Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Right on the verge of HSing

Yeah, the not-buying thing was by FAR the best piece of advice anyone gave me! We used Singapore Math (cheap!), and bought virtually nothing else the whole first year. We used the public library. It worked well, was easy to adapt and FREE, FREE, FREE!

I'm spending a lot more this year, but I also feel like I know what I want to spend on, so that's okay. Last year, I'd have wasted a lot of money. This year, I feel pretty good about my purchases.

Oh, and LOL about the ledge-talking-down, Dazey! Friends had to do the same for me. Heck, Lorel had to do it for me this summer, even! We all go through it. Luckily, like GT denial, it comes and goes, but it gets less intense with each bout.

We just began homeschooling this year with our DS5 for Kindergarten...there is no acceleration choice for K in our county and they don't offer any services for Gifted K either so we had no choice. It was a little bumpy to start but we are SOOOOO glad we made this choice. Someone's comment of, "And we also have so many more of those moments when I give him a big hug and kiss and tell him how much I love him rather than dealing w/ a sullen child in the evenings and battling 2hrs over homework"....IS SO TRUE for us too....when he used to come home from his preschool Montessori he was a miserable, bored child and the evenings were spent trying to boost him back up again...it has taken several months and we have our happy go lucky child back again! Best choice we ever made

Does your library have Lisa Rivero's "Creative Homeschooling: A Resource Guide for Smart Families"? The book includes several sections that a new homeschooler might well find useful, as I did (and still do, actually, even in year 3 of our great adventure): she has a lot of good information about learning styles, gifted education research, and homeschooling approaches, as well as annotated lists of books, games, curricula, etc., with addresses of suppliers. She also has a chapter about making the transition from school to homeschool, which might interest you.

Glad that things seem to be nearing some kind of resolution for you, Amy; I myself always feel so much better after a big decision has been made!

peace
minnie

Well, I want to thank you AmyEJ for starting this thread. I've found it helpful as a few things have really jumped out at me. I've recently been considering homeschooling DD6 because the school is just not doing anything for her and she's getting more frustrated. And then I read two posters mentioning 'stomach ache' and a light bulb just went on! My daughter was fine all afternoon and evening, but complained of a stomach ache before bed (this isn't the first time it has spontaneously occurred). I told her that if tomorrow it is still bothering her, I will take her to the doctor's after school (it's a half day tomorrow). And she seemed surprised and said, "You mean I have to go to school tomorrow?" Makes me wonder if there is more to it.

It wasn't until I started homeschooling that I discovered the joy of inter-library loan. (play angelic choir) It's the best thing since sliced bread! You may have access to much more than what you find on your local library shelves...

For those just considering homeschool, I suggest a trial period over the summer, or if you're REALLY close to pulling your child now, you might want to try it over the holiday break. My family did a trial period with our two oldest kids and by the time number three was school age, it was just assumed that she would be a homeschooler too. But the summer trial was very helpful to assess how well the kids could learn at home. When we started for real, I had more confidence and DH was satisfied that I wasn't going to "ruin" our kids.

Here's my standard gifted homeschooling rant:

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art27311.asp

There are many homeschoolers and afterschoolers on this board, and we're always happy to discuss resources and curriculum...

Maybe so, Kriston, but I swear it never sounds as good as what you say. Thanks, though.

And thanks, everyone, for the advice. LMom, I really appreciate all of the links. I'd heard of a few of those and will need to check out the rest. And my husband appreciates the good advice of not buying too much right away. That's advice that I need. How did you know?

We did hear back from the school after submitting her scores to them yesterday and they immediately offered to pull her out for at least reading and possibly math. The principal checked with the district and they will only place her in 2nd grade fully if she takes and passes the CBE, which is a 4-part test given over 4 days. Each part has 50 questions and she has to get a 90% on each part (LA, math, social studies, and science). I've heard it's pretty hard to do because of lack of exposure in social studies and science. I just don't think she's up for that testing right now, and I don't think she's that excited about going to 2nd grade. She told me this morning that her friend from carpool told her there were "a lot of fights" in 2nd grade. She says it sounds scary.

So I'm going to continue researching homeschooling and see where that takes us. Thanks again for all of the support. And congratulations to you for what you are giving to your children. It's so exciting to hear how well your kids are doing.

Ruby, pay attention to those stomachaches! They happen in our home for a variety of reasons (doesn't want to go to bed, school, clean room, etc.) but they certainly increased this year.

We use a curriculum called Movingbeyondthepage.com It's geared toward gifted children. DS and I both love it, and will continue using it as long as we can. And the good thing is you can buy one unit at a time to try it out

Well, it's not specific to homeschool, but when someone asks why DS6 goes to private school rather than public, I just say that he has "special educational needs." I think some people have thought that he is at the opposite end of the spectrum, but they're far less likely to delve into the reason!

The 90% test ... is science and social studies, that's ridiculous. In first and second grade, those subjects are typically such a patchwork of whatever the teacher wants to emphasize. Quite honestly, I'd get the end-of-year standards for second grade and hot-house her! Hot-housing *does* have a place when you've got your nose to the grindstone, and it won't hurt her if you do it in a fun way.

Would they differentiate in the classroom? Or maybe pull-outs for math and/or reading, so she could stay in the first-grade classroom?

I agree here w/ Mia. If you know the child needs to know all the continents by the end of 2nd grade, that's something that will take the child 10min and a fun world puzzle to know! Why not! Social studies and science are difficult b/c it's factual info that you either know or don't know. Now if it's reading social studies content or scientific content and drawing conclusions, that's different b/c the required information is presented in the passage. I would take a look at What Your Xth grader needs to know for social studies and science content. It's really very basic.