SCM Discussion Forum

1. 

   KTMom26
   Member

   I am new to this forum (and CM for that matter.) I have been researching CMs ideas for a long time but never had the gumption to go after them. I am a former school teacher so it's taken me almost 4 years to break free from the PS influence from my past and my career.

   My name is Karen. I have 5 wonderful children - two dds (almost 9 and 5) and 3 dss (7, 3, 1) and a baby due in November (our last.) My oldest will be starting 4th grade work with a little remediation (if you can call it that) to introduce her to CM ideas and build habits that are missing. But she's mostly in 4th grade work.

   I am really stumped with what to do with my 7DS. I think he's a genuine (ok, I am a bit biased in that point.) But really, I can't keep up with this guy. He turned 7 in January. He taught himself to read when he was 5 yod. I didn't have to spend much time on a phonic curriculum with him because he just took off reading. Now he's reading things like "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I also had to start teaching him to write in cursive this spring because he wanted to do it so badly he started teach himself - and it was all wrong. URGH!!! He's a self starter in most things. Right now he's working on a chapter book and he's using "The Hobbit" as the bases for what to include in the book. He's learning from the masters I guess.

   I don't think I have ever read anything in CM about what to do with a child that just does everything ahead of where they are "supposed" to be. In the past I have had him working somewhere in 1st and 2nd grade work but that was I didn't overwhelm him. But I am wandering if he could do more. I don't know to start him when I make the switch in a few weeks (which is when we will start our new school year so that I can be finished with a good portion of it when the baby arrives.) Any suggestions?

   BTW, did CM have anything to say about children that seemed to be really advanced? If she did, I would love to read it.

   Thanks,

   Karen

   Posted 5 years ago # Report Post
2. 

   CindyS
   Member

   Hi Karen,
   What a blessing your son must be to you! I'm not sure 'grade' really matters at this age. I guess if you have to fill out a piece of paper with that information on it (and you want your son to be able to answer when someone asks), you could put 3rd grade.

   When grade matters is more toward highschool when they start collecting credits and have to be doing highschool level work. Not knowing what math you use, that could possibly be one way to assign him a grade level. I guess the only caution I would give is to not put him too far ahead of his age/grade because you may find that, as the years go on, the difficulty in the work expected of him gets beyond him. I think it's better to skip grades later versus earlier. I've have younger children doing more difficult work than an older sibling but have not skipped grades because I have found that often, the learning curve settles out over time and I also do not want children that are not emotionally ready to graduate too early from school.

   It sounds like you are doing a wonderful job igniting that spark of interest. Using cm is a great way to feed that. It also makes it a little more difficult to assign grades because you are able to meet the child's needs and interests and do so much as a group.

   Blessings,
   Cindy

   Posted 5 years ago # Report Post
3. 

   Bookworm
   Member

   Karen,
   CM methods are extremely well suited to gifted children. My oldest taught himself to read at three, then turned around and taught his younger brother. I've been valiantly trying to keep up with them ever since. LOL
   I recommend just tossing out everything with "grade labels". Who needs it? Just find lots and lots of real, rich, living books. As your son has already discovered, real living books like Narnia books or The Hobbit, have so many layers. An "average" child can profit greatly by reading them or having them read aloud to them, but also a very bright child can profit by unpacking more layers out of them--if the books are rich and deep, they are nearly inexhaustible. Just move ahead at his pace--you'll quickly find out how he behaves when bored, and can up the stimulation by adding something else. I keep a number of books "in reserve" for if I notice that the boys are wringing dry the ones I've already assigned and still have intellectual energy left to burn. :-)
   Some things to watch out for: Many gifted kids are not good at knowing when to stop or let up, and will work themselves into intellectual exhaustion. This can cause a period of apathy or not wanting to work. Try to keep him fairly balanced. Much outdoor time is a MUST.
   Reading books slowly, as Charlotte Mason encouraged, is also a must. Some gifted kids think it is torture at first, but it makes ALL the difference in what they get out of teh book, whether they read it slowly, savoring and reflecting as they go, or swallow it whole in an afternoon. Add MORE books if they are not reading enough, not the same book more quickly.
   If your child progresses so quickly that you begin to have trouble finding deep enough books to keep him busy that have too-sophisticated themes or material, then you need to diffuse that intellectual energy with something else. Try chess, logic games and puzzles, science experiments, music lessons, etc. Remember that emotionally your child is still a child. My kids were capable of doing a lot of real science at early ages--they could understand the concepts. But weren't always mature enough to know when to get mom, like before they tried to blow something up. :-) Stay involved, even if you feel you are always chasing speeding brains. LOL
   Another common gifted difficulty is perfectionism. Keep up with character and habit training, but be on the lookout for this. Many gifted kids will totally beat themselves up, or give up, if they cannot do something perfectly at first. This is a common tendency, but it is also rooted in pride, and needs gentle rooting out. :-)
   Here is a great site for parents of gifted kids:
   http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/
   There used to be an Ambleside email forum for parents of gifted kids, too.
   One other thing--use caution in explaining to your child his differences. I rarely discuss my sons' giftedness with them unless I think it would help them cope emotionally with something. The less time they spend thinking they are different or ahead, the better, IMO. It will begin to dawn on him sooner or later that everyone else doesn't think like he does, but I really stress at that point that the Lord gave this ability for a purpose, and that purpose involves serving and helping, and not becoming puffed up. In my own travels through life as a "gifted" kid, I wish I'd understood that sooner. I'd have messed up less. :-)
   OK. Strap on your helmets and hang on for dear life, this will be a fun ride! LOL Enjoy! Use his own cues to tell you when to "bump up"--you'll soon find out what they are.
   Michelle D

