Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments Had DS6 tested today and he's PG

I am so thankful for this forum. What did gifted parents do before the internet?!

Thank you, Madoosa. I know I need to adjust my idea of schooling. I just can't get over that we moved here for this district and have a top performing school system, nationally recognized for performance and AP offerings, and yet I might not even access it.

Part of me is extremely excited if we do decide to homeschool because it opens up so much of your day/time. I feel so suffocated by our schedule and he's only in a half-day K program at the moment.

That is EXACTLY how I felt. I honestly felt robbed of my awesome kid! I hated having to drop him at school for mornings and I resented not getting a minute-by-minute detailed report of his day. And as our issues worsened it just was SO not worth everything.

And that is when I found this awesome place! And it most likely saved my sanity to know that a) here my kids are normal and b) here I am amongst others who have BTDT and I felt heard and understood. When we changed to homeschooling I was supported here and every step since too! Before the internet we all just struggled along miserably feeling alienated and confused I guess

And then I found a few other moms across the globe who helped me settle to this strange new way - it took me ages to adjust my mindset but it was worth it totally.

Whatever you decide to do know that it doesn't have to be a forever decision, and that you can always change it up as you need to.

Ktpie, very happy for you and your ds. At least now you won't doubt your instincts. All the best with whatever schooling option you choose.

I resent handing my kids over to the school system too. I have to work so I need the day care - but actual daycare gave me so much more freedom and feedback.

Congrats on getting your gut instincts confirmed. As far as schooling goes, we've had mixed success with public schools, private school and homeschooling. (Yes, we've tried them all ) While our public/private school experiences were very similar, our charter school actually ended up being the best - even better than homeschooling.
Homeschooling didn't work for us because DD3 at the time was too much of a distraction from DD7 at the time getting anything productive done. The younger one was very time intensive and high demanding child, (Luckily she has grown out of that). The older daughter, the one we were trying to homeschool is also a very social child and didn't like learning alone. We were not in an area with good homeschool groups for her age/ability levels, so we couldn't join one for her social needs to be met.
Both the public and private schools tried to help accommodate her, but they both reached limits to what they were able/willing to do. Even with radical acceleration from grade 3 to grade 6, she wasn't getting what she needed.
We have since moved so she can attend the Davidson academy and it has been an awesome fit in all ways for her.
Good luck with your journey. But don't plan too far in advance, because what works now will probably not work next year, or even in a few months. I think flexibility is key to success in educating our kids.

Thank you lovemydd, puffin, and Kerry!

Technically we homeschool... but DD11 takes a full slate of classes at a local learning center specifically geared toward homeschool students. This is best for her because she's too social to learn alone at home.

The school allows her to accelerate as much as she likes. She'll be taking her first high school level classes next year and her first community college class the year after. Oh and she goes to Mathnasium because it's flexible and has a rigorous and complete curriculum through Pre-Alg. Then we can work with them to pick a good text and they can continue to tutor through the rest of high school math.

Here are some considerations:

Sports -- lots of club opportunities outside of the school system here, so this is not a problem. Besides, for an accelerated kid, you have to adjust your expectations around sports scholarships and sports in college anyway.

Testing -- state law requires that she take a nationally normed tests at certain grades based on age. So she'll be taking the 5th grade test next month -- I am not concerned. The learning center organizes it, but you can also arrange individually. They also arrange achievement testing (we'll probably do the 8th grade tests next year). As for college admissions testing, she can take the SAT and ACT at a local school when she's ready as a homeschooler too. No problem.

AP and/or IB classes -- if she wants these she'll have to take them through an online school (of which they are several). The learning center has a few APs, but not many.

Transcript and high school graduation -- no high school around here is going to let her join at twelve, and she's not interested in an online school. We're in this for the long haul. That means a homeschool transcript and homeschool admission to college. The fact that she has external teachers who can vouch for her will help.

College: We are not in a rush, but expect that she'll start college full time at least a year or two early. Starting college early will limit her options, but with dual highschool/community college credit and good test scores, I'm not particularly stressed about it. Her current career choice at least requires graduate school, so she'll be more mature when entering the work force. There are a couple of non-local options that can work and a couple of very good local options as well (living at home). The local options will accept her community college credit and not consider her a transfer -- best of both worlds.

It's only in the past few months that we've really come to terms with this (with the help of this board actually). We just had to accelerate our expectations and planning to be in step with her academic acceleration.

Thank you SO much for sharing your experience, Ivy! So helpful to hear how others have done this.

KTPie- look at "A Well Trained Mind" community. It's primarily a homeschooling forum, with an active "after schooling forum."

There is a lot of information about curriculum, challenges, etc. They even have an "accelerated learner" board for kids performing above grade level. Many programs, methods, etc. are discussed.

I don't home school but have considered it. To me, the challenges (might) be:

1. finding a rigorous, comprehensive curriculum
2. dealing with the occasional clash of my personality and DS7's personality
3. appropriate socialization

Honestly, with all of the support that exists for home schoolers, it's really #2 that's our hold out for keeping DS in regular, private school.

A couple of things:

1. I really, really like Singapore math, especially the word problems (they can be quite challenging). I have DS do about 10 minutes of after school math- we use Singapore word problems and I come up with whatever he needs to know on a particular subject. Right now, we're finishing fractions, decimals, etc. and moving to order of operations in prep for algebra.

2. We are going to work on the Art of Problem Solving some this summer because I've heard good things. Many folks seem to like EPGY. Kumon workbooks are tedious but great for math facts.

3. Language arts- if it was me, I would focus on writing. I have family member who are high school teachers. They say the average writing ability of an incoming HS freshman is appalling.

Thank you Cammom. I recently stumbled upon the Well Trained Mind accelerated learner board and it has been very helpful so far. I'm still overwhelmed but I feel that I'm making some progress.

To be completely honest, your #2 is my biggest concern as well. DS6 can drive me crazy some days. My plan right now is to start playin around with homeschooling, with a focus on math, this summer. That way I can get a feel for what it might be like as we move forward.

I've yet to find a good private option in our area, which is why I'm attempting homeschooling first.

This board has really been invaluable. I am so thankful for everyone's comments.