Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Homeschooling and "intellectual peers"

If you homeschool, are you able to find intellectual peers for your child? This is the only piece of the homeschooling puzzle that has me second guessing my choice.


I've joined a few local homeschooling groups, but haven't come across any children like DS. Where are they hiding?

Try the library, the local comic book selling store that hosts trading card games, any music program, the local-most museum, and the chess club. Join the state gifted association and attend some programs.


Try joining TAGMAX

Ask around on TAGMAX if anyone knows 'what's the deal' locally. Once you find one homeschooling family with peers for your kid, you'll probably find a whole cluster.

Remember that one of the main reasons that folks homeschool in the first place is so that their child's advanced academic needs can be met in a natural and comfortable environment, without the need for labeling the child or singling them out - so you may be surrounded by homeschoolers who think that their child is working 3 grades above age level because of the wonderful benefits of homeschooling who would look blankly at you if you use the G-word.

In the long run, remember that your DS's strongest scores put him a whole standard deviation above the gifted cut off - so kids who are exactly peers will be rare. But more findably gifted kids who are a bit older might provide wonderful peerness.

Best Wishes,
Grinity

Massachusetts has a mailing list for gifted homeschoolers http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MAGiftedHomeschoolers/ . Does your state?

We have found that special interest groups centered around topics that appeal primarily to gifted kids are a fairly reliable source of near-agemates who are, if not intellectual peers, at least closer to it than average. When I watch my son hanging out with the other kids around his age from his summer Shakespeare troupe, he fits in better than I have seen him fit anywhere, with the exception of his online interactions other Duke TIP kids - which brings me to another resource that homeschoolers can also access: participating in talent searches, gifted conferences, and university-sponsored summer and weekend programs for gifted children.

I think it is worth remembering that even in a large public school, there is no guarantee that DYS-level kiddos are going to find true intellectual peers, and as a parent you are probably still going to need to seek out special interest groups and programs outside of school to find a solution that works for your kid(s) to find "their people".

Thanks for the tips!


I am a member of the Ohio gifted association, I'll keep my eye out for events.

Grinity, I just found a chess club, looks like he'll have to learn how to play. LOL! (He plays a little on the ipad, I think he would like to play with kids!)

Bostonian, I'll check that out, thank you!

Thanks for the tips aculady!


I'm not looking for an IQ soul mate or anything, just some kids that will "get" him.

That's interesting. I've found a number of homeschooling families that don't ID their kids as GT, but they clearly are. They seemed to have intuited that their out of the box kids needed a different educational solution and chose to homeschool. I had to talk a mom into letting her obviously HG boys sign up for GT class offerings that would be perfect for her kids. She was really nervous about it! ROFL - I guess I was a few years ago too.

Anyway - I sign my kids up for things like science enrichment, engineering team, book clubs, chess club. GT kids have surfaced in all those arenas. We are in a major metro area with probably a high % of secular GT homeschoolers. Keep looking - hoping you find some friends for your child!

Maybe my ds is just weirder than I thought?



Admittingly, we've only been to one get together for two groups, so maybe there will be other families next time.

I am starting to realize that although the setting matters - focusing on special interest is a great suggestion - sometimes its just the particular group of kids. DS 5 in one pre-k was treated as an oddity by a bunch of kids which set the tone for him and by the end was pretty miserable about the friend situation. Now in camp (pre-k during the summer) he is having an awesome time, reports having friends, and does not feel odd. Even though he is as different from them as he was from his pre-k. These kids are more open to him and his interests, and the counselors are helping him with his interactions so that he enjoys them even though they aren't necessarily intellectual peers.

LOG matters - but sometimes it can just have been a bad fit or mix of kids!

Hang in there and keep looking. In May I felt doomed and overprotective. Now I am optimistic and hopeful. Sort of

DeHe

Awesome!
Also - if you are anywhere drivable to cmites.org-gifted education-workshops-programs-classes-elementary ...
www.cmu.edu/cmites/

Go check 'em out - they are amazing!!!
Grinity

We are a couple hours from there, but I wouldn't mind driving. (especially since there is an ikea in Pittsburgh! Lol)