On Reading and Research

So, I've spent the last several months up to my eyeballs in anything I can find related to giftedness, gifted children, and gifted education.  The drive to know more, learn more, keep reading...  It's intense.  I mean, this is my son.  He has particular needs, and it is my job as his parent to make sure his needs are met.  I've now gone through three websites, two forums, and eight books on the topic.  Since mid-March.  So, I like to think I've learned a thing or two.

Truthfully, I'm glad I've gotten as much done as I have, and I'm glad we got the assessments run.  Both the parental survey of dates that assessed how ahead LP is, and the OT assessment at preschool.  They told me things I really already knew (that LP is very ahead, and that he has no business being in a full-day classroom in the fall), but it gave me the oomph to take on the research, and to start planning for his educational needs.  Right now, LP is working on a grade 1 reading curriculum, and flying through a kindergarten math curriculum.  Even if he slows down to working on one grade level per year (as per public schools), he will likely be a minimum of two years ahead of his age-mates.  These kids won't be his peers, not truly.  And since our district "doesn't do" acceleration, if I send this child to school, he will spend the entirety of his school career bored out of his skull.  They don't have formal identification until grade 3, which means a minimum of four years before the district even considers meeting his educational needs.  Needless to say, that's not acceptable.  And, since the district won't accelerate, they won't meet his needs even when he is formally identified.

So what now, right?  At this point, I'm certain that homeschool is the best option for LP.  It meets him where he is, and will allow him to work at his own pace, keeping him challenged without having to languish for years to get there, if he ever gets there at all.  This is also, however, one of the scarier realizations I've had.  Knowing what I do about our son, I can't put him into public schools in good conscience.  I can't do it.  But that means that suddenly, we need to succeed at homeschooling.  That "oh, if it doesn't work, he can always go to public" option isn't really an option.  It'd be like sending a third grader into kindergarten.  It's wildly inappropriate, and the child already knows everything - it's a recipe for "behavior problems" and failure to achieve to potential.  But... that means I don't have a backup plan any more.  Granted, I probably haven't all along, but now more than before, I feel the distinct lack of a safety net, and am really awed by the enormity of the undertaking.