A homeschooling mom of a 2 and 4 year old recently posted a cry for help:

I need some advice. The thing is I think he may be really smart, not mensa style, but he learns so fast and he keeps wanting to learn other things, now he wants to learn piano, spanish and gymnastics besides his regular studies. I have him in a gymnastics class, but the rest is all me. I can’t seem to schedule enough time to get it all in. Also my 2 year old now is wanting to read I think. She wants to know what the words are for everything and she doesn’t even know her letters yet. So I realize I need time to focus on her too, educational wise, of course she has been getting regular attention. I am starting to feel overwhelmed.

These very bright kids are a gift and a challenge.

My own children are very creative and bright, but I never guessed they had any special needs. However, Kayla was identified as gifted in 3rd grade, the same year that she started goofing off in school. She was too busy daydreaming or helping others to do her own work. The gifted & talented pull-out program helped with her motivation, but it was just 2 hours a week. Supplementing her education put a heck of a burden on all of us. Now she is thriving in a child-centered program that allows her to follow her own lead.

I’m trying to avoid years of frustration by homeschooling my son. So far, we are both really enjoying learning together.

Each child is unique with their own gifts & talents. Within the Gifted & Talented community, you will find that there are the gifted (IQ: 120-140 range) and the profoundly gifted (IQ: 140 +). Of course, these IQ ranges are just general guidelines and there is a lot of disagreement on the use of IQs to identify the gifted. I’m just including this to explain that children can be gifted without qualifying for MENSA. Also, gifted students can exhibit talents in 6 or more domains: intellectual ability, specific academic ability, creativity, leadership and psychosocial ability, visual and performing arts, and athleticism. A child may excel in just one or all of these domains. (See Re-Forming Gifted Education - How Parents and Teachers Can Match the Program to the Child by Karen B. Rogers, Ph.D.)

I told the overwhelmed mom to visit the following websites: the Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page , the National Association for Gifted Children page, and for New Yorkers, the AGATE (Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education in New York State) page. Here you will find lots of information on every topic related to gifted education, including guides to identify gifted students.

Gifted students can be high energy and a challenge, but they are also so much fun.

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