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Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
I often say that we should “Never compare, someone always gets hurt.” I think I first came upon that phrase listening to Focus on the Family when I had toddlers, and it’s been an important part of our family ever since.
It’s very important in homeschooling, too! We don’t WANT to be the same as a public or private school! Try to rid yourself of that standard as you think about your homeschool. Focus instead on what new things your student can learn.
This is an important message especially if you have gifted kids. With gifted children, you want to REALLY avoid a homeschool that looks like another school! The reason more and more parents of gifted children are beginning to homeschool is because there needs are often not met by public and private schools. Children that are outside of the “normal range” on one side or the other, will often get the short end of the stick with education. So don’t imitate the pattern of this world’s school. Find your own path by looking straight at your children and meeting their needs, whatever that need may be.
Learn ten strategies for educating gifted children. Take a look at our new audio course “Gifted Education at Home.”
I just published a 5 part mini-course about “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School.” It captures some of the most important lessons I’ve learned in homeschooling my own children through high school and helping other parents succeed as well. These five short lessons will provide an overview to help you stay on track as you think through high school issues with your student. Whether you are already into the high school years, or just wondering whether homeschooling high school is a possibility, this is the course for you.
When you sign up, please make sure you fill out the question “What is your BIGGEST question about homeschooling high school.” Your answers will help me know the best issues to address in my blog, newsletter, Dig Deeper pages and my Products and Services. Thanks!
I heard the Olympics commentator mention that most of the USA gymnasts are homeschooled, because they practice for so many hours each day. Wow! I never thought about that before, but I’ll bet it’s true. Imagine, each one of those kids has a gift. Their parents found the gift, fed the flames, and encouraged specialization. And they ended up in the Olympics! How proud they must be!
But I’ll bet you work JUST as hard as those parents. Each child is unique, and homeschooling is a joy, but it’s never really “easy.” It’s hard work! Keep the goal in mind. It may not be Olympic gold, but you still want your child to find their passion and pursue it.
I read an article in Reader’s Digest about a woman named Helen Greiner. When she was 11 years old, she became OBSESSED with the Star Wars Character R2-D2. Can you imagine how frustrating that would be to her parents? I’m guessing they thought it was a complete waste of time, rather than a glimmer of Helen’s unique gifts. Helen went on to develop the “Roomba” robotic vacuum cleaner. She also developed robots for mine-sweeping jobs in the military. In public high school, she was on the math team and chess team, but she says she was NOT encouraged in her specialization at school. As homeschoolers we are free to encourage our children in their area of specialization. Even if it’s R2-D2, math, chess, or engineering! Woo Hoo!
Got your own future Olympian (Sports or Academic)? Check out my gifted education website, Homeschooling Gifted Teens!
Dayna asked me for help with her gifted teen daughter who was underachieving in public schools.
Hi Dayna,
It sounds like you need my new audio CD called “Gifted Education” but it’s not quite ready yet! Seriously, though, do I ever understand the difficulty of raising gifted children!
I have a great idea that may work with you AND your husband. How about looking into College Plus! Here is a link. If your daughter is motivated by doing “real” work, and she sees college as being valuable, then this may be a solution. It’s all “homeschooling” but there is an actual college degree at the end of it. It’s based on the ideas of Accelerated Distance Learning, but with mentors who help the student along the way. See if it might fit the bill.
You can also look over my “Homeschooling College” Dig Deeper page, and see if you get some ideas from there.
The problems that you describe are fairly common with kids in public schools. They just get bored because they aren’t challenged – and they become fearful of failure when they get overwhelmed. It would be the same way in any classroom situation (even a virtual situation) because it would be equally difficult to keep her always challenged yet never overwhelmed.
I got a lot of support from Hoagies Gifted Education. It has a “Gifted 101″ page that may help you think through the issues and talk to your husband. Here is that link.
Is that enough information for now? I don’t want to overwhelm you. Let me know if you have more questions.
Subscribe to my blog via reader or e-mail. Get bit-sized nuggets of high school wisdom.
Michael Phelps has ADD – did you know that? His mother was able to take what could have been a detriment, and turned it into a huge advantage. I love this article titled “Michael Phelps’ Mom on How to Raise an ADHD Superstar.” It states that “Behind almost every ADHD success story is a devoted parent (or two).” Read the article from ADDitudemag.com
Did you read about my newsletter article about the boy homeschool graduate with learning disabilities? He went on to earn ELEVEN graduate degrees! Here is the article in USA Today.
I encourage you to find the Superhero within your own child! My husband has written a series of articles about finding the superhero your own homeschooled children. Read more!
Did you know that you can consult with me for free? This month you can call me on my toll free number, on Wednesdays between 1:00 and 2:00 pm, Pacific Time, and consult for up to 10 minutes for free. You missed me today, but call me next week! It’s fun – and free!
“If my son has already taken the SAT as a sophomore, can he take the PSAT to see if he qualifies for the National Merit Scholarship, and then retake the SAT, or how does that work?”
When I read this page, it seemed as though they really understood gifted kids. You can give them the test early or graduate them early and still compete. Check out the site and read for yourself, because it may put you at ease a bit.
