How can I keep my gifted child from being bored?

What if I can't keep up with his pace of learning?

It is very important to understand that success for gifted children is not just about going faster. While gifted students may tend to work more quickly when presented with certain kinds of materials, it is important to consider that the most important kind of thinking done by a gifted student is that which is more in-depth. Knowledge or information that is easily gained by reading or memorization represents one level of thinking. Gifted students can and should be given the opportunity to think on deeper levels. This involves the application of critical thinking skills.

It is not difficult to help your child utilize critical thinking skills all throughout his homeschooling day. While facts may represent a basis of knowledge about a topic, there are many more interesting and challenging questions that can be asked. For example, when studying history, instead of just asking when an event took place, ask why the event took place. Help the child learn about other events that took place around the world at the same time - were these other events changed because of what took place? Questions that require a student to think about why something happened, what effect it had and how it has influenced us today are all great thinking stimulators.

The best results increasing motivation and interest in a topic do not come from requiring more paperwork - the best results come from stimulating more thinking and then finding creative ways to share what the student has learned. Since gifted students generally like to see the connection to the real world for what they are learning, use natural opportunities to teach your children, such as field trips, mentors and real life projects. See our resource section for some great project reporting ideas from Dinah Zike.