tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-33227863240645998332024-03-14T04:18:20.946-04:00Hoagies' Nibbles and BitsThoughts and ideas on Gifted and other subjects. Soapbox ON!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-44706475182326590022019-04-04T23:22:00.001-04:002019-05-23T21:38:41.259-04:00Belonging: My Casual SENG TestimonialA guest blog by Pamela S. Ryan<br />
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The first time I walked into a SENG conference, unsuspecting and unintended, I was blindsided by an aching earnestness like none I had ever known. It beckoned a sort of authenticity I had eschewed nearly a lifetime ago. The feasible divulgence of the complexity & intensity with which nearly all things are regarded was a far cry from the contrived communication I had spent my youth perfecting—always customizing my message for each audience, to flatter or humor or offend, to enlarge or defy or extend—everything engineered like an elaborate game of chess, but only ever with a modicum of the truth, if any. In this shocking, shining moment of epiphany, I realized that I might be experiencing the sensation of community the majority of the human species feels when it enters a grocery store or a concert, a school or a soccer match, an affinity with a population of like-kind, the resonating commonality of residing within the safe hollow of the bell. We who rim the edge are left raw and alone, dramatically separated by the rarity of each other, and pressed to distrust the realities we experience, as the remainder of our species defies our sensations and denies our awareness. We learn to translate our assessments into tones with lesser vibrational spectrum, and endeavor to hear them as if they are our native tongue. But here I was, having stumbled in from the urgent curtailed terseness of digital to the palatial broadness of analog (and a potentially infinite beyond). This was the moment I had spent my life reticently relinquishing hope for; This was the moment I regained the freedom to be alive, and the privilege to be—unfettered & unabashedly—me.<br />
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This blog is part of the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_power_of_belonging.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: The Power of Belonging</a> Click for more blogs on The Power of Belonging!<br />
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_power_of_belonging.htm" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="215" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SkWckb0QfnI/XKbIu173weI/AAAAAAAAAQY/qrR63JYjBKYetXuGnJMllGPblfd_yyiLACLcBGAs/s1600/blog_hop_apr19_power_of_belonging_small.jpg" /></a>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-57707202759415790292018-05-01T08:01:00.002-04:002018-05-01T08:43:57.230-04:00Gifted Adults: Finding Your TribeMy family spent this past weekend in a hotel 5 hours from home. We joined attendees from a dozen states across the U.S. and two Canadian provinces. The conference we attended was for Gifted families, in particular those who self-identify as "highly or profoundly gifted." The theme this year was "Tribe." Adults and kids, parents and elders to tots of only a few months of age, spending the weekend together, learning about new and old topics in giftedness, but mostly just spending the time <b>Together</b>. <br />
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The keynote was P. Sue Jackson from the <a href="http://www.daimoninstitute.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Diamon Institute</a>. During various sessions Sue talked to us about Profoundly Gifted kids and young adults, and we watched her movie, <a href="http://www.daimoninstitute.com/product/rise-the-extraordinary-journey-of-the-exceptionally-and-profoundly-gifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Rise: The Extraordinary Journey of the Exceptionally and Profoundly Gifted Child</a>. The most important message I took from the movie was, it's OK to be a profoundly gifted person, no matter what that looks like. The kids in the movie were all lucky; they had supportive parents and other adult relatives. They were appreciated. They found ways to be themselves, even if it wasn't easy to do so. Even when who they are wasn't appreciated by the traditional people around them: peers, teachers. <br />
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Mostly, all the sessions talked about Tribe, about belonging, about finding your tribe, and helping your kids find their tribe. About how it's not enough just to have acquaintances, but we all need true friends, those who truly "get" us. How to create tribe spaces in public that will encourage tribe to come to us. How to find existing tribes through online and real life interest groups, from chess to geocaching, video games to libraries. And mostly, how to find and keep that "tribe" for more than one or two weekends a year, at this <a href="http://www.giftedconferenceplanners.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Beyond IQ</a> conference, at the <a href="https://pgretreat.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">PG Retreat</a>, perhaps at a three-week <a href="https://cty.jhu.edu/programs/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">CTY</a> session each summer. <br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhQS6A3Y2Mw/WuhgkxgP2QI/AAAAAAAAAPc/ZPOCLeMdHAsyiOvjiqY05twqF8Zeynw5QCLcBGAs/s1600/gifted_adults_nibblesandbits.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="852" height="112" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YhQS6A3Y2Mw/WuhgkxgP2QI/AAAAAAAAAPc/ZPOCLeMdHAsyiOvjiqY05twqF8Zeynw5QCLcBGAs/s200/gifted_adults_nibblesandbits.jpg" width="200" /></a>My kids thrived as they do every year in the Young Adult program at Beyond IQ. A bunch of kids from the earliest teens to the 20-something without kids, this group offers discussion, and even play. Topics might range from underachievement to existence, mindfulness to writing your own user's manual. Whatever is discussed, the Young Adults enjoy their time together. <br />
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Why is this <b>Togetherness, </b>this <b>Tribe </b>so important to the gifted individual, child or adult?<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Brené Brown says in her TED Talk</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> <a href="https://ideas.ted.com/finding-our-way-to-true-belonging/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Finding our way to true belonging</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, </span></span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"True belonging is not passive. It’s not the belonging that comes with
just joining a group. It’s not fitting in or pretending or selling out
because it’s safer. It’s a practice that requires us to be vulnerable,
get uncomfortable, and learn how to be present with people without
sacrificing who we are." </blockquote>
We need each other; we need to belong. But so many of us find that, in day to day life, that belonging only comes at the cost of adjusting who we are. We need to find a place where we can be ourselves, and not worry about being unacceptable, being kicked out of the tribe. <br />
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That is the <b>Tribe</b> we need to find. <br />
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I'm grateful to have had decades of Beyond IQ conference for my family to spend with their Tribe. I'm grateful that my eldest found belonging in CTY Summer Programs, so much so that after 6 years of participation she now teaches, helping younger kids find their tribe through their interest in spending three weeks of the summer learning Inductive and Deductive Reasoning. <br />
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_adults.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="214" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qxnZLZ22oBw/WuhYUucJ0cI/AAAAAAAAAPA/lP53f1eah5AOXTwYuZezSLyX36-JJx3IwCLcBGAs/s1600/blog_hop_may18_gifted_adults_small.jpg" /></a><br />
How and where do you find your <b>Tribe</b>?<br />
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This blog is part of the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_adults.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: Gifted Adults</a>. Click for more blogs on Gifted Adults! Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-12090141760698726242018-04-01T07:10:00.003-04:002018-04-01T10:21:48.966-04:00Beyond Academics... What should we be teaching them at home?Gifted kids will learn lots of academics... Maybe not the academics we'd like them to, and maybe not <br />
"demonstrating" their abilities in the way the schools want them to, but still, they will learn. But there are more than a few things they won't learn in school, and really need to know by the time they get to college and "adulting."<br />
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Some of these things are obvious, but perhaps get missed because they used to be covered in junior high Home Ec class. Like sewing on a button or fixing a blown out seam in your pants. Or even like doing their own laundry. You'd be surprised how many kids get to college before they have to wash their own clothes, or get out a tricky stain. And iron a shirt...? Why? Because you need to look professional for those interviews for internships or full time jobs! And not everything comes out of the dryer looking ready-for-prime-time.<br />
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Basic cooking is another skill kids should have developed long before they leave home. How to scramble or hard boil an egg, or fry up a hamburger, because not all college kitchenettes include a microwave. How to make a simple meal for yourself, when the kitchen closes before your ride home at the end of the semester. Or an easy-to-eat meal for six. Cooking for your study group is a useful skill, too.<br />
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Do your kids know to register and vote, once they turn 18? Do they know what the primary process is in your state, or how it varies in other states they might move to? Have they volunteered at the polling place? Do they know the little issues they might be asked to vote on?<br />
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Do they know how to fill out forms? How about the answers to common questions... parents' names, birthdates and birthplaces. Yes, I had to answer those very questions for my 23-year-old today, filling out her passport re-application.<br />
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Other things are less obvious, but perhaps more important. Teach them how to balance their checking account, without depending on the ATM to tell them how much is in the account... because the ATM doesn't always include all the withdrawals that are due to come in. Teach them how to establish credit by taking one of those very tempting credit cards that banks are offering our college kids, often right in the college union building. And teach them how <i>not</i> to spend more money than they can pay off each month, to establish <i>good</i> credit.<br />
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Do your kids know the importance of paying their bills, especially their health and car insurance bills, that can often be difficult or impossible to reinstate if they fall behind. And any loan payments. I watched my neighbor's 28-year-old son have his car repossessed from his parents house, where he tried to "hide" it from his creditor a few months after he stopped making payments. He thought he could save money by skipping payments! It wasn't what his parents thought they taught him...<br />
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And once they're gainfully employed, they should know how to begin making deposits to their retirement accounts immediately, because the magic of compound interest makes those early deposits the most valuable to their eventual retirement, even if they cannot imagine it as they're just getting started! Friends recommend teaching our kids how to make intelligent purchases in the stock market alongside more reliable IRA deposits; I must admit this is something we were unfamiliar with and did not teach our kids. I wish we knew more ourselves!<br />
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And then there's self-advocacy. By the time our kids are in high school, they should be doing their own advocacy, whether it's talking to teachers, or negotiating class schedules with their guidance counselor. My eldest worked for years as a college instructor at a large university, and you would be shocked to learn how many <i>parents</i> called her each December and April, trying to advocate for their <i>college</i> student children. This should <i><b>never</b></i> be!<br />
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There are the standard dating rules: always carry enough money to catch a Lyft home. Always meet a stranger in public for the first time. Never leave your drink unattended. No means no, whether you are a man or a woman. And if the other person is drunk or otherwise incapacitated, help them home... because drunk or incapacitated is the same as No.<br />
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If your young adult is going away to college before they are 18, there are other things they should know... like the law for statutory rape in their college state. It doesn't matter if they consented. Not something you might want to discuss, but something you <i>should</i> discuss. <br /><br />
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mi5yJnc4yUM/WsDqz9kvX0I/AAAAAAAAAOU/rQMcaMmQOxMfQpMuy1UkQGuEybbb2KOIwCLcBGAs/s1600/other_than_academics_hoagies_nibbles.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="500" height="143" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mi5yJnc4yUM/WsDqz9kvX0I/AAAAAAAAAOU/rQMcaMmQOxMfQpMuy1UkQGuEybbb2KOIwCLcBGAs/s200/other_than_academics_hoagies_nibbles.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div>
As part of our family "driver's ed" we taught the girls how to change a tire, and yes, we made them actually do it. Park safely on level ground or block the wheels, jack up the car, and change the tire. That is a lug wrench, and that's where to find it and how to use it. And then take the leaky tire to the mechanic for repair or replacement. We taught them how to deal with the mechanic, too! Also how to check the oil, antifreeze (when it's cool!), transmission and brake fluids. And of course, how to jump the car. That gets trickier when Dad drives a Prius. We were lucky enough to have access to a stick shift, so both girls can drive stick, too. One still is!<br />
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I've asked my girls what life skills we taught them, and what we <i>should have</i> taught them, and this is the list we came up with. What skills are you teaching your kids, beyond academics? What <i>should</i> you be teaching your kids? <br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_beyond_academics.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="214" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NPqOBP5rfQQ/WsC8VXFcIxI/AAAAAAAAAN0/FmOBmTlYvI4Wn70UfG6IAs4Iz_TtoIxIwCEwYBhgL/s1600/blog_hop_apr18_other_than_academics_small.jpg" /></a>Visit the rest of the blogs in our <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_beyond_academics.htm">Beyond Academics blog hop</a> by clicking here... there are some really great ideas, worth your time!<br />
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-- Carolyn K., Hoagies' Gifted Education Page<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/" target="_blank"><br />HoagiesGifted.org</a>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-15799562724008249412017-08-01T00:01:00.000-04:002017-08-01T00:01:00.153-04:00Gifted Elder Issues… I’m not that old!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">This month’s topic for Hoagies’ Gifted Blog Hop is Gifted
Elder Issues, and I wasn’t going to join the hop. Seriously, I’m not old. Yes, at the local diner I’ll be old enough to
dine from the “seniors” menu at my next birthday, but that’s a whole YEAR from
now!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So why are you reading my post?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Last weekend I had the privilege to attend a women’s retreat
with a number of my gifted friends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most
of us weren’t seniors by any definition; a few were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we got to talking about Gifted Elders, as
many of us were dealing with the subject from one side or another. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I spent many years dealing with my Gramma’s elder
issues.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mail order prescription
company had computer-voice prompts she couldn’t quite make out with her
age-related hearing issues, so I took over managing her prescriptions the year
Part D insurance was introduced. I helped with her doctor’s appointments long
before she needed me to drive, so that there were an extra pair of ears to
listen and a spare voice to advocate with her. <br />
<br />
I helped her visit apartments and evaluate them when she decided to sell the
house she’d lived in since the end of World War II.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We closed up and sold the house, and six
years later, closed up and gave up her apartment to move in with her son, my
uncle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even then my participation
continued, and in addition to managing her prescriptions, my gracious husband
and I took lunch to her every Tuesday, covered my uncle and aunt when they
traveled, and spent every day with her that summer she spent in hospice. I miss
Gramma every day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">So I guess Gifted Elder Issues do apply to me. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I’m grateful to my in-laws, who chose a tiered retirement
community. Independent living, assisted living, nursing care, memory unit
(hopefully they’ll never need that!) and more, all in one complex. But there
are still issues for our “sandwich” generation. Right now, our biggest issue is
starting the car left behind when they disappear to the south for the winter. This
elder issue I can handle!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">But what about us?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
<br />
I don’t have any answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t even
know the questions yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But we’ll learn
as we go along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know that there are
things we should take care of at an early age: </span></div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Will. What happens to your things when you die? Your children?<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Your house? </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Every parent should have a will that specifies
what happens to the children should they die, and how your funds should be
managed to support the children.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Living Will / Advanced Care Directive. Not
only should you create this document, but you should also discuss it with your
nearest relatives, who may be faced with making decisions regarding your health
if you become unable to do so.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Document your Digital Life…. And hand on the key!<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What happens to your online bank accounts
when you die?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">How do your spouse or
descendants get the access they need to finalize your affairs?</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Who is in charge of your Facebook / Twitter /
Google+ / Pinterest account?<br /><br />Facebook has a new setting, the Legacy Contact setting. Go to Settings, General, Manage Account and select the individual who will be in charge of your account when you die. Decide if you want that individual to be able to download the content and pictures from your account; the default is that they may not. </span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span>
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_elder_issues.htm" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="214" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XEwy6WSWFts/WX_ZNcBpisI/AAAAAAAAAM4/TDlXPBnskr4T1W73wVzygOZuV9a-gGkHQCLcBGAs/s1600/gifted_elder_issues.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">What else will we face as Elder Issues? We can
learn together. Comment below on other
issues that come up as we age. And let’s
help each other. It’s much easier when
we’re not alone!<br />
<br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Check out more than a dozen other great blogs on gifted social issues in this month's <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_elder_issues.htm">Blog Hop: Gifted Elder Issues</a>. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14.85px;">Click here and read them all... </span></span><!--EndFragment-->Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-20779431932504664012016-08-01T00:15:00.000-04:002016-08-01T00:22:51.021-04:00A Dark Day. Social Issues in School<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This month's guest blogger is Sarah Reeder. Enjoy! </blockquote>
<blockquote style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;" type="cite">
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">We're in the thick of winter rains when I pick my daughter up from school. She's been crying. Something happened at school today. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Instead of this isolated incident, her explanation is told as a lifetime of hurting. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Even the children who like her often can't stand her bossiness, her rules , her sense of fairness, her inflexibility and sometimes uncontrolled crying. She is mocked for reading constantly, for reading multiple books at once, for finishing work early, for being consumed by perfection and for asking endless questions of any adult in sight. The list, of course, goes on. She doesn't hear her own self-loathing. I do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">The digs are often subtle. Adults tell her she's too emotional but always in the nicest way. They are 'constructive' not critical. She is 'bright' but 'not a genius' and obviously needs to work on 'controlling her emotions'. I am pulled aside and informed of this by school staff, almost constantly. I'm not certain that they hear the words they are saying. They simply say them. <span style="font-size: 12pt;">She loves her teachers and will forgive their misunderstanding of her, as is precisely</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> her nature. She's gladdened that, even though she </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">hasn't learned much of anything new</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> this year, she has the opportunity to be supportive of her classmates learning. She's trying not to cry so much when she's upset. A work in progress, she says. </span></span></div>
