Friday, July 4, 2014

What Can Gifted Homeschooling Forum's Groups Do For You?

What Can Gifted Homeschooling Forum's Group Do For You?

About a month ago, Gifted Homeschooling Forum (GHF) came out with groups. Members are able to join.  That's the best darn deal you'll ever find for $24.  Money well worth spent and to a good cause to boot.

Here's some reasons why you should support GHF and try out their groups:

1.  You live in a city and/or state where giftedness isn't mandated.  It can be very challenging to near impossible to find other gifted or 2e kids or parents if you live in such a state, unless your child attends a private school.  Even then, it can be difficult to meet other gifted or 2e kids or parents because everyone seems so busy today.  If you're un/homeschooling, you may find a few gifted or 2e kids around but perhaps you still don't feel your needs or your child's needs are being met?  Then what?  I say that's when you turn to a Gifted Homeschooling Forum group.

2.  You live in a rural or remote area in the US.  Again, this is another very challenging situation where you may face great difficulty finding another gifted or 2e kid/parent.  GHF has groups based on regions for the US.  I live in MA, but have found others who are un/homeschooling with gifted and/or 2e kids in New England.

3.  You live outside the US with a gifted or 2e child.  GHF supports a worldwide audience.  There are groups for all corners of the world.  A GHF group can really help families who live temporarily overseas or permanently reside outside the US.  

4.  You've got a profoundly gifted (pg) child or 2e/pg child.  These kids are, well, rare.  In some places, you're able to find one or two or more around.  In other places, you don't.  Then, your pg or 2e/pg child may be a mathy or a budding astronomer, but it might be impossible to find anyone remotely interested in these topics or subjects like your child is or to the depth and breadth of them.  This is when you scream HELP and join a GHF group.

5.  You've got an early college student or potentially one.  Some states may be more welcoming than others to navigate with early college kids.  On the other hand, it's nice to feel you're not alone in this situation.  There's always someone here who knows the ropes and how to go through the hoops and process with an early college student.  The GHF early college group can help ease your anxieties and give guidance and/or support.

6.  What about the elephant in the room?  Those social-emotional challenges we deal with EVERYDAY.  Let's face it.  Raising a gifted or 2e child isn't always easy.  There are days when you desperately need to connect to that one person who really understands and 'gets' it.  Everyone needs a shoulder to cry on. 

6.  What if you're un/homeschooling a gifted or 2e child who's into sports or you've got curriculum questions or have a gifted or 2e child who's in the awkward middle childhood stage?  There are GHF support groups for you.

8.  What if you don't see any GHF groups that meet your needs?  Easy.  Create one!  Initially, there wasn't a group for the MA/RI or southern New England region.  I created one.  

So why would you join one of these groups and not just post something on Facebook or through the Yahoo Group page?  
a) PRIVACY.   You can send a private message to someone in a group.  Yes, you could do this with Facebook or Yahoo, but these GHF groups are more specific to a region, subject, or topic.  So they're more targeted.   They're perhaps more precise and relevant to your search.
b) They're more manageable and easier to use.
c) They're fun!!!

This post is part of the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum blog hop Gifted Parenting (http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/blog-hops/gifted-parenting/)