Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Feeling a bit lost...

I looked at the Grayson website, and it shows that they have weekend enrichment sessions planned in which any gifted students--not just those enrolled at Grayson-- can explore fun topics outside a structured classroom with intellectual peers. That might be a good opportunity, if homeschooling, to meet like-minded people without making a large financial commitment or obligating your family to travel every day. The cost for a 6-8 week session is $200-300.

http://thegraysonschool.org/enrichment-center-tgs

This may be possible... you may wish to make a list of potential organizations which may be able to help point you to existing groups or possibly facilitate you making an announcement to members of their organization. Some institutions which come to mind include NAGC and your State affiliate, Mensa, and homeschool groups...

I suggest that you find activities for your child that attract gifted kids - some choices are chess schools, robotics clubs, programming clubs, math circles, musical ensembles. My son is involved in several of these and has been attending classes/groups with the same set of kids for a long time that they have become his peers and friends.

If you have it in you to homeschool, I think that is a wonderful gift for your DS but I also think it might be helpful to assess how everyone does with full-time homeschooling during the summer months.

We're going the private school route and it was DD's choice. For a child like her, that makes all the difference.

Aquinas, pm sent. :-)

Just wanted to throw my 2 cents in as it were. I can't speak about schooling options where you are but a major reason for us not home schooling at this point in time is for me to have a "break" with just the 2yo while dd5 is at school. I can't tell you how valuable this is for me right now (1 month in) and also for DS who really has missed out while I was catering for DD.

Is it a possibility that you enrol DS in the least worst fit for a finite time just so you can get the space you need to reassess and define DS's and rest of the family's needs? Although I agree that some harm can be done with kids being made to fit in even in a short period of time, perhaps your son can adapt an attitude of short term acceptance.

Perhaps once your little one is 3 you might feel more able to consider home schooling, perhaps by then the public school will have become a good fit, perhaps the Greyson school has opened and you have had a chance to properly evaluate. Sometimes the correct decision is no decision (for now). Hugs to you!

btw - DD (HG++?) most likely does not have peers at her school however she has already made fast friends with several older kids - at this age I think playmates may be more valuable that intellectual peers, particularly so if you are able to enrol DS in a weekly program catering to gifted kids where he can mix with others.

We chose a school with a high level of LD children with staff very comfortable to catering to a variety of learning abilities and are assessing on a term by term basis - so far so good.