Raising "Gifted" Kids

   So I guess a few of you have found my blog (or what there is of it so far...sorry) via the Ecomom blog about our family. I've gotten some really sweet emails and it seems people would like me to actually keep my word and fill in these pages I've created and left blank for far too long. I'm going to make a concerted effort to do so in the coming weeks but I must warn that it may take much longer to have it unfold in a truly organic way.

    I'm starting with this page because tonight was a hard night for me. I'm looking at and applying to schools for my oldest children for the 2013-201 school year and it leaves my stomach in knots every time I look at another school. Many people assume that being "gifted is a blessing free of complications. In my experience, nothing is farther from truth. While being "gifted" certainly presents some opportunities that are beneficial, the truth is that finding a balance between feeding the beast of creative differences and still maintaining the level of grounding necessary for a healthy life is quite difficult.
   
     When I was a child, teaching gifted children was much less involved. We ("gifted" kids) attended weekly TAG (Talented and Gifted) classes for extra enrichment and would sometimes have extra work or clubs to attend. The opportunities for academic acceleration were pretty limited. As a parent of gifted children I am left wondering if the wide variety of opportunities and means of acceleration are a blessing or a curse these days.
    
    Our oldest daughter is barely 11yrs old and is already in some high school courses. This year she was accelerated from 4th grade to 7th, 8th and 9th grade courses. She attended a full time gifted school for 1st-4th grade but as the years passed it became more apparent she was not being challenged and was becoming an underachiever (yes, she still had straight A's but she was not reaching her potential). In 4th grade her principal enrolled her in 3 6th grade online courses for enrichment. So this year it didn't make sense to send her to 5th grade. The school did grade level placement testing and we took her to a private psychologist for evaluation as well. He found her to be scoring on college level in some subject matters so we made the difficult decision to accelerate her.

     This year was not too bad (so far) because she has been able to do her coursework through FLVS online. She's a very self motivated girl and maintains principal's list with little to no external input but next year she really should return to the traditional classroom and from talking with the schools it seems they would place her in 9th grade. My baby girl would be 11 (almost 12) and in High School! It seems so unreal to even consider but she is not the typical "smart child." She's got a fire in her that needs to be fueled and goes beyond traditional academics. I just can't imagine her attending classes with 14 and 15 yr olds. 
   
     Our oldest son on the other hand is gifted and lacks self motivation. In looking at schools I find it difficult to find one that will challenge him and ignite the fire from within. He maintains his Honor roll with such minimal effort that I find myself worrying he will think life should always be a walk in the park.
     
   Lastly, our youngest son is a dual exceptionality, he is gifted and dyslexic. Ideally I would like to find a school that the two boys could attend together but it is critical that we place the littlest brainiac in an environment that is equipped to handle the unique issues that come from being both gifted and dyslexic.

   So now you've got the background.. the beginning of the process I should say. What will unfold here is the process I use to select the best educational setting for each of them and all of the developments during it. The ups and downs, successes and failures in parenting these beautifully bright little people. I hope that somewhere on this part of my journey an experience I share will help someone else...and if not... writing is therapeutic so I still win. =)

    What challenges do you have in ensuring your child/ren receive the best education possible? Whats your process for deciding and managing issues like ours?