Homeschool Resources or Networks

In the state of WA, you can look at wava.org for Washington Virtual Academy which used k-12 curricula. If you choose this program, it is free and you have a very good assurance of enough structure that you are working at your child's level in a beneficial way. As for social needs, he can take part in homeschool support association activities and you can get a good network of homeschooling friends from various social support groups in your area. Washington Homeschool Organization,WHO, is a good place to start. Right now the WORST thing you could do is to leave your son in a negative school environment to further color his ideas about himself, schooling and learning. You could do no worse at home at your kitchen table.

H.

Hi H.,

Google SENG and go from there and read some of the more recent books on the Social and Emotional needs of gifted children. Off the top of my head I would highly recommend Misdiagnosis to ward off any unwarranted labels that ultimately may be detrimental to your son's forming identity. We also live in Issaquah and also began homeschooling because of a lack of options in our area. Thinking we would do it for only a year or two we are not going on our sixth year and loving it. My daughter flourishes because of it and has many friends and feels good about her giftedness and her entire self and opportunities. UW has a great resource for gifted kids! Google "Halbert Gifted UW" and you'll find the center I am thinking of.

Good luck with your journey. Feel free to back channel me for more information on resources in Issaquah for Homeschoolers if that's what you decide to do.

Sincerely,
N. Laurent, M.A., R.C.
____@____.com

Hi! I am a stay at home mom of two boys ages 6 and 8, and one on the way. My boys were in private school up until this year when we decided to homeschool them. My oldest son is also very gifted. I only wish we had made the decision to homeschool sooner! We all LOVE it and we plan to do it indefinately! My six year old finished kindergarten in 5 months so in January we started him on the first grade curriculum. That is only one of the many advantages to homeschooling...you can go at your own, or your children's own, pace. And you certainly can't beat the teacher/student ratio! My boys haven't missed school at all, which was my biggest concern. We go to a homeschool co-op once a week, they go to children's church twice a week, the are in various sports a few times a week, and we get togethr with friends and family often. If anything, they get too much socialization! Ha! My advice for how to get started is to just not over think it. Just go buy a curriculum and jump right in! (I just purchased A Bekka because I was familiar with it as that's what their school had been using.) It didn't take me long to learn to relax and not put too much pressure in myself or my kids. There are so many teachable moments in life that they are going to learn no matter what. If they don't do every single paper that comes with the curriculum, it's no big deal. Lastly, www.washhomeschool.org is very informative and I would also recommend going to the convention that they have once a year, usually in the spring at the Puyallup Fair Grounds. That's how we started. I just went there and purchased curriculum. (We live in Maple Valley.) Hope that was helpful! A.

Homeschooling is a wonderful journey and you live in a area that has so many options. Where to start-we have homeschooled from the beginning and the more I look the more I find. Look up Washington Homeschool Organization (WHO). They have many resources listed as well as the homeshooling laws. There are several co-ops in the area, there is one on the plateau called Labyrinth which is all homeschoolers. There are many programs and classes offered to homeschoolers, we have been a part of Wilderness Awareness School for several years, the students gain a huge appreciation and understanding for the natural world.

You are doing your a children a huge favor by spending time with them and reading to them. It has been my experience that at this age they gain so much by their experiences in life they have a natural gift of learning (whether they are gifted or not) and want to know so much about our world. As you have found, everyone has a different style of learning and a different pace, the question is how do you want to facilitate that. When my kids were young we didn't do "book" school instead we did "hands on" we went to museums, on feild trips, read books, explored theater, went skiing, we had great learning opportunties without sitting in a classroom. And, the whole socialization issue is a myth. (at least in this area) My kids and their friends couldn't possibly be more social.

At any rate if he is truly unhappy and not thriving in his current situation I would lose no time in pulling him out. Anything you could do at home would be better than this unhappy situation. Best wishes, A.

My son missed the K cut off date this year but was so ready for school, and we have been so happy homeschooling. The great thing about it is that you can create a program that will best meet his needs, help him learn about the things he is interested in, while teaching him the three R's at the same time. I would recommend reading Cathy Duffy's Top 100 Homeschool Picks- in the beginning it helps you identify your teaching style, your child's learning style, then breaks down dif. types of programs and how they work for each style. It really helped me narrow down our choices, and we have a great fit. My son started his K math later in the year, we took a break for morning sickness (not fun!) and he will be finishing it in the next 2 weeks, and ready to start 1st grade math. He is starting to read and knows tons about geography, maps, countries, and space (his choice). Go for it I say! - other perk is you finish in about 1/2 the time as they would being in a classroom setting most days so you have more time for fun activities.

H.- have you considered a Montessori school? (Perhaps he's already in one - you didn't say.) As a former teacher of gifted students and now an education professor, I believe many gifted kids thrive in situations where they have more autonomy over what they are learning. My son is at Issaquah Montessori and we love the program there. Many of the kindergarteners in his class are reading and doing high-level math because the opportunities are there and they get to choose what interests and stimulates them. There are many good Montessori programs in this area that each have a different "flavor." Before you "give up" on public or private schools you may just want to explore other options - maybe the current school is not the right fit for him - but have you exhausted the other possibilities in the area?

Also, consider both his needs and your own. If you have two younger children at home, will you be able to provide the stimulation he needs at home? Will the younger children be a distraction or are you good at working with all 3 at once? What are your son's needs - if he is having behavior issues, are they related only to academics and being "bored" or does he need to develop more social skills? All of these should play into your decision about what the best placement is. I am not for or against home-schooling, but believe strongly that it needs to be the right decision for both you and your child.