How does it feel as a homeschool mom when your 5 year old is pretty sure you're slowing them down and they can teach themselves everything they want to know without you 'in the way'? This was an emotional trip into memory lane for the both of us--if you know someone who's walking the homeschool journey with a gifted kid, I would love it if you would share this video! I know this experience is not relatable for everyone, but for those with a similar story, the journey can feel very lonely.
I loved when your mom talked about the dynamic between older and younger children when the younger is surpassing the older. “Rejoice with those who rejoice,” that’s what we need to work on!
I wish I could reach through the screen and hug you both. Thank you for your vulnerability and wisdom; and for making me feel understood in this journey.
Oh, I'm so glad! Making this video was more vulnerable than I expected ahead of time--I definitely understand that homeschooling with gifted kids can feel lonely, when your days and routines don't line up with the "slower" pace favored in homeschool.
I have tears in my eyes hearing the two of you talk about the oddness. I have some of these beautiful, odd souls and I LOVE that about them. What a gift they are to our family, but I do see what a challenge it is for them to be understood and appreciated by peers. I long for them to find people in their lives that just get them and love their quirkiness, as much as their dad and I do.
Thanks for sharing and being vulnerable here. Also, I love hearing your mom’s advice :) I like her affirmations. We already say “I can do hard things”, but I like the additional ones she mentioned. I’ll have to incorporate that into our days.
She has been the most incredible influence--even on her stubborn daughter with big ideas of her own! :) The "don't kick the chair" cue, after reading that book and knowing the story, was a very influential one for me.
So much wisdom here. I really appreciate hearing the experience of a more seasoned homeschool mom, as I am homeschooling gifted and 2e kids myself. Love how you emphasize loving people and compassion and grace, over emphasizing their gifts. Because the gifts will emphasize themselves. Developing compassion and empathy are critical for all humans.
"The gifts will emphasize themselves." YES! It's totally natural and normal to want to emphasize the gifts, all the things that they can do so well--but what needs loving attention and guidance are those areas of character and relationship (compassion, kindness, care) that can be more challenging for gifted and 2e kids.
I appreciate her so much! (More so now than as an over-confident kid, ha!) And yes, many of the parenting principles she talked about are useful regardless of how your child learns.
Love the rewarding of kindness and service as opposed to the academics... such an important thing to recognize their effort ,also to acknowledge the importance of these values... love , love these videos. And hugs for all that you both went through to reach here. Thank you for shaping. ❤
Yes! We are so used to rewarding academic accomplishments--but when academics come EASY and other areas of life are more challenging...it's important to acknowledge and encourage our kids when they are doing things that are difficult for them and do not some naturally.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I love the ideas of going broad and reading/summarizing to help supplement when your child goes through their annual curriculum quickly.
I really enjoyed listening to this. Hearing how your mom handled so many situations was enlightening! I loved her explanation about a younger child excelling before an older child. I loved this so much!
I have not even finished the video but tears came into my eyes when your mom said "If you are pushing they are smart, if they are pushing and you can't keep up." I have never felt so connected with your mom. And I love about how they are odd. They are so different then their peers in a weird, awesome but they open your eyes to seeing the world in a different way.
This q&a is gold! I learned so much wisdom from you and your mom. Thanks for sharing part of your story with us. It was such a different perspective for me to hear about. I would love a video about motivating your kids in areas that don't interest them.
I enjoyed the video. I’m homeschooling two gifted learners, and my husband and I were both classified as gifted when we went to public school. We try to introduce our children to a large variety of experiences in life. Also, we surround them with books and keep our electronic usage low. Homeschooling gives them time in their schedule to explore their various interests.
This was so good! Giftedness is not something I have any experience with, but so much of what was said could easily apply to many areas of parenting and homeschooling. It's always so good to hear the wisdom of homeschool moms who have gone before us.
That is very true, that many of the concepts about sibling relationships, rewarding acts of love and kindness more than academic achievement--is very widely applicable! I so appreciate my mom!
I absolutely love listening to your mom. So much wisdom, calming, peaceful! You guys are make a great team. Such an amazing message here. I don’t have a gifted child but there wasn’t one answered question that I didn’t take home some insight on dealing with my children.
As a homeschool mom to gifted children THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!! Yes! I knew my daughter wasn't normal at 2 weeks old. She didn't observe the world she ANALYZED it lol. At 2 months old she was doing 18 month old baby toys for HOURS. Her focus was insane. Like you, my daughters memory is scary.Raising gifted children is SO hard. I think the hardest part is helping them emotionally. I appreciate this video. It's really helping me with my daughter. The biggest take away was keeping her busy. I really see this as a need for her. Do you have a video on this area alone? How to keep a gifted child busy and challenged?
I don't have a video specifically on that topic, though I may do another Q+A in the future. My main idea for busyness and challenge is 1) Make a plan and 2) Don't neglect to enact the plan because boredom causes many struggles for the whole family. I encourage thinking broadly in terms of activities and pursuits until your child is old enough to show interest in specific areas (handicrafts, such as sewing clothing, etc. has been a special interest of mine and also languages....for each person it's unique!). Some ideas include: musical instruments, handicrafts, household/outside skills....basically anything that helps keep the body and brain busy.
Thankyou for sharing this! I enjoyed hearing your story and your mother's. Thanks for being so vulnerable. It makes me appreciate you even more. Also it's so interesting to learn about gifted children.🙂 It's kind of a whole new world to me.
She has such an interesting perspective on life, and has influenced and shaped me immensely--even if I always did stubbornly believe I could teach myself faster than she could. At some point I realized that speed was not the most important thing.
Wow what a brilliant and helpful video. Thank you so much for sharing. You have such a lovely beautiful and wise mum, so wise. I took a lot away from this video, thank you x
@@SevenInAll this was a great video.. and honestly didn't even see time pass by... I shared with my friend who I think has a gifted learner... he was reading by I think 3 years old 😯 and I remember her saying I never taught him this and he's often teaching the kindergarten class now lol so I thought this video very helpful... I sometimes wonder if my 2nd son Michael is a gifted learner but I am not sure of he just really loves learning but by the end I am exhausted bc he can spend hours and hours learning... but this video really made me think!
Yes! This was a great video you recommended. Thank you. Your mom is me and you are my daughter in so many ways mentioned. I’m so grateful you shared this personal video and I deeply felt so much of the content. Oh, and now I know what kinda friends to keep and eye out for in the future. 😆😆😆
This was definitely a personal video and one that I was pretty nervous about sharing because it felt a little "too close" at times--but from the feedback I've gotten, I'm glad I was courageous enough to share it! I want other parents homeschooling gifted kids to know that they are not alone in this adventure that they probably never expected to be on.
Wonderful video! Even tho I do not have a gifted child, I have a older child with learning disabilities and his younger sibling is always surpassing him in academic abilities, so I really appreciated the sibling relationship part. I also just finished reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, that is such a great reminder! Thanks to your mom for once again sharing her wisdom! ❤
Wow...I had to pause the video to comment at minute 32 about not tolerating jealousy/coveting...this applies to so many areas of the sibling relationship even if you're not dealing with a child(ren) who is/are academically gifted. Thank you for sharing this video which I know was very personal to you both
Oh yes, that's very true! An important concept for sibling relationships in general. And thank you for watching--filming this video was definitely more vulnerable than I expected it to be!
This was so encouraging, and gave me perspective in both my hubby's brain & my daughter's. I do feel like I'm slowing her down unintentionally... And made me realize I need to find a way to allow her access to more audio books/lessons.
