Online Gifted Homeschool Support Groups
Homeschooling Forums, Discussions, Chat Sites, and E-mail Lists
Oct 19, 2008
Homeschooling is a major time commitment for any parent teacher. When that parent has to keep up with the intensity of a ravenous young mind, finding appropriate curricula and assignments becomes overwhelming. Throw in the demands of balancing home life and academics, and any parent of a gifted homeschooler will occasionally need a place for support, creative input, and problem solving.
Whether a parent teacher needs to find a math text with appropriately challenging material, vent about the challenges of raising a gifted perfectionist, or rave about the change in their gifted child since switching to homeschooling, these gifted homeschool support groups provide essential communities to bounce ideas around.
TAGFAM-TAGMAX and GT-World Gifted Homeschool Community Mailing Lists
TAGFAM is a widely respected LISTSERV with a stated mission to “build and strengthen relationships between individuals, families, and organizations for the benefit of intellectually gifted children and adults.” TAGMAX is the TAGFAM mail list directed to the unique concerns and experiences of gifted homeschoolers. The community is hosted on the ICORS LISTSERV interface. Homeschooling families can subscribe by sending an email to LISTSERV@listserv.icors.org with the message:
- SUB TAGFAM yourfirstname yourlastname
GT-World is another e-mail list community for gifted families. Special lists exist for twice exceptional gifted students (GT-Special) and gifted adults (GT-Adults). Although there is not a list specific to gifted homeschoolers, families will find a wealth of information and support through GT-Families on parenting and educating gifted children. Parents can subscribe by sending an email to LISTSERV@listserv.icors.org with the message:
- subscribe gt-families
Gifted Homeschoolers Forum (GHF) – A Yahoo! Group
The Gifted Homeschooler Forum (GHF) hosts a Yahoo! Groups list as a space for sharing, communication, and “venting and getting hugs as appropriate.” Discussion of related 2e challenges such as sensory integration dysfunction, autistic spectrum disorders, and ADHD is welcome. The GHF Yahoo! Group seems to have peaked from maximum participation in May of 2006 when there were 582 posts; in September 2008 only 195 messages posted.
A2Z Homeschool Chat Room- Hosted Chats on Homeschooling Gifted Kids
A to Z Home’s Cool website has a plethora of general homeschooling information. In addition to the standard fare of articles and research, the site has field trip tips, suggested DVD rentals, and even homeschool jokes What is truly distinctive about A to Z Home’s Cool is the hosted chat room. The chat on Homeschooling Gifted Kids is currently on Wednesdays from 9:00 PM to 10:30 PM Eastern Time.
Our Gifted Online Conference (OGTOC) – A Ning Community
OGTOC started out as an e-mail list service only active during expert guest speaker conferences. Now it is a full-fledged social networking community with more than 100 special interest groups. Many groups appear to have just a few members with some evidence of cliques, but this may just be a sign that OGTOC actually helps members form strong friendships over a shared interest in gifted education.
Davidson’s Institute GT-Cybersource Gifted Education Discussion Groups
The Davidson’s Institute GT-Cybersource site is an excellent source for gifted education research, resource links, and support. According to a Davidson’s Institute white paper on homeschooling tips, roughly one third of the profoundly gifted students served by the gifted organization are homeschooled at any given time. All the discussion groups on GT-Cybersource will inform, but the Learning Environments forum holds the most relevance as a homeschooling resource.
Other Gifted Homeschool Groups and E-mail Lists
- Harry Potter Homeschool Group at Yahoo! narrowly focuses on providing creative homeschool assignments presented as challenges from an unofficial Hogwarts Correspondence School.
- Homeschooling Extraordinary Kids is a Yahoo! Group focusing on homeschool needs of twice exceptional (2e) students.
- Homeschooling Mensans is a Yahoo! Group for American Mensa members homeschooling their own gifted children. The group is not affiliated with the American Mensa organization.
- Uniqueness, Twice-Gifted & Gifted Network (UTGNET) is an e-mail list for twice exceptional (2e) children who are homeschooled.
A Few Gifted Homeschooling Forums to Skip
Gifted Homeschoolers Worldwide is a Facebook community for parents homeschooling gifted kids. Unfortunately, the moderator has acknowledged that the Facebook platform does not lend itself to ongoing discussion. The site is primarily an aggregation of random posts, with a few nuggets hidden among the hyperlinks.
Hoagies Gifted and Homeschool Diner, two wonderful resources for gifted education, also list a number of other gifted homeschool sites that are currently inactive or defunct. The Homeschooling Gifted Children message board is a dead link and Homeschool2CollegeLife listserv is barely active. Parents need not waste time chasing these down.
More Resources Supporting Homeschooling of Gifted Children
In addition to the location independent gifted homeschooler groups reviewed in this piece, a large number of wonderful regional and local gifted homeschooler forums also provide parents much needed support. Parents can explore local groups for face-to-face interaction opportunities and a bit more than a cyber hug.
