I'm so glad to see the forum up! How about we share about our gifted kids, and what our biggest challenge/need for support is right now.

Erik is 4, we've been "officially" homeschooling for just about a year now. His favorite part of homeschooling right now is science--we do a LOT of science experiments.

My biggest challenge right now is finding the balance between challenging him and doing more than we need. Of course, I know we would not be doing well if I were doing NOTHING. But we could be doing a lot more than we do, without even pushing him at all. In some ways I'm just limited by my energy level.

Anabelle is 5 and we are needing to revamp our homeschooling style. We started out with what was more "un"schooling. But, even though I could point out all that we had learned on our trips or our reading (she consumes Magic Tree House books), she still insisted that she wasn't learning anything.) So we went to Plan B and started using actual textbooks with worksheets and all that jazz. She liked it much better and would do one worksheet after another -- she just didn't want to STOP. When we were doing a unit on communities, we practically wore the tires on my van out by going around ALL OVER town and taking pictures of the parts of our community to come home and make a book about it. Same for her last dental appointment -- I chronicled the whole thing with pictures so she could make a book of it.

THEN she started getting sick and ultimately had to get her tonsils out. And THEN she was allergic to the medication they gave her. So the recovery was longer than expected and we dropped back into unschool mode. Now neither one of us is much wanting to face the old workbooks. I work at home, so it's important to stay organized anyway. Now I'm on the hunt for a new curriculum. We even thought about (gasp) public school, but they were going to bump her up to 1st grade and even then, she would've been ahead. I'm in a total quandary. She started reading spontaneously about a year or so ago, which makes it difficult to "teach" any kind of reading books. I'm thinking about just exposing her to a variety of literature types. I don't know yet. I'm stumped.

I'm glad this forum is here! My son, who is now 20, went all through public schools in their "gifted and talented" programs. What a joke. I know the argument has been made that ALL children are gifted and talented, but children who are actually gifted (according to prevailing definitions) just plain learn differently than other children. And it's tough. *whew* I'll save the rest of spilling my guts for later. Just glad to be here for now. :)

By the way, I'm right there with you on the energy level -- and I don't even have a nursling that I could maybe blame it on. Sometimes I just get plain TIRED. The hardest part for me, so far, is when I have to ponder her question, ponder it a little more, and then finally admit, "I don't know. I can help you figure it out, but it will have to wait till later." Maybe the next book she writes can be her Book of Questions!!!!

Cool, thanks B and Jo for the forum :D

Well, most of you already know about Vidura and I. The main word that comes to my mind is "challenge" hehe

Vidura is the most intense child I've ever met, lol. Never satisfied academically. Loves workbooks, books, "school", lessons, learning, asking , doing... We started really homeschooling around March 2005 and went through Abeka K4, K5 and part of 1st, along with Spectrum reading/spelling 1st and many many other books in the past 9 months.

He's starting to love Science and has always been into computers (sigh, like Daddy) ever since he was born
He likes to understand everything, and gets frustrated when he can't.

It's a constant challenge and I sure hope I can keep up with it as we are planning to homeschool all the way.

Ys,
Radhanuga

I have a couple of gifted ones. :)

Nathan is the only one I am officially homeschooling this year. He's 8 and he is a math wizz. ;) When he was 2 he was putting together 24 piece puzzles... then he was dumping 4-5 of them out at a time to get a challenge. He and I have been working through (very slowly) Calculus By and For Young People. He finds it neat. My biggest challenge with him... I think that would be when learning/exposing him to something new. He has such a different way of thinking about things. He can do things in one step, where it would take others 5. But he doesn't see the smaller steps, he just knows the answer. This is challenging for me because I want to make sure he is understanding things correctly - so that he can use that information to learn other new things.

Adam is also a math wizz. He is in ps half day K this year and is pretty bored. He is counting change - no matter how much, he will count it out. He is getting applied mathematics skills at a much higher level than I thought. He can tell you how many more minutes until the hour without even thinking about it. He was counting backwards by 2's from 100 at the doc's office last week to keep himself busy. He also is reading everything now. He wasn't putting letter sounds together 3 weeks ago... then one day he picked up Hop on Pop and read the entire book to me. So... now he is reading everything in sight. My biggest challenge with him would be his frustration level. He gets very very frustrated if he doesn't completely understand something right when I say it. And when he gets frustrated he gets angry, which turns into tantrum type behaviour. We are working on this... on getting him to use words to tell me in a nice respectful way that he doesn't understand. It's almost like he expects himself to knwo what every adult is talking about - even though he is only 5.

