Homeschooling Talented Children: Nurturing Talents

by Andrea Hermitt | More from this Blogger

06 Feb 2007 08:43 AM

In my last blog post, I wrote about identifying the talents of your homeschooled children. I distinguished between what I believe to be gifts and talents, and explained that while small minorities of children are considered gifted, I believe that every child has a talent.

Once you identify your child's talents, it is your responsibility as a parent to nurture the talents of your children. Nurturing your children's' talents takes time and money. There is a huge debate right now that children are in far too many activities and are becoming exhausted. Homeschoolers however have a unique benefit in the fact that they can reclaim lost time (normally spent waiting in class or on lines) and use it for their extra activities.

So now that your child has the desire to explore his or her talents, as well as the time, how does a homeschooler go about nurturing these talents? Few people can pay for every activity in which your child shows interest, so it makes sense to pay for lessons in the areas where the child appears to be the most talented. In other areas where the child shows interests, you can find free or low cost learning opportunities, and even at-home, do it yourself curriculums.

Let us look at my son again. Since it was evident at 18 months that he had a propensity for and interest in the computer, we made sure there was always a computer available for his use in the home. At age 3, he also showed interest and talent in the Piano. We supplied him with toy pianos keep him busy until he reached school age when we purchased a piano and hired an instructor. He continued to take lessons for several years. Meanwhile, we also noticed he had an analytical mind that liked to deconstruct and reconstruct things, so we provided learning curriculums that would satiate his need. The key in managing and paying for multiple talent development is to help your child prioritize his or her talents from favorite and most natural talents to least favorite or secondary talents and activities.

Right now, the bulk of our money and his spare time are spent on his personal computers (yes, at age 12 the child has multiple computers, one that he built himself). The computer is his first priority. Meanwhile he has abandoned piano lessons, but still plays it every day on his own, as he likes to struggle through new pieces on his own until he perfects it. In addition, we continue to look for and provide isolated opportunities to spend on building and dismantling items through Lego events, while allowing space for his newest interest, fencing.

Stay tuned for my next installment on Teaching Talented Children (Allowing Talents to Evolve)

Learn more about Andrea Hermitt

Andrea Hermitt is a native New Yorker currently residing in GA. She has been married for over 16 years and has two teenage children.

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