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I am slain by a wave of disgust with myself for spending a single day, never mind years, pretending that my children are average</span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">We take the long way home and I explain to both her and her little brother, a first grader,</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">what it means to be gifted. I mention the tests they each took. I poorly define '</span>asynchronous<span style="font-size: 12pt;">'. </span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Tell them how some of their teachers don't believe the numbers. How some believe the numbers, but think they should be taught the same as everyone else. Clumsily explain that literally ninety-nine </span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">percent of the world is different than they are. Little Brother demands the numbers. Sister wants proof. Things that they often insist upon when encountering something new</span></span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Just like we've talked about before, I attempt to explain different is okay. Different is interesting and </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a light in our lives</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. It's not 'better than'. It just is. The whole school knows that </span><span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Johnny is great at soccer. Everyone acknowledges it and accepts as fact that he is an excellent player. It's okay for our strengths to be </span>acknowledged<span style="font-size: 12pt;">, too. What's more, it's also okay that we're very </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">good at more than one thing. It's just factual. Little Brother jokes that Sister is good at <i>everything</i>. They both agree that he, though younger, is better at math. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I ask if they are ever lonely. Sister speaks of feeling like she is the only person in all of existence. She feels like none of her classmates care about her. Her teacher no longer calls on her first. Little Brother echoes her thoughts. He is not allowed to share 'his way' of doing things as it confuses his friends in class. He tries to control himself but knows that his boredom makes him angry and that his anger pushes peers away. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">At home, w</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">e plot and plan how to make friends that share our interests. How to find an environment for learning that frees them. What dream days and relationships look like. What they want more of and what they could really do without. We talk about teachers being people, too. Subject to jealousy and misunderstanding and oftentimes, a lack of knowledge. Not every adult is equipped to help them grow. No, t</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">hey are not obligated to be friends with every child who is the same age as they are. It's more than </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">fine that they have better relationships with the hall monitor than they do with their desk buddies. 'Peer' has categories beyond age. Sometimes, the teachers are wrong. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "calibri" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">I apologize for letting them down, as we sit in the shelter of our porch. For not giving them the tools to build up their own light. Adults can be, and frequently are, wrong. Sometimes I am one of the wrong ones. Sister is empathetic and tells me it's okay. We talk about the freedoms of adulthood. In choosing your peer group. We recognize that accommodating<span style="font-size: 12pt;"> others has it's place... but decide that fitting in just to make others comfortable is not currently a part of our gifts. </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt;">Unsurprisingly, they abruptly leave me to go ride their bikes in the rain. Sister says they'll be fresh when they're done -- good as new. The rain is good for that. </span></div>
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_social_issues.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rV_cNqyxdJ0/V57NzSLLCSI/AAAAAAAAAMI/MAq6Br2FdmI_zES9mPfRMnd0W3wtAX_0QCLcB/s1600/blog_hop_aug16_social_issues_small.jpg" /></a></div>
Thanks Sarah, for your insights. <br /><br />Check out more than a dozen other great blogs on gifted social issues in this month's <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_social_issues.htm">Blog Hop: Gifted Social Issues</a>. Click here and read them all...Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-3405194023069860892016-05-01T00:30:00.000-04:002016-05-01T00:30:06.351-04:00Gifted in Pop Culture: Role Models Required<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-size: x-small;">Note: This blog contains links to products that are Amazon Affiliates links, to the benefit of Hoagies' Gifted, Inc. Thanks for supporting the Hoagies' Gifted community!</span></blockquote>
One thing our kids want and need to watch and read are stories where they find others "like them." Other gifted kids, passionate about real-world issues. Other gifted kids, with strong interests and sometimes stronger fears. Other gifted kids who work hard and play hard. Gifted kids, as all kids, need books and movies with role models who they can identify with. They need to know they are <b><i>Not Alone</i></b>! But where can we find such books and movies?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Books</span><br />
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Reading and discussing stories that contain characters kids can relate to is called Bibliotherapy. Whenever bibliotherapy and gifted kids are discussed, the first book mentioned is the most comprehensive guide to Gifted bibliotherpy: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910707960/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Some of My Best Friends Are Books: Guiding Gifted Readers from Preschool to High School</a> by Judith Wynn Halstad. Some of My Best Friends Are Books offers parents and teachers two features: a guide to using books in bibliotherapy, and a guide to many great titles for gifted kids of various ages, with details of the topics included inside each book. The books included mostly discuss topics related to the social and emotional needs of gifted kids, and each of the titles listed are good choices for your gifted reader.<br />
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Beyond Halstad's book, find lots more excellent titles for gifted readers on the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/being_gifted.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Hot Topics Reading List: On Being Gifted</a>. Looking for non-fiction titles supporting gifted kids as they grow? My favorites are <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1575423227/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">The Gifted Kids' Survival Guide (For Ages 10 and Under)</a> <span style="background-color: white;">by Judy Galbraith</span> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1575423812/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">The Gifted Teen Survival Guide: Smart, Sharp, and Ready for (Almost) Anything</a><span style="background-color: white;">, by Judy Galbraith and Jim Delisle. Judy is the founder of Free Spirit Press, a great place to visit for gifted books. And Jim Delisle... if you don't know who Jim Delisle is, welcome to the world of gifted education. Check out his books, find him at a speaking engagement, and get to know him. His experience with gifted kids is priceless!<br /><br />For kids between the 10 and Under and Teen guides, gifted kids love </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1593635443/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">101 Success Secrets for Gifted Kids: The Ultimate Handbook</a><span style="background-color: white;"> by Christine Fonseca. Fonseca really "gets" this age group, and has great ideas that guide these "tween" gifted kids not only to success, but to self-understanding, a far more important characteristic than success, in my book.<br /><br />For lots more titles for the gifted child, from the youngest preschooler to the intense teen, from vanilla gifted to twice exceptional to gifted kids struggling with anxiety, bullying, CDO (that's OCD in alphabetical order, of course!), and lots more, head back to </span><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/being_gifted.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Hot Topics Reading List: On Being Gifted</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Movies</span><br />
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While I prefer a good book to a poignant movie, there are plenty of great movies that were not preceded by an even better book. And when those movies feature gifted kids and adults in a positive way, offering our kids the role models they so desire to find in their entertainment of all forms... that's even better. But what movies really do a good job at this, without being Disney sweet or far too intense for gifted sensitivities? Plenty!<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/movies.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Movies Featuring Gifted Kids (and Adults!)</a> offers a wide range of movies, genres, and ages of both characters and the movies themselves. From the ever-hilarious Who's On First? and other skits by Abbott and Costello in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00316DDZO/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">The Abbott & Costello Show - The Complete Series Collector's Edition</a>, to non-fiction titles like <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000G1R394/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Akeelah and the Bee</a> about a young girl who must blend in with her inner city schoolmates until she wins the school spelling bee and begins studying for the Scripps Bee, or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006FYOTC/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">October Sky</a> about the Rocket Boys of West Virginia, there are plenty of movies that feature gifted kids in positive and realistic portrayals.<br />
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When you're looking for something fictional, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005JN4W/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">The Incredibles</a><span style="background-color: white;"> offers a family of "supers," and the difficulties of being true to your super self while fitting in (some say hiding) in everyday school and work. In other titles, one parent doubts the gifts of the child until something changes their perspective. </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002ZG97YM/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">How to Train Your Dragon</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002WJI2QQ/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs</a> follow this plotline, both with hilarious and heartwarming results. In a more supportive family, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000ROAK2W/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">Meet the Robinsons</a> takes us on the adventures that can ensue when time travel to the past threatens the future.<br />
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Looking for a movie that combines humor with history? Check out the Reduced Shakespeare Company DVDs! In their original title <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008US5Q/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Abridged</a><span style="background-color: white;"> not only can you catch all of Shakespeare's plays at once, but you can have a riotous good time doing so. Three men performing 37 plays in less than two hours may seem a bit of a stretch. Looking for a little holiday humor? Try </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572700750/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: white;" target="_blank">The Reduced Shakespeare Company Christmas</a><span style="background-color: white;"> Chase those Yuletide blues away with this hilarious spoof of Hanukkah, Kwanza, and an obscure little holiday called Christmas. And there's more!<br /><br />No list of movies for the gifted would be complete without my eldest's favorite movie. Picture Shakespeare. Picture Nathan Fillion, Amy Acker and others, under the direction of Joss Whedon. Now you're ready for </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00ECR7L0Y/thehoagiesgifted/" style="background-color: white;">Much Ado About Nothing</a>!<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: #888888; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #edf4ff; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white;">These are just a few of the movies you'll find on </span></span><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/movies.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Movies Featuring Gifted Kids (and Adults!)</a> list. No matter the ages of your gifted kids, you'll find movies to share, enjoy, and talk about! <br />
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Family time is one of my favorite times with our now-grown gifted girls. We read books, and talked about them. We watched movies, and talked about them, often comparing them to the books of the same titles that we read first. And to this day, our 20-something daughters enjoy spending time discussing the movies and books we've watched and read together!<br /><br />And don't get me started on the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/smart_party_games.htm" target="_blank">Games </a>we play...<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_pop_culture.htm" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mByOmCbv7d4/VyVeSOVFq0I/AAAAAAAAALw/7Xz6L-wM8tYOBiuzPwjG5hmxoSbYHsMUACLcB/s1600/blog_hop_may16_pop_culture_small.jpg" /></a></div>
This blog is part of the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_pop_culture.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: Pop Culture</a>. Click to read the rest of the great blogs on Pop Culture (and Counter Culture) in this month's Blog Hop!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-22578920097325489392016-04-02T19:18:00.002-04:002016-04-07T23:46:13.333-04:00Math Is Fun!<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Note: all product links connect to Amazon.com through Hoagies' Gifted, Inc's affiliates program. Thank you for supporting Hoagies' Gifted, Inc!</i></blockquote>
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Some people cringe when they hear those words... Math is fun. Fun? Yes, FUN! Math is all about numbers and patterns and graphs and statistics. It's about fractals and computers and nature and ... life!<br />
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Our family's favorite parts of math are the fun and games. We've read books about math as bedtime stories, and play math games to make car trips seem shorter, no pen or paper required. Here are a few of our favorites.<br />
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Math books are great for independent reading and reading aloud.<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6ohjdq5Uuk/VwBVB6LfY0I/AAAAAAAAAKw/H4uXqNh0TsIxOb2JPFH8_Dr-VvnfKp26Q/s1600/number_devil.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-i6ohjdq5Uuk/VwBVB6LfY0I/AAAAAAAAAKw/H4uXqNh0TsIxOb2JPFH8_Dr-VvnfKp26Q/s1600/number_devil.gif" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0805057706/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Number Devil: A Mathematical Adventure</a>. The perfect bedtime read-aloud, The Number Devil is all about Robert's dreams. Robert <i>hates </i>math. In his dreams, he goes on many adventures, led by the mysterious Number Devil. From number triangles to prime numbers, Fibonacci numbers and beyond, The Number Devil leads Robert through the amazing world of number theory, as he learns just how lovable numbers can be!<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cwse7XxnZjA/VwBVLT9M-NI/AAAAAAAAAK0/WD3dv4zmE5AFUW6AnIPMj5WxZCSXeew_A/s1600/math_curse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Cwse7XxnZjA/VwBVLT9M-NI/AAAAAAAAAK0/WD3dv4zmE5AFUW6AnIPMj5WxZCSXeew_A/s1600/math_curse.jpg" /></a><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0670861944/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Math Curse</a> points out just how much math is life. As the author says, did you ever have one of those days where everything is a problem? 30 minutes with 10 things to do, 3 shirts and 2 pants to make up 1 outfit, and so on and so on. And then there's school... why can't you keep the 10 cookies without someone taking away 3? You're under the Math Curse!<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570911525/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Sir Cumference and the Knights of the Round Table</a>. The first in a fun series, Sir Cumfernece takes us to the land of King A<span style="font-family: inherit;">rthur, where <span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.4px;">Sir Cumference, his wife Lady Di of Ameter, and their son Radius, with the help of the carpenter, Geo of Metry, create the perfect Round table for the King's peace negotiations. Continue folowing Sir Cumference's adventures with <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570916012/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Sword in the Cone</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1570911649/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Dragon of Pi</a>, and more!</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5nex0PHO4TU/VwBWFPjjO_I/AAAAAAAAALM/h9EQBHuaCd42wBzRmCPwLpvLe0TBngexg/s1600/googol.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5nex0PHO4TU/VwBWFPjjO_I/AAAAAAAAALM/h9EQBHuaCd42wBzRmCPwLpvLe0TBngexg/s1600/googol.gif" /></a>When you think of alphabet books, you might think of some rather boring books to teach toddlers their alphabet. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1883672589/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">G is for Googol</a> is an alphabet book that is far from simple, and has something to teach kids from preschool to adult. Do you know how big a Googol really is? What's a Rhombicosidodecohedron? The Fibonacci series? And lots more, from A to Z! Once you master the alphabet from Abacus to Zillion, check out <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1582460213/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Q is for Quark</a>, and discover science from Atom to Zzzzzzz.<br />
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For tons more great math books, visit <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/mathematics.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Hot Topics Reading List: Mathematics</a>.<br />
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Reading is rewarding, but Games are grand! Math games bring hands-on practice to arithmetic, logic, and other math skills. Our family loves math games while we're in the car or at home.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006U2F5M/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The 24 Game</a> is a great game at home, but with older kids, we play more often in the car these days. In the card game at home, Players try to solve a card containing 4 numbers, using those numbers to get to 24. You might get there by addition, subtraction, multiplication or division. Advanced sets include <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0009GU6IG/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fractions / Decimals</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0006U2OFS/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Algebra/Exponents</a>, using additional math functions to reach 24.<br />
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Once you know how it plays, you can play The 24 Game in the car. How? In many states, including mine, license plates usually contain 4 numbers and 3 letters. Pull up behind a car and use the 4 numbers to play. (0 become 10). So the plate in front of us contains 2, 1, 5, 0. Using 2, 1, 5 and 10, one of us comes up with 10*5 = 50 / 2 = 25 -1 = 24! Sometimes we find different solutions to the same plate. Math is FUN!<br />
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Speaking of travel, whenever we travel I keep <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007LYKX0/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Math Dice</a> in my computer bag or purse. The small mesh bag makes a perfect travel case. Inside, find 3 six-sided and 2 12-sided dice. Roll the 12-sided dice and multiply them to get the target number. Roll the 6-sided dice and use those three numbers to reach the target. Much like The 24 Game, but with a different target number each time, making it a little more creative and challenging.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pdy1p5IEvM8/VwBVu0JkURI/AAAAAAAAALE/LxvS1rJ-Rcoe2bGu-lbR5pkSOChGqX3Mw/s1600/prime_climb_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pdy1p5IEvM8/VwBVu0JkURI/AAAAAAAAALE/LxvS1rJ-Rcoe2bGu-lbR5pkSOChGqX3Mw/s1600/prime_climb_small.jpg" /></a>A great new addition to my math games collection is <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00PG9590G/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Prime Climb</a>. Prime Climb appeals to kids and adults, and helps kids with their math facts and prime recognition along the way. Roll the dice, and add, subtract, multiply or divide to get to the center of the board. :Land on an opponent? Send them back to start.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc07HxjV62s/VwBVkjU4Q9I/AAAAAAAAAK8/rZ-c5RSFEK8TVNrjpXa17LKbuxSPE-BaA/s1600/set_game_small.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kc07HxjV62s/VwBVkjU4Q9I/AAAAAAAAAK8/rZ-c5RSFEK8TVNrjpXa17LKbuxSPE-BaA/s1600/set_game_small.gif" /></a><br />
Math isn't just about numbers. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000IV34/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">SET</a> is probably the single highest recommended game for gifted kids of all ages. Cards are dealt and your job is to find a set of three cards. Each card contains three characteristics: shape, color, fill, and number. Each characteristic in a set must be the same or all different. So a set might contain 3 green cards, but the cards might have 1, 2, and 3 shapes on them. Those shapes might all be ovals, but they might have solid, striped, and empty fill. Can you spot a set? Are there any sets in the tableau of 12 cards, or must 3 more cards be dealt? For beginners, separate the deck into a single color and have only 3 characteristics instead of 4, plus you'll have two more small decks to use at the same time!<br />
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27inirW97eg/VwBV05y_ZaI/AAAAAAAAALI/fVbZ9s6cgdMNrV6FCAhlYZfpx4PbMJ7gQ/s1600/hyperdo_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-27inirW97eg/VwBV05y_ZaI/AAAAAAAAALI/fVbZ9s6cgdMNrV6FCAhlYZfpx4PbMJ7gQ/s1600/hyperdo_small.jpg" /></a>Math also includes construction, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B00001W0DS/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ZomeTool</a> is an amazing construction set. Sets can be simple or complex, and can be used for tons of creative play. There are puzzles, educational units for many grades, and real-life to ZomeTool opportunities. From the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B00000ISPB/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bubble Kit</a> to the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B001IDLHR8/thehoagiesgifted/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hyperdo</a>, ZomeTool grows with gifted kids through college and beyond!<br />
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For more math toys, visit <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/smart_math_games.htm" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Smart Math Toys and Games</a>.<br />
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Whatever you do, teach your kids (and yourself!) that math is fun... because it is, and it should be. And once they know that math is fun, the sky is the limit!<br />
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This blog is part of the <a href="http://hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_march_mathness.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop on March Math-ness</a>. Please visit all the blogs in the hop by clicking here...Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-56304887646044323662016-04-02T14:50:00.000-04:002016-04-02T14:50:10.723-04:00SMPGs: The Heart of SENG<i>Today we have a guest post by Kate Bachtel, current Board of Directors Chair of <a href="http://www.sengifted.org/" target="_blank">SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)</a>. Thanks, Kate, for sharing with us!</i><br />
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<span class="s1">“The concept appears to be a paradox: ‘Instruction’ and ‘conversation’ are often antithetical, the one implying authority and planning, the other equality and responsiveness. The task of teaching is to resolve this paradox. To most truly teach, one must converse; to truly converse is to teach.”</span><span class="s1">(Tharp, Estrada, Stoll Dalton and Yamauchi, 2000, pp. 32-33)</span></blockquote>
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<span class="s1">SENG Model Parent Groups (SMPGs) are the heart of SENG. The objective of these facilitator guided groups is to unite diverse caregivers of complex, gifted children and provide space for each of us to learn from one another’s expertise and experiences in a nurturing, non-judgmental environment. While not counseling or therapy sessions, SMPGs provide space for critical conversations on how to best support the healthy social and emotional development of individual gifted youth. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">In many ways, by encouraging authentic dialogue among caregivers, SMPGs promote harmony and are a model of the continued evolution SENG would like to see occur both in classrooms and society. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Last year, SENG engaged in a comprehensive evaluation of the SMPG program. We collected quantitative and qualitative data from active SMPG facilitators and recent participants via both surveys and interviews. The anonymous surveys encouraged honest, unfiltered responses and attempted to prevent positive self-impression response distortion. Here are a few highlights of what we learned.</span></div>