Thank you so much for taking the time to listen! There are times when gifted learners need to learn patience for "slowing down" with the learning process...but boredom is so painful when your mind wants to leap ahead. These kids that are hungry to learn--you can always find ways to provide a feast!
Thanks so much for this video! So much wisdom in this. I especially appreciated the part about relationships when you have a gifted child. My son is 6 and we have already been noticing how challenging relationships can be for him. Even a few friends have commented on how his brain just goes faster so he relates to older kids more but he's still small so it can be difficult to make friends at times. I often wonder if I'm doing the right thing. This video really helped me as a parent.
Friendships can definitely be one of those harder parts! I have typically had quite a few friends older than me from a very young age (and my husband is 7 years older than I am, ha!). The good thing is that homeschool allows you to make friends from a wide variety of ages.
Thank you so much for willing to be so vulnerable. I really identified with you when you shared how it felt to be fully accepted and loved for all of who you are. Also, your kind heart and caring desire to help others permeates through every video you make. Yes we can be impatient at times, but that definitely doesn't mean we don't care.
Thank you so much for watching! I was uncomfortable when it came to making this video because I've had enough of not-so-good experiences when people realize that I'm really smart and then feel like I'm judging them because their mind works at a more normal pace...I'm not. As a child I was VERY impatient and I may still be impatient at times to this day...but I care deeply about people and I believe that we are each uniquely valuable. I am glad for the gifts I've been given with a brain that learns easily and remembers what I know...but that's not the only gift out there. I love the vast variety we see in people!
@@SevenInAll I needed this reminder today about how hard it was for me to be patient and not cut people off when I was a kid because I just had a rough morning with my daughter today. She's 13 and struggles with emotional control and patience. She had asked me for help on a math problem. I got about half a sentence into my explanation and she cut me off with a not-so-nice tone. I thought she still didn't understand and was just annoyed with the way I was explaining it. After watching your video, I realized that actually, her brain had zipped ahead and figured it out after I said about 3 words. She just wanted me to stop talking so she could work the problem. I, on the other hand, love the challenge of trying to explain a concept clearly and just wanted to finish my thought! I just talked to her about the importance of letting others finish, patience, and grace . . . to which she hastily replied "I know, that!" Then quickly followed with an emphatic "I TRY, but it's HARD!" We'll get there!
@@SevenInAll One last thing . . . Your intelligence comes through your videos, too. That's part of why your viewers love you! We can trust that your thoughts are well-considered and insightful. Keep on being all of yourself and the people who are meant to be impacted by you will naturally be drawn to you. Much love!
@@elonas9487 Your description of the math problem and your daughter sounds all-too-familiar. I definitely remember in my teens asking my mom for help with a new math concept and then being like "Too slow, never mind!" by the time she could sit down and look at the page. We will get there...little opportunities to practice patience and grace every day.
Loved this video! I can relate with some of these things especially with my eldest (twice exceptional student). Hers was a very difficult and strange journey being academically gifted, but also having ADHD and dyslexia. She spoke early and in sentences before she was 1, she knew all her colours, days, months, shapes, counting to 100 and from 10-0, and many nursery rhymes by the time she was 18 months. But, she was reading at a 3rd grade level at 12! But if I read to her she could do textbooks for English grammar, science and literature at 10th grade level and get 100%. Once reading clicked for her - at age 12 and she was determined to try her best and work on it - she caught up to grade level by the time she was 14 (I think her determination and giftedness both helped her in this since specialists didn't think she'd ever read "normally". Her sister (2 years younger) was very advanced with reading and writing, but fairly average otherwise (that was also difficult to come up with books at her reading, academic, and maturity level). My eldest is now 23 and married to an academically gifted man - much of what you said here I definitely see in him. He was generally bored in school and didn't even try - it wasn't necessary, he got 100% all the time. In college, if he had to an essay under exam conditions, he found he got better marks if he put in fake errors and corrected them, than just writing it perfect the first time. The professor said it was because we can't see your corrections, he said because there weren't any, it was unnecessary lol. So I'm saving this, because we may need it for some of my grandkids lol. I have a couple of other kids that people ask me if they're gifted - but I just think they're smart, since they are only like 1-2 grades ahead and still have to work hard or listen well to understand many things. I have 6 kids, most of them have ADHD in varying forms. Sorry my comment is so long🙂
One of mine is autistic and he was reading at 2, counting to over 10,000 by 3, but couldn't form his own sentences until much, much older. He spent 80% of his day rocking, stimming, and banging his head. Teaching him has always been a huge challenge! Worth it but man, it is a full time job!
I know that in many parts of the world, to this day, homeschool isn't really an option. But homeschool is truly a gift for kids whose learning paths don't easily fit into the arc of 'average.'
My oldest daughter’s school told us she was gifted and she’s now way above grade level in science!!! She pushes the speed of learning and I can see that she’s a workaholic!!! We knew her teacher was right!!! I find the study sessions I have with my oldest daughter are awesome!!! Some things I hear shocks me in an awesome way!!! I didn’t expect it but I love it!!! She still loves hands on learning!!! I had conversations about friendships more with my twins and my oldest daughter is one of them, I never thought it was because she’s gifted and can’t understand others not being!!! My daughter has more of a focus but I want her to have fun as well!!!
Also, I appreciated beyond words your mom's encouragement to continue "being the parent" and shaping character regardless of academic ability. I know I don't need permission to be the authority, but it's a nice reminder after a day of being out-argued by a 6 year old!
Yes!! Even if they don't realize how much they need you--your child needs you and their brain may race ahead of the rest of their maturation...but they still need to grow in maturity and skills for living well with others.
I'm so glad I came across this video and I'm pleasantly surprised that emotional intensity was addressed! You mentioned leaving comments about "younger" books and I have a few suggestions! Some great mirror books that gifted kids might enjoy: 1. Aliana Reaches for the Moon by Laura Roettiger / 2. Boxitects by Kim Smith / 3. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires ... and there are many more. I'm seeing a lot of STEM centered books with characters the young gifted children may relate to and created an Instagram account with that specific focus in mine. In general, direct parents to STEM centered books and you'll find some gold!
Emotional intensity is a big part of the experience for many gifted kids (and can come as quite a shock to their parents!). Thanks so much for the book suggestions!
I have two gifted kids (both 2e) and one on the cusp of gifted and very smart but driven. Very driven. Lol. And then two kids who, as far as we are aware, are smart but not gifted. I homeschool them all and it is a crazy, wild journey! I don't want them to graduate from high school super young so I have been trying to come up with challenging classes that keep them invested without boring them to tears. My oldest son turned 14 a few days ago and will be starting a class on astrophysics in a couple of weeks. I know nothing about astrophysics but there is a book, so we will both be learning together 😎
What an adventure you're on! As long as there's a book on it, with gifted learners, you can learn all about some fairly niche topics! ;) I really appreciate your strategy of tackling a variety of classes that will challenge them rather than sticking to the 'typical' high school course load.
Wow, so much great information for just parenting in this video. One book I thought of that has gifted kids is The Mysterious Benedict Society. It’s middle grade, but such a fun book celebrating smartness. 😆
That's my biggest book suggestion too. I love that the kids are all gifted in different ways but they learn that they all have to work together and use their unique strengths to succeed at their mission. :)
I had no idea this was your story. Im loving hearing about your last. I was thinking, I wonder if it ever intimidates your husband…it sounds like it not only doesn’t intimidate him, but he admires it and is so proud of you. Love that!
