This one is definitely worth reading if you think you might have a “topsy turvy” child..
I Think in Pictures–You Teach in Words
And then of course these sites must be mentioned:
Hoagie’s Gifted Visual Spatial Page
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| AUDITORY-SEQUENTIAL | VISUAL-SPATIAL |
| Thinks primarily in words | Thinks primarily in pictures |
| Has auditory strengths | Has visual strengths |
| Relates well to time | Relates well to space |
| Is a step-by-step learner | Is a whole-part learner |
| Learns by trial and error | Learns concepts all at once |
| Progresses sequentially from easy to difficult material | Learns complex concepts easily; struggles with easy skills |
| Is an analytical thinker | Is a good synthesizer |
| Attends well to details | Sees the big picture; may miss details |
| Follows oral directions well | Reads maps well |
| Does well at arithmetic | Is better at math reasoning than computation |
| Learns phonics easily | Learns whole words easily |
| Can sound out spelling words | Must visualize words to spell them |
| Can write quickly and neatly | Prefers keyboarding to writing |
| Is well-organized | Creates unique methods of organization |
| Can show steps of work easily | Arrives at correct solutions intuitively |
| Excels at rote memorization | Learns best by seeing relationships |
| Has good auditory short-term memory | Has good long-term visual memory |
| May need some repetition to reinforce learning | Learns concepts permanently; is turned off by drill and repetition |
| Learns well from instruction | Develops own methods of problem solving |
| Learns in spite of emotional reactions | Is very sensitive to teachers’ attitudes |
| Is comfortable with one right answer | Generates unusual solutions to problems |
| Develops fairly evenly | Develops quite asynchronously |
| Usually maintains high grades | May have very uneven grades |
| Enjoys algebra and chemistry | Enjoys geometry and physics |
| Learns languages in class | Masters other languages through immersion |
| Is academically talented | Is creatively, mechanically, emotionally, or technologically gifted |
| Is an early bloomer | Is a late bloomer |
Source: Intro to Visual Spatial Learner
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I’m mom to a right-brained (visual spatial) kid. Married to one too. I’m also one!! LOL 
I wonder where Loralei will fall on the spectrum since we’re all right-brained!! Why is this important?? Because traditional schools set these children up to fail… The same can be true of traditional homeschool methods. Anyway, this is an excellent blog post that I thought was worth sharing..
Understanding the Right-Brained Creative Learner
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Many gifted and talented children (and adults) are being mis-diagnosed by psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and other health care professionals. The most common mis-diagnoses are: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (OD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and Mood Disorders such as Cyclothymic Disorder, Dysthymic Disorder, Depression, and Bi-Polar Disorder. These common mis-diagnoses stem from an ignorance among professionals about specific social and emotional characteristics of gifted children which are then mistakenly assumed by these professionals to be signs of pathology.
Read more of this excellent article…
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I just wanted to share a brief article I wrote about my family’s experience with food additives. We do “The Feingold Diet” with great results. This may not seem like something of interest to homeschoolers, but actually, learning about how food additives impact some children can be life-changing in some cases, especially when a child is really struggling with behavioral issues. My article is by no means comprehensive so check out the following for additional info:
Food Intolerance Network (Fed Up with Food Additives)
Also, this is an awesome book:
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While I can’t write a personal review of this curriculum, I think it looks wonderful. I unschool so I don’t usually purchase this type of curriculum (at least not yet) but I work with many parents through homeschool consulting who use pre-packaged sets. I was impressed with this excerpt from the Moving Beyond the Page site:
Moving Beyond the Page is a comprehensive research-based curriculum designed to challenge and stimulate gifted and creative homeschoolers.
Components of a Curriculum for Gifted and Creative Learners
The website has a lot of great content that will help parents who are homeschooling their gifted child–even if they don’t buy the curriculum. The author, Kim A. Howe, has a MS in Educational Psychology with an emphasis in Gifted Education. She has compiled a great list of resources for parents of gifted children.
If anyone has bought curriculum from this website, please share your thoughts with other parents by posting a comment here.
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And here are some learning style quizzes that may be helpful:
http://parentcenter.babycenter.com/calculators/learningstyle /index.jhtml?grade=bigkid
http://www.homeschoolviews.com/quiz/quiz-child.html
Understanding how your child learns best is the key to being successful!! Remember that most children learn best by DOING rather than by traditional methods.
Ah..here’s another great link (scroll down past the ads):
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/weblinks/assets.htm
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I was talking with a mom last week who was really concerned about her little boy not being able to write and draw as well as his friend (who is a girl). I gathered some info for her about how boys tend to develop later in the area of fine motor skills than girls do (and usually earlier in the area of gross motor skills). Anyway, I found one article for teachers that I thought had some good, concise info about gender differences in regard to learning. While it is not written specifically for homeschoolers, the points are still relevant–especially for parents of boys.
The New Gender Gap: Why are So Many Boys Floundering while Girls are Soaring?
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All I can say is wow! What an amazing page. The best gifted page I’ve found on the web. Not specifically for homeschooling but has excellent information about giftedness. Remember to check this site even if your child doesn’t have a “diagnosis” of giftedness. Remember that some children who struggle in school are actually gifted. What is giftedness? You’ll see that the definitions vary…And of course all children are gifted in some way!
Oh..and remember that gifted children are often visual spatial learners (remember that last post about Topsy-Turvy Kids). The same can be true of many kids diagnosed with ADD. Hoagie’s has a page on visual spatial learners as well:
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I hadn’t heard the term “Topsy-Turvy” until I visited a wonderful site on visual spatial learners. I’m the mom of a VS learner, so it was nice to find such a great resource on the web. Visual spatial kids think in terms of pictures rather than words and tend to have a vivid imagination. These children learn differently and often don’t do well with traditional “instruction” because of this. These kids are intelligent and often gifted but may be labeled with ADD or learning disabilities simply because traditional teaching methods are geared towards the sequential learning–not the spatial learner. Visualspatial.org isn’t specifically for homeschooling parents but I find it extremely helpful–especially in today’s world where kids are “diagnosed” with having a disorder for learning the same way other children do. The books recommended on the site look great. I plan to read “Upside Down Brilliance” as soon as I have a chance.
Remember that many kids who are “diagnosed” with attention problems are really just right-brained kids living in a left-brained world. The beauty of homeschooling is that you don’t have to use traditional methods to teach your child. You can use a more child-centered approach and give your child more hands-on experiences instead of just re-creating school at home. There’s even a quiz on the site for adults who may be Visual Spatial learners. It definitely helped me understand my own strengths and weaknesses!
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