to fit your style. Join "regular" homeschool
groups but also try to find a group that maybe specializes in gifted
homeschooling or that has a number of gifted homeschoolers.
Read
all you can about what it means to be gifted.
Our
pages about: [ identification,
books
]
Read about dominant learning styles.
Our
pages about: [ learning
styles, books ]
Read
about homeschooling styles and methods. Our homeschool is more
of an eclectic one, this means that we do a little of this and a little
of that.
Our
pages about: [homeschool styles,
methods & curriculum,
]
Get
some ideas about your "gameplan". If your children
are mature enough, plan your lessons together. You may just get a list
of topics they are interested in, and that is a good start to your research.
If your child is not ready to help you, there are many purveyors of
education willing to sell you whatever you want to buy from them. Write
down what you want to teach and then match up what is available with
what you want in an education for your student.
Ideas:
[ adding travel, homeschool
styles, methods & curriculum ]
Plan
your days. Some families have "school" from 9-3PM,
others don't ever develop a schedule, some hit the road to homeschool.
Determine how you want your days to go. Will housework be part of your
school day? How about meal preparation? Shopping? Laundry? Travel? It
gets tricky, but with planning, it all fits in.
Ideas:
[ how we do it, adding
travel ]
Make
plans to keep records. Your school calendar is a good record
of your school year, if it's accurate. Keeping records of what you teach,
the progress you actually make and the books you used are good things
to keep track of. Being able to prove that you are actually homeschooling
your student can save a lot of grief in the future. If you intend tohomeschool
for high school, you might also want to get an idea about keeping transcripts
and portfolios.
Our
pages about: [ keeping
records ]
My
Student...