   Posted 5 years ago # Report Post
4. 

   jmac17
   Member

   My DD is a lot like how you described your son.  She is almost 7, and taught herself to read at age 4.  Last September I decided to read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a read aloud.  About 100 pages in I asked a question about what she thought would happen next.  She very sweetly told me exactly what would happen, and then mentioned "Mom, I already read this book."  She has already worked through an entire manuscript program and an entire cursive program, and we are now alternating copywork in both.  If I had to place her in a leveled program for math, she would probably be about grade 3 or 4. 

   However, I don't worry at all about "grade".  Officially, she is registered as grade one, because that's where the public schools would have her.  With CM, though, there really aren't any grades.  The curriculum guides may recommend books as appropriate for certain grades, but those are purely a guideline.  You pick and choose whatever you think is appropriate for your child's level and interests, without ever needing to mention a level.  Since we are working with living books, none of them have a grade or level listed, and they can be used in any order that is appropriate for the student. 

   We do read more books than typical for a 6 year old, but still using each at a slow pace.   For example, for science, we are using 106 Days of Creation, during which my preschoolers join in when they wish.  Then, DD is reading and narrating the Burgess Animal Book, AND the Burgess Bird book, plus she reads the Burgess Seashore book just for fun.  Most first year students would likely do any 1 of the above.  This is also in addition to nature study.

   For math, we are using Math on the Level and Life of Fred, both of which are just 'work at your own pace' type programs. 

   When people ask what grade she is in, my DD answers 'Grade One.'  Otherwise, we ignore grades  Don't worry about it.  Just choose materials appropriate for your son.  LOTS of them! 

   Enjoy the race!

   Joanne 

   (Oh, and by the way, I know how challenging it is to move from being a teacher in the public system to being a homeschooling, Charlotte Mason method mom.  I keep thinking that I wish CM had been required reading during my education degree!  Life would have been easier, not to mention that the school systems would be radically better!)

   Posted 11 months ago # Report Post
5. 

   Tecrz1
   Member

   My 2nd child is also pretty gifted. She also taught herself to read at 4, and barely needed phonics. She is turning six today and has already read most of the suggested reading through grade 5 on SCM. I try to hide books from her to use later but it usually doesn't work lol.
   We just did her "kindergarten" year in which she really did 1st -2nd grade math, 4th grade level reading, she also wanted to learn cursive, and she spent a lot of time in favorite chair reading poetry and literature books years ahead. She narrates fluently and copiously.
   I tell her she is in kindergarten and then we just go go go as much as her appetite takes her. At her age it was not formal schooling but request based. This next year we will add structure and assigned reading to her days a bit but I am inclined to let her keep going. She often picks better books than I would :-)
   My oldest is very advanced too, but his primary area is math. Again, we said he was in second grade but really he was much farther.
   My mother chose to keep me in my actual grade growing up, even though the public school I attended wanted not only to skip me ahead but send me to a gifted school. I was pretty bored but I don't know if I could have handled the older kids emotionally. I decided to try the gifted school once. I went for one day and came and announced it equally boring and went back to where my friends were at least.
   When my mother started homeschooling me it was like being invited to a banquet after existing on dry bread lol!
   I stayed in my age appropriate grade until high school. I had enough credits to graduate at the end of my sophomore year. I elected to have a fun junior year of electives only while I waited on God to show me which direction to go. I graduated that year.
   I second to leave them in their normal grade for appearance sake but work ahead as they want. Close to high school you can evaluate if early graduation is right for them.
   And please, whatever you do, don't let them get bored!! LOL!
   Tara

   Posted 11 months ago # Report Post
6. 

   4myboys
   Member

   Hi Karen and welcome,

   In many ways I can relate to you.  I also have an advanced 7 year old (well, he'll be 8 next month).  He has combined type ADHD, though, so he doesn't have the attention span for longer books and attempting to write his own much of anything.  He taught himself to read at age 4, I'm told (when they did his learning assement at the ADHD clinic) that he reads at a high school level, though his comprehension is not quite there.  He's a remarkable natural speller (even dad and I occassionally ask him how to spell something).  He loves suduko puzzles, does math for fun, and is working only a few chapters behind his 11 yo brother in math.  He's always trying to figure out how things work, is great at taking things apart, but loses interest before anything ever gets put back together.  I keep saying that if he could focus long enough he'd be really dangerous.

   For the time being I am registering him as being in the same grade as he would be at PS.  When he reaches the point of starting to collect credits for highschool, then I'll worry about it.  I'm not really interested in graduating him too early. 

   Posted 11 months ago # Report Post

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