Lauren is 4 and she is quite precocious. She is very interested in everything that is going on around her, and nothing gets by her. She has been working with Nathan on her math book (Singapore Pre K) and they just finished it up, so she is ready to move on. (Oh, Nathan has told me that he will teach her math - lol) My gratest challenge with her at this point is her intensity. She will be awake at 6 am bouncing off the walls, singing songs, etc. She won't stop until she crashes around 8 (sometimes much later!). I only wish had some of her energy.

cool -- just noticed this new forum! thanks for getting it started :)
tucker turned four in september. we started sonlight pre-k last May and finished it in a matter of months. I hesitated to go on to sonlight k because i was secretly holding out hopes of combining he and griffin for k this coming fall. (yeah, i know, a whole 9 mos away :rolleyes: ) well, hurricane katrina came smashing into our lives and we were out of our home for a month. in that time we picked up some abeka materials . first grade. tucker is nearly finished with them. we're doing 1st grade abeka spelling, language arts, science, health, and history, horizon k math, and reading tons and tons. he is writing very well and reading fluently --- i'd guess on a 3rd grade level. he started reading entirely on his own. we're a bunch of bibliovores over here anyway, but i have to admit i was stunned when i saw him pick up a book and begin reading so well.
he's doing math in his head now. i was all into manipulatives and trying to get him to "see" everything.......and he just adds and subtracts like he's playing legos.
i am overwhelmed and literally humbled by this child of mine. i am tired as well, heather ;) so you are not alone.
the greatest challenge i see right now is not knowing whether to let him slide through doing easy stuff at the risk of boring him or actually challenging him a little, at the risk of him getting frustrated.
also, i get weary of repeatedly telling people that i don't force my child to learn, that he is just a normal four year old who happens to like to read, etc.... i think i said this in another thread, but i actually try to keep him from reading in public just because i don't want to hear the questions. isn't that awful? :eyes:

Isabelle just turned 10 at the end of November...she has always been different. She was my first, so I didn't know that she was gifted until people kept telling me. She has severe social anxiety that started very young and we put her on meds about 6 months ago (it is working great).

She is in 5th grade at a charter Montessori school...although they let her work ahead...it's not as much as she needs. She has learned that everything comes easily to her and that she doesn't want to try anything that might be hard. It's really a struggle. School has dumbed her down. Next year (finally) we are hsing!!!

Some funnies about her:

*Started reading at 2 (completely self taught...I didn't even know!)
*Tested at 3 at a 3rd grade reading level.
*At 3, attempted to explain prime numbers to me and why they didn't make sense. She spurted off 1-29 and I had no idea what she was saying...so I called my dad (a math professor) and he let me know.
*Doesn't sleep much and often stays awake worrying about world hunger or how seven is the only # between 1-10 with 2 syllables....

Could go on and on...things have leveled out a bit, but she is still very ahead mentally and academically. It's a trip...and I often wonder why I was given this wonderful, sensitive, complicated child....

Nice to see all you here!!!

Ah, I just noticed this forum! Thank you! My children are so different, even more so since they come from 4 different gene pools. What I've learned is that they are all gifted in their own ways. Reid is 'behind' academically and was late reading, but he is the most talented soccer player I've ever met. He's definitely a tactile/kinesthetic learner.

Anyway, I'll just focus on my academically accelerated learners here. Chase is in public school, where he started taking Algebra for high school credit at age 11. He just turned 12. He's in all AP classes and we're happy with his school situation.

So, I think I should mostly focus on Jacob here because that's where I need advice and empathetic ears. Mostly I need a place where other moms will understand that I'm not bragging, that an AL is a challenge, too. At the end of the day, no matter what he can do, Jacob is still emotionally and physically a 6 year old little boy.

A little about him: He read his first book at 3, his first chapter book at 4. This was all without any real teaching on my part. I don't know how I could have stopped him, he could just read. Now he reads anything he likes. I don't know his exact reading level, but it's up there. Even so, his Math ability is his true talent. He has recognized numbers since he was a baby - he was verbal early, first real word at 2 months, first complete sentence right around his first birthday. Knew letters and numbers before his second birthday. We started with the Saxon K, but it was too easy for him. Started Singapore EarlyBird, still too easy, so we skipped to 1A. Can't remember how old he was? Maybe 4? Now, at age 6, he is cruising through Singapore 4B and we've started Key to Algebra. He loves it. I love the way it is presented, it was hard to find something that wasn't too dry and boring for a 6 year old. I keep waiting for him to plateau, to find something that he has to stop and figure out, but it has yet to happen. At the moment, he's doing decimals in the 4B book, and adding and subtracting positive and negative numbers in the Algebra. He also loves to play Math Blasters PreAlgebra and Algebra on the computer.

