Welcome!
So glad to read your uplifting post! Thanks for sharing.
I found ways to make academics fun in grade school, but I never found my passion, as strange as it sounds. I didn't realize how all the preparation I'd done was about to pay off for me in college. When I finally found my passions in economics and astrophysics, my academic foundation allowed me to chase after them at breakneck speed. I feel my self-made enrichment was enough to rival the gifted education I could've gotten from my district.
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So what have I learned from going through school my own way? If your child isn’t motivated in school, I recommend connecting school subjects to something he or she enjoys. Ask about your child's favorite game and specifically what he or she likes about it, then connect that to as many subjects as you can, the same way I connected my love for leveling up in games to leveling up in school. Secondly, if your child is already interested in academics but wants to be challenged (and the school refuses), find new challenges in the subject outside of school... Some other fun challenges I came across were timed mental math, Duolingo (languages), brilliant.org (STEM subjects), and speed reading, of course. It might not fix class in the short run, but it’ll keep your kids engaged, and hopefully they can test into a higher level class later on.
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these strategies kept me engaged and interested in academics even though I was never placed in a gifted program early on.
The DIY strategies which worked for you may prove invaluable for many other gifted children in future years. Especially as gifted programs focus less on providing gifted students with appropriate academic challenge and access to intellectual peers, and focus more on achieving equal outcomes among all pupils: More families may find a need to provide out-of-school opportunities.
Hope you'll stay active on the forum.
