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!
Related posts
- Is Distance Learning Leading you Astray?
- Help with a Gifted Daughter
- High School for the Very Young
- Do Not Conform
- College at Home Options
- Gifted and Stuck in School!
- Michael Phelps - Superhero!
- Which Foreign Language Should You Teach?
- Doubling Up on English for CLEP Tests
- Do Colleges Care about Homeschool Grades?
Christianbook.com Curriculum Page
J W says:
Unfortunately, skeptics answer this with, “Well, I’ll bet gymnastics is the *only* thing they do for school.” I never try to convince skeptics of anything.
It’s interesting, most people think there’s something wrong with a child like one of mine who draws the same things over and over and over. But an adult who does the same thing gets paid to do it and is called an “Animator.”
I bought animation software for this child at the last homeschool convention so she can scan in her drawings and make cartoons.
August 20th, 2008 at 6:50 am