Does anyone else have a child (or children) who are advanced/gifted. I love that with homeschooling we have the ability to move at our children’s pace. Sometimes though it can be overhwleming. Our daughter NEVER stops. Shes been tested in the gifted category. She wants to learn all the time. Although there are times when she just wants to chill. We go on her pace. I struggle sometimes, because she’s advanced, not only does it set her apart, but me too. When I mention what we are doing, when asked, sometimes I get the stink eye. Im not trying to be “better than”, but yet I still many times get discounted and spoke against for how we are going about her education. Our daughter is almost 5 and blazing through 1st grade work…we don’t force anything on her, we simply let her learn at her pace. She says stop, we stop. She wants to learn we learn. Just wondering if anyone can relate.
I can relate, my daughter was reading chapter books (and anything else she could find) before she would have been in kindergarten at public school. My biggest problem was finding things that would challenge her but were still appropriate for her age.
My oldest is in 3rd grade. Last year, as a 2nd grader, he tested at a 6th grade level in general (12th grade for reading and spelling). When he started 2nd grade in the public school, his teacher told me that she didn’t know what to do with him, so he was pretty much just going to ride out the year. The school policy was to test for the gifted program starting in 3rd grade, so he was too young. And she was telling me all this like he was fortunate to have such an easy year! I pulled him (and my other kids) out 2 months into the year.
It’s so much better at home. I can tailor his education in each subject to meet each need. I don’t worry anymore that he isn’t being challenged. If we are doing a lesson that is clearly too easy for him, I can add a little extra or ask tougher questions.
Oh, and I wanted to add, don’t waste any attention on what other people have to say about how you educate your child! You know your daughter best. End of story. If they knew her best, then God would have chosen them to be her parent!
This has ALWAYS been our problem and still is. I chapter book geared for a 3rd or 4th grader, my son finishes in a night, but I don’t want the content of the more challenging books. This would be a good thread…suggestions for books for advanced readers.
A great way to challenge them is with older books, even books like Stuart Little use many words that we don’t hear as often today, same with Winnie the Pooh and Alice in Wonderland
I understand that. My K does 2/3rd grade work. It can be tough since that the same level as my older child. And at times my younger can and does bypass the older child. So I am trying to balance both working at their level without the competition or putting the other down. It can be overwhelming. At the same time, my K child is a breeze to teach and can do most work without help/instruction. Try not to care about what others say or think. Each child is made uniquely and they should each be able to work at that level to achieve their best. I would continue to challenge your daughter and as time passes help her find her strengths and allow her to follow her interests.
Yep! I get the stink eye all the time, I have unfortunately learned to keep it on the hush when talking to people I don’t know very well. If they are around us long enough they can tell my son is advanced and I leave it at that. We had him evaluated for early intervention (tongue tie causing speech problems) and they kicked us to the local school system when he was 2 1/2 and it was their idea to send him for testing and I only agreed because they paid and I thought somehow it was going to help him. It can be frustrating to see other peoples reaction to your being proud of your child, I do not brag and I don’t even like the term gifted and never use it unless I have to but people compare and I guess somehow they take offense or think that you are pushy and forcing your kid to do these things. There is a great group on facebook the gifted homeschoolers forum and also a blog I like to keep up with is crushingtallpoppies.com. He is 6 now and way ahead of others but I find it hard as I am sure you probably know about the gifted and their intensities and my son also has SPD which is getting a lot better. We have never had therapy for that just for the speech, they tried to get us in the public school for everything and we refused all services once my son turned 5, I did not see the benefit and I have never told him about his being gifted, he knows that he is different but has not been overly concerned or voiced any concern over it. He use to answer wrong when around other people like at the library and he still does that I think to fit in. We use classical conversations as a part of our homeschooling and that is working out really well for us also.There are a couple of excellent books I have read and found very helpful, can’t think of the names right off hand but I have them in my Amazon wish list so if you want to know what they are I can look them up and get back to you. It is hard and I can surely relate to everything you said, it can sometimes feel very isolating. Be encouraged that you are doing what is best for your child and find some support for yourself 
Thank you so much for that insight. Yes, i too have learned to keep it hush around people i dont know well. Even, though around those i know and that see and voice shes so smart, i still feel bad voicing accomplishments, as i dont want to come across as bragging. Maybe thats just on me 
i would love to gwt the titles of thise books for possible future reference. No hurry though, whenever you get the chance! Again, thank you for understanding me!!! 
My son is who he is, and keeping him properly challenged is always interesting. For those looking for some quality lit without mature content: http://classical-homeschooling.org/celoop/1000-primary.html#advanced1-3
Some are easier, some are more challenging, but I am discovering that we need a lot of easier reading to cover lack of knowledge about the world. For example, some books will mention that a friend is “going west.” Unless you have covered some story about traveling west, they miss so much.
