My story above notwithstanding, I do find it very useful to have a "cover story" (which happens to be true, but it's all I need to say to any casual inquirers, and it defuses instantly anything that looks like it might turn into a negative reaction): Frenchie works shifts, and homeschooling preserves our family life; neither he nor I want our sons to grow up without lots of time with their father. The fact that Harpo is unlikely to have his needs met in our school system (which has no accommodations for giftedness until--wait for it!--grade 11!!!) doesn't have to come up at all. I say nothing at all about the kids being bright, I just say that they need their dad.
peace
minnie
PS My second fallback position is to mention casually that I taught for many years; that way, people who are otherwise freaking out that we are in the bank during school hours trust that they are not being educationally neglected.
I agree with passthepotatoes about the value of chipperness!
Last edited by minniemarx; 05/18/09 05:05 PM. Reason: added ps
