My Son's Science Project Is Out of Controlby Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger 05 Nov 2007 07:12 AM I could've just as easily entitled this: What to Do When Your Gifted Child is Smarter Than You Are. It's an idea and a concept that many parents of truly gifted children struggle with because the reality is that gifted children are often smarter than their parents in something. I still have things to teach him, but he will surpass mine, and my husband's knowledge in science and math before he finishes high school. I am sure of it. He's already challenging my ability to practically apply chemistry principles that I'm well familiar with. So what do you do when your kid is smarter than you are? Case in point: my son's science project. Mind you, the science fair is several months away. We will not even begin to think about it until January. But we were discussing renewable energy and my son got an idea. He figures that if you create pressure. . .either by heating air where it cannot escape or by creating carbon dioxide where the gas cannot escape. . .and then suddenly releasing pressure. . .you could make a car go this way. In short, his idea is to make a car run on diet coke and mentos. And yes, this was his idea. (We did a diet coke and mentos experiment last year.) Calling in the Big Guns Now in case you didn't realize it, a diet coke and mentos car is a little out of my league. Oh sure, I'm pretty good at chemistry but to actually figure out a way to unleash and control the power of diet coke and mentos in a way that propels a car where you want it to go. . .that's an entirely different story. My father in law on the other hand is a rocket scientist. Yes, that job really exists. He builds parts of space shuttles, and telescopes and he's a master mechanic. But that's really not the point. The point is that when you're home schooling a child whose infinitely smarter than you are: call the big guns. There are so many resources out there there's really no excuse for not using them all. If you don't know. . .someone else does. So find that someone else to answer your questions. Ignore the Future That sounds like strange advice but let me explain. The more my son talks about math and science stuff, the more people ask us what we're going to do. What will we do when he gets to high school? What will we do when he gets to college? My answer is that I don't know. I'm comfortable with this answer because the likelihood of laws changing and resources being made available by the time my son is in high school is pretty high. How do I know that he won't be able to attend a few classes at community college or take AP classes for high school credit? I don't. I am confident that we will find something to continually keep him challenged. So even if your child is smarter than you are, rest assured, you can still home school him! Related Articles: Homeschooling My Gifted Son: The Basics Homeschooling My Gifted Son. . .When the Others Are Not Part 2, Part 1 Why We Are Not Testing Our Gifted Son Learn more about Valorie Delp  Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line. Relevanthomeschooling tags User Comments  mcmama (51978) 05 Nov 2007 07:51 AMMy experience in public schooling a gifted child was that I had to do quite a bit of "home schooling" to counter the effects of boredom and bullying. Most home schoolers I know evaluate the plan for home schooling at least annually. If you have resources available when they are in high school which are more beneficial than home schooling, then by all means use them. But if not, then the gifted homeschooler is definitely going to come out ahead.  Valorie Delp (49340) 05 Nov 2007 08:28 AMYes Janet. . .I agree. I hate to see people throw in the towel though because they think that they can't handle it when in reality. . .the alternative may or may not be better. . .and they may have access to resources that they handn't thought about. Thanks! Crusade2267 (20) 05 Nov 2007 02:07 PMThere are also a number of resources for gifted students through places other than school. I used to take Saturday enrichment classes at the Gifted Child Society in New Jersey, and the classes could be on anything from making Enamel Jewlry, to Creative Writing, to Chess, to Model Rocketry, to World War I strategy game reinactments. These kinds of things are great supplements to a regular curriculuum, and a lot of fun on the part of the student. Valorie Delp (49340) 05 Nov 2007 02:09 PMYep. . .we love our Y. . .and NYC is a great place for extra resources. Thanks for the comment. ;-)  QueenAngie Central Illinois, USA (60106) 05 Nov 2007 07:57 PMAh, the joys of the science project. (I do not miss those days at all!) You should be very proud of your DS, Valorie. He is a very gifted young man. I will say that our private Christian school that the boys attended K - 8 were always ahead of public schools in the area. Professional parents were always willing and able to give lectures & help w/ projects no matter what the science topic. Every boy that I know loves the joy of coke and mentos. Discuss this article
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