I am so blessed to have him in my life. Truly, as a teenage girl, I remember thinking about potentially getting married in the future, and I wondered--would I have to marry someone smarter than me, someone I could "compete" with in an academic sense? But by God's grace, I met my person at a young age--and he's the right one for me, not because our brains work the same way, but because he's good at things I'm not good at, and he loves me for who I am, not "in spite" of my brain. We make a strong team through our differences.
Now you just made me add "Carry on Mr. Bowditch" to our summer reading list 😂🤣. I really feel like you were describing my oldest son with how boredom was death. He actually taught himself since the pandemic to play an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and keyboard. Literally he never had a lesson in his life. He can somehow play by ear and read music. It's like that with most things for him. But small things are hard. He has had a hard time making friends. It breaks my heart. We've been really encouraging but I don't know what else to do. He has been in some gifted summer camps like Duke TIP. This year he's going to Vanderbilt. But even after having a fantastic time with same age peers that match his intellect they don't keep in touch.
The boredom of pandemic lockdowns was tough on me, too...probably explains why I started a UA-cam channel, took on the most intense writing contract of my career, and started a small curriculum business during the long, long lockdown. My brain needs to be active. Something that helped me as an older kid and a teen, both gifted and introverted (not a good recipe for making friends!) was coming up with "scripts" and "strategies" when it came to meeting new people and making new friends--figuring out what are good topics to bring up, and learning how to ask questions and listen to people--being a good listener who responds to what they hear. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie is an old, old book that I read as a young teen that was very helpful because it approach relationship skills in a 'strategic' way--which clicked with my brain.
As a gifted kid with some concurrent executive function problems, I really struggled with failure when I faced it. I was tested as a child and put into gifted programs for both math and language arts. But because I could not learn my multiplication facts for years, I was slower in math than my very talented peers. I got frustrated and I gave up a lot. Everything else came so easy to me. Luckily, being a ballet dancer on a professional track taught me a lot about how to build resilience and these are the things I now teach my own 2e daughter: 1. If growth was comfortable, we'd call it a nap. Get comfortable with discomfort because it is the only way we grow. 2. Be patient with yourself - yes failure seems inefficient, but there are times you can't skip it. Running away from it doesn't help. 3. Watch your self-talk. Tell yourself the encouraging things that you would tell your best friend.
Yes, resilience and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable are so important, and can be harder to grasp for the child who doesn't find many "normal" skills to be a challenge to learn. Failure helps a lot with growth, for the kid who finds it inconceivable to fail at anything--that's a huge concept to grasp.
Rachel you and your mom did such a great job talking practically about this subject and bringing biblical principles into the topic. I often joke that I should have known my 3rd was going to be special because he was born on leap day-but I didn’t get the hint 😉. He’s very much academically like you. When he was 3 he’d be playing while I was schooling his brother who is 5 yrs older and he’d be shouting out the answers to math problems before the then 8yr old. When I pick up a violin and play the strings to check the tuning he’ll holler from the other room your A string is out of tune and he’s right. I know I personally value children having childhood and aside from character development and sibling relationships I’ve been hoping that I’m on the right track. This really helps. Thanks.
Wow! Such a great video! I don’t think my son is not gifted, but very interested in science to the point that’s all he wants to do. It’s very difficult for him to focus on his other school work, he just wants me to read his science books all day. He wants to learn to read so bad (so he can read said science books) but he also doesn’t seem to focus long enough to grasp it. He usually tries to memorize the stories or use the pictures to tell what it says. He’s only in kindergarten so I know we have plenty of time to work on the reading. I struggle with knowing whether I should add more science in or just like you said broaden what we are learning. Our read alouds mostly consist of dk publishing fact books. I can’t wait for the motivation video.
I have known a few of those kids with one dedicated focus in my day. Keep an eye on him, sometimes these loves of childhood turn out to be the chosen career field when they grow up. I would just continue to be consistent with showing him the routine of the different subjects to work on, and remind him that when he can read, that will open up a whole world of science books for him. It's okay to challenge him to give subjects outside his realm of passion a chance. My boy's current favorite thing is math, specifically writing numbers--I tend to simply put our number/math work at the beginning and at the end of our little seatwork routine so that it starts with something fun and ends with something fun--and in the middle he does the stuff he's less excited about. ;)
@@SevenInAll yes he has already said he’s going to be a scientist when he grows up. I can definitely see that happening lol. We start with science and some days I motivate with reading 1 page from his current favorite science book in between other subjects. Our librarian gets a run for her money when we come. He always asks for books on the most random subjects.
As you were going along I was thinking about my daughter and realized that she has many of these characteristics. I just thought she was an eager learner and enjoyed many topics. In Kindergarten she asked if I could teach her to read faster. We were doing All About Reading 1 and I paced it as 2 lessons a week to get done by the end of the year. We wound up doubling it instead and finished all 4 levels by the end of 1st grade at her request. She also asked to learn Spanish so we got something for that. After two years now she wants to learn French too. 🤷🏻♀️She can also be a challenge to homeschool though because she does better with subjects I don’t teach one on one. She’d much rather do things independently, but she’s in 2nd grade so there’s more for me to teach. We tend to butt heads a litle. I might need to watch again and take notes. 😂 I’m not the gifted learner here. 😂
Yes, I will say that I was the child that my mom "taught" the least__as far as homeschool subjects--not because she didn't want to but because I was not good at tolerating being taught--I wanted to race through everything and teach myself everything because it seemed much faster. So, yes, I did a lot of schoolwork independently. I have also learned, with time, the value of slowing down enough to listen to others and learn from them. :)
I think my daughter is gifted. Based on your description, she certainly fits. But I think she's 2E (she has ADHD, possibly autism and dyslexia as well), so it's interesting to see the things she knows before I know she knows vs the things she struggles with. I wish it weren't so exhausting!
That's a lot for any homeschool parent to deal with, and it can definitely be exhausting! Good job going along on this journey with her! It's an extra challenge as a parent when your child doesn't follow the typical learning 'path' described in all the books.
Boredom is death, yes! 😆😆 My youngest is constantly asking for us to play a boardgame with him, but we can’t always do that, so I’ve been looking for more puzzles and logic games for him to do on his own. I need to figure out more hobbies for him other than boardgames and video games 🤔
Hobbies that can be done independently are a great thing for the kid that can't be bored! I have done basically every major handicraft...embroidery and working with a sewing machine are my favorites.
