Gifted Education
Find resources for many learning styles.
Gifted Education at Home–It Can Be Done!
What should homeschool parents do when they suspect their young one may be gifted? How do they meet his academic and emotional needs? What if he or she doesn’t respond to typical parental guidance or discipline?
Homeschooling Gifted Learners
Raising Lifelong Learners
For real-world homeschooling practice and neurodivergent parenting support, this would be our first stop. Colleen Kessler (a popular convention speaker) helps differently-wired homeschoolers embrace a creative, self-directed, and emotionally strong approach to their education.
How To Make Real-World Gifted Homeschooling a Reality
This one tackles the “common-sense gap,” and brings to light a frequent but under-discussed issue—gifted children who excel academically but miss intuitive, real-world connections.
HEAV’s Pinterest Board
HEAV curates many gifted homeschooling ideas on its Pinterest page.
Support & Other Resources
American Mensa
Offers age-appropriate enrichment, puzzles, and articles designed to stretch thinking without relying on formal schooling structures.
Gifted Homeschoolers Forum
A free membership level grants access to all of their live programming, the main areas of the forum, and their comprehensive, self-paced DIY Education course.
Davidson Institute
The Davidson Institute focuses explicitly on profoundly gifted and 2e learners and integrates real-world pathways—not grade-based curricula—to foster learning.
SENG
SENG offers a free membership level to access to past published articles supporting 2e learners, free newsletter and more.
Hoagies’ Gifted Education Page
Researching gifted education. Hoagies is an exhaustive “all-in-one” directory—often described as one of the most comprehensive of the field.
Articles
A Child Can Be Years Ahead AND Years Behind
This article from the Gifted Collective offers some practical insight into the unique developmental patterns of gifted children so you can encourage them with wisdom and confidence.
What is 2e? A Guide to Twice-Exceptionality
This article by 2e News Bridges Media gives a clear introduction to twice-exceptionality (2e) and explains how giftedness and learning challenges can exist together.
Tips to Reduce Perfectionism for Intense Gifted and 2e Kids
The Gifted Learning Lab explains the pitfalls of perfectionism and gives tips to help your gifted child build resilience by shifting the focus from perfect results to the joy of learning.
How to Keep Gifted Kids Motivated
All children—even gifted students—sometimes struggle with motivation. GiftedGuru helps you support your child’s natural drive to learn with practical ideas that foster confidence, perseverance, and joyful discovery.
ADHD and giftedness
Gifted Support Network
Classes & Camps
Center for Gifted Education, College of William and Mary
Located in Williamsburg, they offer “Saturday Enrichment Programs” and summer “Camp Launch/Orbit.” They are known for their Integrated Curriculum Model (ICM) units, popular with many gifted homeschoolers.
Vanderbilt University Programs for Talented Youth
Programs for Talented Youth offer year-round opportunities that challenge and inspire advanced learners.
Center for Talented Youth at Johns Hopkins University
Learn anywhere, anytime with CTY’s online courses.
The Hollingworth Institute
Free membership allows access to current and former course listings and the event links for our alternating weekly support groups for gifted adults and parents of gifted children
Online G3
Offers accelerated online classes with live weekly webinars for gifted learners.
Gifted Education at Home – It Can Be Done!
For many years, the homeschooling community has been reluctant to “label” kids as gifted. Perhaps the popularity of the sentimentality, “all children are gifted,” has conditioned parents to feel embarrassed about wanting to identify their gifted child’s special abilities. Perhaps our public school system’s egalitarian leanings have stigmatized giftedness as wanting to appear to be better or more deserving than others. Perhaps parents are loath to be called “stage moms,” or “pushy.”
Whatever the reason, there exists little gifted education literature designed specifically for homeschoolers. With so little guidance, what are parents to do when they suspect their young one may be gifted? How do they meet his academic and emotional needs? What if he is exhibiting behaviors that do not respond to typical parental guidance or discipline?
Thankfully, answers to all of these questions, and more, exist in the gifted education research that has been amassed for over eighty years. Applying these answers to homeschooling is easy. Many gifted education researchers tout homeschooling as the best educational option for gifted children. Some researchers even believe parents are best equipped to determine their child’s giftedness. Researchers trust parents’ perceptions of their gifted children’s abilities and needs, and they recommend homeschooling for the one-on-one attention it affords the little learner.
-Beth Wright Bess
Learning Styles: Part 1
An article offering ideas for active learners.
