<p>My son will be 7th grade in the fall. From what I've read the next two years could be crucial to setting the stage for high school and the college admissions process. I'd love advice from wise parents who have been there, done that, to someone who is just starting the journey.</p>
<p>Background:
He is interested in pursuing an engineering and/or science career. Has tested in the 97-99th percentile in standardized testing for math, science and vocabulary. Some have recognized him as gifted.</p>
<p>Challenges:
He can be ADD at times. Can also be lazy in tough subjects like math. Misses details on tests even though he knows the materials. Can understand advanced concepts but takes a long time to work through problems. Writing skills need to be improved. </p>
<p>We homeschool, so we have many options for customizing his education.</p>
<p>What can we do in his 7th and 8th grades to set the stage for success in the high school years and the inevitable college admissions process?</p>
<p>What kinds of extracurricular activities should we be pursuing?</p>
<p>What are things you wish you knew when your kids were in middle school?</p>
<p>That I could make my kids crazy with anxiety by pushing them to be too perfect. That letting them follow their own interests was much more important than looking for what colleges will be interested in. That physical activities weren’t just for “dumb jocks”.</p>
<p>My son loved the Johns Hopkins CTY summer program when he was between 7th and 8th grade. He took an electrical engineering course- 3 weeks long at a college campus. Loved being around other smart kids with a challenging and fun course. Other than that, I agree with dragonmom. Don’t push your kids to be too perfect. And if he has ADD, he will need to learn some studying/planning/prioritizing skills before college. He’s not getting distracted in a class of one.</p>
<p>Be sure to allow him to have “creative time”. Allow him to develop a passion for music, sports, art etc. Do not push…the gifted have been know to burn out and be bored and purposefully rebel at a yound age. Allow them to find their own uniqueness and make sure to help develop the “whole” child. I always told my bright son that I cared much more about WHO he becomes that WHAT he does. Do not identify him by his test scores.</p>
<p>Misubi: middle school boys are notorious for being unfocused, etc. I wouldn’t worry about that so much, especially since you homeschool. Since he tests so well, I would suggest involving him in a talent search (Duke TIP, John Hopkins, etc.) If he tests well there, he will have the opportunity to take online classes with them in specific subject areas. Since he is interested in the sciences, he may be able to take classes in those areas above what you could normally provide for him.</p>
<p>The next natural step for your child is high school. Getting him into a strong program, with exceptional teachers and like minded/capable students, would be the critical step.</p>
<p>Not a parent, but as a high school student with many friends who were homeschooled until high school or have continued homeschooling, I would second the suggestion of CTY and other such programs. I recommend these programs, especially the residential summer ones, to almost all intelligent middle and high school students, but I think they’re especially important for those who don’t interact with other intelligent kids of their ages on a regular basis, whether this is due to going to a less rigorous school or being homeschooled.</p>
<p>In general, the homeschooled students I know who have best made the transition to either high school or college are those whose parents allowed them to pursue their interests in a way that those in structured schooling cannot (i.e. allowing children to pursue some topics in great depth, allowing children to do extracurriculars that would not be available to students in structured schooling due to time constraints (i.e. volunteering in a hospital almost daily for a month when the student showed interested in medicine)) while also making sure that the student maintained friends and structured activities outside of the homeschooled community.</p>
<p>Don’t focus on the college process. Focus on allowing and encouraging your son to grow as a scholar, as a citizen, and as a person. As a parent who is homeschooling, you have a unique opportunity to shape your child’s education according to his individual needs and interests. I’m sure you know that, as that’s probably the reason you began homeschooling in the first place, but I think this is even more relevant and important to remember as your son develops and deepens his interests in his adolescent years.</p>
<p>That being said, homeschooled students often have to take a lot of tests for the college process, more than students in structured schooling do, since transcripts written by parents carry less value than those of schools. It will definitely be easier for your son to take tests such as SAT IIs and APs as he learns the subjects, even if that means he starts taking them in 9th or 10th grade. It will also be easier for you to include preparation for standardized tests in his normal school schedule; when he studies biology, for example, he can simultaneously study the subject and prepare for the Biology SAT II, if he wants to, and then move on to another subject entirely.</p>
