Gifted.
I used to be afraid of using the g-word.
The word gifted conjures images of neatly wrapped packages. It implies that you have been given something, something that gives you a leg-up over others.
Something better.
But the thing is, gifted children are not better than their peers, they are just different. And just like other populations that differ significantly from the norm, gifted children need support in order to thrive.
When you are the parent of a gifted child, that g-word can often feel like a burden. The label comes with heaps of misunderstanding and expectations.
When folks think of gifted kids, they tend to think of the high achievers, the straight-A students who show up to class on time and prepared, earning extra credit points and various accolades along the way.
They fail to consider asynchronous development.
Or the fact that gifted learners can be twice-exceptional, both gifted and learning disabled.
They have never heard of overexcitabilities.
Giftedness and achievement are two separate entities. You can have one without the other.
Giftedness is not anything like that neatly wrapped box that the label box implies. In fact, gifted children do best when they are allowed to think, and learn, and achieve outside of the proverbial box.
Gifted Achievement: Breaking Free of that Proverbial Box
Our family never intended to homeschool. My husband and I are products of public education and I worked in schools for years before starting a family.
Homeschooling found us after our oldest child floundered in public kindergarten.
And homeschooling found us once more, just this fall when our daughter asked to homeschool.
My youngest would be heading off to kindergarten in September, but I didn’t bother registering him.
I don’t need that third strike, folks.
I’m out.
Making space for OTHER achievement
In public school, children are expected to learn certain things at certain times. If your gifted kindergartener interested in multiplication and division, he must wait. If she loves chemistry, she must wait. If he wants to learn a language, he must wait. Every. Single. Year.
I am not a fan of making kids wait to learn something.
With homeschooling, I can tailor a curriculum to meet each of my children’s unique, asynchronous needs. It doesn’t matter if a child is reading at a high school level, writing at a 3rd-grade level, and doing math at a 4th-grade level.
Plus, I allow my children to pursue their own interests. If they are interested in writing books, or learning guitar, or creating a cardboard rocket ship, we do those things.
In addition to academic pursuits, homeschooling allows my children to achieve in other areas, areas that would not necessarily be supported in a public school setting:
- My oldest son’s artistic abilities and creativity
- My daughter’s sensitivity and kindness
- My youngest’s imagination and charisma
The public school attempted to squeeze my gifted kids into that ol’ proverbial box.
There is no box here.
I know homeschooling isn’t for everyone. I certainly never thought it was for me, but it has been an unexpected blessing.
Wondering if your child is gifted/2e?
This post has been part of the Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page February 2016 Blog Hop: Other Achievement. Please click the image below to keep on hoppin’!
Cait co-hosts The Homeschool Sisters Podcast and is co-founder of Raising Poppies, a community for parents of gifted and twice-exceptional children. Cait is also founder of the Family Book Club at My Little Poppies, a fantastic community of book-loving parents and the Gameschool Community at My Little Poppies, a vibrant community of gameschoolers.
Cait is a contributing writer for Simple Homeschool. Her work has also appeared on The Huffington Post, The Mighty, Scary Mommy, GeekMom, and many others. You can find her on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram
and G+.
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So many good points. And so true about waiting. Children (and adults) have to wait for so many things. Let’s have them learn they need to wait for what is absolutely necessary (like, you really have to wait for dinner, or Christmas is in a few days – you’ll just have to wait) rather than waiting to experience an enriching education. If they have to wait to learn, it may extinguishing their love of learning. Thanks for a great post.
Exactly, Gail! Their love of learning is lost in the process. Thanks for reading!
Caitie. I know you’ve read that great quote by Tom Clynes about gifted kids and waiting. So true! I always look forward to reading your posts and seeing how your blog is organized and so full of content. You are a great resource.
Man, I loved his book! My favorite read of the summer, in fact. Fascinating!! Thank you for reading, Paula!
Love this, Cait. I’m not of fan of waiting, either. Love that homeschooling lets us break out of the box.
Thanks, friend! <3
I hate waiting and worse – my daughter hates waiting. My biggest fear for gifted kids is that the get used to the waiting and fall into stagnation. Thanks for sharing your homeschooling journey – I love learning from your adventures!
Stagnation is the fear! Thank you- I love your site too 🙂
I always struggle with this being a learner who never fit in a box but also working in public education. Fortunately for me, my son has had a good fit most years with teachers who celebrate outside the box, but last year he was starting to burn out by the end of the year. So far we are taking it year by year…
I hope this year goes well for him!
I admire your dedication to homeschooling your children. Rarely is the easiest choice the best choice. Thank you for being a wonderful mother and example for me, and your Little Poppies.