Independent Research

Over the last few weeks I've noticed that Zoë has started showing signs of complete disinterest in school. I've been struggling with ideas trying to figure out how to get that spark back. I thought she might be motivated by watching Aiden plow through, but it seems to have the opposite effect. So we're trying something new for a while. I've told her she can do an independent research project. I want her to be able to draw on her strengths and show her what she's capable of doing on her own.

We sat down this morning and started brainstorming ideas of what she wanted to study and how she was going to show me what she had learned. She's decided to do a more in depth study of Greek Mythology. Her goal is to have a "Greek Night" at our house where she will teach everyone what she has learned (and apparently we're all going to have to wear togas). Today she made a worksheet for everyone to do that matches the Hero with the monster they fought. She's also going to have an art project where you create your own monster by combining two things. She has ideas for games, a set of hero trading cards, quizzes, and all kinds of other things.

It was an absolute delight to see her so excited about learning again! She pulled book after book off the stacks at the library and spent most of the day reading. I'm excited for her to have something to do that is just her own. Aiden was a little sad that he doesn't get to do the project too, but she really needs this. We haven't set a date yet for Greek Night, but it will probably be sometime at the end of July or beginning of August.

Since he didn't have any books from the library to read, Aiden kept to his schedule and worked on our explorers unit and a lot of math. He started his new level on Monday and is already 50% complete. My head is spinning at this point! I don't mean he's halfway done with his week of math. I mean in 3 days he has completed half of an entire YEAR'S worth of math. I can only hope that the second half has harder material and he slows his pace a little. Either way it's just more reinforcement that in a few years we're going to have some major schooling issues to sort out.

I'm sure this might sound ridiculous to some, but I'm starting to be scared stiff of the pace that things are going. I never thought about how quickly we would cover required material. They are both so young, and I'm not quite ready to think about what will need to be done pretty soon. This issue is only compounded by the fact that I don't feel like I can even discuss this with many people. Most people view it as bragging (or simply don't believe me), and they have a difficult time realizing that it's actually a problem for us. I don't know what the best solution is. I have a few years before it becomes a major problem, but I can't just pretend it isn't there or keep thinking "we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." I can see the bridge ahead now, but I have NO idea what lane I'm supposed to be in!

Ad Camp and a Math Level Complete

We had a great week learning about the tools advertisers use to get people to want to buy their products. Hopefully none of the children will ever watch a commercial the same way again. At the beginning of the week we asked them if a commercial ever made them angry. They all thought that was an odd question and said no. Yesterday, one of the children made the comment that they thought it was horrible that some school districts were selling advertising space on their buses. Of course we mothers were proud and pointed out that they just expressed anger toward an ad!

Today we wrapped up the week by recording their own commercials. It was great to see the different techniques they used. They all did a fantastic job!


Aiden spent the week either at Ad Camp, playing piano or doing math. He diligently worked hard all week, and last night he finished his level and earned a gold prize. At about 8:30 last night he finished what he thought would be his final assessment only to have 7 objectives put back onto his pie. He was so distraught! We had a discussion about perseverance, and plowing ahead despite difficulties. He took a big breath, and went back to work. By 9:15 he'd finished everything and was doing a happy dance around the kitchen. We're all so proud of him! I am absolutely amazed at how focused he was and all that he accomplished. He learned 30 objectives this week and spent 13 hours doing math according to the report I get emailed weekly.

Twitter and advertising

This week we're doing a unit on advertising with the kids (including 4 of their friends). They've been learning about the different ways companies try to convince you to buy their products. They've also enjoyed making their own cereal boxes, doing a print ad for the fictitious "Burp Cola", and designing a travel brochure for a place they picked.

The rest of the week will be spent learning about Public Service Announcements, more dissecting of commercials, and culminating in them making and filming their own commercial. Zoë and Haley have already decided that they're going to have their commercial be a PSA about the benefits of home schooling for gifted kids. I can hardly wait to see how that turns out! Aiden is going to do a commercial for the cereal he created called "Super Singers."

Yesterday I finally broke down and got onto Twitter. Tom's been periodically extolling the virtues of it for several months now, and swears that it will be a great tool to connect with other people working with gifted kids. Perhaps once I figure out how it works that will be true! You can follow me at @rcarpenter74 if you're interested.