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’!