Oh my.... i'm a gifted person, and my 2 kids are gifted too, and is hard, very hard... because we can do things, or understand us.... but I feel their struggles and see my reflex on them. Books... The little prince, by Antoine de saint exupery... when he draws and nobody understands him, when he doesn't understand the adult worlds and feelings. For me it was very interesting
I went to a brick and mortar school my whole life and I remember having to dial back because of how others reacted to how I was. I could do tests with no problem without studying and the teachers loved me, which made the kids not like me as much. So understand the struggle of being different and so confused. I don't think I was gifted, just that I was very academically inclined. However, homeschooling wasn't even an option in Brazil. My oldest knew all her letters and their basic sounds before she turned 2. Once she turned 3 she started going to preschool. I was shocked at our first parent-teacher conference when the teacher told me she was working on learning her letters. I know my kid. She knew her letters, she just was shy and didn't like people looking at her, so answering the teacher (with all the other kids looking at her) was very stressful. Thankfully we are in the US and homeschooling is an option for us. She's thriving now! I don't think she's gifted, she just enjoys learning and is more academically inclined than others in her age group, or at least that's how I see it. However, I love that you're talking about the fact that we must follow their lead and not push them. If they're pushing us to move forward, we follow their lead and go. My oldest started making comments like "Another page of number bonds?" "Another story with just AT words?" So I decided to take her lead and move a little faster through the things she doesn't need as much practice on. It's hard for me, though. I have a hard time skipping math problems or something like that, even though I know they provide a lot of practice because some kids just need that more than others. I do enjoy completing everything, as so does my daughter, so we're just trying to do our best. LOL
Yes, that dynamic is all too common where the teachers love you and the classmates resent you when you are eager to learn and master the material easily. I'm so glad for you that you have the freedom to homeschool your daughter. And you have my full permission to skip some of those practice problems. Do just the odd numbers, or just the even, and move on to the next adventure. ;)
@21:40! Haha!! Very good, Rachel. Ok, so what if you're the gifted parent and your kid is as uncooperative as you but not gifted in your same area? For example, reading and logic are my special interests, but my daughter's gifts are music, art, and dance. In fact, she struggles with reading and logic. Are your children gifted, smart, neurotypical, hard working, resistant? Your perspective is much appreciated.
I would say--be glad that as the parent, you've had a lot more years to build maturity and patience, because that will always be needed with an uncooperative student. My own kids are very young and at this point I'd say they're much more neurotypical although my oldest has a few 'quirks' that feel very familiar to me. Much of my work over the last decade has been with special needs learners....and I do believe that in teaching...being a 'gifted' student yourself is NOT particularly helpful because that lack of patience can show up and a lack of understanding why kids need so much practice and review can show up...but tackling that with a deep understanding that your own brain is wired differently and not expecting your student to operate the way you operate is helpful. Seek to meet the needs of the student you have instead of spending too much time getting frustrated that they don't operate the way you do or the way you wish they would. And when uncooperativeness is an issue, always be working toward identifying their values behind their choices, helping them to identify their values, and working on building that underlying value system--is is possible for them to value cooperating with the education process? Is it possible for them to value their parents by not making their parents' job excessively difficult? (May come with maturity)
Do you have a video on what your mom did for you socially? Did she find you struggled to connect with others socially? Also what are your thoughts on children learning they are gifted? I don't want my daughter to know as I fear she'll feel different and it might affect her. Thoughts on this?
I'd say the best thing my mom did for me socially is to teach a very deep value for people at a very early age--that people are immensely important, and that when interacting with others, I shouldn't be thinking about whether they benefit/interest me (self-focused and self-centered) but rather how can I be helpful/kind/friendly to this person. I was taught early on not to look for what I could 'get' out of relationships but to see what I could give--as a highly energetic, highly skilled, quick-thinking person...if I had focused on what I could "get" out of relationships, I think I would not have been very motivated to build relationships, because I tended to feel like I could do everything myself better and faster than other people could. But having a deep value for the uniqueness of every person and a value for serving others helped a lot. Also, a recognition that the world very much needs brains that don't operate the way mine do. I lean very strongly toward children KNOWING that they are gifted/different/neurodivergent and knowing that other people's brain may not work the way they do. Your child is ALREADY different. Knowing or not knowing won't change that, but it will help her to understand not to expect other people to operate or process the world the way she does. Different is not a bad thing. Each person has their own 'differences'....recognizing your own differences helps a lot with living well with others.
There are many curriculum options designed for homeschoolers for foreign language--personally I feel like the "DuoLingo" type apps aren't the kind I'd give to a young child (content issues) and seem to result in limited success. But, depending on the language you're interested in (and whether or not you as the parent already speak it) there are usually a few options suitable for young kids. I'm thinking about using "Little Chinese Learners" because most likely Mandarin will be the 3rd language for my boys.
Hey Rachel! I Have an only child that's 3 with minimal toys so I sometimes think that's why she is showing signs of being gifted. Absorbing everything too quick, knowing things I never taught ( how to fold clothes and paper, up to 25) and highly emotionally intelligent. did your mom notice signs before academic studies ? I am in the libo stage I guess, as I will start homeschool in a year time But I think maybe earlier due to seeing these signs
Giftedness tends to much more related to a person's internal wiring vs. external environment. And yes, early, pre-academic signs for me included being very verbal, having deep conversations, remembering everything, seemingly 'just knowing' how to do whatever I wanted to do.
I think it could in the right circumstance--but I think unschooling, done well, ends up being a LOT of work for a parent, and many parents just practically don't have the time/energy for it. I would say I would consider unschooling for the MOTIVATED gifted child (when you look into giftedness, there are a range of different sub-types, and some gifties are noticeable UNmotivated, they aren't inclined to actually push themselves and tend to do the minimum amount of work).
How does it feel as a homeschool mom when your 5 year old is pretty sure you're slowing them down and they can teach themselves everything they want to know without you 'in the way'? This was an emotional trip into memory lane for the both of us--if you know someone who's walking the homeschool journey with a gifted kid, I would love it if you would share this video! I know this experience is not relatable for everyone, but for those with a similar story, the journey can feel very lonely.
This video was so relatable. I see a lot of my little one in the journey you shared. I loved hearing your mom's perspective :)
I loved when your mom talked about the dynamic between older and younger children when the younger is surpassing the older. “Rejoice with those who rejoice,” that’s what we need to work on!
That's a big skill to develop--one that will be beneficial for a lifetime--jealousy can sour so many relationships.
I wish I could reach through the screen and hug you both. Thank you for your vulnerability and wisdom; and for making me feel understood in this journey.
Oh, I'm so glad! Making this video was more vulnerable than I expected ahead of time--I definitely understand that homeschooling with gifted kids can feel lonely, when your days and routines don't line up with the "slower" pace favored in homeschool.
I have tears in my eyes hearing the two of you talk about the oddness. I have some of these beautiful, odd souls and I LOVE that about them. What a gift they are to our family, but I do see what a challenge it is for them to be understood and appreciated by peers. I long for them to find people in their lives that just get them and love their quirkiness, as much as their dad and I do.
It's rare to find those people that understand...and such a gift!
“Don’t kick the chair in the dark…” that is so good. Thank you for sharing that part of how you’ve grown, Rachel 💜
That was a very influential story for me!
These are WONDERFUL tips!! Can’t wait for the book to come out 😉😉😉
haha! Well that's one person! :)
Thanks for sharing and being vulnerable here. Also, I love hearing your mom’s advice :) I like her affirmations. We already say “I can do hard things”, but I like the additional ones she mentioned. I’ll have to incorporate that into our days.
She has been the most incredible influence--even on her stubborn daughter with big ideas of her own! :) The "don't kick the chair" cue, after reading that book and knowing the story, was a very influential one for me.
I can totally relate to everything that your Mom have said. Thank you for the reminder that "gifted kids are kids".
Thanks for listening!
@@SevenInAll I had to finish watching this tonight.😊
Thank you! This was fantastic.
A book recommendation for a mirror for gifted kids is the mysterious Benedict society
I will have to pick that one up sometime!
So much wisdom here. I really appreciate hearing the experience of a more seasoned homeschool mom, as I am homeschooling gifted and 2e kids myself. Love how you emphasize loving people and compassion and grace, over emphasizing their gifts. Because the gifts will emphasize themselves. Developing compassion and empathy are critical for all humans.
"The gifts will emphasize themselves." YES! It's totally natural and normal to want to emphasize the gifts, all the things that they can do so well--but what needs loving attention and guidance are those areas of character and relationship (compassion, kindness, care) that can be more challenging for gifted and 2e kids.
