Homeschooling the Gifted Child Part 1
Have you ever wondered if your child is gifted? Most parents know their children are “special,” but sometimes that feeling goes beyond parental love into a realization that a child is blessed with extraordinary talent in one or more areas. The first step towards homeschooling your gifted child is to determine if he or she is gifted.
How to Tell if Your Child is Gifted
Here are a few signs that your child may be gifted.
- His bedroom looks like a mad scientist’s laboratory.
- You never know what you can throw out – was it an experiment or leftovers?
- Your van is part taxi, part lab, and a large part bookmobile.
- Your seven-year-old has recreated the Roman Empire in elaborate detail . . . with Legos™.
- Your fourteen-year-old speaks and writes a foreign language fluently . . . a language of his own invention.
- Your two-year-old insists on putting together his jigsaw puzzles “color-side down” so it won’t be so easy.
- At the bookstore you discover your nine-year-old in the check-out line with $500 worth of science books.
- Your eight-year-old computes how much interest you owe him on back allowance . . . in his head.
- Your four-year-old cries when she hears news reports about a famine in Africa.
- Your outgoing five-year-old child strikes up a conversation with a stranger on a plane which results in his deriving a mature grasp of negative numbers. You respond, “Thank you . . . I think.”
- You told your son that he and his friends must stay outside to play. Later you find that they took the TV and Nintendo up on the roof. He said that they were, after all, playing outside . . .
Perhaps you would like a more formal list of characteristics?
Attributes Commonly Found in Gifted Children
This is a partial list of attributes commonly found in gifted children. Certainly most gifted children will not exhibit all of these attributes. In addition, some characteristics may be hidden, and because of a host of good reasons, may not appear until much later.
- has a developed sense of humor
- does things earlier than peers
- does things better than peers
- has a very different perspective than peers
- has intense focus on one or two hobbies or interests
- is sometimes (but certainly not always) capable and mature for age
- sees patterns – both concrete and abstract
- has a precocious use of language (if verbally gifted)
- prefers to do math work in head (if mathematically gifted)
- has an active imagination
- is extremely competitive
- shows extreme emotional sensitivity
- is an original thinker – may be a non-conformist
- is persistent
Then there are other characteristics of gifted children that may be a little more difficult to live with.
- perfectionism
- super-sensitivity or heightened senses (can’t stand the toes of the socks to be on “wrong,” requires the tags in shirts to be cut off, or overly sensitive to light or sound or environment)
- very intense emotionalism
- high energy levels
- below-normal need for sleep
- stubbornness (the extreme side of persistence)
- inability to finish all projects begun
- impatience with time required for precision
- impatience with details
More About Gifted Children
Intellectually gifted kids are not always the honors students with the best scores. Some kids don’t test well, and some gifted kids aren’t academically inclined.
Some gifted children deal with un-diagnosed learning disabilities, boredom, behavior problems, or hyperactivity that complicate their special abilities. As you can see, it’s not always easy being gifted!
Next week I will continue this post with advice for handling gifted children. In the meantime, consider buying a copy of the book Gifted Children at Home: A Practical Guide for Homeschooling Families, sold in the Bright Ideas Press store. See the table of contents and sample pages here (PDF).
Comments (6)
Hi Maggie! I got to meet you a year ago at Allume…such a joy. As the mom of a homeschooled gifted child, I just have to say how much I LOVE this list! It is such a challenge and one that requires as much support and guidance as having a child who is severely struggling. Thank you so much for starting this series, can’t wait to read the rest
Thank you for your kind words Kristen. I so remember the days of homeschooling our gifted sons and how very little support or understanding was available to me. Was very blessed to meet a dear woman a little further along the way and she became a mentor and then a very dear friend. Just passing on the encouragement where and when I can. My top advice? A sense of humor and dark chocolate coupled with prayer is needed every single day 🙂
Thank you for this! I am ordering the book… Our son, 8, is “gifted”; we had him tested for learning problems because he was driving me crazy, and we found out that he has an extremely high IQ and an “exceptional memory” (actual diagnosis). Yay for him, but woe to his mother :)! Now, we find out that his sister (6) is technically more “gifted”. Still, my 5-year-old doesn’t know all her letters…and the 2-year-old just runs around destroying the house! I really struggle with my son’s little need for sleep and keeping him out of trouble when he is awake. I often say that “if I don’t use his brain for good, he will find ways to use it for evil.” Thank you sooooo much, and I look forward to reading more.
You were a wise mama to have him tested, Jennifer! So many gifted kids end up misunderstood and/or mislabeled. I believe you have a household full of highly gifted individuals and you are both blessed and exhausted! Try somehow to find a quiet time of the day for YOU to spend with the Lord. You will need exceptional wisdom and He will provide. (You will also need exceptional chocolate and/or coffee LOL) I hope you can find real life or online friends who will understand your challenges and joys. I think the book will be of great value to you. (Because it is an older book it does not include things like twitter chats and newer options for getting connected online, but they are out there.)
Enjoy these years and remember to keep your sense of humor.
God bless you! Maggie
My five year old grand-daughter tried school this year and was unable to attend because she said that the other children made ffun of her because she can read. She learned to read at age 2 years 11 months in the little simple Dick and Jane books and is now reading on a 7th-8th grade level with expression. She is in her thrid Bastien piano book (she started one year ago) using the standard theory (not to be mistaken with the Suzuki. She has learned to carry digits in math and her vocabulary is quite extensive. We have not had her tested as the school told us that “it didn’t do any good anyhow cause we don’t have the money to do anything anyway”. I had inquired about enrichment activities which would keep her from sitting in the corner playing on the computer until the daily Disney movie came on. She already knew the materials covered but the children noticed that she was treated differently and they begain to gully her. My daughter holds a B.A. in History and a MEd. from U.T. and is currently working on her Education Specialist certification. We are going to deep her home expecially after the large bruises on her back and legs from “rolling” her on the tennis court in a piece of broken playground equipment. We haven’t had anything except the fundation testing done which were 3rd grade and above so their solution was to skip her grade “if you insist I do something” said the special ed tgeacher. Since she is underweight and underheight………nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnoooooooooooo!!!! Any suggestions on what we can do to stimulate her and give her the opportunities that will help the mostl She loves the Horizons Alpha Omega curriculum but she is on lesson 102 in math and 100 in Phonics so we are going to run out of the really early. She is supplementing with a third grade social studies and science book but any suggestions would be great.
As you know, I LOVE your book Gifted Children at Home – it was a lifesaver and the reason we chose homeschooling for these *intensely* gifted children of ours. Thank you again friend for writing those words of life! Looking forward to these posts. 🙂