I get that. My middle daughter was reading books at 3. She is now 9 and in 4th grade. She was tested on her reading level and it is College ready or grade 13.5. I have not started homeschooling yet and she is my biggest worry. 2 of my 3 girls are considered gifted and the 3rd has learning disabilities. It is going to be interesting this fall.
That should keep you busy for some time. It is nice to have people who understand even if you can only find them on the internet 
I hope that helps and encourages you , I linked to amazon because it was easier but some of the resources could be found in your library perhaps. The very first one is my favorite book by far. Good luck on your journey.
Thank you so much!!!
Luvsid - thank you so much for posting the links to books you’ve found useful. We are trying to decide what to do with my 5-year old for kindergarten next year. His preschool teacher recommended we have him evaluated by the school district since she noticed some sensory processing issues. We had him evaluated and, even though the school district agreed that he had sensory and motor processing delays, they found that he was academically advanced and didn’t qualify for services.
We’re very concerned that a public school education with 25 5-year olds and one teacher won’t be able to assist him with his sensory processing issues and won’t be able to adequately support him academically. Homeschooling is something we are seriously starting to consider. It’s good to know there are other parents out there raising children with similar needs. Thanks again for your post!
I can relate as well - which is one of the reasons we decided to homeschool. My daughter is 7 and finishing up the equivalent of 3rd grade. We took the approach of letting her determine the pace and giving her and ourselves the freedom. flexibility, and grace to spend more time on a subject if she needs it (specific math concepts in her case) or if her interest is very high (Ancient Egypt this year and the American Revolution last year).
I purchased the book Honey for a Child’s Heart to aid in my search for quality reading materials that didn’t have inappropriate content.
My suggestion here is to check out older, vintage books. Books from even forty years ago have much purer content–even up to the high school level in many cases. But, advanced elementary adventure, fiction and non-fiction from decades ago are often well written and ‘clean’. Since we use an eclectic Charlotte Mason/Classical style, we love the books reccommended in both:
All Through the Ages( wonderful book with suggestions by geography and era)
Books Children Love (also organized, though by subject matter)
Hope that helps you!
Blessings!
I am with so many of you on this topic. Our journey has been difficult and I’m hoping that it will begin to level out (soon!). My son was labeled as gifted in 1st grade. He was reading at age 3 and I just figured things came easily to him. His beginning schooling years were at a private christian school. I had his 2nd grade teacher approach me calling him ‘cocky’, among other things (insert shocked face!). She never gave him any positive feedback and used him as a babysitter for one of the more challenging students in her class. Wish I had made changes then, but didn’t, and can’t dwell on that. He stayed one more year there then we went to a hybrid homeschool school. I often spoke with his teachers about how he needed more challenging work, but their answer to that challenge was to move him up 2 grades. That was not an option for us, so now we are home and very pleased with our decision. With that said, everyday comes with it’s challenges. Now my son has a difficult time when he is actually challenged. He quickly gives up or waits for someone (myself or his little sister) to tell him what is next. So this year we are focusing on following through with activities, higher level thinking skills, initiative, and self confidence. Okay, enough about me…lol. I wanted to share with you what I’ve found that can challenge our advanced readers on several levels. At a homeschool convention I found Total Language Plus. I’m a firm believer in literature based learning (as my background is speech-language pathology). Anyways, TLP is a curriculum that includes spelling, grammar, vocabulary, writing and thinking skills which ALL relate to an age appropriate book of your choice. Now I will say I am not fond of the grammar section, so we often skip this or I make up my own grammar activity. However, overall it is a phenomenal tool and I would highly recommend this for those of you who want something more comprehensive for your kiddos. Oh…and bonus…several of these books for TLP can be accompanied with COAH’s awesome Classic Literature Units (lapbooks!!). This is what we do and we LOVE it!
http://site.totallanguageplus.com/
I have two gifted and talented kids. They both have been tested through the school system. The oldest (13yr) was tested in 1st grade, surpassing 92% of chldren his age. He is advance in math. He hates anything that involving writing reading and that takes along time. He is in the 7th grade and is taking 3 high school credits.
My second oldest (11yr) was tested in 2nd grade, surpassing 94% of children her age. She struggles in math, Loves to read and write. She made a perfect score on the state 3rd testing (only one in the whole county) They are like the complete opposite. Lol.
We pulled them out of the public school because they weren’t challenging them. We used connection academy this year hoping they would challenge them but that hasn’t worked. So we are doing our own curriculum in the fall. I was wondering if anyone had any ideas for curriculum to keep them challenged but interested. Thanks Jessica.
I can definately relate because, that’s one of the reasons we are homeschooling!! The girls felt that they weren’t learning 80% of the times and they were going to a private school. So we pulled them out and we are using the money to buy books. But they love to learn and they were getting distracted with other kids. So it is a challenge to have a gifted kid, but so many rewards