It is not unusual for a homeschooled child to be gifted and talented. In fact, studies have shown that children who are homeschooled consistently outperform students who are educated in a conventional setting. You might find that a child who has difficulty in a certain area might have an incredible talent in another subject and vice versa. This might be one reason to consider homeschooling, since a homeschool schedule provides the flexibility that allows the parent to transcend conventional categories. For instance, your ten-year-old child might have the mathematical ability of a fifteen-year-old. A homeschooling curriculum will allow you to provide him with multi-level educational opportunities, depending on his talents and needs.
Homeschooling also gives parents and kids the free time to organize activities that further develop talents. There are many parents who opt to homeschool their child specifically because he has an exceptional artistic or athletic ability and requires time for training. Much of a conventional school day is wasted because a teacher has to keep order among 25 or more students, or deal with answering basic questions. This may make a gifted student feel bored in a regular school, and this is a good reason to consider homeschooling. Many children who have made the switch to homeschooling report that they are happy that they can learn without a disruptive classroom setting. At the same time, they can socialize with their friends in a more relaxed environment.
There are many online courses available that will allow you to tailor your child's homeschool curriculum. Your gifted homeschooler might be at a collegiate level in some subjects, and many homeschoolers opt for online college courses in some areas. An advantage this will provide your child with is the evidence of success in college when he applies to universities. The advantage of advanced online learning for homeschoolers is that (unless you have Internet messenger) the students are invisible, and no one will make your child feel uncomfortable because of his age. In fact, homeschooling is a better option for a gifted student than beginning college early, because homeschooling allows the gifted student to wait until he has achieved sufficient maturity for the college setting. Many brilliant young kids who were sent to college found that they did not adjust socially. Homeschooling allows your child to get a college-level education in some areas, and at the same time, socialize with his peer group in the community.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mimi Rothschild is a homeschooling parent, author, children's rights advocate, and Founder and C.E.O. of Learning by Grace, Inc. She and her husband of almost 3 decades reside with their 8 children in suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Rothschild co-founded Learning By Grace, Inc. because "our current system of education has broken its promise..." Learning By Grace, Inc. delivers Internet-based multimedia education to PreK-12 children in the United States and throughout the world.
Rothschild has authored a number of books about education published by McGraw Hill and others. Her Daily Education News Blog contains feature stories on alternatives in education.