Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments HSers - how did you determine that HS was...

Hi, JDAx3,

I'm not sure if our experience is entirely relevant to what you are wondering, but thought I'd throw in my two cents' worth. (And hey, with the loonie approaching parity, two cents is almost worth two cents again!)

We've homeschooled from the beginning, so I don't have an experiential basis for comparison with the suitability of "fit" for my kids. There are several factors that came into play when we were deciding to homeschool (none of this is intended to be a sales pitch, by the way!): one of the two or three primary ones is the fact that Frenchie works shifts, and the flexibility of the homeschooling schedule preserves our family life--this was a major, major deal for me--when I was working, too (pre-kids), I rarely had a day off on the same day he did, and it took its temporary toll on our marriage. I didn't think I needed to learn the same lesson twice! (You can teach an old dog a few new tricks!) This is also my handy-dandy reason I trot out to nosy strangers (the ones who won't go away without an answer, anyway), and it is very useful in that situation.

Another reason, of course, was worry about academics; Harpo (8, my oldest) was reading us bits and pieces from newspapers when he was two, among other things, and I couldn't see how school was going to be fun or interesting for him. If I were going to be perfectly honest with myself here, I'm afraid my own misery in elementary school influenced how I felt in this regard--even having been skipped twice (my parents turned down a third skip), I was bored and sad--there is no acceleration, period, in our district, nor any gifted programming until grade eleven, so this was going to be a problem, we thought. We can't afford private school (a friend calls homeschooling "private school for poor people"!).

Another reason was the sort of "safety" issues to which you referred on your other thread.

As time went along, other advantages seemed to me to involve some of those "fit" questions, at least inferentially. Groucho (6, my middle guy), for instance, is a jumping bean; he really needs to be in motion, and to have physical outlets for his energy. He is really not well-suited to sitting quietly at a desk for several hours at a go. Harpo is a quirky enough child that I think there may have been some bully problems at school--maybe not, but he has been able to find a few kindred quirky spirits in the homeschool community. (I loved something Erica said once, in response to a question about "what kind of friends do your kids have," and she answered, "friends with capes!")

It's not all roses, of course; unlike a lot of homeschoolers, I do in fact find the social aspect rather difficult, though it is gradually getting better (patience really is a virtue!); there are two homeschool groups in our community, one of which requires signing a lengthy statement of faith, which I cannot in good conscience sign, so that group of people is essentially lost to us. The other seemed at first to be entirely populated by radical unschoolers who wanted nothing to do with people who (gasp!) use any books; that set is certainly the largest and most vocal part of that group, but we are starting to find some other under-the-radar book-users, too, and finally feeling (in year four) as though we are acquiring a community.

The other difficult thing is juggling three different kids!

I do think, in regard to learning styles, that you figure it out over time (my three are quite different from one another in this regard); I think a willingness to dive in and try out various things, knowing full well that some stuff just isn't going to work, will probably serve you well in the long run.

As usual, this is far too long. I need an editor!

peace
minnie