I have a couple of 2e kids and oh boy, it is a wild ride!!
@@hant679 It sure is!
I don’t have gifted children but still took away so much from this video. Loved all of your mom’s wisdom and perspective.
I appreciate her so much! (More so now than as an over-confident kid, ha!) And yes, many of the parenting principles she talked about are useful regardless of how your child learns.
Love the rewarding of kindness and service as opposed to the academics... such an important thing to recognize their effort ,also to acknowledge the importance of these values... love , love these videos.
And hugs for all that you both went through to reach here.
Thank you for shaping. ❤
Yes! We are so used to rewarding academic accomplishments--but when academics come EASY and other areas of life are more challenging...it's important to acknowledge and encourage our kids when they are doing things that are difficult for them and do not some naturally.
Watching all your videos about gifted kids really is helping me understand myself a lot better! Which in turn is helping me understand my child!
I'm so glad! That's one of my big goals with these.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience. I love the ideas of going broad and reading/summarizing to help supplement when your child goes through their annual curriculum quickly.
Both of those ideas are so practical, when dealing with a child who "gobbles up" all the curriculum you can throw at them!
I really enjoyed listening to this. Hearing how your mom handled so many situations was enlightening!
I loved her explanation about a younger child excelling before an older child. I loved this so much!
Oh, I'm glad! I appreciate her wisdom and guidance so much now.
I have not even finished the video but tears came into my eyes when your mom said "If you are pushing they are smart, if they are pushing and you can't keep up." I have never felt so connected with your mom. And I love about how they are odd. They are so different then their peers in a weird, awesome but they open your eyes to seeing the world in a different way.
Yes! The oddness itself is a gift, and the insight into seeing the world from their own unique angle. This was an emotional video for us both to film!
Thank you for sharing your wisdom with me! So relatable.
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!
This q&a is gold! I learned so much wisdom from you and your mom. Thanks for sharing part of your story with us. It was such a different perspective for me to hear about. I would love a video about motivating your kids in areas that don't interest them.
Thanks! I'm putting that one on the "to film" list!
I enjoyed the video. I’m homeschooling two gifted learners, and my husband and I were both classified as gifted when we went to public school. We try to introduce our children to a large variety of experiences in life. Also, we surround them with books and keep our electronic usage low. Homeschooling gives them time in their schedule to explore their various interests.
Yes! I love the time, the freedom and flexibility that homeschool gives the non-typical learner! :) We can run free at our own pace!
This was so good! Giftedness is not something I have any experience with, but so much of what was said could easily apply to many areas of parenting and homeschooling. It's always so good to hear the wisdom of homeschool moms who have gone before us.
That is very true, that many of the concepts about sibling relationships, rewarding acts of love and kindness more than academic achievement--is very widely applicable! I so appreciate my mom!
Oh my. Thank you for this!! I feel like I understand my daughter about 90% better now! I so appreciate you sharing your wisdom.
You are so welcome!
I absolutely love listening to your mom. So much wisdom, calming, peaceful! You guys are make a great team. Such an amazing message here. I don’t have a gifted child but there wasn’t one answered question that I didn’t take home some insight on dealing with my children.
I love listening to her, too!
This was wonderful! Thanks so much for sharing. :)
Oh, I'm so glad it's helpful to hear!
As a homeschool mom to gifted children THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!! Yes! I knew my daughter wasn't normal at 2 weeks old. She didn't observe the world she ANALYZED it lol. At 2 months old she was doing 18 month old baby toys for HOURS. Her focus was insane. Like you, my daughters memory is scary.Raising gifted children is SO hard. I think the hardest part is helping them emotionally. I appreciate this video. It's really helping me with my daughter. The biggest take away was keeping her busy. I really see this as a need for her. Do you have a video on this area alone? How to keep a gifted child busy and challenged?
I don't have a video specifically on that topic, though I may do another Q+A in the future. My main idea for busyness and challenge is 1) Make a plan and 2) Don't neglect to enact the plan because boredom causes many struggles for the whole family. I encourage thinking broadly in terms of activities and pursuits until your child is old enough to show interest in specific areas (handicrafts, such as sewing clothing, etc. has been a special interest of mine and also languages....for each person it's unique!). Some ideas include: musical instruments, handicrafts, household/outside skills....basically anything that helps keep the body and brain busy.
Thankyou for sharing this! I enjoyed hearing your story and your mother's. Thanks for being so vulnerable. It makes me appreciate you even more. Also it's so interesting to learn about gifted children.🙂 It's kind of a whole new world to me.
Thank you for watching, Stacey! I don't think it was a world my mom expected to start off her homeschooling journey with.
This was so interesting! I have loved hearing your mom's perspective in these videos! 👏👏❤️❤️
She has such an interesting perspective on life, and has influenced and shaped me immensely--even if I always did stubbornly believe I could teach myself faster than she could. At some point I realized that speed was not the most important thing.
Love hearing the differentiation between being smart and gifted!
Both are great, but "smart" kids can be a little easier for parents to deal with...at least that's my mom's experience. lol!
Wow! Thank you so much. This was so helpful.
I'm so glad! Thank you for watching!
Wow what a brilliant and helpful video. Thank you so much for sharing. You have such a lovely beautiful and wise mum, so wise. I took a lot away from this video, thank you x
Thank you so much! I'm glad to hear that!
I can't wait to watch this video. What I was looking for ❤
I'm so glad!
Thank you so much. Very informative.
You are so welcome! Thanks for watching!
Your making me cry 😢 ❤️ you are so special Rachel! 💗
As you can tell...filming this video made me cry. I did not expect how vulnerable this trip down memory lane would make me feel. Thank you, Gina!
@@SevenInAll this was a great video.. and honestly didn't even see time pass by... I shared with my friend who I think has a gifted learner... he was reading by I think 3 years old 😯 and I remember her saying I never taught him this and he's often teaching the kindergarten class now lol so I thought this video very helpful... I sometimes wonder if my 2nd son Michael is a gifted learner but I am not sure of he just really loves learning but by the end I am exhausted bc he can spend hours and hours learning... but this video really made me think!
Thank you to you both for your wisdom and honesty 💜
Thank you for taking the time to listen!
Awe. Rachel, what a beautiful soul you have. ❤
Thank you for saying that, that is so kind!
Wow, this was super helpful! Thank you guys so much for doing this video ❤
Thanks so much for watching!
I LOVE what you said about covetousness and jealousy among siblings.
Important values to work on!
I love that book and I love that your mom used that to teach you that lesson. Such a great example of how literature can truly impact our lives.
Literature is so powerful!
Yes! This was a great video you recommended. Thank you. Your mom is me and you are my daughter in so many ways mentioned. I’m so grateful you shared this personal video and I deeply felt so much of the content. Oh, and now I know what kinda friends to keep and eye out for in the future. 😆😆😆
This was definitely a personal video and one that I was pretty nervous about sharing because it felt a little "too close" at times--but from the feedback I've gotten, I'm glad I was courageous enough to share it! I want other parents homeschooling gifted kids to know that they are not alone in this adventure that they probably never expected to be on.
I'd love more of these videos please!!!!
Wonderful video! Even tho I do not have a gifted child, I have a older child with learning disabilities and his younger sibling is always surpassing him in academic abilities, so I really appreciated the sibling relationship part. I also just finished reading Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, that is such a great reminder! Thanks to your mom for once again sharing her wisdom! ❤
Carry On, Mr. Bowditch is a great book! Thanks so much for watching!
