Giftedness does not have absolute characteristics. Gifted children may be talented in a particular area. They often begin talking earlier than other children and use language to communicate ideas that are quite complex. However, if you are trying to determine whether your young homeschooler might be gifted, you can look at more than their talents.
Gifted children are avidly interested in acquiring new knowledge. They seek mastery of a topic and try to understand it in great depth. Young children who are gifted may be able to focus on an activity for a long time with a great deal of concentration, and it can be difficult to shift that child from one activity to another. A standard and sequential curriculum may not work for your gifted child. Gifted children love to go into depth and are often divergent thinkers.
Young children who are gifted interact with problems in unique ways. Give a child a question, and she will come up with new solutions that you may not have considered. Gifted children understand and describe problems using humor and metaphor, and they can easily transfer understanding from one topic to another.
Gifted children can be highly empathetic and emotionally intense. They understand the world in a way that is more complex than other children of the same age. They ask complex questions about social relationships and have a strong sense of justice. At the same time, they may have the same fears about relating to new people or groups as their same-age peers.
Ashynchronous development is common in gifted children, especially when they are young. A young gifted child may have the ability to read and write at a level far beyond her years, yet she may still forget to use the bathroom or have trouble riding a bike. Physical, emotional, and cognitive development do not always parallel each other, and the differences are especially obvious when it comes to gifted children.
What distinctive qualities do you notice in your young gifted children?