That's why I'm here! Looking forward to hearing and learning from other families about what they've found that works well for their accelerated learners. I'd just like to add that this little guy is such a joy to me! I'm lucky to be his mommy.

OK, I'll intro. . .

My 8 year old has always been a precocious learner. We've never done formal IQ testing, because since we homeschool, it's a non-issue. We were clear from early on that her learning style is very different, and don't have to prove that to anyone :) I will admit to being curious, though, sometimes as to exactly what the number is, sometimes she amazes me even though I'm pretty used to her sponge-like behavior. . . But the result is not worth the process for our family. She has all of what DH and I call "the Nutty Professor" characteristics - brilliant, but can forget to tie her shoes and often will look all over the house for a lost book that she is holding in her hand. :lol: And she can be very intense. I posted more about this in Anne's KG thread so I won't repeat here. . .

My middle dd - age 6 - has actually been late to develop academically, but lately has been hinting to us that she has actively resisted learning to read because reading was her sisters "thing". I do find it interesting that she has a near-photographic memory, so I think we may have been selling her short all of these years. She has speech and motor delays as well as some (thankfully lessening) sensory issues, and I'm starting to wonder if in an effort to not make her feel that she had to keep up with big sister, we erred in the other direction and did not encourage her enough. Or, she could just have a different learning style - I *can* tell you that she has a masterful understanding of art and music. Either way, she is a very happy, comfortable little girl that is growing into herself beautifully, so I feel certain that no matter what, she'll be fine.

Most days I feel like my 3 year old is just along for the ride - she is starting to read, but has no real desire to read books on her own. She has a fabulous sense of humor, and loves to keep up with the big kids. Yesterday I caught her teaching her My Little Ponies addition and subtraction. . .

All of my kids prefer museums and hiking with binoculars and field guides to playgrounds and endless playdates, which makes me a little sad, but also a little glad for the exersize and mental stimulation. We are lucky to live in an area with fabulous access to these types of things, so we do them often. We also have many friends who are open to field trips, so this works nicely for us. They do enjoy playing with their friends, but after a bit, they will be the ones suggesting a game or a project or something, yk?

That's our little family. Some days I think it's fabulous that my kiddos seem to enjoy learning so much, and other days, I just want normal kids. I guess like everything, there's pluses and minuses. . .

Cool new forum. I've been away for a while (broken computer & broken leg).
My ds Morgan is 3 1/2. I've had a lot of people over at my house lately (to help out b/c of the leg) and everyone says how smart he is. Since I was getting bored of the same old board games, we just bought him Cariboo. He LOVES it, but even the advanced cards are no challenge for him. He's learned to read over the course of the past couple months. I chose some books from the library to help teach him, but he decides if and when he wants to do any lessons. (Five Minute Phonics by Gretchen Mort is awesome! Helped fill in the learning style issues we were having with Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons, and now he likes both) His trains are actually quite good readers too. Thomas the Tank Engine and Lady take turns. Or sometimes a Star Wars figure will do the reading. lol
I've just read The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook by the Moores and How Children Learn by John Holt (something like that) so I'm wanting to be very cautious about doing "school at home" and trying to just follow his lead and facilitate learning (or stay out of it to keep from hindering it!) I'm sure our homeschooling style will be very eclectic. Right now he's interested in learning to read, maps, and he recently asked several ladies in my home, "Hey, hey, does anyone know what a pollywog is?" Soooo, I had dh pick up a book on frogs from the library (along w/ the children's atlas).

Hi!! :) We unschool. My oldest is gifted and is thriving. We're out and about all week long...

Heya!

Sam is a new 7.

He's profoundly gifted in reading. Self-taught reader at 2 (like Nanci, I had no idea--he was probably reading way before then, but that is when I noticed it), chapter books before 3, now reads at an adult level. Consumes hundreds of pages per day of adult novel-type books. Very hard to keep him in *appropriate* books. He also reads a lot of nonfiction, especially history. He's had an all-access library card since he was 4. Probable photographic memory. Ask him a question about something, he'll run and find the book and quickly go to the specific page where the information is--even if it's been several years since he looked at the book.