Love the Read books and summarize method!! 👏🏻👏🏻
Replace "summarize" with "narrate" and we had some Charlotte Mason style going on.... ;)
Wow...I had to pause the video to comment at minute 32 about not tolerating jealousy/coveting...this applies to so many areas of the sibling relationship even if you're not dealing with a child(ren) who is/are academically gifted. Thank you for sharing this video which I know was very personal to you both
Oh yes, that's very true! An important concept for sibling relationships in general. And thank you for watching--filming this video was definitely more vulnerable than I expected it to be!
God, your mom is so smart! You are gifted, and she is so smart! Love this!
She is indeed!
I appreciate for putting time stamps.😊
The video was really long, so they were necessary!
Love these videos with your mom!
Oh, I'm glad to hear that!
This was so encouraging, and gave me perspective in both my hubby's brain & my daughter's. I do feel like I'm slowing her down unintentionally... And made me realize I need to find a way to allow her access to more audio books/lessons.
Thank you so much for taking the time to listen! There are times when gifted learners need to learn patience for "slowing down" with the learning process...but boredom is so painful when your mind wants to leap ahead. These kids that are hungry to learn--you can always find ways to provide a feast!
Thanks so much for this video! So much wisdom in this. I especially appreciated the part about relationships when you have a gifted child. My son is 6 and we have already been noticing how challenging relationships can be for him. Even a few friends have commented on how his brain just goes faster so he relates to older kids more but he's still small so it can be difficult to make friends at times. I often wonder if I'm doing the right thing. This video really helped me as a parent.
Friendships can definitely be one of those harder parts! I have typically had quite a few friends older than me from a very young age (and my husband is 7 years older than I am, ha!). The good thing is that homeschool allows you to make friends from a wide variety of ages.
Thank you so much for willing to be so vulnerable. I really identified with you when you shared how it felt to be fully accepted and loved for all of who you are. Also, your kind heart and caring desire to help others permeates through every video you make. Yes we can be impatient at times, but that definitely doesn't mean we don't care.
Thank you so much for watching! I was uncomfortable when it came to making this video because I've had enough of not-so-good experiences when people realize that I'm really smart and then feel like I'm judging them because their mind works at a more normal pace...I'm not. As a child I was VERY impatient and I may still be impatient at times to this day...but I care deeply about people and I believe that we are each uniquely valuable. I am glad for the gifts I've been given with a brain that learns easily and remembers what I know...but that's not the only gift out there. I love the vast variety we see in people!
@@SevenInAll I needed this reminder today about how hard it was for me to be patient and not cut people off when I was a kid because I just had a rough morning with my daughter today. She's 13 and struggles with emotional control and patience. She had asked me for help on a math problem. I got about half a sentence into my explanation and she cut me off with a not-so-nice tone. I thought she still didn't understand and was just annoyed with the way I was explaining it. After watching your video, I realized that actually, her brain had zipped ahead and figured it out after I said about 3 words. She just wanted me to stop talking so she could work the problem. I, on the other hand, love the challenge of trying to explain a concept clearly and just wanted to finish my thought! I just talked to her about the importance of letting others finish, patience, and grace . . . to which she hastily replied "I know, that!" Then quickly followed with an emphatic "I TRY, but it's HARD!" We'll get there!
@@SevenInAll One last thing . . . Your intelligence comes through your videos, too. That's part of why your viewers love you! We can trust that your thoughts are well-considered and insightful. Keep on being all of yourself and the people who are meant to be impacted by you will naturally be drawn to you. Much love!
@@elonas9487 Your description of the math problem and your daughter sounds all-too-familiar. I definitely remember in my teens asking my mom for help with a new math concept and then being like "Too slow, never mind!" by the time she could sit down and look at the page. We will get there...little opportunities to practice patience and grace every day.
@@elonas9487 Thank you so much, your words mean a lot!
Hey Rachel! Watching! So far so interesting!
Thank you, Gina!
“Congratulations, you have a very smart and dutiful child.” 😆😆 Love that she is differentiating between a smart child and a gifted child.
It can be a seemingly small but important difference!
I'm here watching, Rachel.
Thank you!
Loved this video! I can relate with some of these things especially with my eldest (twice exceptional student). Hers was a very difficult and strange journey being academically gifted, but also having ADHD and dyslexia. She spoke early and in sentences before she was 1, she knew all her colours, days, months, shapes, counting to 100 and from 10-0, and many nursery rhymes by the time she was 18 months. But, she was reading at a 3rd grade level at 12! But if I read to her she could do textbooks for English grammar, science and literature at 10th grade level and get 100%. Once reading clicked for her - at age 12 and she was determined to try her best and work on it - she caught up to grade level by the time she was 14 (I think her determination and giftedness both helped her in this since specialists didn't think she'd ever read "normally". Her sister (2 years younger) was very advanced with reading and writing, but fairly average otherwise (that was also difficult to come up with books at her reading, academic, and maturity level). My eldest is now 23 and married to an academically gifted man - much of what you said here I definitely see in him. He was generally bored in school and didn't even try - it wasn't necessary, he got 100% all the time. In college, if he had to an essay under exam conditions, he found he got better marks if he put in fake errors and corrected them, than just writing it perfect the first time. The professor said it was because we can't see your corrections, he said because there weren't any, it was unnecessary lol. So I'm saving this, because we may need it for some of my grandkids lol. I have a couple of other kids that people ask me if they're gifted - but I just think they're smart, since they are only like 1-2 grades ahead and still have to work hard or listen well to understand many things. I have 6 kids, most of them have ADHD in varying forms. Sorry my comment is so long🙂
No problem at all about the long comment, I love that you took the time to share some of your family's journey!
One of mine is autistic and he was reading at 2, counting to over 10,000 by 3, but couldn't form his own sentences until much, much older. He spent 80% of his day rocking, stimming, and banging his head. Teaching him has always been a huge challenge! Worth it but man, it is a full time job!
Fantastic and unexpectedly heartwarming interview! This makes me wish I was homeschooled, which wasn't really an option in my country at that time.
I know that in many parts of the world, to this day, homeschool isn't really an option. But homeschool is truly a gift for kids whose learning paths don't easily fit into the arc of 'average.'
My oldest daughter’s school told us she was gifted and she’s now way above grade level in science!!! She pushes the speed of learning and I can see that she’s a workaholic!!! We knew her teacher was right!!! I find the study sessions I have with my oldest daughter are awesome!!! Some things I hear shocks me in an awesome way!!! I didn’t expect it but I love it!!! She still loves hands on learning!!! I had conversations about friendships more with my twins and my oldest daughter is one of them, I never thought it was because she’s gifted and can’t understand others not being!!! My daughter has more of a focus but I want her to have fun as well!!!
Thanks so much for listening! I hope this was helpful and encouraging in your own journey!
Also, I appreciated beyond words your mom's encouragement to continue "being the parent" and shaping character regardless of academic ability. I know I don't need permission to be the authority, but it's a nice reminder after a day of being out-argued by a 6 year old!
Yes!! Even if they don't realize how much they need you--your child needs you and their brain may race ahead of the rest of their maturation...but they still need to grow in maturity and skills for living well with others.
I'm so glad I came across this video and I'm pleasantly surprised that emotional intensity was addressed! You mentioned leaving comments about "younger" books and I have a few suggestions! Some great mirror books that gifted kids might enjoy: 1. Aliana Reaches for the Moon by Laura Roettiger / 2. Boxitects by Kim Smith / 3. The Most Magnificent Thing by Ashley Spires ... and there are many more. I'm seeing a lot of STEM centered books with characters the young gifted children may relate to and created an Instagram account with that specific focus in mine. In general, direct parents to STEM centered books and you'll find some gold!