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<span class="s1"><b>SMPG Participants Report Transformational Experiences. </b>All but one survey participant reported their SMPG experiences exceeded expectations. Additionally, participants rated their facilitators’ skills nearly uniformly as superior. Here is an example of the of feedback we received:</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“This group was SO badly needed for my family. Other families I know need a group like this too, but this particular time did not work out. I wish everyone with challenging gifted kids could attend this program!”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“I do not feel alone now.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“I’ve learned to communicate better with my child, and it is working.”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“I honestly feel this group saved my family!”</span></div>
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<span class="s1">“My child is a happier child, my family is a healthier family, and I’m a better person </span>as a result of this group. Thank you!”</div>
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<span class="s1"><b>SMPG Facilitators Hold Tremendous Expertise and are Mission-Focused. </b>While SMPG facilitators are not trained as clinicians, approximately eighty percent have more than twenty-six hours of formal professional development in the field of gifted. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of participants rated their SMPG experiences as “delightful” or perfect on our Likert scale. The survey also reinforced our perceptions that facilitators are mission-driven. When asked why they facilitate groups, facilitator explanations align with the purpose of SMPGs: to grow understanding of gifted children, remind parents they are not alone and create safe spaces for parents to connect and share.</span></div>
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<span class="s1">This year, SENG is prioritizing taking better care of our SMPG Facilitators. Here are a few things to keep an eye out for:</span></div>
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<li class="li3"><span class="s1">More opportunities for SMPG Facilitators to connect, share latest research and best practices (including an exclusive, facilitators only event at conference).</span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Additional SMPG marketing and promotion support.</span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Increased administrative support, including with registration and book distribution logistics.</span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Focused attention on recognizing the contributions and achievements of expert facilitators.</span></li>
<li class="li3"><span class="s1">Creation of an SMPG Board Champion Position. Interested in applying for this volunteer leadership opportunity? Please <a href="http://sengifted.org/about-seng/people/board-of-directors/director-elections" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">click here</a> to learn more</span><span class="s2">. </span><span class="s1"> </span></li>
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<span class="s1">The SMPG Program Chair will lead decision making for SMPG related program decisions</span></div>
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<span class="s1">soliciting input from fellow directors as needed.</span></div>
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<li>soliciting input from fellow directors as needed.</li>
<li>Lead annual strategic framework SMPG program goal creation process.</li>
<li><span class="s1">Point person for collecting data to monitor program progress and to report on progress of annual SMPG program goals.</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Insure program diversity goals are met as outline in strategic plan.</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Engage in outlined rounding practices to support healthy community growth.</span></li>
<li><span class="s1">Lead SMPG Facilitator recruiting in partnership with the Executive Director.</span></li>
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<span class="s1"><b>The Launch of SMPG + Parent Retreats</b></span></div>
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<span class="s1">In response to feedback from both facilitators and participants, SENG will be piloting a one day SMPG + Parent Retreat in 2016. This workshop format will cover core SMPG topics. The structure will alternate discussion with frequent breaks for movement, meditation, lunch and to connect with family at home throughout the day. While the discussions will be structured in a similar manner to the traditional SMPG model, parents will be held in the comfort of tribe for a full day (8am-4:30pm). We expect this format will help us reach families whose schedules do not align with the traditional eight-ten week program. Our goal will be for all to leave feeling relaxed, replenished and empowered with expanded community and expertise. We already have three SMPG + Retreats scheduled for May. </span></div>
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Here’s a flyer for a <a href="http://sengifted.org/programs/seng-model-parent-groups/smpg-group-directory" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">retreat in the Denver area on May 14th</a>.</div>
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<span class="s1">Registration for the <a href="https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink.aspx?name=seng&id=59" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Boulder retreat on May 10th</a> is live now!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">Keep a lookout for more to come!</span></div>
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<span class="s1">-- <a href="mailto:Directors@sengifted.org" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Kate Bachtel, SENGifted</a></span></div>
Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-6385517837882840102015-11-30T23:53:00.002-05:002016-04-02T14:36:54.703-04:00Surviving the Holidays with a House Full of Gifted!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-04pp5eueTIs/VwAQ_hDm-OI/AAAAAAAAAKc/EapqYmmOhGI_c4F3QLU2YUEhITitV-WLQ/s1600/grammy_helps.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-04pp5eueTIs/VwAQ_hDm-OI/AAAAAAAAAKc/EapqYmmOhGI_c4F3QLU2YUEhITitV-WLQ/s200/grammy_helps.jpg" width="168" /></a></div>
With a family peopled by half introverts and half extroverts, our family has always had mixed needs at the holidays. In general, we manage to spread the activity over multiple days. My husband's family takes Christmas morning and evening, with a nice long nap (and a little food prep) in between. Scheduling downtime throughout our holidays has been our lifesaver for many years.<br />
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Mornings used to start very early, at the crack of dawn, with stockings only. The kids could see over the balcony to the tree and presents below, but nary a stockinged foot could touch the downstairs floor until the 'rents were up. Stockings full of little gifts and gadgets delay the inevitable while allowing those sleepy parents (us!) a few extra minutes of sleep.<br />
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Christmas brunch is at the house with the youngest kids who can't just be strapped into an infant seat. For many years, that meant our house; now we head out to my sister-in-law's home for a lazy morning of Uncle Brad's homemade eggs Benedict, Aunt Kim's fruit salad, and our monkey bread. Did I mention it's a lazy morning? We all show up in our PJs! Holiday sleep pants, t-shirts and slippers grace our Christmas morning photos. There's time later for dress up, but for the morning, everyone's relaxed and comfy.<br />
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After opening the presents from cousins, aunts & uncles and grandparents, everyone heads home for a food-coma-induced nap. Yes, a nap, in the middle of Christmas day. I highly recommend it! This nap / time to play quietly with gifts gives our over-intense kids and their sleep-deprived parents a break before the family dinner.<br />
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<img alt="Gingerbread church" aria-busy="false" aria-describedby="fbPhotosSnowliftCaption" class="spotlight" height="200" imageanchor="1" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Zu6NxLSPsoE/VwAQaO8p6CI/AAAAAAAAAKY/rpbM0I1dDXwxxuOlfRAgfgOY6HIfHcYQA/s320/DSC_0078.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" width="141" />Dinner doesn't vary much from year to year, and that works well for this bunch. Last year we added a pescetarian entree to the beef tenderloin entree for our eldest niece, our future pastry chef and pescetarian (most of the time). But from the sparkling grape juice to the Christmas cookies made at home and at Grammy's in the preceding weeks, consistency creates comfort for intense gifted kids.</div>
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Speaking of traditions, we sneak one of our holiday traditions in the weekend before Christmas... Gingerbread Houses! Extended family and friends get together to create our personal masterpieces and enjoy our traditional pre-Christmas meal, Hot Cheese Monkey. Check out our <a href="http://hoagiesbits.blogspot.com/2014/11/holiday-traditions.html" target="_blank">Holiday Traditions</a>.<br />
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The week between Christmas and New Year's includes more family gatherings, on both of my sides. The highlight here is "Pollyanna." None of the kids seem familiar with the old movie of the same name, but they all know what Pollyanna means. In my large Irish family, families with birth-18yo kids exchange names, and instead of purchasing dozens of tiny gifts (there are 22 of us, just at my generation!), we only purchase one present per child we have in Pollyanna.<br />
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And once kids are too old for Pollyanna, there's the Yankee Swap! My kids are both over 18 now and seem to look forward to Yankee Swap more than they enjoyed the Pollyanna gift exchange. If you'd like to participate, bring a small wrapped gift. Everyone draws a number; number 1 is the best because you get to go first and last, and in order, everyone picks a present to open. The catch is, you can pick something from the pile, or steal something that's already been opened. Each gift can be stolen up to two times. It's fun to see which presents are popular (The Math Behind The Simpsons, who would have guessed!) and which you're 'stuck with." If the present is clothing, you must put it on immediately. It's fun to watch aunts, uncles and cousins parading in the passed-down-year-after-year red union suit. Just remember, wrapping can fool you... as it did the proud owner of a 20-pound bottle of dill pickles last year!<br />
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Like other family events, downtime is scheduled into Pollyanna, and a large, loving, calm Irish Setter is a great thing to curl up with on the floor of the rec room.<br />
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For our family, the key to surviving the holidays is a combination of family, traditions, and downtime, with a cat or dog thrown in for good cuddling. Happy Holidays!<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_surviving_the_holidays.htm"> <img border="0" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a9O5l61kvuI/Vl0nXddW-qI/AAAAAAAAAJU/J88TImwi6lc/s1600/blog_hop_dec15_surviving_the_holidays_small.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" /></a>This blog is part of <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_surviving_the_holidays.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: Surviving the Holidays</a>. Click here to read all the great blogs in the hop this month, and enjoy lots of great ways to de-stress the holidays, no matter what you celebrate!</div>
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<br />Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-17790156140976500342015-02-01T00:30:00.000-05:002015-02-01T16:06:56.921-05:00Gifted Testing: A Beginner's Guide<p>Gifted Testing. What is it? Why should we do it? What are the best tests to use? What do the results mean? And most often asked... How can I prepare my child for Gifted Testing?</p>
<h3>How can I prepare my child?</h3>
<p>Let's start with the easiest question first. This is easy, you ask? Sure! Preparing your child for gifted testing is just like preparing her for a good day at school. Relax the night before, get a good night's sleep, have a well-rounded breakfast that includes plenty of protein and not too much sugar. But isn't there more to it? Not really. Test prep, while common in high-stress school systems (New York City comes to mind), is not only unnecessary, it can be counter productive. If we parents are stressed over the idea of gifted testing, our gifted kids will be, too. And that kind of stress rarely improves test scores. In fact, with sensitive gifted kids, quite the opposite may be true; stress may lower their test scores. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, a very well-prepped child may score a little higher on the tests... which may be enough to get a high-achieving but not gifted child into the gifted program. Doesn't that help the child? Not at all. That well-prepped child is still the same child, and the extra depth and speed of a good gifted curriculum is unlikely to serve him well. Meanwhile, the social benefits from being grouped with your academic peers are lost on him, as he's no longer with his peers, but in over his head. For more on prepping your child for Gifted Testing, read Aimee Yermish's <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/test_prep.htm">How Can I Prepare My Child for Testing?</a></p>
<h3>When should I test my child?</h3>
<p>This may be a simple question: the school tests all kids in second grade. Or it may be complex: my child is struggling in school, and it seems like the classroom material is too simple, or he is very different from the other kids and isn't fitting in, or she can't sit still after he's completed his assignments. Gifted Testing may be part of a more comprehensive assessment, looking for a combination of achievement, intelligence, possible learning disabilities and more. But when is the right time to test?</p>
<p>The best time for Gifted Testing is when you have a significant question to be answered. You'd like your child to attend a school that requires Gifted Testing for admission. Or there's a higher level classroom available in your own school or district, but your child must "test into" the class. Or your child isn't fitting well in school, and you need an assessment to see if she's ADHD or LD or (yes, it's possible) gifted.</p>
<p>There is one question that is NOT a good question to answer by testing: Is My Preschooler Gifted? We all strive to be good parents, to follow our child's lead, to interact and spend time with them. Whether your preschooler is gifted or not, you will parent them the same way: with unconditional love and support. You will still spend lots of time together outdoors, and talk to her wherever you go. You will still read together whenever you can, and have him help with cooking and cleaning and shopping. Testing to determine if she reaches that "magic" number won't change anything. If Gifted Testing won't change anything, it's <i>not</i> a good time to test.</p>
<p>It's best to wait until your child is at least 6 years old before Gifted Testing (if possible). This way he can skip the less reliable years of preschool testing, when scores are less consistent over time, and kids are more squirrelly with the tester. </p>
<p>For more, read <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/why_test.htm">Why should I have my child tested?</a></p>
<h3>What is Gifted Testing?</h3>
<p>Gifted Testing means different things in different districts and states. In many districts, gifted testing starts with a group screening test, designed to determine which kids should go on to further assessment to possibly participate in the gifted program. These group tests, including the OLSAT and CogAT, are usually grade-level, multiple choice achievement / ability tests. For gifted assessment, many tests recommend that potentially gifted students are given a test one level higher than their grade level, so that they have "ceiling" room, and the school can differentiate between the high-achieving student who is at the top of her class, and the gifted student who is beyond her current grade level. </p>
<p>Publishers also provide a "margin of error" for their assessment, which should be added and subtracted from the target test score to include either 65% or 95% of the students who should be included in the program. The larger the margin of error on the test, the larger the confidence interval will be. For example, if the margin of error is 3 and the "cutoff score" is 130, then you should include all students who score 130 +/- 3, or 127 and up (since we want to identify all students at 130 *or higher*). The publisher tells us that this interval would include 65% of the target population. If your school wants to be certain to include 95% of the gifted kids in further assessment, they would have to use twice the margin of error, 130 +/- (2*3), or 124 and up. Easy enough. However, some gifted assessments have much higher margins of error. A margin of error of 7, for example, would require students with scores of 116 and up to be included in further assessment, to have the same 95% confidence interval.</p>
<p>Some Gifted Tests aren't tests at all. Instead, they are surveys, with components for the teacher and possibly the parent to complete. This type of Gifted Test requires that the teacher be well-trained on the characteristics of giftedness. However most U.S. teachers receive no gifted education training in their pre-service education, and only those who intentionally select it receive gifted education training in Continuing Education or advanced degree programs. The parents are similarly handicapped, because unless they are teachers, scout leaders or other instructors of same-age children, they are unlikely to know just how different Abby is from her "average" classmates. Even with other children and extended family, the nature vs. nurture research tells us that Morgan's family peer group is likely to be skewed. Her parents will likely have no average child at home to compare to, and may answer the survey questions incorrectly as a result.</p>
<p>Survey-type Gifted Tests are also likely to underestimate the giftedness of non-native-culture kids, and kids who are seen seen as having "difficult" traits such as speaking out when they're finished their own work, complaining about the classwork due to boredom, or moving around in the classroom. Kids who have both gifted traits and learning disabilities are often thought to be "average" because assessments may try to average their strengths and weaknesses. But having gifted strengths and LD weaknesses is far different from being average in all areas!</p>
<p>Some states and districts require individual IQ tests for gifted identification. This is the most accurate means of identification for most students, but like any one-time measure, it may be only as good as the combination of factors that occur at that moment. Does the test style suit the child's strengths and weaknesses? Is the tester hurried or stressed? Many gifted kids can sense this; this sensitivity is one of the characteristics used for identification. Is the child well today? Is he hungry? Is she tired? Is the room too hot, too cold, or full of distracting noises? Is the kindergarten playground occupied right outside the window? Was he pulled from lunch, or recess, or his favorite subject? </p>
<p>The most common individual IQ tests are the WISC and the Stanford Binet. But no matter what Gifted Test your child might take, you can learn more on <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/tests.htm">Hoagies' Page: Tests, Tests, Tests</a>. This inventory of tests given to gifted kids for various reasons includes links to lots more information, no matter what test or assessment is used.</p>
<p>What's the difference between in-school testing and private-assessment? The short answer is, in-school testing gives you results: scores. Private assessment evaluates the whole child, and gives you a report with score, what they mean, implications for education and suggestions for your child's future. Julia Osborn provides more detail in <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/assessing_gifted.htm">Assessing Gifted Children</a></p>
<h3>What do the test results mean?</h3>
<p>Often the test results are more confusing, rather than more clarifying. So much child is in this percentile, with that standard score, and the other grade level... what does it all mean for my child's education? Before you can decipher the results, you may need to ask for a full score report. It's required for the school to make a full report available, but often, they give only a summary, or only a single number that means either she's "in" or he's "out." The federal law FERPA allows parents to ask the school, and see the full score report and any other contents of your child's records at school, including the cumulative folder (usually the one in the office with only attendance and grades) and more personal records kept with the counselor or psychologist. </p>
<p>Once you have the full score report for each test, you can begin to discern the meaning in the results. A quick guide to test scores, and how different tests and their scores compare can be found in <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/tests_tell_us.htm">What Do the Tests Tell Us?</a>. And for those confusing variations between ability and achievement tests with scores that sound the same, read <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/iq_varies.htm">Why do my child's test scores vary from test to test?</a> </p>
<p>Widely scattered test results don't necessarily mean that your child is both gifted and learning disabled, often called <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/twice_exceptional.htm">twice exceptional</a> or 2e. But those variations in scores definitely deserve futher attention, and a psychologist should be able to point you towards others assessments that may give you more information on the variations in your child's scores. </p>
<h3>Now you know everything you need to know about Gifted Testing!</h3>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uXPIf5HSRwo/VM1YZAYa6LI/AAAAAAAAAIc/xchPVse2R9E/s1600/parentsguide.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uXPIf5HSRwo/VM1YZAYa6LI/AAAAAAAAAIc/xchPVse2R9E/s200/parentsguide.jpg" /></a></div>Well, not really. For lots more information on Gifted Testing, read David Palmer's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0977109852/thehoagiesgifted/">Parent's Guide to IQ Testing and Gifted Education</a>**. I stand by my review, as true today as when the book was first published, "Not just every parent of a gifted child, but every teacher and every guidance counselor of gifted children, too, should read Parent's Guide to IQ Testing and Gifted Education. Palmer explains all in one book, what it took me years of talking to dozens of gifted professionals to learn for myself. And Palmer makes it easy to read, with review points at the end of each chapter - if you're in a hurry, read the review points first, and pick the chapters that answer the questions you have right now. But read the whole book cover to cover when you have time - it's worth it!" </p>
<p>**Hoagies' Gifted Education Page is an Amazon affiliate; Amazon purchases made through this link support Hoagies' Page.</p>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YawpBfwlcVw/VM1ZXZXD-oI/AAAAAAAAAIo/QU0LnSf_lR8/s1600/blog_hop_feb15_testing_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YawpBfwlcVw/VM1ZXZXD-oI/AAAAAAAAAIo/QU0LnSf_lR8/s1600/blog_hop_feb15_testing_small.jpg" /></a></div> <br>This blog is part of <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/blog_hop_testing.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: Testing</a>. Visit and read all the great blogs, from parents, teachers, students, gifted coordinators and more!
Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-14647528357407593702014-11-30T00:01:00.000-05:002014-11-30T21:41:19.342-05:00Holiday Traditions!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as... as a Fiddler on the Roof!
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What traditions will your kids remember next year, in 20 years, for a lifetime? Will he remember the piles of presents, or that Grammy and Grandfather took all the grandkids to the theater every holiday? Will she recall that "perfect gift" you bought for her when she was 3, or 10, or 16, or will she remember the year Daddy's gingerbread house was a train station with the town clock on top (it's always 5 o'clock somewhere!), or the year she created a wonderland gingerbread castle that looked a little like Hogwarts, in red and black on a shimmering lake of silver nonpareils?
<p>Traditions create memories.</p>
<p>What are your holiday traditions?</p>
<p>Ours are simple. Every year, on the Saturday before Christmas, Grammy and Grandfather take all the grandchildren to the matinee of the Holiday Panto at our local theater. Each year, the kids search excitedly to see what this year's Panto will be, and what role their favorite actor will play. They have to see Mark Lazar!</p>
<p>Then when they return, we have the family traditional dinner in the oven: Hot Cheese Monkey. One of the kids is sent down to the "dungeon" to catch the Monkey, and we all enjoy this traditional egg, cheese, bread and sausage or ham casserole, served with cooked and raw carrots for the veggie, and pickles on the side, because... well, because it's a tradition, this one passed down from my husband's grandmother, Gran. For some reason, no one seems to need dessert.</p>
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<p>And we decorate gingerbread houses. This tradition is old enough to have taken on a life of it's own. The extended family, and now boyfriends and girlfriends, all join us for gingerbread houses, each with his own house and her own theme. And each year their Dad creates his "secret" project. No one knows what it will be until he's done. Grandfather helps the little ones, while Grammy creates amazing snowmen and other hand-built decorations for whoever wants them. As the kids are growing up, sometimes she even decorates her own house!</p>
<p>We collect the decorations for weeks beforehand. There are always graham crackers for constructing add-on porch roofs or school bell towers, ice cream cones for church steeples, and Necco wafers, Christmas colored nonpareils or frosted shredded wheat for roofing materials. There are gummy lifesavers to turn into wreathes, and licorice allsorts that become stepping stones or window candles, roofing materials or presents under Peeps Christmas trees.</p>
<p>And then there are this year's unique candy finds, those special decorations that we've never seen before. These new decorations delight and inspire! A few years ago, it was chocolate "rocks." They turned into a rocky hillside a garden path, and a rock garden for the turtle. No one knows what new surprises are in store for this year!</p>
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<p>One year, we had a Jewish gingerbread house and a Muslim gingerbread house. The kids researched to be certain to provide thoughtful decorations, and they learned about different cultures in the process. Gingerbread as social studies!</p>
<p>Another year, we had a spring house with beautiful spring flowers, a lake and a garden path. And another saw a Halloween masterpiece. One year was a "foil" theme - kisses wrapped in various colored foils were stripped and the foil used to roof and decorate. Last year included an attached garage with a lift-opening door and a candy car stowed inside, at the end of the gingerbread house's driveway. I'm told a black-and-white theme might be featured on one house this year; I can't wait to see it!</p>
<p>Like most traditions, this one isn't quite so simple. We collect candies for months before, making certain we have fruit-striped gum and gummy bears to become sleds and their passengers, holiday M&Ms, and plenty of coconut and mini marshmallows, so everyone can have their "snow of choice."</p>
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<p>The gingerbread must be made in advance, and even that's another fun family tradition. We've discovered new gingerbread house molds over the years, including last year's coup thanks to a new boyfriend: a gingerbread train mold! eBay is our friend, for buying out-of-print gingerbread molds. We've mastered forming the dough and then peeling it out onto baking trays to speed the process, but baking 12+ houses is still a two-day adventure. We have egg-white powder to make Royal Icing, and we assemble all the houses at least a day in advance of decorating. We learned the hard way that Rome was not built in a day, and Royal Icing needs a day to set firm!</p>
<p>It's worth every minute of the prep to watch our kids and their cousins, and parents, too, sitting around the tables, passing candies back and forth, sharing ideas and keeping secrets until the big "reveal," and making tons of great memories.</p>
<p>And year after year, the question is always the same... not when will we shop, or what am I getting, but what day is the Panto and Gingerbread Houses?</p>
<p>Traditions!
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<p>If you still need a little something to wrap, visit <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/smart_toys.htm">Hoagies' Gifted: Smart Toys and Games</a>. You'll find tons of toys and games for gifted kids and families, all reviewed by gifted kids for gifted kids. These are the toys and games that last more than one day or even one play, bringing years of joy, without driving gifted parents completely batty.</p>
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<p>Click Next Blog to continue to the next blog in this month's loop, all featuring wonderful ideas for holiday "giving"... Let's say Bye-Bye to Buy-Buy this holiday season, and make memories our kids will remember for a lifetime!</p>
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<p>This blog is part of <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_holiday_gifts.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop on Holiday Gifts: Bye-Bye to Buy-Buy</a>. Click here to visit the Blog Hop page, and find all the blogs PLUS a bonus Pinterest Link! And from here, you can visit all the great past Blog Hops, including
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_advocacy.htm">Gifted Advocacy</a>,
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_friendships.htm">Gifted Friendships</a>,
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_the_g_word.htm">The "G" Word</a>, and lots more...</p>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-317521244990627112014-10-31T00:01:00.000-04:002014-10-31T14:10:51.648-04:00Be sure to adjust your own oxygen mask before assisting others...<p>We've all heard it, whether on a plane or in a movie. In the unlikely event of a change in cabin pressure... Please be sure to adjust your own mask before assisting others. It's good advice. If you try to help others first, you may lose consciousness from lack of oxygen yourself, and be unable to help the other person anyway. It's <i>really</i> good advice.
<p>...Good advice that we rarely listen to in our own lives. Are you the parent of a gifted child? Are you overwhelmed, exhausted, or just plain "spent," trying to keep up with your own life, and your kids? Put on your own oxygen mask before attempting to assist those around you!
<p>But what does this mean??
<p>As with everything else in this crazy parenting journey, the meaning varies with the individual. For some of us, it means going out for a run, whether around the block or 26.2 miles, a marathon. For some of us, it means spending an hour in yoga or meditation; for others it means spending 5 minutes by yourself, alone, in the bathroom. At least for a few years. But even those 5 minute time-outs count.
<p>For many of us, the last time we spent ANY time for ourselves, doing what we wanted to do, has faded into a distant memory, a mirage on the rear horizon. That's not a good thing.
<p>Whatever we do to take care of ourselves, it's important that we actually DO it. It's important to take care of ourselves before we try to take care of our kids and spouse (in no particular order). It's even more important for our kids to see us taking care of ourselves--our minds, bodies, eyes, relationships--they need to learn to do the same thing for themselves.
<p>Whatever you do for to relax and rejuvenate yourself, keep a few things in mind. First, keep your eyes in mind. Our eyes require exercise, particularly, they require changing focal length to keep their flexibility and youth. We laugh at the ads for Presbyopia on the TV or in magazines, but our eyes do age and harden, and the more we exercise them, beginning in early youth, the better. Do you spend your days working on a computer? Take 2 minutes every hour to focus on something outside your window. Better still, GO outside the window and exercise your eyes, lungs, and skeletal muscles all at once with a few minutes walk.
<p>Next, keep those muscles in mind. What we eat is important, but we could consume the best diet in the world and without exercise, we would not be healthy. Exercise doesn't need to mean distance running or lifting weights; it can be walking around the garden and pulling weeds. Winter doesn't mean that you can't go outside to exercise. Put on your heavy coat and gloves and get outside to admire the ice on the trees, the snow on blades of grass, or the view from the top of the ski slope. Summer where you are? Go for a walk around the mall or the library, in the nice cool air conditioning.
<p>Don't forget to exercise your brain! Use it or lose it turns out to be sage advice for more than just our bodies. Recent research suggests that for many older adults, the decline in mental facility is related to their choice to use or stagnate their brains. In other words, learning, solving puzzles, and keeping mentally nimble is as important to offset the effects of aging as exercise and stretching is to offset the effects of aging on our bodies. Yes, the crossword puzzle or Words with Friends really is our friend!
<p>I'm as guilty as the next person. I spent years of my life in the same routine, day in and day out. I sat in my car commuting to work, where I sat and stared at the computer for hours on end. The only thing I exercised was my fingers... typing. I didn't even have a window anywhere nearby to look out and refocus my eyes. Then I came home and played with the kids, but by then it was usually board games... it was dark out. Cooking, shopping, that was a little exercise, but something for my sanity? Not so much. And I must admit, it's slightly easier to do things for myself now that we are officially "empty nesters," though not nearly as much easier as I expected.
<p>We also need emotional "exercise." For those of us with spouses or significant others, this means spending time together. Preferably together <b>alone</b>. For those of us without significant others it may look different, but it's still spending social time with others who do NOT need their diapers changed, their shoes tied, or their homework supervised. You know, other grown-ups. Not just working in the same cube-farm with others, but spending enjoyable time with them, perhaps dining, talking, book club, or many other forms of adult social interaction.
<p>A few years ago, my husband stumbled on it. He found something that gets us outside and has us exercising our eyes in close and distant viewing. Something that exercises our brains in puzzle solving, observation and learning. Something that exercises our bodies, a little at a time (that's all I can handle; I have limited mobility), but for those who are able, offers miles of hiking, biking and even a little diving and climbing, if you're so inclined. And better yet, something that has us spending time alone together, talking, working on puzzles together, then at other times has us socializing with other adults who share our interest. What is it?
<p>All my friends are grinning now. They know what I'm about to say. Some are as hooked as we are; others haven't tried it yet, and perhaps think we're a little nuts. Two are personally responsible for introducing us to our new activity. Yes, it's...
<p>Geocaching. A global treasure hunt that over 6 million people are playing today. The perfect geek, er, gifted adult activity. Every geocache is a puzzle to be solved, a treasure to be found. Some are so simple you can park the car, step out and grab them. Others require hours of research and puzzle solving, while still others require hours of hiking and searching outdoors. There are over 2.5 million caches active on all 7 continents, plus one in the International Space Station, but that's a "terrain 5" - specialized equipment required. And among those 2.5 million there are caches for everyone, no matter how mobile you are, or how much puzzling or hiking you are looking for.
<p>Geocaching has taken us to historical places near and far, including many we never knew existed. We've learned geology at home and in our travels. We've solved puzzles, simple and amazing; we've even created a few of our own for others to solve. We've met tons of people, and made many friends. And yes, we've improved our health. Not bad for a treasure hunt game!
<p>Geocaching is just one solution, our personal "oxygen mask." What's yours?
<p><a href="http://homeschoolinghatters.blogspot.com/2014/10/gifted-self-care.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img src="http://www.brainblogfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/blog_hop_next_small.jpg"/></a>Click to continue to the next blog in this month's loop, all featuring amazing self-care suggestions and success stories...
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_self_care.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DtSAJ7g622I/VE_pkUZ2T3I/AAAAAAAAAFs/JfI29-7cJYA/s1600/blog_hop_nov14_gifted_self_care_small.jpg" /></a></div>This blog is part of <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_self_care.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop on Gifted Advocacy</a>. Visit all the blogs in this hop!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-13838405181319188682014-09-28T00:01:00.000-04:002014-10-28T16:09:06.038-04:00Advocacy... the story of my life<p>Advocacy. I always said I wasn't good at it. I talk too much, I'm not good at being "politically correct," and I often put my foot in my mouth... at least when it's about my own kids. I get emotional. I'm not a good advocate for them, though I am persistent. That's a good quality for an advocate.
<p>And yet, it's something I find myself doing time and again. Daily, it seems. A cousin who's second grader is facing the new school year having to "prove" himself again before he can get the enrichment that kept him sane in first grade last year. A friend who's 4th grader is going nuts with the mindless math homework, and needs something to encourage him to bother doing it... like harder homework. Another friend who's 9th grader isn't welcome in Sunday School any more, because the leader is suddenly uncomfortable with her being grade accelerated. Advocacy seems to be my middle name.
<p>So what have a I learned over the years? What can I tell folks to help them make their own advocacy better accepted? And why couldn't I have thought of these things years ago, when I was advocating for my kids? Can't turn back the clock, so I'll focus on the future.
<p>And honestly, that's good advice. Don't focus on the past. What can we do today to improve the gifted child's life tomorrow? There's no point in rehashing the past for minutes and hours. It doesn't help, but it does make folks feel bad; usually folks on both sides of the table. When advocating, let's start with today, and look forward.
<p>Take the other person's perspective. That sounds simple, but often it actually is. Yes, the teacher is making life difficult for your child. But sometimes your child makes life difficult for the teacher, too. And then there's the rest of the things the teacher must be to the kids in her class: teacher, mentor, guide, disciplinarian, food provider, and lots more. All the while she may be worried about her own job, if her students' test scores aren't high enough.
<p>But how can you help these things? They're not in your control. You can't do them for the teacher. Ah, but you can make her life easier, by advocating for options that don't require her to work harder. Like what, you ask? Like homework. It's easy to differentiate homework for one student, and when that student is your child, you're motivated to do it. You can even volunteer to share the differentiated homework with the teacher so she can use it with other children. No, she might not have any other 2nd graders who need 4th grade math homework, but hey, at least you offered!
<p>Another important part of seeing things from the school and teacher's perspective is saying "yes." The teacher is concerned that your child might need more time to develop her social/emotion skills? Yes, I had that concern too. I look at the gifted literature, and found that there's research indicating that excess repetition can actually have a deleterious effect on the gifted child. Let me send bring you a copy (send you a link, whichever you'd prefer) to that research when we're done meeting. Now, I can help you with differentiating for my child by....
<p>And how do you differentiate math homework? Easy! Take your child to the educational supply or the wholesale club, and let her pick out a math book from a grade or two (or more) higher, and buy it. When the homework comes home, replace the grade-level worksheets with similar topic worksheets from the higher level book. The second grade homework is simple subtraction? Replace it with multi-digit subtraction, then add borrowing as soon as your child can handle it. The homework is shapes? Replace with more complex shapes. Telling time to the 1/2 hour? Telling time to the 5 minutes. Easy.
<p>This approach solves many problems. It makes the child far less frustrated with the below-level worksheets for homework. He learns that his parents are working on his behalf, trying to bring more learning into his education. At the same time, the teacher sees what the child really can do, what level he is really working at. And this is his level <i>without</i> any instruction!
<p>For my kids, changing out the homework kept them happy for a year or so while we advocated for the next step: subject acceleration, in our case, in math. But these techniques work just as well in reading, writing, science or social studies. For subject acceleration in math, we advocated for several different options, presenting them as a selection for the school to pick from. Some of the methods were more labor intensive at the school (requiring work by the teacher), some required a little scheduling (allowing the child to go to a higher grade for the subject), while others had a cost associated (signing up for a complete online course). We suggested that the online courses would make the teacher's life easier, and our goal was not to make more work for the teacher, but instead, to make her life easier... while still meeting our child's requirements in education.
<p>The next step in advocacy is often a much bigger step: full grade acceleration. But that's a topic for another post.
<p>For more on Gifted Advocacy, visit <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/advocacy.htm">Hoagies' Gifted: Advocacy</a> page. There you'll find links to research and success stories, and everything in between. Gifted Advocacy guides, Myths vs. Realities, and more.
<p>For more on creating your own Advocacy Support group, read <a href="http://www.nsgt.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/article_sheard_parent_groups.pdf">The Care and Feeding of Gifted Parent Groups: A Guide for Gifted Coordinators, Teachers, and Parent Advocates</a> by Wenda Sheard.