He's also precocious in math. We are very informal here. Random worksheets are about as formal as I get with math. We do word problems, applied math, and chalkboard exercises most of the time. Multi-digit addition, subtraction, multiplication and division are mastered, as are fractions, decimals, and negative/positive numbers. Next areas to master are algebra (he's been doing "find the mystery number" problems for about 4 years but nothing formal) and geometry. His interest level is WAY up in math this year so I want to focus more on it. He also is very interested in probability and statistics, mostly from playing cards (what is the chance that my opponent has an ace in her hand if there 2 aces have already been played, etc.).

Major area of interest is history, especially ancient times and cultural mythology. I remember when he was 3 and 4 he was obsessed with the Iliad and the Odyssey and I really didn't know anything about them so I was playing catch-up in the evenings and reading Homer so that I could wake up the next morning and help Sam set up Playmobil scenes of the various battles and journeys. I still have a picture somewhere of a little Playmobil Hecuba bemoaning the loss of her son.

Subjects like science and history are fairly easy for him to cover because he reads so much every day. I strew books and he inhales them. He retains facts very well and my main job is helping him synthesize them and ensure that he sees the bigger picture that is formed by the facts. I also do a lot of compare/contrast work with him in discussion format, like "How is Drift House like the Lion, the Witch and Wardrobe? How is it different?" or "Let's talk about the concept of slavery and the different times and cultures where it has been prevalent." or "which Norse deities are similar to Roman deities? which myth stories are similar? why do you think different cultures had similar myths?"

Sometimes I don't like the attention, like the store employee who will say in a singsong voice "oh, what are you reading honey?" and Sam will hold up "Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess" and then look at me in shock and say loudly, "is he really reading that book?!" And sometimes it's funny, like when Sam was almost 4 and sitting in the shopping cart and started yelling "Trojans! Mommy, that box said TROJANS! Go back, go back, I want to look at it!" Poor kid thought he had finally gotten his greatest wish fulfilled, that ancient Greek action hero toys actually existed. I convinced him that it was a "health product" not a toy but I'm sure the other shoppers were very amused about how my 3yo recognized the Trojans box, not thinking he read every package label as I pushed the cart.

My biggest challenge is finding intellectual peers for him. Most of his friends are gifted in one area or another, but he's so far ahead in most areas that he ends up not talking or playing with his friends on his own level. He's happy with his friends, though, and plays with them on whatever level everyone digs. He loves playground days with our homeschool group or one-on-one playdates. I am the person in his life with whom he plays deeply about the things that interest him most. It's not like his friends would want to set up Playmobil Iliad scenes, for instance, or re-enact a Fischer/Spassky chess match using algebraic notation (believe me, Sam has tried ;) ) so that falls to me. Like Lisa said, he's still a little boy and likes to play and roughhouse and joke around, but he has this mind that won't quit. It can be exhausting. I also feel the burden of responsibility heavily, that I've been given the gift of educating him and I really don't want to screw it up!

Tara

I'm so happy to have found this forum. I haven't been around Amity's for a while, but use to be here daily for a few years. My daughter Anna just turned 4 years old this past week and has surprised us so much over the last year. She began spontaneously reading Hop on Pop and Red Fish Blue Fish a few months after turning 3 years old. She progressed so quickly and was tested at a 1st grade independent and 2nd grade instructional last August -- I can't imagine where she'd place now. She likes Magic Tree House books - loves them - but doesn't have the patience to read them alone, so we alternate pages. For history we do the Value Tales series (I loved these as a kid!!!).. they are out of print, but can be found on ebay. She's fascinated by punctuation, grammer and patterns in language and math. We didn't do much with math until recently. She can count by 2's, 5's and 10's and *loves* to drill us on ridiculous addition. She's great at single digit math, can do simple (under the number 25) double digit math with her fingers (?) and has just recently figured out place value. We're good for telling time at the hour or half-hour and if we have our learning clock then she can do it the nearest five. Money is progressing as she asks questions and finds coins (she told me she had 27-cents after finding a quarter and 2 pennies at the library). We just pulled her our of montessori to being homeschooling and I'm happy to see her love of learning returning. She loves doing artsy projects and is obsessed with My Little Pony's. She's cry at night if she can't find a bookmark (we had to find a headboard lamp for her bed so she would remember to turn off her lamp at bedtime after she finished reading?!!!). It's an adventure and she's is SOOOOO emotionally "just turned 4" and such a kid, but still that kid who reads every label in the stores, can tell you what you spelled when you tried to not say something, and gives me a new perspective on museums (I've never been a big person for actually reading the displays :). Our challenges right now are figuring out what curriculums we want to begin with (nothing boxed) and making friends! She misses the kids at her preschool, but is beginning to play so nice with her brother.