Emotional intensity is a big part of the experience for many gifted kids (and can come as quite a shock to their parents!). Thanks so much for the book suggestions!
I have two gifted kids (both 2e) and one on the cusp of gifted and very smart but driven. Very driven. Lol. And then two kids who, as far as we are aware, are smart but not gifted. I homeschool them all and it is a crazy, wild journey! I don't want them to graduate from high school super young so I have been trying to come up with challenging classes that keep them invested without boring them to tears. My oldest son turned 14 a few days ago and will be starting a class on astrophysics in a couple of weeks. I know nothing about astrophysics but there is a book, so we will both be learning together 😎
What an adventure you're on! As long as there's a book on it, with gifted learners, you can learn all about some fairly niche topics! ;) I really appreciate your strategy of tackling a variety of classes that will challenge them rather than sticking to the 'typical' high school course load.
Wow, so much great information for just parenting in this video. One book I thought of that has gifted kids is The Mysterious Benedict Society. It’s middle grade, but such a fun book celebrating smartness. 😆
I'll have to pick that one up sometime!
That's my biggest book suggestion too. I love that the kids are all gifted in different ways but they learn that they all have to work together and use their unique strengths to succeed at their mission. :)
This is so cool😀.
I had no idea this was your story. Im loving hearing about your last. I was thinking, I wonder if it ever intimidates your husband…it sounds like it not only doesn’t intimidate him, but he admires it and is so proud of you. Love that!
I am so blessed to have him in my life. Truly, as a teenage girl, I remember thinking about potentially getting married in the future, and I wondered--would I have to marry someone smarter than me, someone I could "compete" with in an academic sense? But by God's grace, I met my person at a young age--and he's the right one for me, not because our brains work the same way, but because he's good at things I'm not good at, and he loves me for who I am, not "in spite" of my brain. We make a strong team through our differences.
@@SevenInAll love that ❤️
Now you just made me add "Carry on Mr. Bowditch" to our summer reading list 😂🤣. I really feel like you were describing my oldest son with how boredom was death. He actually taught himself since the pandemic to play an acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and keyboard. Literally he never had a lesson in his life. He can somehow play by ear and read music. It's like that with most things for him. But small things are hard. He has had a hard time making friends. It breaks my heart. We've been really encouraging but I don't know what else to do. He has been in some gifted summer camps like Duke TIP. This year he's going to Vanderbilt. But even after having a fantastic time with same age peers that match his intellect they don't keep in touch.
The boredom of pandemic lockdowns was tough on me, too...probably explains why I started a UA-cam channel, took on the most intense writing contract of my career, and started a small curriculum business during the long, long lockdown. My brain needs to be active. Something that helped me as an older kid and a teen, both gifted and introverted (not a good recipe for making friends!) was coming up with "scripts" and "strategies" when it came to meeting new people and making new friends--figuring out what are good topics to bring up, and learning how to ask questions and listen to people--being a good listener who responds to what they hear. "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie is an old, old book that I read as a young teen that was very helpful because it approach relationship skills in a 'strategic' way--which clicked with my brain.
Your mother's day of the week story is so much like my daughter haha. She did that with days of the week and counting to 10.
From all your videos I've watched, I've noticed what a quick learner your little one is! :) Sometimes they surprise their parents!
As a gifted kid with some concurrent executive function problems, I really struggled with failure when I faced it. I was tested as a child and put into gifted programs for both math and language arts. But because I could not learn my multiplication facts for years, I was slower in math than my very talented peers. I got frustrated and I gave up a lot. Everything else came so easy to me. Luckily, being a ballet dancer on a professional track taught me a lot about how to build resilience and these are the things I now teach my own 2e daughter: 1. If growth was comfortable, we'd call it a nap. Get comfortable with discomfort because it is the only way we grow. 2. Be patient with yourself - yes failure seems inefficient, but there are times you can't skip it. Running away from it doesn't help. 3. Watch your self-talk. Tell yourself the encouraging things that you would tell your best friend.
Yes, resilience and getting comfortable with being uncomfortable are so important, and can be harder to grasp for the child who doesn't find many "normal" skills to be a challenge to learn. Failure helps a lot with growth, for the kid who finds it inconceivable to fail at anything--that's a huge concept to grasp.
Rachel you and your mom did such a great job talking practically about this subject and bringing biblical principles into the topic. I often joke that I should have known my 3rd was going to be special because he was born on leap day-but I didn’t get the hint 😉. He’s very much academically like you. When he was 3 he’d be playing while I was schooling his brother who is 5 yrs older and he’d be shouting out the answers to math problems before the then 8yr old. When I pick up a violin and play the strings to check the tuning he’ll holler from the other room your A string is out of tune and he’s right. I know I personally value children having childhood and aside from character development and sibling relationships I’ve been hoping that I’m on the right track. This really helps. Thanks.
hahaha--oh, I loved your description! Shouting out the answers to problems or questions not meant for me.....oh, I couldn't help myself!
Wow! Such a great video! I don’t think my son is not gifted, but very interested in science to the point that’s all he wants to do. It’s very difficult for him to focus on his other school work, he just wants me to read his science books all day. He wants to learn to read so bad (so he can read said science books) but he also doesn’t seem to focus long enough to grasp it. He usually tries to memorize the stories or use the pictures to tell what it says. He’s only in kindergarten so I know we have plenty of time to work on the reading. I struggle with knowing whether I should add more science in or just like you said broaden what we are learning. Our read alouds mostly consist of dk publishing fact books. I can’t wait for the motivation video.
I have known a few of those kids with one dedicated focus in my day. Keep an eye on him, sometimes these loves of childhood turn out to be the chosen career field when they grow up. I would just continue to be consistent with showing him the routine of the different subjects to work on, and remind him that when he can read, that will open up a whole world of science books for him. It's okay to challenge him to give subjects outside his realm of passion a chance. My boy's current favorite thing is math, specifically writing numbers--I tend to simply put our number/math work at the beginning and at the end of our little seatwork routine so that it starts with something fun and ends with something fun--and in the middle he does the stuff he's less excited about. ;)
@@SevenInAll yes he has already said he’s going to be a scientist when he grows up. I can definitely see that happening lol. We start with science and some days I motivate with reading 1 page from his current favorite science book in between other subjects. Our librarian gets a run for her money when we come. He always asks for books on the most random subjects.
Yay I love seeing the Seven in All matriarch in the videos!!
Me, too! ;)
As you were going along I was thinking about my daughter and realized that she has many of these characteristics. I just thought she was an eager learner and enjoyed many topics.
In Kindergarten she asked if I could teach her to read faster. We were doing All About Reading 1 and I paced it as 2 lessons a week to get done by the end of the year. We wound up doubling it instead and finished all 4 levels by the end of 1st grade at her request. She also asked to learn Spanish so we got something for that. After two years now she wants to learn French too. 🤷🏻♀️She can also be a challenge to homeschool though because she does better with subjects I don’t teach one on one. She’d much rather do things independently, but she’s in 2nd grade so there’s more for me to teach. We tend to butt heads a litle.
