The Secret to Homeschooling THAT Kid Successfully
Earlier this school year we made drastic changes in our 10th grader’s schooling. He’s been homeschooled since the February of his first grade year, so we should have had things pretty well in hand as we’d been doing it awhile. Right? Wrong....
RLL #40: Self-Directed Homeschooling High School with Trevor Kessler
There are so many homeschooling moms that start to worry as their kids get into middle school and high school that what they’ve done up until this point isn’t enough. Or that they’re missing big pieces of learning, content, or skills that they should...
How You Are Letting Fear Stand in the Way of Your Differently-Wired Kiddo’s Learning
I wrote last week about how homeschooling is ruining your differently-wired kiddos. And it’s true that when we try to fit our homeschooling into a box of others’ making, we fail. And we ruin things for the kids and ourselves. But why do we default so often...
RLL 39 Sara Hall: Trusting Your Child’s Lead
It can be scary to homeschool an outside-the-box learner. Differently-wired kids beat to the tune of their own drummers, and that can be problematic when we go into it with a set expectation for how things will be. It is hard to trust our kids AND ourselves...
Strewing in Your Homeschool to Spark Curiosity
I walked into the kitchen to find my youngest two kiddos (9 and 6) deep in concentration at the table. Glancing at the pile of tiny clay food, it was clear that they’d been up awhile. These two are early risers. I’m not. For my own sanity, and to keep them...
Is Homeschooling Ruining Your Differently-Wired Kiddos?
The laptop was fired up, art tutorial queued, four canvases and easels stood in their places on the table, and soft music played on the bluetooth speaker in the kitchen. I set out some snacks — everything was always more fun with pretzels, veggie sticks, and...
RLL 38: Happy New Year
It’s a new year and I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to tackle it head on and enjoy my kiddos and our new puppy, all while making this podcast and site the place where you can find all you need to help you parent and homeschool those...
The Anxious Parent of the Anxious Child | Using Social Stories
You know that old saying about apples and trees and how they don’t fall far? As the parent of an anxious child you are most likely looking in a mirror as you watch them tense up, explode, or collapse under the weight of their very overwhelming feelings. You...
Embracing Art and Its History for Kids With Sensory Issues
Gifted kids, while they share real estate on the far right side of the IQ bell curve, don’t tend to share much else. “If you’ve met one gifted kid, you’ve met one gifted kid,” right? Some love math and science, some love music and...
Homeschooling Because of Mental Illness
It’s no secret – homeschooling is on the rise. It’s becoming wildly more popular, accommodating, varied, and even – dare I say? – mainstream. Gone are the days of stereotypes and denim jumpers, homeschoolers are as different as they are...
The Gift of Giftedness
If you’re the parent of a gifted child, then you already know about the difficulties that come along with raising outliers. Maybe your child is intense, struggles with anxiety, has trouble making friends, or is a bit overexcitable. The challenge is real, and it’s...
Nurturing Your Gifted Toddler
The pediatrician looked up from his checklist and asked, “how many words can she say?” and I kind of looked at him funny. “It’s okay if she’s not saying a lot right now. She’s only 18 months, so don’t panic. Language will...
The Lies Anxiety Tells You
I’ve written quite a bit about anxiety, and to be honest, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. It’s a topic that’s very close to my (rapidly beating) heart and very present in my home. I am an anxious parent of an anxious child. I face...
Homeschoooling a Kid Who Is Smarter Than I am
It’s happened often enough that I don’t take offense anymore – person discovers I’m homeschooling only one of my kiddos, person inquires as to why, person discovers my kiddo is classified as profoundly gifted, person is either wildly interested...
RLL 37 Connie Albers: Finishing Strong
Ever worry that you’re not going to be able to do this homeschool thing all the way through high school? Me too. Colleen is talking today with Connie Albers — homeschool mom of five adult children. All of those kiddos have homeschooled, gone through...
Tracks in the Snow | Think Outside Boxes
“What made those tracks in the snow, Mom?” Isaac, my five year old, peered intently at the ground near his feet. The footprint was likely made by one of the many stray cats that roam our neighborhood at night, but his simple question reminded me that there...
Star Wars Gifts That Are Out of This World
Do you have Star Wars fans in your home? We do. Lots of little Star Wars fans… I’m always on the look out for cool gifts to give them that they’ll love. Check out these amazing Star Wars gifts I found. There are so many unique toys, games, and...
RLL 35: What This Homeschool Mom Doesn’t Do
People ask often how I do it all. I try to tell them that I simply don’t — that there are balls I drop regularly, but I’m not sure they completely believe me. In today’s episode, I tell you all the things I don’t do. The home and...
Learn Basic Coding Skills | Coding Foundations
“Did you know that your son can solve a Rubik’s Cube with his eyes closed?!?” “Trevor just found FOUR four-leaf clovers in 15 minutes! That’s insane!” My oldest thinks algorithmically. Algebraic thinking has always come easily for...
RLL 34 Ginny Kochis: Cultivating Critical Thinkers
We really want to encourage critical and creative thinking in our kids — especially with so many things going on in the world that require us to think clearly and make informed decisions. Ginny Kochis has some great tips for developing these skills...
STEM Gifts for Science Loving Kids
How many of you — like me — have kiddos who will get all excited about science gifts if they find them under the tree? Just look at all of these great STEM gifts. You can launch rockets, make perfume, build structures, and even program robots. These...
Learn Electronics at Home with Mandlabs
Kids are natural tinkerers… they can learn so much just by fiddling around with things. It’s why I love the art of strewing so very much. Putting things out for the kids to discover is a great away for them to find new things to get excited about and rabbit trails to...
RLL 33: The Holidays and Your Differently-Wired Child
The holidays are coming and I know — if you’re like me — that you’re gearing up and trying to figure out how to make it happy, fun, and successful for all your kids, you, and the rest of your extended family. In this chat, I’ll...
Fire Up Your Kids to Take Risks | Think Outside Boxes
Some of the best gifts we can give our kids are the freedom to take risks, try hard things, get hurt, and attempt seemingly impossible tasks. Really. According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America,* anxiety disorders affect over 25% of children...Welcome!
Hi! I'm Colleen, gifted specialist, educational consultant, author, speaker, and homeschool mom of four gifted/twice-exceptional kids.
Grab a cup of coffee, some of that chocolate you're hiding from the kids, and join me as I learn, experiment, and explore with my kiddos -- and hopefully inspire you a little in your journey alongside smart, quirky, creative kids, too!
Inspire Creativity… Effortlessly!
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