<p>Visit the next blog in the Hoagies' Gifted blog hop on Gifted Advocacy <a href="http://www.braverthanyoubelieve.com/2014/09/29/one-is-enough/"><img src="http://www.brainblogfeed.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/blog_hop_next_small.jpg" /></a>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_advocacy.htm" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-dk_D8Sv4FO4/VCYq9TgltgI/AAAAAAAAAFc/JUHVcbhTrOc/s1600/blog_hop_oct14_gifted_advocacy_small.jpg" /></a></div>This blog is part of <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_advocacy.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop on Gifted Advocacy</a>. Visit all the blogs in this hop!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-41817594100701255802014-08-06T12:03:00.000-04:002014-08-06T12:03:29.010-04:00You are not alone! Finding gifted community<p>
In last week's <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_friendships.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: Gifted Friendships</a> I shared the research on the importance of gifted friendships in <a href="http://hoagiesbits.blogspot.com/2014/08/gifted-friendships-you-are-not-alone.html">Gifted Friendships: You Are Not Alone!</a>. This week, I'll help you find community!
<p>
One of the earliest things gifted parents discover is the sense that they are alone. If you're not in a gifted community, you learn quickly that while other parents can share and brag about their kids developmental, sports, and even academic accomplishments, gifted parents may NOT. For other parents, it's just normal, everyday parent conversation, but for us... so many parents think we're bragging, or worse, just making it up. We learn early that everyone can share about their kids... except us.
<p>
We are alone.
<p>
If parents lucky enough to land in a gifted community early and often, we may be lucky enough to have a place to share about our gifted kids, too. But even there, there are things we can't talk about. Have a kid who's not as perfect as the rest of the kids in the very gifted community? Better not talk about it, or we may be "blamed" for somehow causing their uniqueness. Or worse, we fear we'll be drummed out of the community, the one place where we feel comfortable sharing all the great things our child is doing.
<p>
We are alone, even in our own crowd.
<p>
The most important thing that gifted parents need to know, and be reminded of early and often, is that you are not alone! Got a gifted kid? There are many of us out here just like you! Live in a rural area, where it seems none of us are nearby? We might not live next door, but we are in equally rural (or urban, or suburban) communities, feeling similar isolation. Have an exceptionally or profoundly gifted child who is still far different from the "pleasantly" gifted child, a child for whom the normal gifted program is like giving individuals blades of grass to a hungry dinosaur... it's good, but not enough for the dinosaur to know you're feeding it. You are still not alone, even if you feel alone in the local gifted parents group. Or you have a wildly diverse gifted child, who is extraordinary good at some things, but extraordinarily weak at others? You, most of all, are not alone. Even if there is no other child exactly like yours (and there likely is someone, somewhere), there are many other parents struggling with Twice Exceptional (2e, dually identified) kids like yours.
<p>
Gifted community is the lifeline for all of us. It's the place we can talk about parenting these wonderful kids. We can share the struggles of education, or the resources of homeschooling. We can commiserate on the lack of programs at early ages, and create our own programs with our critical mass and our unswerving need. We can find a place to brag and to beg, to share the past and consider the future. But how can we find these amazing, amusing, accepting gifted communities?
<p>
There are public and private, open and closed communities. We share on Facebook and mailing lists, blogs and boards, behind firewalls and in real life. We meet at formal conferences and casual gatherings across the country and around the world. No matter who or where you are, you are not alone!
<p>
Electronic communities are a great way to get started. For open communities with tons of participants, sure to be folks who live near you, start with the major mailing list communities. TAGFAM and GT-Families offer mailing lists for general gifted topics for families and teachers, on lists of the same names. If you're homeschooling your gifted kids, TAGMAX is the list for you, with nearly a thousand other subscribers who share resources and ideas for homeschooling, unschooling, deschooling and more. GT-Special is the list for parents of those tricky-to-parent, challenging-to-educate twice exceptional (or 2e) kids. And TAGPDQ is the community for you if you're the parent of a "more than just plain gifted" child, those exceptionally and profoundly gifted kids who often require more extreme educational options.
<p>
Visit <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/on-line_support.htm#list">Hoagies' Gifted Online Communities: Mailing Lists</a> for subscription instructions and links for these plus hundreds of other more specialized mailing lists, organized by population, country, state, and district or locality. There is a mailing list for everyone!
<p>
Looking for a casual community you can just "drop into" when you need a little support? Though they are more public, check out any one of the great Facebook communities for gifted: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/HoagiesGifted">Hoagies' Gifted Education Page</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SENGifted">SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)</a>, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/GiftedHomeschoolersForum">Gifted Homeschoolers Forum</a> are three popular Facebook gifted forums. And there are plenty more. Just search for Gifted and your other interests (your town, your school district, homeschool, etc.) on Facebook.
<p>
Looking for something less electronic and more real-life? Check out the U.S. and International organizations listed in <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/organizations.htm">Hoagies' Gifted: Organizations</a>. Many offer conferences, summer programs, meetings and more!
<p>
If you have testing and your kids qualify, one of the best U.S. gifted communities is the <a href="http://www.davidsongifted.org/youngscholars/">Davidson Young Scholars</a> program. It costs nothing to join, and offers a wide slate of support options, including electronic and real-lie gatherings. Even if you use nothing else in the program, be sure to join your local DIG mailing list, and attend some of the DIGs (Davidson Informal Gatherings) to meet and enjoy others in the Davidson gifted community!
<p>
Whatever means you choose, be sure to explore the online and real-life gifted communities so that both you and your kids learn that <b>You are NOT alone!</b><br /> <br />
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Don't miss the rest of last week's <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_friendships.htm">Gifted Friendship Blog Hop</a>. With nearly two dozen blogs on gifted kids, teens, young adults and adults, plus a couple blogs on the value of "invisible friends," there's something for everyone!
<br />Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-74953550558202786772014-08-01T09:06:00.001-04:002014-08-01T12:20:35.536-04:00Gifted Friendships: You Are Not Alone! <p>Gifted friendships are hard to define, and often even harder to find. Gifted kids in a classroom full of kids who want to play with them and invite them to parties, may feel alone and crave this rare commodity. Gifted adults may feel alone in spite of lots of acquaintances at work and in other activities. There are lots of people around us every day, yet we feel strange and isolated. What are we missing?</p>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"When gifted children are asked what they most desire, the answer is often 'a friend'. The children's experience of school is completely colored by the presence or absence of relationships with peers." (Silverman, 1993).</i></blockquote>
<p>Miraca Gross has researched gifted friendships, not only in children, but over the lives of young and now middle-aged adults through her longitudinal studies. And I am lucky to count Miraca among my acquaintances, one who I would very much love to get to know better, who could easily become a friend... if only she didn't live on the other side of the world.</p>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>"This difficulty of the gifted child in forming friendships is largely a result of the infrequency of persons who are like-minded. The more intelligent a person is, regardless of age, the less often can he find a truly congenial companion. The average child finds playmates in plenty who can think and act on a level congenial to him, because there are so many average children." (Hollingworth, 1936)</i></blockquote>
<p>But what makes the gifted child less able to find friendship among all the other students in her age/grade classroom? Is the student somehow biased towards kids identified as gifted? No. Are the student's parents influencing her to befriend only the gifted kids? Not at all. Miraca's research shows...</p>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Gifted children were beginning to look for friends with whom they could develop close and trusting friendships, at ages when their age-peers of average ability were looking for play partners. (Gross, SENG article)</i></blockquote>
Gifted kids feel differently, and seek friendships among those who feel similarly!</p>
<p>Gross's and other research shows other factors influence friendships. Gender plays a role: boys are, at some point, 2 or more years behind girls in their concepts of friendship, which accounts for the elementary years cliquishness of girls not being mimicked in boys until early middle school. Age plays a role. Levels of giftedness are also key to finding gifted friendships.<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>The years between four and nine are probably the most likely to be beset with problems. (Hollingworth, 1936)</i></blockquote>
<p>The question is, what can we do to help our gifted children find friendships?</p>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Ability grouping and grade advancement can be of invaluable assistance in the early years of school to young gifted children whose accelerated conceptions of firendship are urging htem to see the sure shelter of a relationsihp of trust, fidelity and authenticity, at ages when tehir age-peers are seeking playmates or casual conversation. In the case of exceptionally and profoundly gifted child, it is difficult to justify, either educationally or socially, the inclusion of these children in classes comprised of age-peers whose conceptions of firendship are so radically different than theirs. (Gross, SENG article)</i></blockquote>
<p>The most important thing we can do for our kids is to help them find this "community" they seek, and let them know and experience that <b>they are not alone!</b></p>
<br />
For a quick summary of Miraca's research, read SENG's <a href="http://www.sengifted.org/archives/articles/play-partner-or-sure-shelter-what-gifted-children-look-for-in-friendship" target="_blank">"Play Partner" or "Sure Shelter": What Gifted Children Look For in Friendship</a>. For her full presentation, visit Hoagies' Gifted: <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/play_partner.htm" target="_blank">"Play Partner" or "Sure Shelter"? Why gifted children prefer older friends..</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9iNenxoT3k/U9uOuDRQIwI/AAAAAAAAAEw/bOndBYaZpJQ/s1600/blog_hop_aug14_gifted_friendships_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v9iNenxoT3k/U9uOuDRQIwI/AAAAAAAAAEw/bOndBYaZpJQ/s1600/blog_hop_aug14_gifted_friendships_small.jpg" /></a>This blog is part of <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hop_gifted_friendships.htm" target="_blank">Hoagies' Gifted Blog Hop: Gifted Friendships</a>. Visit the other great blogs in this month's Hop by clicking here.Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-4131423505398083712014-07-01T14:59:00.000-04:002014-07-02T10:42:08.777-04:00Summer Reading Favorites for Young Readers<blockquote>Disclosure: This post contains <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2F&tag=thehoagiesgifted&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325">Amazon affiliates</a> links, which link to Hoagies' Page's Amazon affiliates account. Thanks for supporting Hoagies' Gifted Education Page!</blockquote>
<p>Whenever school breaks roll around, our time becomes ours to fill with our favorite pasttimes. And for many of us, our all-time favorite pasttime is Reading! Reading takes us to new worlds and old ones, and fills our moments with adventure. But for many gifted kids, finding new and interesting reading books is a challenge. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hot_topics.htm">Hoagies' Gifted Hot Topics Reading Lists</a> are here to save the day!
<p>For young readers, the challenge is to find books that meet both their advanced reading levels and interests, but don't offer an excess of drama or "scary stuff." <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0439064864/thehoagiesgifted/">Harry Potter</a> is a great series, but often not for our 5- and 6-year-olds. Even Harry didn't start at Hogwarts until his 12th birthday. For my eldest, lucky enough to grow up alongside Harry, Hermione and Ron, each new book brought new strengths and challenges, and as the kids aged, new darkness. But each new book came with both Harry and my daughter a year older. It was a perfect arrangement! Today with all 7 books published, kids want to read them all, one after another. And who can blame them for wanting to stay in one world, once they've arrived? Let's give our young readers worlds they can visit and submerse themselves in, that aren't overwhelming.
<p><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/early_readers.htm#First">Hot Topics: Reading List for Early Readers: First Chapter Books</a> offers great young series for our youngest chapter-book readers. From the fun antics of <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0064441555/thehoagiesgifted/">Amelia Bedelia</a>, the literal housekeeper, to the adventures of (the previously lonely) <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0689810059/thehoagiesgifted/">Henry and his canine companion, Mudge</a>, to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0064421554/thehoagiesgifted/">The Riverside Kids</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0140346031/thehoagiesgifted/">The Time Warp Trio</a>... there are hundreds of volumes for young readers to discover. Check out these and many other titles.
<p>Our kids tend to consume every book left in their way, and quickly move to higher levels of reading and adventure. Scroll down the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/early_readers.htm#longer">Hot Topics: Reading List for Early Readers</a> to the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/early_readers.htm#longer">Longer Chapter Books</a> and find even more adventure. How about a magical cupboard that turns toys into living creatures? Kids love the Indian in the Cupboard series! Find more magic in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0545010381/thehoagiesgifted">The Secrets of Droon</a>, where Eric, Neal and Julie explore the Rainbow Stairs and the magical creatures they find there. Looking for a little more reality in their reading? Join <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1416916172/thehoagiesgifted">The Five Little Peppers</a> and their real-life adventures, or <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0688144438/thehoagiesgifted">Einstein Anderson</a> as he solves all the mysteries he can find. Finding Einstein Anderson titles at your bookstore may be a mystery in itself, but fear not, your local library will likely have the collection. If not, it's time to learn about your public library's <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlibrary_loan">inter-library loan</a>!
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oy0QeHNWOb8/U7MFfainTII/AAAAAAAAAEM/vSC2EQSgx40/s1600/monitor35.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oy0QeHNWOb8/U7MFfainTII/AAAAAAAAAEM/vSC2EQSgx40/s200/monitor35.jpg" /></a></div>Some kids prefer the colorful worlds of graphic novels. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/cartoons_humor.htm">Hot Topics! Reading List of Graphic Novels / Cartoons / Humor</a> has plenty to offer. For our youngest readers, there's always Captain Underpants, but he is only one option in a brave new world. Check out Ricky Ricotta and the giant robot, the Adventures of Tintin featuring the young Alex Rider, or Asterix, before moving on to longer cartoon novel series like Bone, Herobear and The Kid, and Amulet, the adventures of two ordinary kids in a world of man-eating demons, a mechanical rabbit, a talking fox, and a giant robot!
Once they move out of the younger chapter books, many of our kids love, love, love <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/scifi_fantasy.htm">Science Fiction and/or Fantasy</a> novels. And I find even as adults, gifted kids love <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/puzzle_books.htm">Puzzle Books</a>.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l7_tKmvSvdA/U7MG2d0cA3I/AAAAAAAAAEg/1VTIOQDHRj4/s1600/math.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-l7_tKmvSvdA/U7MG2d0cA3I/AAAAAAAAAEg/1VTIOQDHRj4/s200/math.jpg" /></a></div>But what if my child is a 100%, no holds barred, no characters allowed, non-fiction reader? No problem! Check out these non-fiction lists:
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/biographies.htm">Hot Topics: Biographies!</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/history.htm">Hot Topics: History</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/mathematics.htm">Hot Topics: Mathematics and Programming</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/science_sleuths.htm">Hot Topics: Science & Inventions</a></li>
</ul>
Curious kids will find these <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/horribles.htm">Horribles!</a> horribly interesting! Hands-on kids of all ages love <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/klutz_books.htm">Klutz</a> books.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bJd68lvQO74/U7MGVHtBRjI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5bdbm6IigNA/s1600/monkey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bJd68lvQO74/U7MGVHtBRjI/AAAAAAAAAEY/5bdbm6IigNA/s200/monkey.jpg" /></a></div>Looking for books specifically for your boy or girl? Check out <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/girls_women.htm">Hot Topics: Girls and Young Women</a> and <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/teen_boys.htm">Hot Topics: Teen Boys</a>. Do you need books, fiction or non-fiction, addressing issues facing gifted kids of all ages, including friendship, perfectionism, being twice exceptional, or other social/emotional issues? Check out <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/being_gifted.htm">Hot Topics: On Being Gifted</a>.
Titles for your young adult reader? You'll love <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/young_adult_lit.htm">Bob Seney's Literature for Gifted Young Adults</a>.
<p>Collected from gifted kids the world 'round, no matter what kind of books your kids prefer, you'll find titles they love on the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hot_topics.htm">Hot Topics! Reading Lists.</a>
<p>Use the comments below to submit <i>your</i> kids' favorite titles to the Hot Topics lists!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-62993973285154616432014-06-01T01:00:00.000-04:002014-06-05T14:49:02.216-04:00Go out and play. Go Geocaching!<p>Growing up in the 60s and 70s, we kids heard that all the time. "Go out and play! Get out of my hair." We spent hours and days exploring the woods behind the house, wandering through the neighborhood "bridle trail," and exploring nearby fields. We climbed trees, and looked out over the neighbor's roof... that was scary! We spent hours hanging out on friends' jungle gyms, riding bikes, and checking out wildflowers up and down the road.
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-462091/How-children-lost-right-roam-generations.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yitaL7_N1_0/U4ZWbEwRbxI/AAAAAAAAADI/4UVXWTwOS0Y/s320/right_to_roam.jpg" /></a></div>
It's not my imagination... kids have much less roaming range these days. Research bears out my recollection: over 4 generations, the range of an 8-year-old has shrunken from 6 miles to 300 yards from the front door. Read <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-462091/How-children-lost-right-roam-generations.html">How Children Lost the Right to Roam in Four Generations</a>, the source of this frightening picture.
<p><b>Nature is good for us.</b><br>
Besides the rights and responsibilities of growing up, what else have our kids lost in this cultural change? Lots. Research tells us that unstructured time in nature has huge benefits for kids. Study after study shows that kids are losing out. As preschoolers, kids are already less active than is recommended, and obesity is more common. By school-age, kids are unable to identify common plants, and are more myopic from the decrease in the amount of long-distance focus that children's eyes used to get outside in nature. Free-play and contact with nature is declining dramatically. <a href="http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/CNNEvidenceoftheDeficit.pdf">Children’s Nature Deficit: What We Know – and Don’t Know</a> details 45 studies on these factors and more.
<p>So what, you ask? Research shows that nature is good for us. Mental health benefits include stress and anxiety reduction, ADHD symptom reduction, and improved focus and cognitive function. Yes, we think and feel better on nature! The physical benefits of free-play in nature are just as impressive: better vascular health, less vitamin D deficiency, lower BMI (body mass index), better physical fitness, less childhood asthma, and less myopia. <a href="http://www.childrenandnature.org/downloads/C&NNHealthBenefits2012.pdf">Healthy Benefits to Children form Contact with the Outdoors & Nature</a> summarizes dozens more studies on these benefits.
