Results tagged “gifted” from Learn at Every Turn - Creative, Enriched Homeschooling

I highly recommend Parenting.com's article, Is Your Child Gifted?. In the nutshell, the article says that the term "gifted" is misused and overused. Although many want to believe their child is special, every child is not gifted. The article goes on to list what parents can do to help every child.

In the homeschooling world, I tend to gravitate toward the gifted homeschooler groups, because we are secular homeschoolers primarily concerned with the quality of our sons' education. Therefore, the conversations in the gifted circles tend to be more pertinent to me.
To be honest, I don't know whether my sons are gifted or just very bright. Others think our sons may be the former, but we have no desire to pursue that further.

Our reasoning is simple: a determination would change nothing. Our goal is to meet our sons' needs, whatever they may be. So far, their needs are primarily for more challenging materials and experiences, and we attempt to provide that. I also see certain personality traits that could be associated with the gifted. Whether they are in this case is irrelevant for me. My task remains the same: to help my sons understand and work with those traits so they can lead happy, full lives.

That is why I liked the Parenting.com article. Essentially, the artcle advises to stop worrying about labels and just be there for your child. I suppose that advice works for us because we can tailor to meet the boys' needs in a homeschooling setting. The same may not be true for those in other settings. Still, I believe that the article goes a long way in the right direction in any setting.

I have put off the curriculum posts long enough.

I don't plan out the boys' curriculum in painstaking detail. Rather, I research a list of resources to keep on hand so that I'm never caught short. Then, I constantly evaluate, keep what is working, discard what isn't, and try something new when the boys need it. That is not because I don't have enough time or patience to lesson plan. Rather, I've come to realize that many of the most potent learning moments come when I haven't planned them or even forseen them. From what I've observed, those moments occur most often when the boys are immersed in interesting materials and thought-provoking experiences and allowed to make their own connections.

One final thought before I get down to the nuts and bolts. My husband and I have made a conscious decision to permit the boys to work only one grade level ahead of their chronological age in terms of state requirements. Instead, we try where possible to deepen their knowledge and give them more complex answers than they might normally receive. For instance, where the state science textbook talks of "pushes" or "pulls," we introduce and discuss concepts such as gravity and centrifugal forces.

This year, Landry is tackling third grade using the following resources:

(1)  Math: Landry does well with Math Steps and will continue this year with Level 3.  To spice things up a bit, I also have Enrichment Units in Math, Logic Safari and Primarily Thinking from Prufrock Press. Landry really enjoyed Enrichment Units in Math last year, so I'm looking forward to seeing his reaction to the other materials. I also purchased the computer game, Number Devil, to mix up our media a bit. We also try to keep an eye out for opportunities to highlight math in everyday life.

(2)  Language Arts: For literature last year, Landry used Beyond Words from the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William and Mary and was exposed to a wonderful array of literary concepts. So, he will continued that series this year with Journeys and Destinations. For grammar, he will try Editor in Chief from the Critical Thinking Company. This is new for him, but I have high hopes for it because this text puts Landry in charge of correcting other's work. He will continue with the series Spelling Connections and Explode the Code and learn cursive with Zaner Bloser's Handwriting.

On the advice of a resource teacher who works with children in the local GATE program, I am going to introduce Landry to the Maevis Beacon typing program. We hope that it will help him enjoy writing more by making it faster for him to get his thoughts down.

Similarly, Landry has started writing for 10 minutes every day in a journal. The primary purpose of this activity is to get Landry in the habit of putting his thoughts down on paper. Futhermore, the GATE resource teacher recommended 6+1 Traits of Writing as a writing resource. Landry will do other writings for his other subjects that will be edited and revised for grammar, punctuation and word choice.

(3)  Science: This year, I am giving up on science textbooks. They end up being nothing more than a reader for Landry and are significantly below his reading level at that. So, I'm trying a couple of new things. The backbone of Landry's science will be Lawerence Hall of Science GEMS unit studies. We are starting with Terrarium Habitats, an up close and personal look at dirt and the organisms that inhabit it.

