I'm a former teacher who turned to homeschooling when my boys couldn't get what they needed through the public schools. I'm also Gifted Children's Outreach Coordinator for American Mensa, a Gifted Children's Coordinator and Area Coordinator for Mensa of Wisconsin, a member of the Monroe Virtual Middle School Parent Advisory Board and am an obsessive collector of WWII war relief memorabilia. Most of my time is spent trying to keep up with my kids.
There's an article in the Guardian about the pressure gifted boys feel to dumb down and fit in. It's not just a smart-girl problem anymore. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.
I'm so glad I found your website because I'm having issues with my bright pre schooler, but I've seen his intelligence cause problems in other areas and I've been searching for moms of boys who might be able to help me.
Riley taught himself to read and now he's reading everything. At 22 months old he could identify every letter of the alphabet and I didn't teach him. He walked up to some with NIKE on their sweatshirt and read the letters off of it.
He's been learning at an accelerated pace ever since. He was doing PRE/K science work books from Evan Moor at 3.
I put him on grade level for preschool and it was a disaster. He's super social, but the kids couldn't communicate with him.
I don't know if he's "gifted" but I suppose if I have always tested into that range, than he could to. I also have perfect pitch and pick up musical instruments and languages easily. I'm also good at math and numbers and scored well on the SAT at 15. I don't know if Riley is just argumentative because I am. Does that make sense?
I have the feeling we're headed for homeschooling which I hate for him, but it might be helpful. He's super social, but he's not old enough to go to Kindergarten next year and he's already doing 1st grade level math, science, and reading.
His preschool teacher told me K Techers don't like it when kids learn how to read because they're just memorizing words. She said it like they were upset with us. So should I unteach him? Now he's getting into trouble in class every day for things like talking or arguing. She said he seems immature. I think he's manipulative and knows exactly what he's doing. Do you have any suggestions?
Do you only hate homeschool for him because you think he'll miss out on social things? That's not the case. Most communities have at least one homeschool group that gets together for park days or field trips. They may even offer classes like P.E.
If you want to learn more about homeschooling the gifted, I would suggest you join the Homeschooling Mensans Yahoo group and/or Mensa's Bright Kids group (the link to BK is at left). I'm a member of both groups and both are open to the public, so if you're even thinking about hsing, join Homeschooling Mensans to ask your questions.
2 comments:
I'm so glad I found your website because I'm having issues with my bright pre schooler, but I've seen his intelligence cause problems in other areas and I've been searching for moms of boys who might be able to help me.
Riley taught himself to read and now he's reading everything. At 22 months old he could identify every letter of the alphabet and I didn't teach him. He walked up to some with NIKE on their sweatshirt and read the letters off of it.
He's been learning at an accelerated pace ever since. He was doing PRE/K science work books from Evan Moor at 3.
I put him on grade level for preschool and it was a disaster. He's super social, but the kids couldn't communicate with him.
I don't know if he's "gifted" but I suppose if I have always tested into that range, than he could to. I also have perfect pitch and pick up musical instruments and languages easily. I'm also good at math and numbers and scored well on the SAT at 15. I don't know if Riley is just argumentative because I am. Does that make sense?
I have the feeling we're headed for homeschooling which I hate for him, but it might be helpful. He's super social, but he's not old enough to go to Kindergarten next year and he's already doing 1st grade level math, science, and reading.
His preschool teacher told me K Techers don't like it when kids learn how to read because they're just memorizing words. She said it like they were upset with us. So should I unteach him? Now he's getting into trouble in class every day for things like talking or arguing. She said he seems immature. I think he's manipulative and knows exactly what he's doing. Do you have any suggestions?
Do you only hate homeschool for him because you think he'll miss out on social things? That's not the case. Most communities have at least one homeschool group that gets together for park days or field trips. They may even offer classes like P.E.
If you want to learn more about homeschooling the gifted, I would suggest you join the Homeschooling Mensans Yahoo group and/or Mensa's Bright Kids group (the link to BK is at left). I'm a member of both groups and both are open to the public, so if you're even thinking about hsing, join Homeschooling Mensans to ask your questions.
Cheers,
Lessa
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