<p><b>But how do I get my kids outside into Nature?</b><br>
That is the question. Screen time is addictive. Kids are learning loads and enjoying computer games, social networking and more. How do we get them to put down their devices and go outside? It's simple: we don't. Instead, let them use their devices outside!
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.Geocaching.com" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-6EW9Xk-THLA/U4Zr4ARxVBI/AAAAAAAAADk/zdHAB6q0Zc0/s320/geocaching.jpg" /></a></div>
<b>The answer: Geocaching</b><br>
Here's a game that's nerdy enough to appeal to gifted kids of all ages. Start on your computer or other device. Look up geocaches near you. Then use a GPSr or your smartphone with an app to track down the caches, using the latitude/longitude (lat/long) and some clues about the size and difficulty of the cache. When you find it, sign the paper log inside, and log your find on your device.
<p>What are these geocaches? Caches can be many things. A cache may be half-mini-marshmallow-size magnetic "nano" attached to a park bench, or an ammo can or large plastic container hidden in the woods, or even bigger. Larger geocaches usually contain "swag," fun little toys for our youngest cachers. Caches may take you to a park you never knew existed, or a historical place that you've been passing by all your life. Caches may take you for a long hike in the woods, or might first have you solve a complex puzzle at home before you can discover the latitude and longitude of your search. They may lead you to events, where other geocachers of all ages get together to have a picnic, or to clean up a park in a CITO (Cache In, Trash Out) event. There are different caches for all different types of cachers!
<p>And where are all these geocaches hiding? Everywhere around you! There are caches in urban, suburban and rural areas of every continent on Earth, plus one on the International Space Station. Caches on terrains rated 1 are handicapped accessible. Terrains 1.5 and 2 are stroller accessible - even the youngest kids can handle these caches. A terrain 3 cache might be a little ways up an easy-to-climb tree or a steep hill. You might want to wait until the kids are a little older before trying to find caches rated higher than 3, but don't rule them out. I've found a terrain 5 geocache - specialized equipment required - by borrowing a paddle boat from a local picnic park to cross the river to the cache. Tons of family fun!
<p>Geocachers love a challenge, and geocaching is full of personal challenges. Can you find a cache with a difficulty/terrain (D/T) rating of 5/5, where 5 terrain means "specialized equipment required?" Can you find caches in every state you travel to, or every county within your state? We cheated on this challenge: the first state we've cached every county is in the nearby state of Delaware... it only has three counties. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KSOXgM8aOC0/U4ZqUpDPnlI/AAAAAAAAADc/-0G8aLjhwpI/s1600/geo_stats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KSOXgM8aOC0/U4ZqUpDPnlI/AAAAAAAAADc/-0G8aLjhwpI/s200/geo_stats.jpg" /></a></div>Can you find a cache of every possible difficulty and terrain combination? There are 81 different D/T combinations to find, and we're not there yet. Can you geocache for 13 days with different totals found each day? Cache for 90 straight days? Or 366 days? And there are lots of other challenges! For gifted kids (and adults) who love graphs and charts and statistics, geocaching offers tons...
<p><b>Get Started Geocaching!</b><br>
With over 2.4 million active geocaches around the world, there are bound to be a few near you. To find your first, you need to sign up on <a href="http://www.Geocaching.com">Geocaching.com</a> and set up your free account. Then click on Play, Hide and Seek a Cache, and type in your address. Pick a geocache from the local list (it's best to start with a low difficulty cache that's been found recently), then go out and find it! You'll find caches near home, school, work, and everywhere you travel. Geocaching is a great way to find your way around a new city, or find hidden treasures near your home.
<p>For pointers on getting started, read <a href="http://www.HoagiesGifted.org/geocaching101_getting_started.htm">Hoagies' Gifted | Geocaching 101: Finding Your First Geocache</a>. Some of my favorite geocaches are Puzzle Caches. Puzzle Caches may be site puzzles, where you go to the location and explore, seeking answers to specific questions and using those answers to find the lat/long of the cache. Or they can be more complicated puzzles, from visual puzzles to ciphers to any kind of puzzle that a cache owner can think of... some as complex as ARML math problems, and some as simple as finding the text hidden on the cache page. Read <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/geocaching103_puzzle_caches.htm">Geocaching 103: Solving Puzzle Caches</a> for lots more on both solving and creating your own Puzzle Caches.
<p>Geocaching encourages out-of-the-box creativity. Who creates all these caches? Geocachers do! Once you've found 40 or 50 caches, and have an idea what you're looking for and what good cache locations might be near you, consider hiding your own cache. The instructions on <a href="https://www.geocaching.com/about/hiding.aspx">Geocaching.com</a> walk you through the steps. Finding caches is fun; creating your own cache container, theme and/or puzzle to make a unique hide of your own is even more interesting! Read <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/geocaching104_placing_a_cache.htm">Geocaching 104: Creating and Placing Your Own Geocache</a> for more ideas.
<p><b>Geocaching with a group</b><br>
Both <a href="http://www.girlscoutsmoheartland.org/sites/default/files/Geocaching.pdf">Girl Scouts</a> and <a href="http://www.boyscouttrail.com/boy-scouts/meritbadges/geocaching-merit-badge.asp">Boy Scouts</a> offer Geocaching badges, with plenty of adventure.
<p><b>Go out and play. Go out and geocache!</b> The kind of play that gifted kids and adults <b><i>love</i></b>!
<p>Photographs taken at <a href="http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCKNCT_crouching-chief-hidden-cache">Crouching Chief, Hidden Cache</a> geocache in Wissahickon Park, Philadelphia.
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GCKNCT_crouching-chief-hidden-cache" style="clear: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-o41s_PBJQdw/U4ek9e0bOjI/AAAAAAAAAD8/26sYAoVEkqU/s320/0222_DSC_0007.JPG" /></a>
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LGsJTG8TWo/U4ekOdFgNjI/AAAAAAAAAD0/NMRibr72f4w/s320/0222_DSC_0014.JPG" ><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2LGsJTG8TWo/U4ekOdFgNjI/AAAAAAAAAD0/NMRibr72f4w/s320/0222_DSC_0014.JPG" /></a></div>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-85970119091805630342014-03-25T11:17:00.000-04:002014-07-02T10:42:50.293-04:00Welcome to Lake Woebegon, where 100% of children are in the top 2.5%<p>100% of children are in the top 2.5% of children. It sounds ridiculous when it's stated mathematically, but you hear it often in its common form: "All children are gifted." No matter how you say it, it is still nonsense.
<p>Nonsense. Not sensible. Not true. And certainly not defensible.
<p>Would it be defensible to ignore a special needs child in school? Yes, you need a ramp because you're in a wheelchair, but really you are just like every other child and you have no special needs. Yes, you need your textbooks on tape because you are dyslexic and cannot read the books yourself, but really you are just like every other child and you have no special needs.
<p>It sounds ridiculous, and there are U.S. federal laws to protect these children from such ignorance. (<a href="http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/504_IDEA_Rosenfeld.html">Section 504 and IDEA</a>). But for the gifted students, those above two standard deviations from the norm, there is no such federal protection.
<p>If they are lucky, gifted kids might live in a state like Pennsylvania, with a mandate to both identify and serve gifted students from K-12 under <a href="http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/pa_codes/7501/special_education_for_gifted_students/507375">Chapter 16</a> of the state education code. Chapter 16 even calls the education of gifted students "Special Education." But it falls short of actually providing special education protections to gifted students. Chapter 16 includes no enforcement, though they've added a feature where 10 districts a year are reviewed to see if they are meeting Chapter 16 guidelines. In just over <b>50 years</b>, all the districts in Pennsylvania will be reviewed, and we will learn just how many are not meeting <a href="http://www.giftedpage.org/docs/bulletins/PageBulletinCh16Updated.pdf">Chapter 16</a>, not offering FAPE (Free Appropriate Public Education) to gifted students. What happens if the schools fail this compliance monitoring? They are issued a "corrective action plan." Punishment for failing Chapter 16 Gifted Education compliance monitoring? In 50 years, they may be monitored again.
<p>Or you might live in a state like New York, with a mandate to identify but not serve gifted students. Massachusetts? Gifted students don't exist there at all, unless they are identified and offered gifted education under local school district policy. But it's not required by state nor federal government, and often doesn't happen. When it does happen, it is often the first head on the chopping block during fiscal crisis. Heads will roll! There are excellent school districts for gifted students in each of these states...if you can afford to live there. <a href="http://www.davidsongifted.org/db/StatePolicy.aspx">Davidson Foundation: U.S. Gifted Education Policies by state</a>
<p>Most people presume that gifted kids "automagically" get what they need in school. All they need is to learn, and everyone gets to learn in school, right?
<p>Not as much as you'd think.
<p>Longitudinal research from Johns Hopkins' Center for Talented Youth shows that among the top achieving students in the country, those who score 700 or above on the math or critical thinking tests of the College Board's SAT before age 13, many go on to do great things, lead companies, win prizes, invent amazing things! But many more do not receive appropriate education in their schools, their families cannot afford appropriate education through private schools and enrichment programs, and these students do not go on to accomplish great things in their lives. Read <a href="http://www.bostonglobe.com/ideas/2014/03/15/the-poor-neglected-gifted-child/rJpv8G4oeawWBBvXVtZyFM/story.html">The poor neglected gifted child</a>.
<p>What does a typical school offer the gifted student? In Kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grades, and in some schools even 3rd, 4th, and beyond, most schools offer the gifted students... Nothing. Gifted kids come into each school year knowing most or all of these early years of curriculum, and having literally nothing to learn. These students are held back with their age cohort, to raise the school's test scores and "be leaders" for the other kids.
<p>And we all know, if a child is gifted, she can figure out a way to entertain herself when she is bored in school. It's true! The problem is, the teacher may not find it entertaining when she decides to talk to her neighbors after she finishes her work. Or she reads a book under her desk... And forgets to return her attention to the teacher when the next subject is "introduced." (She already knew it anyway.) Or he decides to make a creative "pea shooter" out of materials he finds in his desk, to shoot tiny paper wads at other kids while he's bored and waiting. And then he gets entrepreneurial, and sells them to other kids in the class. What an excellent example of gifted leadership! But not appreciated.
<p>Gifted students are required to complete worksheet after worksheet, years of them, proving what they already know so that they hopefully "qualify" to participate in what is often just a the fun-and-games gifted enrichment program beginning in 3rd or 4th or 5th or 6th grade.
<b>IF</b> they qualify. If they don't offend the teacher and school by creative boredom-fighting activities. Or by correcting the teacher one too many times. Or by begging to learn new things!
<p>Meanwhile, they spend 2-3-4-5+ years learning that everything in school comes easy, that praise is easy to get, and in today's U.S. schools, that everyone gets an award for something, so their giftedness is just another gift, like being the tallest or being the prettiest, or the best public speaker. Everyone's gifted, they're nothing special.
<p>Until they reach a tough subject. It might be middle school creative writing, or 8th grade algebra, AP biology or even advanced college mathematics. At some point the gifted child is going to reach some material he has to work at to learn. And if he's had years of practice in learning difficult material, organizing his work, creating study materials, failing and getting back up again to learn some more, he will fare well. He understands <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/struggle.htm">Struggle, Challenge and Meaning</a>. But many gifted students have never had these opportunities. They've drifted through school for years, perhaps even a decade, learning only that learning is a breeze, it's all easy because I'm gifted, my brain makes it easy.
<p>These are the gifted children who panic and quit easily, because they've develop what Carol Dweck calls a "<a href="http://mindsetonline.com/whatisit/about/">fixed mindset</a>." Because they were not challenged in school from the beginning like the other kids, they have gained a warped view of their own abilities, and of the process of learning. And when the difficult material comes--and it will come--they have no idea how to get the hard work of learning done, because they were never allowed to learn how in those early years, when the rest of the kids learned. Too many years of minimal learning in school takes its toll. And at this age, instead the toll of a bad grade on an elementary-grade assignment or report card and a chance to "do better next time," the toll will be high school course placement, college admissions opportunities, or college scholarships. Lost. Gone, forever.
<p>This is education's gift to the gifted learner.
<p>Because, don't you know, <i>All children are gifted!</i>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-54063522093321989752012-07-18T15:20:00.000-04:002014-12-17T00:54:27.173-05:00Optimum Intelligence: My Experience as a Too Gifted Adult...<h3>by <a href="mailto:webmaster@hoagiesgifted.org?subject=Optimum IQ">Carolyn K.</a></h3>
<p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7iOa94zOvSY/VJEagEOWArI/AAAAAAAAAIE/-ijWp1KTsy0/s1600/npgc-week-2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7iOa94zOvSY/VJEagEOWArI/AAAAAAAAAIE/-ijWp1KTsy0/s320/npgc-week-2012.jpg" /></a></div>This week is Parenting Gifted Children Week, thanks in large part to <a href="http://www.SENGifted.org">SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted)</a>
. One thing I've noticed is that gifted kids tend to grow up to be gifted adults. Yes, I'm talking about you, ducking in the back, blaming your spouse for the kids' giftedness, and you, at your desk, arguing that you <i>were</i> gifted as a child, but now you're a regular adult. While we may grow and learn up to hide our gifts, moderate our speech and vocabulary, hopefully find places to work with folks more like ourselves, and generally <i>"look"</i> normal, we are still what we are: gifted adults. And in parenting my gifted kids, I've learned a lot about adult giftedness, about friendship, and about myself.</p>
<blockquote>
<p><i>The original question asked, "In the book,
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910707006/thehoagiesgifted/">Guiding the Gifted Child</a>, by
Webb, Meckstroth, and Tolan, the authors suggest that there is such a
thing as optimum intelligence (OI). They state that this "OI" is between
125 and 145 IQ and that most of our "cultural leaders" probably have
IQ's in that range, They are thinking that IQ's above that range probably
alienate that person from his peer group / society."</i></p>
<p><i>One response assumed, "... by the time a person becomes an adult, he
or she understands about different types of giftedness & has learned to make
friendships without discrimination. I disagree with the assumption that society
rejects extremely gifted individuals. Many gifted adults reject society long
before society is ever given a chance to make amends for their
childhood!" </i></p>
<p><i>I disagree...</i></p>
</blockquote>
<p>Long before I read "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0910707006/thehoagiesgifted/">Guiding the Gifted Child</a>" or any other book on
gifted, or knew anything about levels of giftedness, or had kids... I worked. I
work in a place where most of my co-workers are gifted, if not all. Software
and hardware engineering tends to attract people like that. Worse, within a few
short years I was asked to join a group that some people teasingly called
"the unmanageables." Take your choice: either we didn't <b><i>need</i></b>
management, or we wouldn't <b><i>take</i></b> management. It seemed to me a little
of both. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, I just did my job. I was low man (so to speak :-) on the totem
pole. I got some of the less glamorous jobs in the projects. But I did them with
the same effort that I applied to everything I did (OK, this often meant messing
around while others were getting up to speed, but then finishing ahead and
winning awards I didn't think I deserved... <a href="impostor.htm"> Impostor Syndrome</a> is another subject entirely).</p>
<p>In return, some of my peers were good friends. As I had kids and they
started into the educational system with problems, some understood. Others
listened, but explained that their kids were nowhere near as smart as my kids. Knowing their
parents, I wasn't convinced, but perhaps they are right. I still don't know. And
still others ... well, I'm not sure how to describe what happened. </p>
<p>Even in this place where literally everyone is gifted, I became an outcast
without trying. The only other two women, both moms of kids around my older
child's age, just couldn't imagine what I was dealing with or talking
about. But I didn't realize that, not at first. </p>
<p>At first they thought I was making it up (thankfully, there was another older
woman in the next department, who started handing me articles and materials on raising profoundly
gifted (PG) children, back before I even knew what PG was - I still don't know
how she knew - but I thanked her often, later, and I am still thankful for Jane
in my life and my work). Later people thought I was "pushing" my
children. I even had
one mom from another department ask how I <b>managed</b> to teach my child math at age
3 - 4. I'm afraid I had a pretty blank look when she asked - I didn't teach my
child - she just knew! And I didn't realize that <b>all</b> children didn't
just know!</p>
<p>In short order, it became clear that other moms were allowed to talk about
their kids, but my kids were not to be discussed in this place. And no, I'd
never had any trouble making friends before. </p>
<p> At the same time, a few of the men
made some snide comments when our group was asked to work with another group on
a project. I did my research, and knew my assigned areas going into meetings. We
were <b>all</b> supposed to do that. But not everyone did, or ever really knew their
subject, or their audience - their customers. And I got comments, to my face,
like "you know too much about everything." No man ever told a man that
at the conference table, even the very bright ones - they were complimented on
their knowledge - but I was called out. I started to shut down and hide what I
knew in meetings, on business topics, too.</p>
<p>Worse, I was also a teacher. I was often called on to create classes when
there was a need. Sometimes the classes were on topics I didn't already know. But no problem, I'd
just learn it and write the class, and then teach it. And co-workers, managers, secretaries,
everyone raved about my classes and my teaching. Again, I won awards - these I
thought I deserved - well, most of them - I'd usually worked hard to make the
class right for the audience.</p>
<p>But this, too, made two things happen: 1) students (co-workers) would call me
anytime, interfering with my job, to answer and support them on topics related
to my classes. And 2) people felt I knew everything, knew too much. It was not
appreciated.</p>
<p>Now perhaps there is something I was doing wrong. I certainly changed what I
was doing after these things happened: I stopped talking about my kids at work,
entirely. I stopped volunteering information at meetings, to some degree. And I
stopped working with some people... what was the point? They just wanted to hear
what I knew to pick on me for knowing it. </p>
<p>I was still called on by people all over the company, from management down,
to solve problems. But I no longer interacted with most of the people I worked
with in a social fashion. I even avoided the lunchroom and walking trail. I tend
to avoid pain, and these places were often the sites of painful conversations,
where I could only listen, and my speaking up was outside the boundaries of
"normal." I stopped running to the local kids stores with the women at
lunch. And I even stopped running to the computer stores with the men at lunch.</p>
<p>Here, in a haven for gifted people.</p>
<p>It was worse in the neighborhood. The neighborhood pediatrician pointed out
(at least she was pleasant!) that my kids and I were way above the doctors she
trained with, at least most of them. There were a few, she was always envious,
and everyone knew who they were... And she was my closest peer in the
neighborhood; I had to guard my words with everyone else. Talking about my kids,
and their needs, or worse, their accomplishments, was totally off base. </p>
<p>We're in a new neighborhood now, and things are mostly better. Again,
a doctor lives here, and he and his wife "get it." But he has recently
joined the practice we use (it is not comfortable having your neighbor as your
doctor, I can tell you, but he's the brightest guy I know, and more and more of
the neighbors are seeing him as their physician.
