Vol VI, No 3 - March 19, 2024

As the days get longer and the kids play outside later, I am hearing their little voices echoing through the neighborhood along with the crickets and the inevitable first buzzes of mosquitoes. March is one of those transition months when you start feeling the momentum pick up -- summer is just around the corner!

Though they sound appealing, impromptu neighborhood play sessions or other times of peer interaction may be tough for our gifted/2e kids if they don't click with the other kids, don't enjoy the games other kids are playing, and don't understand why the other children don't want to talk about the subjects that our kids find fascinating. There's a reason that many of our kids prefer to talk to adults; they can engage in deeper, more complex topics of conversation.

As parents and caregivers, we want to help our kids develop friendships. We know how important it is to have positive human connections and relationships, yet we don't always know how to help our children find friends who actually 'get' them.

In this issue, we are running a great piece that GHF Writer Betsy Sproger shared on her blog about how she helped her homeschooled daughter and herself find community during their homeschooling journey.

We are also excited to share that Fall Enrollment is now open for our GHF Virtual Co-Op. The Co-Op community is having a wonderfully successful inaugural year and is looking forward to welcoming new families. This could be just the place for your G/2e child to make some new friends, and for you to find some fellow parent/caregiver friends, as well. See below for registration information.

If anyone wants to share how they support their children in making friends and finding community, please send a description of "what works" to: marna.wohlfeld@ghflearners.org.

-- Marna

Marna Walthall Wohlfeld is a mom of four, a former non-profit director and journalist, and now a doctoral student at Bridges Graduate School of Cognitive Diversity in Education. She has deschooled, unschooled, and homeschooled various kids at various stages. She loves learning about and championing kids' unique brains and learning styles. She hopes to use her graduate degree to support parents and caregivers of twice-exceptional children as they move through the journey of parenting their wonderfully complex kids. She also hopes to advocate for 2e students by creating greater understanding about the need for strength-based approaches and support for vulnerable nervous systems in education and life. Marna is a trained SENG facilitator. She has presented at NAGC and WCGTC and has written for 2e News.

The Co-Op is a volunteer-run outreach of Gifted Homeschoolers Forum, a virtual platform where parents/caregivers in the GHF community can voluntarily provide enrichment courses for their own and other gifted/2e learners that focus on engaging collaborative discussion and activities, fostering a peer community, and connecting together in positive and supportive ways. Co-Op Participation costs just $50 for the entire year for a parent and their learner (with $25/year for additional siblings). All parents participate by teaching or leading hour-long weekly enrichment courses or social activities (with a co-lead if preferred).  

This inaugural year, we had 30+ participating families with nearly 30 parent-led weekly classes and/or social activities. They have included everything from math enrichment to conversational Spanish, Mindcraft challenges to animation, UNESCO geography to art and book clubs, and much more! We are also adding end of year showcases, parent conversations, youth leadership opportunities, and more. It is a true honor to hear the impact our GHF co-op is making for gifted/2e families. 

We know prospective families have many questions, so please start with the informational links in our new family application, including the Co-Op Guidelines and Expectations. There is also a homeschool chat attached here to our FB group for further questions, and we’ll also plan informational sessions soon. Our entire community is enthusiastically looking forward to welcoming new members and planning our next year!!

Enroll here now for the 2024-2025 academic year. Direct any questions to Co-op Director Lisa Jobe.

Making Our Own Community - One Day at a Time

by Betsy Sproger

BJ's Homeschool Blog

We began homeschooling when our daughter was ready for kindergarten but was too young to go. It worked out well academically for our 2e daughter. But being that she was an only and also gifted, my husband and I were concerned about her finding friendships and community.

Over the years we encouraged her to try some extracurricular community activities. We picked out activities that she might be interested in, and looked for intellectual peers, too. This helped my intense, bright, and very active little one build social skills, and gradually make friends.

