I just read the post about Peabody testing from 2015 here. Mostly, I'm in shock that it was already that long ago, but I'm also giggling at myself.
My main goal last year was to do a transcript for M. Well, I had great intentions & prganized and gathered information in order to assemble one. Then, I put it off. And I still have not gotten to it.
To be fair to myself, a lot happened over the last year. Not the normal busy-ness of life, either. M had a lot of coping to do. I had even more coping to do while I tried to help her cope. It's starting to make me chuckle, but did not over the winter.
Guess what. This Spring we got M's Peabody test results and I absolutely freaked out. So did her dad. We were told that she can no longer use that test again. Why? Because her overall grade level is beyond high school. I felt shocked and terrified. Her father said something brilliant like, "So what does that mean?!" And then I read that post I mentioned & linked earlier in this post. Last year, I knew that those results were likely. Yet again, denial got me.
We have amazing friends and it's amusing to me when they make comments about M being a more extreme case than their children. I don't giggle. I chortle and laugh until I cry, and it is loud. Seriously, the only difference is that some of them are younger. They are just as extreme, and some of them are far more extremely gifted.
Sometimes I wonder how these women who are so much more intelligent than I am can think that M is a more extreme case.
Did you see it there? That sentence shows you I should understand. Or maybe why we are friends and that our children get along so well. Or both.
Yes, I have fulfilled my prediction of being "that more experienced parent" that I predicted I would be just last year, lol. And yet, I'm still battling denial.
Are you feeling teased? What are we doing about our 11 year old child testing out of high school? Well, a few things, but not as much as I anticipated.
M has been through a lot over the last few years. She needs time and energy to cope with life circumstances. So we are focusing on fun and also seeing a therapist in order to help her navigate these things.
Last Fall, we signed her up for everything she was interested in. Not surprisingly, it was far too much in the midst of losing a treasured family member among other things. As a family, we learned together. We learned how to decide when to drop subjects and how to communicate with tutors and classmates about our decisions, reassuring them that it wasn't a personal decision, but the result of dealing with a whole lot of life at that moment. And we got really good about not caring about the money end of dropping things. During times of loss of life, you really learn the relative unimportance of money.
What we ended up with by Christmas was still too much, so for Spring semester, we simply signed up for less. And we moved. In the end, it still wasn't an easy-going semester, lol.
Through those things, we have gotten some more practice battling perfectionism, and M has some cute phrases about perfectionism personified. It makes it more of a game and makes it feel more outside yourself as you battle it. I highly recomend it and have followed her example to a more comfortable process of dealing with it.
When we got those test results, I reminded myself that I am her principal, as a homeschooler. So, I have decided not to let her be done with high school. For now, I can get away with that. Maybe that's procrastination, or maybe it's denial again, but we've made that decision for now. This Fall will look pretty similar to last Spring, as semesters go.
M seems more comfortable with it than ever, and is embracing more playtime than she has since toddler-hood. That makes me so happy. It is an indicator of balance for me to watch. When she is stressed or out of balance, she does not play. In fact, she missed some play because of her incredible intellect. The intellect took so much of her energy to feed that other things were somewhat neglected by her own drives. I may be the only mother who never worries about stepping on Legos. When I hear them being dumped out, I smile every time. I know she is playing and I know that means she's in a good place. OK, so I wear shoes in the house and she plays audio books at the same time, but still . . .
When the intellect is not fed enough, we have major issues. When other parts of that being are malnourished, we just have different issues. Her father and I have chosen a place that she can take college courses in a more sheltered, younger environment when she is ready to start that. In the meantime, she is developing friendships there with very few classes but courses where the teachers have agreed to age-exceptions. It has gone well overall, and we feel good knowing that it is there and ready when she is. We're not ignoring it, so maybe it's not denial this time.
The other angle on the subject is that passions make a difference in the mix. We do not believe that just because you are capable of things means you should have to do that. M has choices. She is capable in more areas than she is very interested in. The classes where we requested the age exceptions were the ones she selected, both last year and for the upcoming semester. In the others, we have decided to go with the flow. She enjoys people younger than her, as well, and I love having many ages around her (and me!). I think that is a much healthier and more interesting environment.
I wish you all a delightful holiday weekend, with just the right mix of stimulation and play and rest.