I might need to watch again and take notes. 😂 I’m not the gifted learner here. 😂
Yes, I will say that I was the child that my mom "taught" the least__as far as homeschool subjects--not because she didn't want to but because I was not good at tolerating being taught--I wanted to race through everything and teach myself everything because it seemed much faster. So, yes, I did a lot of schoolwork independently. I have also learned, with time, the value of slowing down enough to listen to others and learn from them. :)
I think my daughter is gifted. Based on your description, she certainly fits. But I think she's 2E (she has ADHD, possibly autism and dyslexia as well), so it's interesting to see the things she knows before I know she knows vs the things she struggles with. I wish it weren't so exhausting!
That's a lot for any homeschool parent to deal with, and it can definitely be exhausting! Good job going along on this journey with her! It's an extra challenge as a parent when your child doesn't follow the typical learning 'path' described in all the books.
Boredom is death, yes! 😆😆 My youngest is constantly asking for us to play a boardgame with him, but we can’t always do that, so I’ve been looking for more puzzles and logic games for him to do on his own. I need to figure out more hobbies for him other than boardgames and video games 🤔
Hobbies that can be done independently are a great thing for the kid that can't be bored! I have done basically every major handicraft...embroidery and working with a sewing machine are my favorites.
I love Sherlock Holmes!! 💗😁 Well, his stories and fascinating giftedness.
I wrote a paper in college on the Sherlock Holmes/Watson dynamic. :)
Yay! I love Rachel’s Mom videos 😁😁💜
Me, too!
Oh my.... i'm a gifted person, and my 2 kids are gifted too, and is hard, very hard... because we can do things, or understand us.... but I feel their struggles and see my reflex on them. Books... The little prince, by Antoine de saint exupery... when he draws and nobody understands him, when he doesn't understand the adult worlds and feelings. For me it was very interesting
I've never read "The Little Prince," but it's been on my list! I have to make sure to get around to it once of these days.
I went to a brick and mortar school my whole life and I remember having to dial back because of how others reacted to how I was. I could do tests with no problem without studying and the teachers loved me, which made the kids not like me as much. So understand the struggle of being different and so confused. I don't think I was gifted, just that I was very academically inclined. However, homeschooling wasn't even an option in Brazil. My oldest knew all her letters and their basic sounds before she turned 2. Once she turned 3 she started going to preschool. I was shocked at our first parent-teacher conference when the teacher told me she was working on learning her letters. I know my kid. She knew her letters, she just was shy and didn't like people looking at her, so answering the teacher (with all the other kids looking at her) was very stressful. Thankfully we are in the US and homeschooling is an option for us. She's thriving now! I don't think she's gifted, she just enjoys learning and is more academically inclined than others in her age group, or at least that's how I see it. However, I love that you're talking about the fact that we must follow their lead and not push them. If they're pushing us to move forward, we follow their lead and go. My oldest started making comments like "Another page of number bonds?" "Another story with just AT words?" So I decided to take her lead and move a little faster through the things she doesn't need as much practice on. It's hard for me, though. I have a hard time skipping math problems or something like that, even though I know they provide a lot of practice because some kids just need that more than others. I do enjoy completing everything, as so does my daughter, so we're just trying to do our best. LOL
Yes, that dynamic is all too common where the teachers love you and the classmates resent you when you are eager to learn and master the material easily. I'm so glad for you that you have the freedom to homeschool your daughter. And you have my full permission to skip some of those practice problems. Do just the odd numbers, or just the even, and move on to the next adventure. ;)
@21:40! Haha!! Very good, Rachel. Ok, so what if you're the gifted parent and your kid is as uncooperative as you but not gifted in your same area? For example, reading and logic are my special interests, but my daughter's gifts are music, art, and dance. In fact, she struggles with reading and logic. Are your children gifted, smart, neurotypical, hard working, resistant? Your perspective is much appreciated.
I would say--be glad that as the parent, you've had a lot more years to build maturity and patience, because that will always be needed with an uncooperative student. My own kids are very young and at this point I'd say they're much more neurotypical although my oldest has a few 'quirks' that feel very familiar to me. Much of my work over the last decade has been with special needs learners....and I do believe that in teaching...being a 'gifted' student yourself is NOT particularly helpful because that lack of patience can show up and a lack of understanding why kids need so much practice and review can show up...but tackling that with a deep understanding that your own brain is wired differently and not expecting your student to operate the way you operate is helpful. Seek to meet the needs of the student you have instead of spending too much time getting frustrated that they don't operate the way you do or the way you wish they would. And when uncooperativeness is an issue, always be working toward identifying their values behind their choices, helping them to identify their values, and working on building that underlying value system--is is possible for them to value cooperating with the education process? Is it possible for them to value their parents by not making their parents' job excessively difficult? (May come with maturity)
Do you have a video on what your mom did for you socially? Did she find you struggled to connect with others socially?
Also what are your thoughts on children learning they are gifted? I don't want my daughter to know as I fear she'll feel different and it might affect her. Thoughts on this?
I'd say the best thing my mom did for me socially is to teach a very deep value for people at a very early age--that people are immensely important, and that when interacting with others, I shouldn't be thinking about whether they benefit/interest me (self-focused and self-centered) but rather how can I be helpful/kind/friendly to this person. I was taught early on not to look for what I could 'get' out of relationships but to see what I could give--as a highly energetic, highly skilled, quick-thinking person...if I had focused on what I could "get" out of relationships, I think I would not have been very motivated to build relationships, because I tended to feel like I could do everything myself better and faster than other people could. But having a deep value for the uniqueness of every person and a value for serving others helped a lot. Also, a recognition that the world very much needs brains that don't operate the way mine do.
I lean very strongly toward children KNOWING that they are gifted/different/neurodivergent and knowing that other people's brain may not work the way they do. Your child is ALREADY different. Knowing or not knowing won't change that, but it will help her to understand not to expect other people to operate or process the world the way she does. Different is not a bad thing. Each person has their own 'differences'....recognizing your own differences helps a lot with living well with others.
This was awesome, thank you!! How would you let a 7 year old learn a second/third language? Just give them a book or app?
There are many curriculum options designed for homeschoolers for foreign language--personally I feel like the "DuoLingo" type apps aren't the kind I'd give to a young child (content issues) and seem to result in limited success. But, depending on the language you're interested in (and whether or not you as the parent already speak it) there are usually a few options suitable for young kids. I'm thinking about using "Little Chinese Learners" because most likely Mandarin will be the 3rd language for my boys.
Hey Rachel! I Have an only child that's 3 with minimal toys so I sometimes think that's why she is showing signs of being gifted. Absorbing everything too quick, knowing things I never taught ( how to fold clothes and paper, up to 25) and highly emotionally intelligent. did your mom notice signs before academic studies ? I am in the libo stage I guess, as I will start homeschool in a year time But I think maybe earlier due to seeing these signs
Giftedness tends to much more related to a person's internal wiring vs. external environment. And yes, early, pre-academic signs for me included being very verbal, having deep conversations, remembering everything, seemingly 'just knowing' how to do whatever I wanted to do.
Do you have any videos for moms who have ADHD who homeschools a gifted child. I want to make this work but need help and guidance.
Thank you this was so interesting!! I have just one more question…do you think unschooling can suit the gifted child?
I think it could in the right circumstance--but I think unschooling, done well, ends up being a LOT of work for a parent, and many parents just practically don't have the time/energy for it. I would say I would consider unschooling for the MOTIVATED gifted child (when you look into giftedness, there are a range of different sub-types, and some gifties are noticeable UNmotivated, they aren't inclined to actually push themselves and tend to do the minimum amount of work).
Younng Sheldon