Home Educating a Gifted Toddler

I first began to suspect that school was not for Erica when, at eighteen months old, she pointed to the window and said 'Rain', and when I said that it wasn't rain but moisture on the inside of the glass, she responded, "Oh...condensation"! To this day I don't know where or how she picked this up or how on earth such a tiny child could manage such a long word, but since then she's proven time and time again that she's too smart for school.

Erica is two and a half now, knows her alphabet, can count up to 30 confidently, can spell her own name, understands the concept of first letters of words, can name several punctuation marks ('apostrophe' is one of her favourite words!) and has a fascination for planes, trains and automobiles in particular, but also for plants and animals, books, arty pursuits...actually, just about everything the world has to offer. She speaks as well as a five-year-old and is one of the most outgoing and friendly people I know, with all ages and both sexes. I cannot bear the thought of this bright, eager, inquisitive little person being squashed into submission by a system designed to perpetuate its own interests far more than those of the youngsters whose lives they are helping to shape; nor can I abide the possibility of bullying, something intelligent kids are so prone to at school. So after a great deal of research and contact with people who already home educate, my husband Michael and I decided to give it a go.

I just want to add at this stage that I'm not trying to boast. I do not consider her extraordinary development a feather in my cap. Nor am I exaggerating her achievements. Having a precocious child is a mixed blessing; on the one hand she is an endless source of fascination; on the other, we are frequently exhausted by her constant need for input. We are extremely lucky in that Michael's parents, in particular, are very supportive and involved and give us some respite a couple of times a week! Erica has benefited greatly from this contact too, and also from a good relationship with her great-grandparents; she is at ease around adults and is already demonstrating the kind of empathy and consideration for others that you would expect from a much older child.

Although Erica isn't of compulsory education age yet, I already consider myself a home educator. She doesn't go to nursery, but instead gets her contact with other kids through toddler groups, the park, the library - and this week we will be attending our first home-education meet-up (sadly the last one until September, but it's a start). I don't particularly try to make her days educational - I just follow her lead. Some days she'll want to play letter and number games all day, or paint, or be read to; othr days she's all about tearing around our local play park and hurtling down the giant slide that is usually the domain of bigger kids. So far this approach seems to be working just fine. She grows as a person every day and it's a pure joy watching her confidence and aptitude blossom in so many areas.

It's not always easy though - she's VERY intense and it's overwhelming at times - but I wouldn't change her for the world, and I know I've made the right decision for her education and wellbeing. One day she might decide that school is for her, and I won't stand in the way of that; but if she makes that choice, it will be just that - HER choice. Until then, I'll be doing what I'm doing now - helping her to educate herself.

Vicki Chamberlain, 26, Brighton, East Sussex, UK

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