CatchyNameHomeschooling

Erlenmeyer flasks behind a wok in a kitchen cabinet I said in my last post that my kid's "understanding of concepts and facts in multiple areas of science is excellent." Already knowing nearly every fact and concept presented in our district's gifted science classes made those classes boring. The lack of intellectual stimulation meant there was no "hook" to make graphing or writing engaging. When people talk about 2e kids having "spiky" profiles or asynchronous skills, this is the disconnect they're talking about. If plotting points on a graph results in a surprising curve that furthers your understanding of a concept, then it feels worthwhile. Someone who already knows that curve and the concepts behind it will find plotting those points tedious. Practice is more effective when it feels worthwhile.  Our family is knowledgeable and science-minded so the kid learned some stuff from casual conversation. The rest, the bulk of it, came from YouTub...

  When I was a kid back in the 1980s I occasionally heard about stores having grand openings or grand re-openings. It wasn't until well into adulthood that I heard of soft openings where a store quietly lets a few people in to test their systems and processes. And Lo! Eighth grade homeschooling began today, the first Monday in September! And it is not a big deal. For one thing, no schooling is starting before 2:00 PM so the teenager can sleep in and get moving slowly.   For another thing I have changed my (unspoken, emotional, subliminal) goal from what public school optimally should do for a 2e student in every subject to doing better than public school was doing in some subjects. And by "better" I mean prioritizing and supporting my kid's mental health over academic achievements while encouraging some intellectual growth. Language Arts: Critical analysis of media and journalism is already very good. Familiarity with some literature classics is good. Grammar is good....