Family Fun—Connecting through Languages
Okay, confession time: my idea of fun (!) is to be thrown in a country where I speak 2 words of the language and have to navigate my way through it by speaking to the natives. Not in English. You...
Parent's Platform Archives
Dual Enrollment: The Right Challenge
Dual enrollment provides high school students with access to college-level courses after they have exhausted all of the options available at their high school. For our son, dual enrollment became the centerpiece of a homeschool curriculum that balanced radical academic...
Educational Strategies Volume 6 / Issue 4 / Summer 2006 Special Issue / Fall 2009 Witte, Gera
Reaching a Social Fit
I should have seen it earlier. My son Steven gave me the clues, but I didn’t recognize them. When he was eighteen months old, he preferred conversations with adults. At two, he wanted to leave the park when too...
Educational Strategies Volume 6 / Issue 2 / Winter 2006 Jo, Ivy Social-Emotional Issues
Twice Exceptional Doesn't Have To Be Twice as Hard
My daughter, Allison, has been exceptionally perceptive since she was born. The sheets in her bassinet irritated her the day we brought her home from the hospital, and she protested until we found ones that she liked. Her heightened...
Fisher, Stephany Sanchez Volume 6 / Issue 1 / Fall 2005 Special Populations
Negotiating Downtime with Your Child
When our 12-year-old daughter, Lauren, began to respond to our simplest requests with anger and resentment, my husband, Bill, and I pressed her to explain why she felt so offended. Her exasperated response, “I never get a moment’s peace,” confounded...
Anderson, Tamara Volume 9 / Issue 3 / Spring 2009 Special Issue Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005 Social-Emotional Issues
A Family of Travelers
Since we are a multicultural family with immediate relatives in France and Taiwan, our suitcases never gather dust. Our children, Sebastien, Alexandre, and Camille (ages 13, 11, and 3), have already amassed a wealth of travel experiences, such as...
Educational Strategies Hsy, Alice Volume 5 / Issue 4 / Summer 2005
Meeting Educational Needs via the Internet
Our 16-year-old son, Samuel, was identified as gifted during kindergarten. He has remained in the public school system, and we have been pleased overall with the quality of his education. However, even the best schools are unable to meet...
Educational Strategies Volume 5 / Issue 3 / Spring 2005 Technology Wilson, Nancy
SAT Preparation: How Much Is Too Much?
Most high school students take the SAT as part of the application process for college. Very few achieve the highest score, 1600, and many are thrilled if their scores hit the 1300 mark. My daughter Alissa began the process...
College Planning Volume 5 / Issue 2 / Winter 2005 Mroz, Marci Tests & Testing
The Benefits of Mentorship
Our son Daniel has always been the type of person to make things happen. He met his mentor, Dr. Sabine Heinhorst, after taking a serious interest in the eighth-grade science fair. Daniel resolved to “be brave” and simply ask Dr....
Educational Strategies Volume 5 / Issue 1 / Fall 2004 Murin, Charles Murin, Debbie
Attaining Grade Advancement
Our 15-year-old son, Tyler, was identified as highly gifted shortly before his fifth birthday. Since then he has attended both private and public schools in three different states. As parents, our biggest challenges have been selecting the right schools,...
Educational Strategies Volume 4 / Issue 3 / Spring 2004 Willis, Jan
The College Visit: One Family's Story
The college visit can be an exciting experience for the prospective student and the parents, but don’t be surprised if you both experience a high stress level during the process. Knowing that the visits are emotionally loaded events can help...
College Planning Volume 4 / Issue 4 / Summer 2004 Varnado, Peggy
Educating Dan
Pulling our son Dan out of middle school was one of the most difficult parenting decisions my husband and I ever made. Labeled as gifted, Dan did well in elementary school. He earned As and Bs, and we seldom heard...
Educational Strategies Greene, Robin Volume 1 / Issue 3 / Spring 2001
Hearing the Music
The Music Within It’s Tuesday morning, and instead of hearing classroom noise or school bells indicating it’s time to change classes, our fourteen-year-old daughter Niki is in her room playing electric guitar and singing one of her new songs....