My son Alex was in the same position. Because Alex was doing so well on SAT practice exams when we practiced with his older brother, we had him take the SAT when he was 15 years old. He ended up scoring an 800, 790 and 790 on the three exam sections, and we were STUNNED. That was my first clue that he might need to graduate high school early! The following year he took the PSAT. Because he was already taking pre-calculus at that time, we made sure he reviewed the SAT Math section. The day of the PSAT, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed, though. He had a bad day (teens do that sometimes, you know?) He didn’t score exceptionally well on the PSAT, and ended up being “only” a commended student. Since the PSAT is only counts ONE TIME as the National Merit Qualifying Test, he had not opportunity to do a re-take.
If you qualify for the National Merit, there are a lot of hoops you have to jump through before you get the award. The prize itself is relatively small, at “just” $2500 per year. Sure it may seem like a lot, but it’s not much compared to the cost of college. The National Merit is still worth pursuing, however. Although the prize is small, the colleges LOVE to have National Merit Scholars. Many colleges will award huge scholarships to National Merit Scholars. There are also some businesses that will provide scholarship money to National Merit Scholars! So even though the prize itself is small, the consequences can be huge.
Look at the college brochures for the schools you are looking at. If the glossy fliers mention something like “We have 10 National Merit Scholars and 11 Commended Students” then the chances are very good that they will provide large scholarship awards for the winners. Even though Alex was “just commended” he was still given great scholarships from every college he applied to.
In my opinion, the PSAT and National Merit Scholarship is worth the effort to pursue. But if you don’t win the National Merit, being Commended is also a great commendation!
Learn more about Preparing Homeschoolers for college at my Dig Deeper website!
High school is a good time to let go of the idea of “teaching” everything. What’s important is that the students “learn”. Sometimes that will mean finding self-teaching curriculum and allowing them to learn without your help. But sometimes “not teaching” really means letting go!
If your child loves something, and you see that it is your child’s area of specialization, then you don’t have to have control over it. Let your child experience and enjoy learning about the thing that interests them. You don’t have to test, or have them write papers about it, or require an outline, or develop a learning plan. Let them just experience it! If they produce something, save it in your records. Perhaps they will make a short video or drawing for fun – don’t test them to see what they know about shading or plot! Just save the item, rejoice that they are learning for fun, and don’t stress about it! As they are learning for fun, think about what they used and keep track of it. It may be book titles you can save, but not always. It may be plays they went to, computer tutorials they viewed, or instruction manuals they read. You can save those ideas to include in a course description. It still doesn’t mean you have to control what they do when they are learning! You’re just writing down what they did while they were learning on their own.
I’m wondering if you can recommend any reading material for our gifted 16-year-old daughter, to help her understand herself. Studying martial arts has been one of the best self-confidence boosters for her, but I think she would really benefit from some affirming works that go into identification, characteristics, success stories, and the like.
Thanks for your wonderful website. It has helped me a lot.
Dear Betty,
I have a web page on gifted teens. On that page, I have links to many news stories about gifted kids, and links with various resources and articles. I can’t think of any books in particular for your daughter to read. I can suggest looking over the Hoagies gifted education resources. It has a “Gifted 101″ section that really helped me in the beginning, when I recognized that it was becoming a bigger issue.
Your daughter has been made this way by God. And you have been given her, with her unique gifts, because you are the best person for the job (in God’s opinion, anyway!) It’s very difficult to have gifted kids, and each one is unique. I really *know* the struggles. Remembering that you are the perfect person for the job can help!
Just a thought… my son is a huge Jane Austen fan. Does your daughter like her novels? Because Jane Austen was a highly gifted young woman, in a society where that was frowned upon. Can she read that with an eye toward giftedness?
Spread the great news about homeschooling high school! Please add The HomeScholar button to your blog or website. Get the code from the column on the right. Thanks!
When we did CLEP, I preferred using the Official Study Guide by College board as a entry-level “can we pass this” assessment. Here is the link:
I chose that book because it had a sample test from EVERY CLEP, and we were just looking for an over view assessment at that time.
I usually preferred Princeton Review study materials for everything, but in this one instance it seemed like the Official Study Guide worked better for us. Princeton Review seems to speak more in the natural tone of teenagers.
Janel in North Dakota met me at a homeschool convention, and we shared our worries about homeschooling profoundly gifted children. If you are dealing with a gifted child, you may want to see my web pages that are devoted to just those concerns.
I wish I would have had someone to talk to when I was in Janel’s position! It really IS difficult to know what to do with a profoundly gifted child. I do have some information and links about gifted education on my “Dig Deeper” site.
And it does help to remember that you can Homeschool College if necessary. Here is another “Dig Deeper” site on that subject.
I will be speaking on gifted education at the WHO Convention on June 13th.
You have been chosen for this task! God will provide what you need to see it through!
I remember what it feels like, and I’m here if you need me.
PS. We established an “online scrapbook” for our youngest son’s writings here. It covers some of his work since he was 12 years old.
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