What Can Homeschooling Teach the Rest of Us?

What works educationally for one family, or for one child, may not work for another. If you read my book, Raising a Gifted Child: AParenting Success Handbook, you will see that my mission is to inform students, parents, and teachers about the many educational possibilities and resources that are available so that they can make better choices.

Whether or not you homeschool your child, you will find that many helpful ideas come from homeschooling networks. Parents choose to homeschool their children for a variety of reasons. One common reason is that they have found that their children's academic needs are simply not being met through traditional schooling.

At A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling, there is an entire section dedicated to homeschooling gifted children. This website provides answers to the following questions:

• Why do some parents choose to homeschool their gifted students?
• How does one know where to begin the process of homeschooling?
• Where can one find mentors?
• Where can one find good distance learning programs?
• What problems might one encounter when homeschooling gifted students?
• How can the social needs of a homeschooled gifted child be met?
• Where can high-quality resources such as books, forums, and e-mail lists be found?

Much of this information can be important to both parents who homeschool their children and to parents who offer their children a more traditional education. Parents and teachers should remember that it is possible to combine traditional schooling with homeschooling. For example, a young person may attend regular school for part of the day and then be homeschooled in an area of particular strength after school.