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; font-family: Times New Roman">Why give up the
smartest doctor I’ve ever met? </span>And the other doctors in
the practice sometimes talk to me to
get information on gifted children, when they run into a child who is being
teased to the point of abuse due to their intellectual differences from other
children, or other situations. </p>
<p>The rest of the neighbors accept that our kids are different, but they
still accept them... and I'm allowed to talk about them at Ladies Night Out,
just like everyone else.
And there's only one neighbor pushing me to tell my daughter's SAT scores,
so that she can "prove" my child is smarter than her. I haven't shared
those scores, even though I'd love to brag, "Hey, my child made
<a href="http://www.cty.jhu.edu/set">SET</a>!" And worse, that
neighbor may be one of the smartest people in the neighborhood, another
engineer, with a profoundly gifted brother... but that's another story.</p>
<p>Between these years, before I moved to this new neighborhood, I met
other people with kids like my kids, initially through the
<a href="on-line_support.htm">On-Line Support</a> community for gifted families
on the Internet. It was with them I could finally talk about
my kids and their needs. It was with them that I finally learned to understand the
<a href="impostor.htm">Impostor Syndrome</a> that
<b>I</b> was suffering from as an adult. And it was there that I found my first
“best girl friend” since elementary school.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Perhaps my experiences are unique; perhaps not. I don't
know my IQ, to know if it falls in that Optimum Intelligence range. But I
suspect not. The results Webb, Meckstroth, and Tolan, and others, describe, did
in fact happen to me, as an otherwise happy adult. Without any pre-conceived
notions of optimum IQ, or a "chip" on my shoulder. They just happened, as soon
as I had kids.</p>
<p>It is easy to say that I should have learned by now to make "friendships
without discrimination." I think I have. But what is a friendship when I
cannot reciprocate? I cannot talk about my kids, while the other person
can; I cannot talk about my concerns, my daily struggles, my life, while the
other person can. Friendships are based on common interests. My children are a
big part of my life, as they are for most parents. If we cannot share that common interest, because my
children fall outside of someone else's comfort zone, then... what is there to
base a friendship on?</p>
<p>As for leadership, again, people consider my children when considering me. I
was declined as a Girl Scout leader by our service unit because of who
my child was. No other reason. My husband and I were black-balled right along
with our child, without our even knowing or realizing until nearly a year later,
when our child was suddenly prohibited from scouting.</p>
<p>Our child is back in scouts now, in a different troop, in another school, where
they appreciate her... well, at least they appreciate the money she brings in as
high cookie sales person every year, though they never mention it (I learned
recently that they <b>do</b> talk about it amongst themselves). And my youngest is in a troop, in yet
another school, where the leaders appreciate us both... she is high cookie sales
scout and I am cookie mom. But I'm not sure I'm appreciated by the other parents
for knowing the way
the badges are supposed to be positioned on the vests - didn't anyone else read that?
The placement is in the
book, and came drawn on the tag. Again, I know too much. I remember too much. I
learn too quickly. I make people uncomfortable. And it is hard to hide these
things. I try. But it is hard to spend your life hiding...</p>
<p>The people you list as brilliant and respected - Einstein, ... I agree. But how many of them were respected in their lifetimes? I'm not
very concerned about how people feel about me after I'm dead. I need to live
now. I need friends now. I need people to talk to about my whole life, not just
little pieces that I find are safe to discuss. I need to have true friends, just like my
kids. And I've learned, mostly by accident, that it is easier to find those
friends among folks with similar IQs. Even if they don't know their IQ, as
I don't know mine.</p>
<p>But whatever my IQ is, it doesn't seem to be an optimum IQ...</p>
<blockquote>
<!--copyscapeskip-->
<p><i><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">"Loneliness does not come from
having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate to others the
things that seem important to oneself, or from holding certain views which
others find inadmissible . . . If a man knows more than others, he becomes
lonely." </font><font face="Times New Roman" size="2"> </font></i><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">Jung,<!-- {REF#+39} -->
1989, p. 356.</font></p>
<p><i>"Have no friends not equal to yourself."</i> Confucius</p>
</blockquote>
<!--/copyscapeskip-->
<p align="center" msthemeseparator><img src="_themes/hoagies/btzhsepas.gif" width="480" height="10"></p>
<p>Addendum:</p>
<p>I eventually did find a peer group, where I can talk openly, without guarding
my words, where I can share things about my kids, and even brag once in a while,
when something terrific happens. And while I didn't intentionally search
it out, I found this phenomenal peer group in an unusual place... on the
Internet.</p>
<blockquote>
©2012 by Carolyn K.<br>
May not be republished without permission.
</blockquote>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-61496461157169552822012-01-05T02:54:00.000-05:002014-07-07T17:26:37.057-04:00Hoagies' Gifted Top Toys of 2011!What were the top toys of the 2011 holiday shopping season? The press will tell you it's Angry Birds and Disney Princesses. Gifted kids often have different opinions, but this comes as no surprise to you. What toys and games excite our gifted kids this season?<br />
<br />
Our countdown this inaugural year includes a wide variety of toys and games, featuring something for every age and play style. Young kids, construction champions, teens, strategists, word gamers and more... there's something for everyone!<br />
<br />
Popular for the third straight year, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BVLBD8/thehoagiesgifted/">Khet</a> is the laser strategy game for kids and adults. It takes a subtle strategy to line up your pieces while you protect yourself from your opponent!<br />
<br />
A perennial favorite for gifted kids of all ages (especially me!), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000IV34/thehoagiesgifted/">SET</a> makes the list again this year. Fun for all ages, SET is simple to learn: find a set of three cards where all the characteristics of the card are either alike or different. There are 3 shapes, in 3 different colors, with 3 different fills, and either 1, 2 or 3 of the shape on the card. But though it's simple to learn, just wait until your whole family or group is circled around the tableau of cards, all trying to be the first to spot a set of three cards that make up a SET! Great visual/spatial fun for all!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0039S7NO6/thehoagiesgifted/" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="90" width="73" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LJ06SSUYTbM/TwVVqP0fbkI/AAAAAAAAABE/zEzmp8bn0UU/s320/spot_it_small.jpg" /></a></div>From Blue-Orange games, a new game called <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0039S7NO6/thehoagiesgifted/">Spot-It</a> makes the list for younger kids with rave reviews. Spot-It is comfortable as a 2-player game for a little quiet fun, or up to an 8-player for tons of party fun. And with 5 different variations to play, Spot-It never gets old!<br />
<br />
Looking for a game that's tons of fun, and doubles as a 2e teaching tool? <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003EIK136/thehoagiesgifted/">Rory's Story Cubes</a> lets your imagination roll wild! Roll the nine dice, each with a different icon on each side, and look at the face up images. Pick an image to start your story. Beginning with "Once upon a time...", make up a story that somehow links all 9 face up images. There are no wrong answers! <br />
<br />
Snap Circuits continues to engage gifted kids in construction challenges for young and old alike. Beginners can try <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008BFZH/thehoagiesgifted/">Snap Circuits Jr.</a> while older tinkerers will love <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0002AHQWS/thehoagiesgifted/">Snap Circuits Extreme</a>. No matter which version, there are tons of great projects to complete and experiment with!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0031P91LK/thehoagiesgifted/" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right;margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="90" width="90" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bxcSWVhyFn0/TwVV-Cji-HI/AAAAAAAAABQ/oCHq3lidoJw/s320/q-bitz_small.jpg" /></a></div><a href="http://gan.doubleclick.net/gan_click?lid=41000000029990361&pubid=21000000000032677">MindWare</a> provides three of our most popular board games: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0031P91LK/thehoagiesgifted/">Q-bitz</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B000NJ0NMI/thehoagiesgifted/">Qwirkle</a>. Q-bitz is visual dexterity, cubed. View a picture, and use your cubes to recreate the challenge exactly before your opponents do. Fast fun! And if you run out of challenges, you can get <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004O8ML2E/thehoagiesgifted/">100 more</a>! Qwirkle is a bit like dominoes but with colors and shapes. It's easy to learn, but hard to master. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0037Z8DEK/thehoagiesgifted/">Imaginets</a> is a creative design toy for the youngest gifted kids. Use your imagination and the Imaginets magnets to create the designs on the 50 challenge cards, or create your own designs.<br />
<br />
Looking for a quick card game, where the rules are different every time? You guessed it... Fluxx! Not only are the rules in Fluxx, but the versions are, too! This year's most popular versions include <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/192978001X/thehoagiesgifted/">Fluxx 4.0</a>, as well as <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1929780524/thehoagiesgifted/">EcoFluxx</a> for our ecology-minded families, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1936112191/thehoagiesgifted/">Star Fluxx</a> for our sci-fi aficionados.<br />
<br />
Next on our countdown are Tekton Girder & Panel sets, including the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000BX0VD2/thehoagiesgifted/">Tower</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000KYZ8G2/thehoagiesgifted/">Plaza</a> & <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000PVVQMU/thehoagiesgifted/">Hydrodynamic</a> sets. Classic construction kits first introduced in the 1950's, these collections of columns, beams and side panels make building simple and educational. Of course the pieces are interchangeable, so each new set expands the last one.<br />
<br />
Lego sets are ever-popular gifted-kid construction sets, and this year is no exception. The most popular this year are the Lego Architecture sets, with new designs for 2011. Don't miss the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0050COGNA/thehoagiesgifted/">Burj Khalifa Dubai</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B003U4A12U/thehoagiesgifted/">White House</a> sets among other great Lego Architecture sets!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000F3SYY6/thehoagiesgifted/" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="90" width="90" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4OUxTIY_PNc/TwVVPgtT-EI/AAAAAAAAAA4/ZRts0NMyTF0/s320/10_days_europe_small.jpg" /></a></div>The next most popular game is also from Out of the Box: 10 Days in... There are 10 Days versions for <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00008ZCGX/thehoagiesgifted/">Africa</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000HASC1W/thehoagiesgifted/">Asia</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000F3SYY6/thehoagiesgifted/">Europe</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1932359842/thehoagiesgifted">the Americas</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000301PG0/thehoagiesgifted/">the USA</a>, and they're all popular. 10 Days in... is a strategy game where you start with 10 tiles, and you must create a trip around... the geographic region of the game. Tiles include boats, planes and foot travel, as well as countries from throughout the region (or U.S. states). Follow the travel rules to create a seamless trip, and you win! This game, too, is popular in my house of teens+, as well as with my elementary-school aged nieces.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004INGVIU/thehoagiesgifted/" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left; margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="90" width="90" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-m12ju5ll7Lg/TwVW9iCXyYI/AAAAAAAAABo/XOPdJOsKwQI/s320/swish_small.jpg" /></a></div><a href="smart_toy_companies.htm#thinkfun">Thinkfun</a> toys and games are also near the top of the list. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0007LYKX0/thehoagiesgifted/">Math Dice</a> is a great pocket game for 2 or more, or even solitaire. Use the target dice (n-gons) to multiply to a target number, and the 6-sided dice to get as close to that number as possible. Decimals, fractions, they're all legal if you're the closest to the goal! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004INGVIU/thehoagiesgifted/">Swish</a> is a card game. Use your spatial sense to combine cards and remove them from the playing field. Each set of 2-12 cards you combine must match up perfectly so that every ball on one card swishes through a hoop of the same color on another card when the cards are all lined up neatly. It's a tricky little game! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B004INGVIA/thehoagiesgifted/">PathWords</a> is a puzzle where Word Search meets Tetris. Place your pieces onto the challenge card so that the letters under each piece are a word, read either backwards or forwards. 40 challenges from Beginner to Expert, PathWords is sure to challenge everyone! <br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000DMER/thehoagiesgifted/">Rush Hour</a> is the perennial favorite; slid the pieces around the board to help the car escape the Rush Hour traffic jam. Cars can only move either up and down or side to side, making it more than a little tricky to navigate the traffic. If you've mastered all 40 challenges, check out cards <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JW9S/thehoagiesgifted/">Set 2</a>, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000JW9V/thehoagiesgifted/">Set 3</a>, and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004TDMM/thehoagiesgifted/">Set 4</a>, each with a new car, too! <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000EGI4OO/thehoagiesgifted/">Gordian's Knot</a> is a hands-on puzzle of only 6 pieces. Sounds simple, but you'll need 69 moves to get them apart. The second challenge is to get them back together again!<br />
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That's all the ThinkFun puzzles and games we'll mention here, but there are many more great ones. Visit <a href="smart_toy_companies.htm#thinkfun">Thinkfun</a> to see them all!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0023NVQ0K/thehoagiesgifted/" imageanchor="1" style="clear:right; float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="90" width="90" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8sAlDdzek_g/TwVWt30yfyI/AAAAAAAAABc/cmoukA2QonU/s320/7ate9_small.jpg" /></a></div>The number two most popular is a card game, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B0023NVQ0K/thehoagiesgifted/">7 Ate 9</a>, from Out of the Box. 7 Ate 9 is simple enough to understand, but tricky to play... you have to think fast! Players add or subtract 1, 2 or 3 to or from the top card on the pile, and place a card from their hand that matches that number. Sounds simple, but if the top number is 2, and the add/subtract number is 3, you're looking for a 5 or a ... -1? No negatives, so you wrap-around to a 9. (Yes, for you math geeks, this is a mod 10 game.) Tons of fun for kids as soon as they can add and subtract single digits, right up through adult. My daughter always beats me!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002NPBT50/thehoagiesgifted/" imageanchor="1" style="clear:left; float:left;margin-right:1em; margin-bottom:1em"><img border="0" height="90" width="90" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-H9611oqbrH8/TwVUNZbPWbI/AAAAAAAAAAs/3sllKVkk_Jw/s320/perplexus_small.jpg" /></a></div>The top toy for gifted kids this year is... (drum roll please)... Perplexus! Available for a limited time some years back, gifted kids adored Perplexus. Then it disappeared... and it's back! Perplexus is a marble maze encased in a plastic ball that you move, twist and turn to lead the small metal marble along the path, right-side up, upside down, and every which way, from start to finish. This year it's available in three flavors: the original <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B002NPBT50/thehoagiesgifted/">Perplexus</a> (with 100 challenges), <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B004H1V5RU/thehoagiesgifted/">Perplexus Epic</a> (with 125 challenges) and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/B004H1V5S4/thehoagiesgifted/">Perplexus Rookie</a> (with "only" 75 challenges). Mr. Hoagie is happy that Perplexus is back, because it's one of his favorites and his was broken at a gifted gathering a few years back. Great hands-on toy for young and old!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-76899401786331145192011-09-26T22:06:00.001-04:002011-09-28T17:45:18.054-04:00Hoagies' Page Top 10 articles...You know <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org">Hoagies' Gifted Education Page</a> for it's resources. Any question that you have about gifted, you can be assured that there's a page of answers on Hoagies' Page. Differentiation? Yup. Acceleration? Uh, huh. Underachievement? Definitely. Twice Exceptional? There's a whole section on that! Games and Toys for gifted kids? That's another whole section!<br />
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But did you know that Hoagies' Page also has articles, great reading, answers, success stories, research, and more, with authors from "just a parent" to world-renowned gifted professionals. Come visit for a few moments, and read the most popular articles on Hoagies' Page?<br />
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11. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/portfolio.htm">Advocating for a Grade Skip: A Portfolio of Research</a> by Sandy. Sandy offers a great example of a portfolio showcasing the "whole child" in preparing for those sometimes difficult "grade skip" meetings...<br />
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10.5 <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/those_moms.htm">So, the thing is…<br />
I never wanted to be one of THOSE moms</a> by Barbara Cooper. When I need a laugh, I read "So, the thing is…" by Barb Cooper. Do you feel like you've become one of "those moms?"<br />
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10. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/iq_varies.htm">Why do my child's test scores vary from test to test?</a> by Carolyn K. Intelligence vs. achievement tests, group vs. individual tests, tests from different publishers using different size and make-up of normalization populations... no wonder parents and teachers can't make heads nor tales of all the scores and how they compare!<br />
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9. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/levande.htm">Gifted Readers and Reading Instruction</a> by Dr. David Levande. What should reading instruction for the gifted reader look like?<br />
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8. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/unofficial_guide.htm">Parent's Unofficial Guide to Gifted IEPs and Gifted IEP Meetings</a> by Todd McIntyre and Wayne Mery. In Pennsylvania and some other states, the gifted mandate requires that gifted children receive an individual Gifted IEP specifying their academic levels and needs. How can parents and teachers make this document worthwhile?<br />
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7. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/why_test.htm">Why Should I Have My Child Tested?</a> by Carolyn K. Why should a child be tested? How old should they be at test time? What kind of results are you hoping to get from the testing? Can testing now be difficult? These and other questions answered...<br />
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6. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/10_highly_gifted.htm">The 10 most commonly asked questions about highly gifted children</a> by Kathi Kearney. Answers, too!<br />
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5. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/test_prep.htm">How Can I Prepare My Child for Testing?</a> by Aimee Yermish. Aimee tells us what we should, and shouldn't, do to prepare our gifted kids for testing and assessment.<br />
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4. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/assessing_gifted.htm">Assessing Gifted Children</a> by Julia Osborn. This classic article compares simple testing with full gifted assessment... the difference is key. <br />
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It's gratifying to report that three most popular articles on Hoagies' Gifted Education Page, and five of the top ten, are all written by... Carolyn K. Me. Feels funny to say that. I think I need to go reread the links on <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/imposter.htm">Imposter Syndrome</a>.<br />
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3. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests_tell_us.htm">Testing and Assessment: What Do the Tests Tell Us?</a>. A companion article to "Why Test?" continues the odyssey of testing and assessment and understanding the results.<br />
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2. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/highly_profoundly.htm">What is Highly Gifted? Exceptionally Gifted? Profoundly Gifted? And What Does It Mean?</a>. With today's tests it's not easy to find a clear demarcation, but differences are clear when you compare levels of gifted children. Labels don't matter, but planning for the gifted child's education must take his or her level of giftedness and resulting needs into account.<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/reading_levels.htm">Reading Levels of Children's Books: How Can You Tell?</a>. The answer is... it depends. There are more measures of reading level for children's books than you have fingers. Often, different measures give different results. Is the reported reading level based on vocabulary and sentence complexity, or on the length of the book, or the emotional maturity of the content? Does it matter? Find out here.<br />
