Creative Home Schooling for Gifted Children by Lisa Rivero

"We home school, in the words of Annemarie Roeper, to educate for life rather than simply to educate for success."

In the aftermath of the 911 bombings, when Lisa Rivero was finishing writing this book, realization came to her of exactly how profound of a statement this actually was. She says, "I began to understand on a new level. We don't learn about architecture or read great books or study world countries in order "to home school." We home school so that we're free to learn about life in its unpredictable complexity. We home school to ask questions and to seek answers for ourselves, to put ourselves in another's place, to begin to forge new connections and relationships for a new global community, to do our small part as citizens of the world."

Says author, David H. Albert, author of "And the Skylark Sings with Me: Adventures in Homeschooling and Community-Based Education, "Giftedness, whether of the intellectual or other varieties, exists on a continuum like most other characteristics."

Parents of gifted children face unique challenges that are seldom discussed or taken seriously by other parents or school personnel," says Lisa. "While parents should not become preoccupied with a child's potential nor should they organize the entire family around the gifted child, it is extremely beneficial for parents to be aware of:

(1) why their children seem different, and
(2) that the difference is real and necessitates unique parenting and educational approaches.

I cannot adequately describe the relief I felt when I finally met other parents who, like me, were accused of being pushy when their young children taught themselves to read before school age, or who felt helpless as they watched their child's extreme and painful sensitivity, or who struggled to keep up with the reasoning powers of a six-year-old asking a question a minute."

This book, and its 400 pages, is a wealth of information! Chapters cover subjects such as: Traits of Giftedness, Social and Emotional Needs, Intellectual Needs, Learning Styles - Learning With a Difference, Creating Your Home School Approach, Your Creative Home School Toolbox, and chapters on Paperwork, Documentation, & Testing, Special Topics, plus so much, much more.

In her book are also sections on Resources for Gifted Children, References, publishers who offer curriculum for gifted students, websites to help parents of gifted children, software companies, and more. If you think your child is gifted, or you are looking for support in educating your gifted child, then I would seriously recommend that you check into owning this book. I believe that you can glean a lot from it!

The Everything Homeschooling Book

Have you ever wondered how many hours a day that your child should be schooling? Or what schedule would be best for your family? Maybe you're in need of a change in the way you school to bring that excitement back again? How about those of you who are nervous about homeschooling in the teen years? Would you like a list of websites to use in your schooling? If you'd like a book about EVERYTHING, then you may want to read this book.

So just what is the answer to how many hours a day your child does need to school? "Even though most traditional school days are approximately six hours long, you and your child won't need to sit at a desk in your home for five or six hours each day. Some states may require you to keep a daily schedule and attendance record, showing that you homeschool a certain number of hours a day, 180 days a year, but the hours and days can be flexible. Chapter 8 of this book talks more about daily schedules and record keeping. On average, the time required to focus on core skills (reading, math, language arts, social studies, and science) can be broken down per age group as follows:

* Preschool and kindergarten: 30 to 60 minutes
* Elementary ages: 60 - 90 minutes
* Middle-school ages: 1 1/2 to 3 hours
* High-school ages: 2 to 4 hours

The Everything Homeschooling Book provides up-to-date information on: State homeschool departments of education, religious and secular homeschooling, sources for curriculum guidelines by grade level, packaged curriculum programs, homeschooling multiple children, and the list goes on, and on.