<p>“Going to boyscouts is like voluntarily adding to the list of people who nag you”. (His answer to "why don’t you want to continue in BS?)
Direct quote from my son the day I voluntarily quit nagging him about what I thought he should be doing. He had his own interests and we went from there (to great success)–without so much help on my part.
I know it’s a quote because I wrote it down and still have it posted–a light-bulb moment.</p>
<p>Does fifth grader has some interests? At this age they want to try many things. My kid by this age already has chosen 3 activities from 5 that she was engaged since age 4. All 3 had huge impact on her life. She did not have time to think about anything else.
I believe that kid should choose what he wants to do. You can excel in anything to be nationally recognised.</p>
<p>I think we drove the OP away.</p>
<p>OP, if you’re still here, if you’re within driving distance of Boston and if you think your kid would be interested in arts-related stuff, PM me. I have some good resources for arts community programming that’s specifically designed for homeschooled students and their families.</p>
<p>^These are everywhere, in big places and in small places. There are also opportunities to have a private teacher in case the kid is already loaded with his schedule. Are they nationally recognised? OP was looking for “nationally recognised” clubs. Some kids may reach “national recognition”, other will have an awesome time and nothing beyond.</p>
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This is actually one of the benefits of Boy Scouts (and other groups)–getting involved with adults other than your parents who care about your progress. (Note: BSA practices “don’t ask, don’t tell” with youth members. There is no effort to identify and remove gay youth members.)</p>
<p>Well, piping competitions are generally held outside; one learns quickly not to stand within a foot or three of a piper who’s warming up. And a badly played instrument is painful, whether it’s the Great Highland Bagpipes or a clarinet.
OTOH, well-played pipes in the hands of someone who knows what he’s doing can be absolutely magnificent.</p>
<p>To bring the post back on topic, my bagpipe-playing teen started out as a preadolescent homeschooler. He was the shortest person on the field during massed bands for a couple of years, but he absolutely loves it. One of the advantages I’ve found is that he’s had the chance to interact with people from all over North America, and who are a wide range of ages. So don’t automatically assume your child’s interest has to be something geared for people within a narrow age or social range, like Scouting or Little League.</p>
<p>In my family’s experience BSA has been the best thing my sons participate in. (They attend a top NYC G&T school) It offers an array of subjects for them to not only explore, but to receive recognition for in earning a merit badge. (Those represent a lot of study,skill acquisition and dedication) The BSA is currently addressing the “morally straight” aspect of its pledge. I believe in effecting change from the inside. Your child ‘may’ have great skills & leadership, but the world ‘knows’ an Eagle Scout does.</p>
<p>My son has always only been homeschooled and was recently accepted to the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering. He wasn’t involved in any clubs during high school.</p>
<p>I once read a book in the “getting your child into a prestigious college/college of your dreams” genre. I ended up throwing it across the room because it was so high pressured. I’m pretty sure its suggestions began as early as fifth grade.</p>
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<p>I cringe every time I hear that. If your child has any unusual abilities or characteristics or learning style, you the parent will know more about what works with your child than the vast bulk of the “professionals.” Professional teaching is mostly about crowd management and following a lesson recipe at a pace suited toward the median in the class. If your child is well outside the median, sustained advocacy or homeschooling may often lead to a better solution.</p>
<p>Amen, LoremIpsum!</p>
<p>It’s like I’ve always said: There is no magic teacher dust that gets sprinkled over College of Ed. students. An ordinary girl or guy going into Teachers’ College comes out an ordinary future teacher with some skills in crowd control.</p>
<p>A great guy or gal going into the College of Ed. comes out with the potential to be a great teacher. It’s a myth to think that if someone isn’t state certified, then she isn’t this magical being known as a Professional Educator.</p>
<p>I’ll jump on the Scout bandwagon. Most communities have a couple of troops, so you can pick one that suits your kid. Not joining because your son might be gay and all that work would be wasted is downright silly. If it’s not for your kid, for whatever reason, drop out. Most kids don’t make Eagle but, that’s what makes it special. Even those that don’t have fun, make friends and learn lots. As noted above, virtually all american adults recognize Eagle Scout as a great accomplishment and as an indication of an exceptional kid. </p>
<p>[FIRST</a> LEGO League | FLL is the result of an exciting alliance between FIRST® and the LEGO Group](<a href=“http://firstlegoleague.org/]FIRST”>http://firstlegoleague.org/)
Another option I didn’t see listed above is First Lego League. It is an international annual robotics competition that uses Lego Mindstorm as the basis for a series of engineering challenges. It’s not as technical as it sounds. Many middle schools have teams but, any group of kids can establish a team and compete.</p>
kid can start a math circle and then grow into it and teach and organize competitions
I have a fifth grade niece. She started out taking dance classes and has now gotten involved in musical theater as well. I don’t think she has any plans to major in it in college, but she loves doing it. She’s involved with community theater as well as MT though her dance studio. She’s very petite, which make her a good choice for productions that need a young-looking child, but one who can handle memorizing lines, etc.
She also participated in her school’s science fair. Where we live, the county-wide science fair starts in 6th grade.
I know of some homeschoolers who run math circles and get involved in ARML and other national math competitions. Those also start in middle school. ACSL is a programming competition with middle school and high school levels. My older S did several of the math/science things starting in middle school, but they were run as ECs at his school.
Our state runs some summer programs for gifted kids. My younger S did a number of these (one week, sleepaway) that were history- and environmental science-focused. Very hands on, lots of time outdoors. He loved them. He also went to a county-sponsored archaeology camp that worked on historical homesites in the area. Did that two or three times and then was a CIT for the program in HS.
Colleges don’t care as much about “national recognition” as they care that young people discover things they are interested in and pursue them with passion. Ten/eleven year olds should be exploring, not working on resumes.
ETA: both kids did chess club at that age. Both also did Destination Imagination. S2 did National History Day in middle school. Both kids did science fair in MS, though in different areas. As they got older, S1 did the big science/math/CS competitions, contra dancing and teaching CS, and S2 did debate, football, archaeology and cooking.
This thread is only two or three years old. Did someone really search on things like “middle school”, “clubs” and “national recognition”?
OP’s 2012 fifth grader should be a rising eighth grader in the fall. Time for the SAT!
@kayakmom - Please do not revive old threads. They should be used for archival purposes.