Because science is a big favorite here, I've decided to double up a bit. I hope we will also conduct two or three experiments from 101 Hands-On Experiments each week. My goal is get Landry to start thinking in terms of the scientific method. He also has a subscription to the Young Scientist's Club, which means he will receive one science kit per month by mail on a wide variety of topics.

(4) Social Studies: This is one area where I strongly disagree with California. I think the Well-Trained Mind is correct: our children need to have a sense of world history. For this reason, I really liked Ancient Egypt:Gift of the Nile from the Gifted Center at the College of William and Mary. Through that text, Landry was exposed last year to political and economic concepts that I did not see until high school and college. This year, the series continues with Ancient China:The Middle Kingdom. That will be the backbone of Landry's history/social studies. I will attempt to broaden this out to a cross-curricular project by adding in lessons and field trips addressing food, culture, art, architecture, etc. To that end, I found an interesting text from Engineering is Elementary called A Sticky Situation. This text starts with the story of the Great Wall of China and ends with materials testing and building a small version of the Great Wall.

Because Landry is enrolled in a public charter, he must fulfill the state's social studies requirement. Therefore, he will complete a social studies workbook that will ensure he's covered the basics. I've also lined up field trips to local historical sites and museums to try to bring some life to the California history requirements.

Where possible, I will try to note comparisons that arise between in Landry's studies of ancient China and our modern society.

(5)  Music: Landry takes piano lessons. I am also trying a computer game called Music Ace Deluxe. And I hope to continue to expose him to all different styles of music as part of day-to-day life.

(6)  Art: I have to admit that teaching art is one of weaknesses. I like to do art and have a decent understanding of art history, but I don't like to teach technique. Here again, I'm trying some new things. Landry has a copy of Art Masterpieces to Color, Discovering Great Artists and How to Teach Art to Children. I think Discovering Great Artists has particular promise as it gives a brief reading for each of a long list of famous artists, then pairs an appropriate art activity with each reading. How to Teach Art gives activities emphasizing the different elements of art. I also ordered the Phonics of Drawing because it's computer software and that is always a big hit in this house. And, as a fallback, our local educational supply store, Lakeshore Learning has a free craft every Saturday morning.

(7) PE: For the first semester this year, we will take long geocaching/nature walks for our routine PE.

(8) Spanish: We tried Powerglide last year. Landry liked it and looked forward to it, but I really don't think he was learning much Spanish. He will try Rosetta Stone this year.

(9) Religious Studies: The boys are baptized Catholic, so we will use the Faith First series. I like this series because it emphasizes community service. However, I'm not comfortable with exploring only one religion with the boys. At a minimum, I hope to also introduce Eastern concepts through literature by authors such as Jon Muth and Thich Nhat Hanh.

Finally, if time permits (HA!!!), I'd like to explore the group, Roots & Shoots. It's sort of an environmentist/conservationst form of Boy Scouts founded by Jane Goodall.

Whew!!

Salutations! I'm Annie, and I homeschool three very blond and very energetic boys between the ages of 22 months and 7 years. The two oldest are enrolled in a small public charter, and the consensus is that they are gifted. We have not confirmed that with testing, however, because it wouldn't change our homeschooling.

My parenting philosophy from day one has been to pay close attention to each boy and give that child what he needs, even if it is not always what he wants.  In the past, needs have included extra hugs, more sleep, a different diet, more exercise, more or less structure, more individual attention, and more responsibility.  Currently, each needs an appropriately challenging learning environment that exposes him to new ideas and experiences permitting deeper connections. In short, they need opportunities to learn at every turn. While they will not take full advantage of every opportunity, I am passionate about providing them with the choice to do so.

My homeschooling style is best described at eclectic. Because I am driven by what each child needs at a given moment, no one homeschooling philosophy works all the time for all three boys. I find value in Susan Bauer and Jessie Wise's The Well-Trained Mind, the Charlotte Mason method, and unschooling, and use elements of all three as needed. I also choose to meet all the educational requirements for my state.

Why am I blogging? Homeshooling parents and teachers tell me frequently that I do something different in formulating my sons' curriculum. I am not completely convinced that is true. I am absolutely certain that I do not have all the answers. However, my goal is to record our homeschooling journey on the off chance that another parent might benefit.

And thus begins Learn At Every Turn.