In our area, the homeschool groups were inconsistent, so we looked more for community groups. We did a few preschool groups from the parks department. Our little one was shy around her peers, but loved the routine of going to class and participating there.

When she was 5, we found a music class that turned out to be a good fit for her for two reasons. It was small and it involved a lot of movement activities. Music class was our daughter's first community group experience and she loved going there. She was a shy child and mostly enjoyed the kids just by being together, doing the activities. It was a great place for her to check out the other kids and be a part of the group. Since it involved movement activities, my active kid felt at home.  

We continued offering her different community groups. We tried ballet, then a dance class or two, just for her to be around other kids and see how they interacted in groups. She learned a lot by being out with her peers and joining in the activities.  

Because she was always doing handstands off the couch, we tried a gymnastics class. This turned out to be a Godsend for her. First, it was a wonderful way to release her physical energy, and it really helped with any anxiety that she felt during the day. But, it was much more than that. It turned out that doing physical activities became a way that she could relate to other kids; it didn't then matter to her whether they were on the same intellectual level or not. Tumbling and doing gymnastics moves was her way of playing with others. 

Being together in the class was something that she looked forward to each week. She developed social skills by figuring out how to interact with the other kids. Friendships started to develop. The fact that they were not at her intellectual level really didn't bother her. She made friends with kids who were at her emotional level.

One of her friends was two years younger, but they were fast friends. She wanted to do some things outside of class with this friend, too, and she became her first best friend. Intellectually, she was way ahead of them, but since they were busy doing the physical activities together, it wasn't a major issue. 

She got a lot of intellectual stimulation from her homeschool work, talking to us about topics that she was interested in. She also made friends with adults who were happy to engage in conversations with her at church and other places. This helped meet her intellectual needs that her age peers could not meet.

She did other extracurriculars, too, and enjoyed them. We did our best to try to build our own community, but it was hard. Then in middle school, we had a breakthrough.

My daughter started going to a program at a magnet middle school where they invited homeschooled kids to join them once a week for parent-led electives. She got to know the kids and I got to know the parents there. Then my daughter was offered the chance to volunteer as a teaching assistant for the science program. Having the TA role really helped her to connect with her peers. I also arranged for her to stay for recess. This worked out well, as she gravitated to other physically active kids, and they played on the playground equipment and made up games together. Gradually she made more friends there. Her confidence grew and so did her social skills. She felt a part of this community.

Once her high school years rolled around, she was ready to engage in more peer activities. That is when we found out about Youth and Government. It is offered in 34 states and is sponsored by the YMCA. Teens learn about state government and enact the roles of state legislators, gathering once a year, at a state-wide Youth Mock Legislature. This program attracted smart and motivated teens, so my daughter's intellectual needs were well met. She made lots of friends and grew to even develop leadership skills. Her social needs were met, too. This became a vital community for her.

Through using community groups and activities, our daughter was able to craft her own community through the years. She is now studying in college, and has started a dance/hip hop group on campus. There are still some social issues that pop up, or frustrations with a friendship or two...but for the most part she is a happy college student with lots of friends on campus.

It all started with her first community activity, a small music class, as a shy little one, who liked to just observe what the other kids were doing, until it was time to run, skip, and hop to the music.

GHF Press Featured Title

Parents today lead busy lives and it’s difficult to “get it all done.” Gayle and Lin have created a guide encouraging parents to strengthen their connection with their youngsters using shared reading time. This book provides a selection of carefully curated picture books that can be used by parents to address important issues with their children, such as worry, perfectionism, and managing “big feelings.” Gayle and Lin also provide expert advice to gently guide parent-child conversations using simple, science-backed methods, including ways to help your child develop empathy, self-regulation, and self-acceptance. All of this is artfully accomplished as the authors share both research-based strategies and their own parenting experiences to bring out the very best in children using a strength-based approach.

Purchase Using Picture Books to Help Little Ones Learn About Themselves here.