Thanks, everyone.
For me, the hardest part is trying to avoid the comparison game. It's funny you mentioned WTM, Mel, because something about that board seems to bring that out in me (though, once I get past those feelings, it's a great resource). Same goes for reading about what the children do at some of the gifted schools in our region. It's not that I want my children to be "farther ahead" than other people's... it's just that I'm not sure if they're really being challenged enough, because we spend so little time on organized learning or in-depth projects.
Along those lines, I wanted to share that I've come up with some ideas for family-oriented, open-ended summer activities that DH and our helper will be able to participate in.
1) We've started learning a foreign language together at the breakfast table, using a simple, mostly oral approach (pretty much just a word or phrase a day). Much verbal humor and general silliness ensues, which is a good thing, as some of us sleep-deprived grown-ups tend to be a little grouchy in the morning.
2) In a few weeks, we'll be starting
The Private Eye. This a method of exploring nature by looking at objects through jeweler's loupes, then describing what you see by means of analogies, poems, and art. DH, a science-oriented guy, is just as excited as I am about this.
3) For those times when it's too hot to go outside, I've stashed away Part 1 of a "living books" elementary history curriculum, and will be bringing selected books out one by one for read-aloud only (i.e., DD can't haul them off to her room and read them all in an afternoon).
The children are also signed up for several community center activities, and the library is right next door to the CC, making it easy to pick up new books related to the above. So I'm no longer dreading the summer; it's starting to sound like fun.
And just in time, because we're hitting another hairpin turn. My 2 year old just announced that she wants to "do school too," AND she's started climbing out of her crib, so we have to move her to a bed. She's a real wild card; she was diagnosed at birth with a neurological disorder and is considered high risk for developmental delay, but in some ways she seems even smarter than her siblings. I'm going to post over in 2E about her, when I get another free moment.
