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    #189447 04/25/14 05:38 PM
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    Portia Offline OP
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    edited

    Last edited by Portia; 03/21/15 11:40 AM.
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    Will this slow down at some point?

    IME, yes and no.

    As the material becomes less "fact-collecting" and more about integrating new ways of thinking about material, it slows dramatically from the pace that is obvious during those years from K through 8 material... on the other hand, if you don't have a kid who is a major bookworm, this kind of intensity can be a really rough ride.

    I found it too scary to look more than a few months ahead when my DD was seven, honestly. I could barely keep up with her in terms of library holds and checkouts, much less trying to keep her in curriculum.

    You should also know that this is about the time that we became increasingly concerned about credentialling-- because we were observing the same phenomenon-- it was dizzying, the rate at which she seemed to go through things. It was a bit like a step-function with random intervals. I couldn't predict how long something would work for her-- only that it was going to be way less than half the time that anyone would believe it took her.

    Without credentialling, and some push on her weaknesses, we truly feared that we'd have a 10yo on our hands who would have more-or-less age-appropriate written skills (her particular weakness) and college-ready everything else. Oh, and because of the lack of written output, little way to PROVE it to anyone.

    NOT what we wanted to have happen. So while I say that looking too far ahead was bad, on the other hand, you do sort of have to think about what happens when he does outstrip your ability to keep him "fed."

    If his reading skills are not super-advanced, then he's going to hit a natural wall fairly soon-- the rate of absorption seems to slow dramatically at 5th grade + if they aren't getting it through ferocious reading rates. Auditory input (via being read to, or audio books) is just so slow by comparison. KWIM?

    But beyond that, if he's a child who doesn't have naturally strong literacy skills, this is also going to be a major hurdle when he needs more than you can provide. You'll need to start lining up tutors, probably.



    Schrödinger's cat walks into a bar. And doesn't.
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    Portia, I don't have any suggestions, but I agree with you that learning with my DC seems to occur not in small stepwise increments, but rather in "explosions" of progress. DS5 somehow went from learning to add and subtract this year to multiplying, dividing, and understanding and being able calculate simple square roots. DD8 just took the MAP test in math, which I think of as her RELATIVELY "weak" area (she routinely scores in the 99%, just not as high of a 99%) and her score...I still don't believe it - it is about 2.5x the amount of progress that was "projected" this year (DD said her teacher looked stunned when she gave her the score). She had similar growth earlier in the year in reading.

    HK's comments about readers and non-readers concern me. Both of my DC can read (very well, I might add), but only DD is a bookworm. DS5 learns VERY quickly, but also a very normal little boy - he spends a great deal of time climbing and jumping off of things (not at all hyper, but also doing what the other little boys do). I am still trying to figure out how to make sure they both have their learning needs met.

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    Originally Posted by Portia
    The good news is we homeschool. The bad news is I am responsible for his education and definitely not in his league. We do a lot of projects because he likes to deep dive.

    Ideas for support?
    Have you found Gifted Homeschoolers' Forum (GHF)? Many resources are listed. GHF has published a small selection of books on popular topics. Thinking ahead, several resources listed on GHF describe alternate paths and also the importance of transcripts.

    Thinking still further ahead, the Davidson database offers several guidebooks and articles on creating a gap year which can provide wonderful ideas not only for a gap year but for projects a high school student may wish to pursue. There's also a guidebook on homeschooling, volunteerism, and early college.

    Regarding volunteerism and service learning, once a child is 13-1/2 or 14, they may register with a mentor and begin working on goals which may help them earn any of the 6 levels of Congressional Award.

    Another alternate path may be the Thiel Fellowship.

    There are many great supports out there for parents with children on a unique learning trajectory.

    You may wish to read these before your child reaches 7th grade:
    - What High Schools Don't Tell You and other parents don't want you to know,
    - What Colleges Don't Tell You and other parents don't want you to know
    ... these books offer advice on guiding a child to find opportunities which form meaningful building blocks of experience toward pursuing their areas of interest in college and beyond.

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    Elementary school is, well, elementary. It's not surprising some kids can whiz through it (or at least in their strong subjects), given the chance. Part of it can be just finding their level. They may indeed slow down once they get to a challenging level.

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    Quote
    elementary
    LOL! When the challenge level may be middle school for one or more subjects for a 7yo, parents may wish to have some thought about high school and college resources. Just in case the child's next academic growth spurt shows readiness and ability for higher curriculum.

    As discussed on this recent thread, it is difficult for a family to realize a student may graduate early and not have certain achievements/accomplishments which colleges may look for, so thinking ahead to extracurricular activities may also be important.


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