Close to one million families are involved in the homeschooling alternative to education. Many of the homeschooled are gifted children.

Having a gifted child creates a unique responsibility to the highly effective parent. Finding the best educational situation for the child may involve some years in a homeschooling setting. If at least one parent is in the home and is willing to spend the time and effort, homeschooling a child one-on-one can bear excellent results.

Homeschooling Mixed With Class Time is Optimal for the Gifted Child

Spending an entire education in a homeschool arrangement may not be the best option for a child. Having time to socialize and interact with peers is extremely important. Therefore, a mix of classroom learning and homeschooling is often a superior mix for the child. Or, involving the child in community or town sports and other activities may help to fill this need.

This may involve alternating between the two options from year to year or it may take the form of supplementing a traditional classroom with homeschooling in the evenings. Depending upon the locale, the availability of appropriate resources and the individual needs of the gifted child, the parent can work with community outreach, school staff and recreation directors to develop an eclectic plan for the child.

States differ regarding whether or not they allow homeschooled children to participate in school activities on a selective basis. Many states have a liaison who is responsible for overseeing the home schooling connection and ensuring the children meet testing requirements. Parents can contact their state government information service or the department of education for more details.

More often than not, the gifted child who is mixing homeschooling with class time will be in an accelerated mode, meaning that he will be working with children who are in higher grades than he would normally be attending by his chronological age. Testing the child at appropriate intervals will give the parent a snapshot of where the child is from a cognitive perspective.

School Programs Critical to the Gifted Child's Well Rounded Development

Some parents will enroll the child in a partial school program, where he can attend certain classes at the school and learn other subjects at home. The child should be involved in a physical education program for sports gymnastics, weight training, exercise and other areas of interest that are available to him. Additionally, music, art, dance and theater are also areas that the child can find in many community school systems, and he should be encouraged to explore these artistic endeavors.

Several websites can give the parent direction on the development of lesson plans to formulate an educational curriculum. This is a time-consuming undertaking but will be well worth the effort. Visiting the Hoagiesgifted page is one great way to get started. Communicating with other parents of gifted children, particularly those who have been through the homeschooling process, could save a parent much time by borrowing materials and comparing resources.

Conclusion

In summary, homeschooling is a major commitment, which will likely require the availability of a full time person in the home. Resources for developing a curriculum and accomplishing the teaching are easily available on line and through the Department of Education. State laws differ significantly on what is allowed in terms of partial school participation and student testing requirements. It is vital to have the child enrolled in social programs involving physical education, arts and music in addition to the homeschooling arrangement. Read the advertisements attached to this article for more detail as well as the article link noted.