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There are lots more articles on Hoagies' Page, Miraca Gross on aspects of acceleration, Kathy Kearney on highly and profoundly gifted, Linda Silverman on 25 years of gifted evaluations, Success Stories by parents and educators, and more. Be sure to stay a while and read!<br />
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Tell me, what other articles would you like to see on Hoagies' Page?Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-33895753876269537992011-09-26T03:07:00.001-04:002014-07-07T17:25:46.114-04:00Hoagies' Page Top 10...As you've noticed, I haven't had much to say on <a href="http://hoagiesbits.blogspot.com">Nibbles and Bits</a>. I'm hoping to change that, so I'm starting a new series of posts I'll call the Hoagies' Page Top 10. Top 10 lists are all the rage, and the Gifted community could use a few more, right? <br />
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To get myself going, I'm starting with an easy Top 10 list, one that's given me pause to think. With an average of over 4500 unique visitors worldwide daily, what are the Top 10 most visited pages on <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org">Hoagies' Gifted Education Page</a>? A few of the pages surprised me... maybe you'll find some new surprises, too!<br />
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10. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm">Hoagies' Kids and Teens Links</a>. I'm glad to see this page on the Top 10 list, because it's a page near and dear to my heart. Kids & Teens Links are just that, links to great sites for our gifted kids and teens, organized by topic of interest. From the main Links page, kids can visit any of 23 pages of interesting, safe links, from <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/art_theater.htm">Art, Theater, Music</a> to <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/programming.htm">Programming</a>, from <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/language.htm">For the Love of Words</a> to <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/brain_teasers.htm">Brain Teasers, Logic & Optical Illusions</a>, from <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/multiplication.htm">Multiplication (and Other Arithmetic) Links</a> to <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/physics.htm">Engineering, Physics & Mechanics</a> and more. There's even a special page with links for gifted <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/young_kids.htm">Young Kids</a>!<br />
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9. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/educators.htm">Educators, Counselors, Psychologists, and Administrators of the Gifted</a>. Another heart-felt page, the Educators page was not one of the original pages. When I first started in advocacy, I met a few folks that gave me the impression teachers and parents were on opposite sides of the table, a "them vs. us" mentality. I quickly learned that this is untrue; we are all in the business of raising and educating our gifted kids together. At the same time I learned that teachers, doctors, psychologists and counselors are almost universally not trained in gifted children, and are facing the same steep learning curve we parents face. We're in this together!<br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/gifted_education.htm">Gifted Education</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/gifted_programs.htm">Gifted Programs</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/curriculum_resources.htm">Curriculum Resources</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/differentiation.htm">Differentiation</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/grouping.htm">Grouping</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/middle_school.htm">Gifted in Middle School</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/counseling.htm">Counseling the Gifted</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/special_topics.htm">Special Topics</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/professional_books.htm">Profressional Books</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/theories.htm">Educational Theories</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/brain_research.htm">Brain Research and Learning Theories</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/continuing_ed.htm">Continuing Gifted Education Programs</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/continuing_ed.htm">Continuing Gifted Education Programs</a>, and <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/gifted_employment.htm">Gifted Help Wanted!</a> are all available here.<br />
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8. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/schools.htm">Schools for the Gifted Child</a>. A simple list of schools across the U.S. and world, either designed and implemented explicitly for gifted children, or recommended by gifted parents for their unique programs suited to the gifted child. At the top of the page, you'll also find links and an e-book all about selecting a school for your gifted child.<br />
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7. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/online_hs.htm">(Free) Online High School Courses</a>. Originally collected immediately after Hurricane Katrina by Kathi Kearney, this page links to free high school, AP or college level courses, available in full right on the internet. Topics range from Calculus to American History, Politics to Chinese, Whether used as full courses, supplemental coursework, or enrichment materials, these courses may be free, but they are priceless resources for the gifted student and teacher.<br />
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6. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/gifted_101.htm">Gifted 101: A Guide for First Time Visitors</a>. This introduction to both giftedness and to Hoagies' Gifted Education Page is a great place to get started, and an easy way to learn about the resources on the 1100+ pages of the site.<br />
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5. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm">An Inventory of Tests</a>. An alphabetical list of all the tests and assessments you might encounter as the parent or teacher of a gifted child, with information and links about each measure. Is it a group or individual test? Is it an intelligence measure, an achievement test, or simply a survey about the child's characteristics? Is it explicitly for use with gifted children, or more commonly used for all children or just disabled children? These are all important questions!<br />
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4. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm">Parents of Gifted Children</a>. The original page of the site, this is the portal for parents and everyone who wants to learn about gifted children. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/characteristics.htm">Characteristics</a>, <br />
<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/identification.htm">Identification</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/testing.htm">Testing</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/highly_gifted.htm">Highly Gifted</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/traditional_school.htm">Traditional School</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/home_sc.htm">Home Schooling</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/programs.htm">Programs</a> including Distance Learning, Saturday & Summer Programs, Talent Search, and College Planning, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/parenting.htm">Parenting</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/social_emotional.htm">Social/Emotional Aspects</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/special_needs.htm">Special Needs</a> or Twice Exceptional, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/support.htm">Gifted Support</a> including Conferences and Gifted Online Communities, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/gifted_books.htm">Gifted Books</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/resources.htm">Gifted Education Resources</a> including Longitudinal Studies, Bibliographies and Journals & Magazines. <br />
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<a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/faqs.htm">Frequently Answered Questions</a> including Acronyms, Analogies, Early Graduation, Enrichment, Gifted Quotes, Grade Skipped and Successful, Never Say Bored!, Plateauing, Professionals and Psychologists recommended for their work with the gifted, Reading Levels, and Why Memorize Math Facts? among others, dozens of <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/success_stories.htm">Success Stories</a> and lots of things to smile at in <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/lighter_note.htm">A Lighter Note</a> round out the Parents topics.<br />
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3. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hoagies_kids.htm">Hoagies' Kids and Teens</a> is the Kids portal into Hoagies' Page. In addition to <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/links.htm"> <br />
Kids and Teens Links</a>, find the <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/hot_topics.htm">Hot Topics Reading Lists</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/smart_toys.htm">Smart Toys and Games</a> lists, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/movies.htm">Movies</a> that feature gifted kids in a positive light, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/magazines.htm">Magazines</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/nerd_shirts.htm">Nerd Shirts</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/software.htm">Software</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/contests.htm">Contests & Awards</a>, <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/reading_lists.htm">More Reading Lists</a>, and <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/kids_speak_out.htm">Kids Speak Out</a>, a publication area for the kids themselves.<br />
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2. <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/brain_teasers.htm">Brain Teaser, Optical Illusions and Logic Links</a> is the most popular of the Kids & Teens Links pages, with an amazing and entertaining collection of puzzles, games, optical illusions and more. <br />
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What is the most commonly visited page of Hoagies' Gifted Education Page? You guessed it: <a href="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org">Hoagies' Gifted Education Page</a>! Visit Hoagies' Gifted Education Page and see what you've been missing!Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-62898204741055122012011-03-28T17:45:00.000-04:002014-07-07T17:26:12.429-04:00Spatial fun with Android apps<p>Our family amusement with saying "there's an app for that" has finally started to wane... So it must be time to share my findings with you. I've found apps for keeping my shopping lists, collecting all my store loyalty cards and even an to make my phone act like a magnifying glass. I've found apps to turn the Droid into a Kindle and a Bible. But some of my favorite apps are the free (and a few nearly free) games.</p><p><img src="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/images/set_app_sm.jpg" align="left">Any Droid game app list must begin with my favorite card game for gifted kids of any age: SET. (search the Market for Set Enterprises to get the real game). SET is the ultimate visual matching game. Match (or don't match) the shape, color, number and fill of the icons on each card to create sets of three cards where each of those characteristic is either the same or different on all three cards. But don't hand your phone to your gifted child... You may never get it back! Even with the SET app on my Droid, we still love to play the real SET card game at home.</p><p>How about a game of mirrors? Chromatron is the game of laser and mirror puzzles. Can you place and rotate the mirrors, combine the lasers, mirrors and filters to combine and separate colors, and reach all the targets in each tableau? Puzzles teach new skills along the way, like combining and splitting beams to create new colors. And then the puzzles really get Tricky!</p><p>Vexed Pro is a free chain reaction gravity puzzle. The puzzle is to get rid of all the cubes by sliding or dropping 2, 3 or 4 cubes into adjacent positions; touching matched cubes makes them disappear. Make each puzzle a little harder by making par, solving the puzzle in the least number of moves possible. There are thousands of puzzles, from Beginner to Impossible and every level in between! Vexed Pro will keep you entertained for a very long time!</p><p><img src="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/images/rush_hour_app_sm.jpg" align="right">Rush Hour is a well known diversion for gifted kids (and their parents) from Thinkfun. In Rush Hour, puzzles get progressively harder as you try to free the red car from the traffic logjam. Cars can only move forwards and backwards, and may start the puzzle facing north-south or east-west, complicating the gridlock. The free version offers dozens of challenges, and the paid version, hundreds more. Rush Hour is must have for any Droid.</p><p>Space Physics is a Rube Goldberg puzzle combined with gravity. Can you move the ball to the goal wheel by adding shapes and forces to move it along? Draw quickly, or the ball will fall off the screen! But fear not, you can always start over. Again, the free version offers many challenges, but in case you run out, there's a paid version with tons more fun!</p><p><img src="http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/images/bubble_blast_app_sm.jpg" align="left">My latest find is Bubble Blast II. Another free app, Bubble Blast II challenges you to clear all the bubbles on the board with the least number of "touches." A touch turns the bubble touched to the next larger size and color, and if the bubble turns red, it sends off chain reaction bubble touches in all four directions. The puzzles start very simply, and get successively tougher. You can retry each puzzle as often as you like, but you will have to solve it to move on to the next harder puzzle.</p><p>Bubble Blast II even offers clues, but you can only receive one clue every 24 hours, and I suspect it will lower your overall score... I didn't try it to find out. There's also an arcade mode where time is of the essence. I'm more of a puzzle person myself.</p><p>Looking for a game that combines words and spatial strategy? Try Words with Friends! A favorite iPhone app now available on the Android too, Words with Friends lets you play that famous Hasbro word game with your friends on either phone platform, in your own time. Have a few minutes to wait at the doctor's office? Play your turn. Your friend (or a random stranger, if you choose) takes their turn when they have a chance. It's a fast way to turn a minute of lost time into a thought-provoking social activity!</p><p>That's all for today... I'm sure these games will give every Android user more than a few hours of lost, or saved, time. Next column, great word games for the Android.</p><p>And if anyone would like to offer Hoagies' Page an iPad or iPod Touch, we will offer similar columns for iApps! ;-)</p><br />
<iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thehoagiesgifted&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00000DMER&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thehoagiesgifted&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B00000IV34&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thehoagiesgifted&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B004E9TLVM&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thehoagiesgifted&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=B0047DVWLW&fc1=000000&IS2=1<1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align:left;padding-top:5px;width:131px;height:245px;padding-right:10px;"align="left" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe>Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-19986871039821137102010-10-13T02:23:00.002-04:002014-07-07T17:27:02.649-04:00If we don't tell them they're gifted, they'll never knowIt's the hot topic of the week... should we identify the gifted child as "gifted?" Should we label him? Once she's identified, should we share the "gifted" label with her? Or should we ignore this aspect of the child, hide the identification if we do become aware of it, and pretend that there is nothing unique about the gifted child?<br />
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The answer is so obvious, it makes me wonder why we're asking the question!<br />
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Let me ask this another way. If you have a son, do you label him a boy? If you don't, will he eventually figure it out? You bet! What if your daughter is good at soccer? Do you help her grow and hone her skills, sign her up for clinics to improve her play, and allow her to try-out and play in the elite travel soccer team? Or do you have her stay in local youth soccer, playing alongside the average soccer players instead, as her soccer peers go off to the travel team? <br />
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The answer is clear. We can't hide the child from himself for very long; to think we can is just silly. That boy is going to figure out that he is more like the other boys than like the other girls. There are obvious physical differences. The child may be a boy, blond, brown-eyed and tall, and not telling the child that he is all of these things will not change that he is. And he will certainly figure it out for himself.<br />
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How about that young soccer star? No one tells a parent of a child who has a talent in sports not to label the child talented in that arena. No one frowns at the parent who allows his child to play in elite programs or encourages his child through advanced skill clinics. No one counsels the parent, "No, don't enroll your child in the travel soccer team; it might make her age-peers in the youth soccer league feel bad."<br />
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But isn't this exactly what is asked of the parents of gifted children? Some education professionals suggest that we should not identify our gifted children at all, that gifted identification creates excessive expectations for the gifted child. These excessive expectations of their teachers and parents might pressure the child in ways that aren't good for her, ways that might "take away her childhood." Others tell us that, once identified, we should not share that identification or its implications with the gifted child. "Don't tell your son he's gifted, it might give him a big head." "Don't put your child in the gifted program; it might make the kids in the regular classroom feel bad." <br />
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If we do not label the child "gifted," he'll never know, right? Wrong. Gifted kids are different. The differences vary from child to child. Often, the gifted child is more sensitive than his age-peers. What is the gifted child to think? I'm supposed to be just like them, but none of them care about or even notice the homeless people on the street, none of them are overwhelmed by the bright lights and loud noises in the school gym... Why am I so different? And as the gifted child quickly learns, different is bad. Suddenly we've gone from not telling the child he's gifted, to giving the child the impression that he is bad. We should never do that to a child!<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=thehoagiesgifted&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0910707529&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe><br />
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If we ignore the talents the gifted child shows in academics, and we do not encourage him to join the gifted classroom or program... what are we saying to the child? Kids, <b>all</b> kids, need encouragement. They need to know they're accepted for who they are. They need to stretch, to learn and to grow. The parents of that young soccer star know that, and they enroll her in the travel soccer team to get that encouragement and growth. But the parents of the gifted boy are not supposed to label their son "gifted" and enroll their him in the gifted program, where he might be accepted, encouraged, and learn to stretch his abilities? <br />
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Why not? <br />
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Carolyn K.Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3322786324064599833.post-69908692491840404422010-10-13T01:09:00.001-04:002010-10-13T01:16:30.444-04:00Who, me? Opinions??Welcome to my blog! Wow, that sounds funny to say. I swore I would not get started blogging. I mean, do I really need another thing to do with my time? There's the website, and now the Facebook page, and my family, not in that order, of course. That's more than enough for a disabled mom to handle. And who would want to read my posts anyhow? I don't know the answer to that one, but I guess we'll find out together.<br />
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As most of you know, I'm passionate and opinionated about Gifted Education. And as many of you know, I'm not very skilled at keeping my mouth shut. What better way is there to share our passion and our opinions than to blog about it? <br />
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So here we are together, you and I, writing and reading my first blog post. I hope that you'll follow me along this journey, and share my passion for "all things gifted." And I hope that at least a little bit of what I say can help you, your children, your students, your teachers, and our world to be a better place for our gifted children and the amazing adults they grow up to become! And the adults WE grow up to become! (Imposter syndrome is a subject we'll definitely discuss here.)<br />
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Welcome to Hoagies' Nibbles and Bits, a blog about... well, about whatever I'm feeling passionate about at the moment. Mostly, that's likely to be about gifted children, and gifted education, and gifted parenting. Once in a while, I'm sure there will be posts on other subjects, too. Feel free to comment on my posts; I would love to know what you're thinking, and what you think of my opinions. Let's take this journey together!<br />
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Carolyn K.Carolyn K.http://www.blogger.com/profile/00591603322880541442noreply@blogger.com3