<p>Writing skills are certainly important, and if you’re not certain of your own abilities in the area and can afford it, I’d suggest getting him a tutor. Becoming a strong writer will help your son both in the college process and in whatever career he eventually chooses.</p>
<p>Only send your S to CTY/TIP if he’s interested. All gifted kids aren’t interested in that kind of program. One of my sons was interested: the other was not.</p>
<p>Look, though, for activities that match his interests. While my younger son eagerly went to CTY and TIP, my older S happy went to a language camp where they played games, did crafts, and sports in another language. (Concordia Language Camp in Minnesota). He also did some sports camps.</p>
<p>The idea is to allow the kids to participate in productive activities that will allow them to explore their interests and talents and expand their general options in life. The idea shouldn’t be to force them to do extra academics or other activities only so they can get into a top college.</p>
<p>Thank you to all who have replied thus far. I appreciate the words of wisdom. I also appreciate the advice about not pushing too hard or burning out. We’ve given our son lots of room to explore his interests, and that’s something we’d like to continue.</p>
<p>It’s encouraging to read the many recommendations for CTY. We’re in the process of applying for a summer course, and he’s very excited.</p>
<p>teenage_cliche: I am especially impressed by your thoughtful response considering your age. If my son has your maturity by the time he’s in high school, I would be a happy mom. </p>
<p>Everyone: Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but do college transcripts include ANY info from middle school at all? Or are they focused on 9-12th only? I’m just curious.</p>
<p>Some high school transcripts include high school classes (and grades) taken while in middle school, some do not.
If a student scored particularly well on the SAT before 9th grade, it might be a good idea to ask the College Board to preserve the score so that the student does not have to re-take it. Otherwise, the CB deletes SAT scores taken before 9th grade. However, AP scores for exams taken before 9th grade will appear on the AP score report. At our school, these were not included in the transcript, but obviously played a role in deciding on the student’s course of study.</p>
<p>Even though both my Ds took HS classes in MS for HS credit, those are noted on their transcripts only with a Pass/Fail designation. Those grades are not figured into their hs gpa. </p>
<p>For EC’s, the guidance counselors discourage mentioning anything before HS years in applications. Although they did tell us that D could keep her Duke TIP & John Hopkins recognitions on there if she wanted to. I don’t think she did though.</p>
<p>You might look into Destination Imagination. It is a problem solving activity that both of my children enjoyed. It is not specifically for gifted kids, but it is very appealing tothem. My daughter said that one of the most valuable skills she learned through DI was to listen to her teammates (read–she wasn’t always right or the only one with good ideas). I fits quit nicely with homeschooling and has problems that focus on both science and engineering.</p>
<p>My daughter also liked the Joseph Baldwin Academy in Kirksville, Missouri, better than the two CTY programs she attended (it’s a lot less expensive too). Both of the programs I mentioned have Web sites.</p>
<p>OMG! My youngest D loved, loved, loved DI! 4th, 5th, 7th & 8th grades and her team qualified to go to globals 3 x (but they only went twice.) I can’t say enough about what a great experience it was for her.</p>
<p>“It’s encouraging to read the many recommendations for CTY. We’re in the process of applying for a summer course, and he’s very excited.”</p>
<p>One thing that I have noticed with your posts is using “we” while referring to activities that only your son will participate in. While it’s important and appropriate to be a supportive, encouraging parent, it’s also important to allow your son the independence to feel responsible for his applications and extracurriculars, so I gently suggest using the pronoun “he”, not “we” when referring to them.</p>
<p>IMO it’s important for your son to be the one to make the decision about whether to go to TIP/CTY (assuming that parents can afford this) and that he be the one to select what courses to apply to (with whatever limits the parents impose about locations). </p>
<p>The Talent Search programs are clear in suggesting that parents not make the decisions about which programs to pick. After looking over the course list myself and secretly guessing what S would pick, I gave the list to him, and was surprised when S-- who was known at home for his deep interests in science and math – wanted most to take philosophy.</p>
<p>“Didn’t you know, Mom, I’ve always been interested in that,” he said when I expressed surprise.</p>
<p>No, I didn’t know, but I was so glad that he had such an opportunity to dive into that interest.</p>