Resources for Homeschooling Gifted and Talented Children

Resources for Homeschooling Gifted and Talented Children

Have you thought about homeschooling but wonder if you have what it takes to teach a child who has these "gifted" traits:

• Over-excitability or with sensory integration challenges
• Fierce need for autonomy, justice
• Sensitivity (physical and/or emotional)
• Inability/refusal to work in a subject not compelling or of intrinsic value
• Intensity
• Ability to hyper-focus in area of interest
• Rejection of hierarchy
• Difficulty with transitions and/or changes in plans

Is your child an accelerated learner? Does he or she have a special talent or ability?

Homeschooling provides hope for nurturing your child's remarkable traits and talents so your child can achieve success (however you define it) and live an extraordinary and happy life.

Here are some resources that may help:

Audio Homeschool: Homeschooling Gifted Children

Hear Diane Flynn Keith's interview with Corin Barsily Goodwin, Executive Director of Gifted Homeschoolers Forum. Get answers, resources, and practical ways to nurture your child's remarkable characteristics and abilities through homeschooling. This product includes the MP3 download of the full call, and a "Resource Directory" in pdf format that includes the products and services (with links to the corresponding websites) that were mentioned on the call.

Gifted Homeschoolers Forum

This website is the single best resource for homeschooling gifted children on the Net. GHF's all-volunteer staff, led by Executive Director Corin Barsily Goodwin, has painstakingly compiled the top resources, articles, and information designed to support families who are homeschooling gifted children. Many of the recommended resources are terrific for kids of all abilities.

Baywood Learning Center (BLC)

BLC's "Hybrid Homeschooling Program" in Oakland, California addresses the needs of homeschooling families who love homeschooling, but would really like some support and respite. It's designed to supplement homeschooling with high quality educational and social experiences for gifted children.

As a part-time program, BLC acts as an enhancement to your homeschool agenda, assisting you with educational planning as well as Learning Partners or Mentors to assist in instruction and teaching. Enrichment classes and activities may vary from month to month; usually our program is rich in sciences and art. Certain programs such as Math and Language Arts can be integrated as regular features in the Hybrid Homeschooling Program. For more information visit the website.

Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth & CTYOnline

This program is designed to identify and challenge young students with academic talent. Each year, CTY conducts major talent searches in the US for students in 5th-7th grades. Students who qualify are invited to participate in a variety of distance learning programs, museum days, and summer programs. Pre-qualifying achievement tests required.

Additional Gifted Resources

• Dr. Linda Silverman's List of Gifted Characteristics
• Resources for 2E - Twice Exceptional (Gifted with Learning Disabilities) from Gifted Homeschoolers Forum
• Grades of 'Giftedness' Explanation by Hoagies Gifted Education Page — pleasantly gifted, profoundly gifted, globally gifted, etc.
• Homeschooling My Gifted Children by Corin Barsilly Goodwin Recounts a family's journey to homeschooling when public school policies and procedures didn't fit.
• Gifted Homeschoolers Forum Discussion List & Online Support Group (Yahoo Group) — A place to get information and support from other parents who homeschool gifted children.
• Support Groups for Homeschooling Gifted Children — A list of support groups throughout the U.S. and Canada for families homeschooling gifted children.
• Social & Emotional Issues Of Gifted Children — Play Partner or Sure Shelter? What Gifted Children Look for in Friendship, by Miraca U. M. Gross
• Duke University's Talent Identification Program for Gifted
• Perfectionism in Gifted — The Many Faces of Perfectionism by Dr. Linda Kreger Silverman, Ph.D
• Hoagies Gifted Education — A great resource website for info on gifted children. They also maintain a page just for those homeschooling gifted kids.
• TAGMAX — An e-list discussion group for those home educating gifted and talented children.
• National Association for Gifted Children — Archives resources for supplemental and extracurricular programs for high-achieving children.
• Stanford University's Education Program for Gifted Youth — Self-paced, multimedia computer-based distance-learning courses for high ability students in Math, English, Physics, Computer Science and Music.
• My Summer Camps — Provides summer experiences for gifted children. 15,000 programslocated all over the United States and Canada.
• USA Mathematical Talent Search — Challenging math competition, open to grades 7-12. This non-credit course is free and intensive and encourages creative problem solving. Professional mathematicians evaluate work.