I am a mom to my 6 year old daughter who has never been enrolled in school. We are relaxed/eclectic homeschoolers, probably leaning toward unschooling, though I do throw a math lesson in here and there, and we did work on handwriting for a while until she got the hang of it. We don't have a set curriculum though or daily "school time" or anything like that. I strew a lot of educational things around and she's still in that absorbing-it-all phase of life where she's "on track" for her grade level (or beyond). I keep tabs on the standards and make sure she is meeting them. If that changes I would adjust how we do things.

I guess this was all sparked by a recent interaction with a friend who made casual mention of her being gifted. I sort of skirted around the idea since it had never occurred to me, and I don't know if it even matters all that much, but maybe it would offer me a different perspective or resources to learn more about?

So, more about her (perhaps too much, LOL)...

She turns 7 next month and reads at a 3rd-4th grade level 5th-6th grade level (edit: I just had her read through some lists I found online, I didn't realize she'd improved...whoops! though not unusual, plenty of kids read beyond their "grade level"). She spontaneously learned to read when she was 4.5 years old. Her math is pretty on track for her age, though if she finds something too easy it's "boring," or too difficult and it's a meltdown trigger. This is about the only area we try and work on with homeschooling, though it's very casual.

She's intuitive, considerate, and has a solid understanding of the world going on around her. She can understand concepts and apply them to other situations. She's a perfectionist, and stubborn sometimes, though she seeks approval and wants to please. She is sensitive to clothes being "itchy" or "feeling wrong." She is also emotionally sensitive--quick to cry. I had thought she would have outgrown that by now, and sure it's less often than earlier years, but it still happens (I'd say weekly instead of daily outbursts). She's very articulate with a large vocabulary, She's an active bouncing-around kid, but can spend a long time focusing on a task if it's her idea and interesting to her. She can also spend hours just reading.
I don't know, I always just figured she was an only child that's not enrolled in school so she gets to experience real life and interact with a variety of kids and adults regularly...and that's why she seemed maybe a bit precocious.

I don't even know if the "gifted" thing really makes a difference, other than maybe a different set of terms to google for ideas when homeschooling (aforementioned "this is boring" or Meltdown City...though that's surely not unique to giftedness either).

Any input? Advice for a newbie to this whole idea? Should I just let it be and carry on our happy lives because surely that wouldn't do any harm?

Last edited by fjzh; 02/16/16 04:05 PM.