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Gamin’ was Groovy

Friday, November 18th, 2011

Thanks to all who attended our 3rd annual Game Night! We had a lot of great games and good times. Games are good for our children for many reasons. Some of our family favorites include those I found an article on the internet that sums things up well. http://earlychildhoodnews.net/gifted/222-games-for-gifted-children

For older children, also feel free to try Dominion, Ticket to Ride, Settlers of Cataan, Rumis, Rummikub, and many more! Read on, and enjoy.

Debbie Niu
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Games for Gifted children (online and board games)

Compiled by Shara Lawrence-Weiss

Not everyone likes the term “Gifted.” Of course, not everyone likes the term “Special Needs” either. When all is said and done – these words are used to describe children who don’t fall into the realm of ‘most typical behaviors.’ Do some kids learn more quickly than others? Yes. Do some kids pick up concepts more gradually than others? Yes. Are there struggles with each side? Yes.

A sense of arrogance is sometimes assumed by outsiders when they hear a parent use the word Gifted. Although this is understandable to a point, no other term exists at this time to describe children with above-average learning tendencies and emotional connectedness. We could potentially replace “Gifted” with something like “Above Average” or “Easily Bored” or “Needs a Challenge” or “Emotionally draining” but really – they all boil down to this:

Some children pick up data and information at lighting speed. They can analyze, pick apart concepts, challenge intelligent grown-ups using logic and facts and quite literally exhaust everyone around them.

For those kids (call them “Gifted” if you will), they need or want more challenging games, thought patterns and options. This brief list is being created for those children – with the understanding that every kid deserves to be given what they need – whatever end of the learning specrum they fall upon.

Online:

Mensa for Kids: Games, activities and puzzles

Mensa.org: Puzzles, math games, word games and more

DiscoveryEducation.com: Create your own puzzles

HomeschoolMath.net: Online math resources for gifted children

Brighthub.com: Online games for gifted children

Board games:

About.com: Top 10 games for gifted children

Hoagies’: Board games

Research will tell us that playing games is a terrific way to stimulate the brain. Our home contains a large number of games and our eldest son (who tested out two grade levels ahead on the state Gifted exam) has loved games…since birth. Until our third child came along we played games almost every night. With the toddlers around it’s more difficult to keep track of small pieces and our game-playing has lessened, much to my sadness. I intend to return to our game-playing ways very soon.

Here are some of our family favorites:

•Whoonu (Cranium – our son’s favorite game. He loves thinking that he knows everything about me.)
•Monopoly (we have two versions – one Star Wars)
•Yahtzee (an oldie but goodie)
•Liebrary (great for literary lovers)
•Sorry (works well to teach good sportsmanship)
•UNO (a classic, of course)
•Scrabble (our son likes to believe he can make up his own words – it’s a running joke now)

By offering to play games with your Gifted child(ren), you’ll be assisting with critical thinking skills, sportsmanship, bonding, strategy and more. Games are a worthwhile investment for everyone in the home. Both short-term and long-term.

Family Game Night

Monday, November 7th, 2011

Higley Supporters of the Gifted Presents:

Family Game Night

Where

Centennial Elementary Multipurpose Room

3507 South Ranch House Parkway

When

Monday, November 14, 2011

7 PM to 8 PM

Games, treats, and snacks are provided, or you are welcomed to bring your own. It is a good opportunity to get to mingle and get ideas for Holiday Presents.

Look forward to seeing you there.

November: To Succeed or Not Succeed…That is the Question!

Sunday, October 30th, 2011

I have had this question floating around in my mind for years. It bumps into another idea, gets asked again, and makes very slow progress. Why are there so many gifted individuals out there that are not successful? We all know them, even if we don’t realize we know. They often walk around disguised as dysfunctional and struggling.

Then I read a book called “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell that gave me a step towards understanding it all. While Gladwell’s definition of success, sounding something like “Bill Gates” or “Joe Flom”, is different from mine (I define more in terms of happy, healthy, independent, and always progressing), he makes many intriguing points. One thing I like is that he claims everyone past a certain level of intelligence (he uses an IQ of 120-130) is as capable of success as any other in that “pot”. There is no further advantage the higher the IQ. But my favorite idea is that as long as the opportunities are there for our children, and as long as they have that certain level of intelligence, then it is up to them to see how successful they can be. They must learn to work and to understand themselves in order to succeed. And most of that boils down to what we do in our homes.

So what is that, exactly? Teaching kids how to work is a complex thing. But their happiness depends on it; anything worth having takes work. Gladwell suggests that the more work is done, the higher the level of success–provided they have opportunity. I agree, yet also believe that life requires a balance of four areas of life, and that we need to teach them about all four: mind, emotions, body, and soul. I would like to suggest that learning to work hard in all areas will produce the kind of success our children would be happiest to have. Help them learn to eat well, sleep on a good schedule, and discover spiritual or social ideals that can guide them in addition to giving them intellectual stimulation. Coach them in handling their emotions–that in and of itself being a complex subject, as we discussed last month.

But in the meantime, sit down with another adult that knows your child (teacher, spouse, etc.) and make an assessment of how your child is doing in each of the four areas. Then make just one suggestion you would like to help improve on and work on it with them. Once a month, sit down again and look at your assessment. Make another suggestion, then tackle that. Real change takes time, so don’t rush too many things at once. After all, children don’t need to be “fixed”–they are just young, and need guidance. As a matter of fact, include them in your discussions when appropriate. They are extremely capable and usually very glad to help make decisions regarding themselves. And they will be all the more successful for it!

Tips for a good Parent-Teacher Conference!

Wednesday, October 5th, 2011

Tips for Your Gifted Kids’ Parent-Teacher Conferences
by Sandra Berger, M.Ed.

Whether you have specific goals to discuss with the teacher, use these five guidelines and five questions to make the most of your parent-teacher conferences. From our partner, the Council for Exceptional Children.

Five Guidelines to Take Along
1. Plan ahead.
The more prepared you are, the more you’ll accomplish. Write out your questions in advance. Bring some of your child’s work that the teacher might not have seen, especially if your child is a basement scientist, a closet poet, or is highly advanced in any academic area.

2. Establish a feeling of teamwork.
Be specific about some things you really liked about your child’s school experience so far this year. Describe some specific things your child enjoys doing at home or in extracurricular activities.

3. Listen carefully for positive or negative ways the teacher describes your child.
Does the teacher think your child is stubborn or persistent, communicative or an annoying chatter box, the class clown or someone with a keen sense of humor, a pest or inquisitive?

4. Clarify expectations — yours and the teacher’s.
Model positive ways of acting that you want the teacher to use; for example, ask open ended non-judgmental questions to encourage many different responses.

5. Don’t assume that the teacher has a great deal of experience with educating gifted children.
Some teachers believe that if a child gets one answer wrong, she’s not gifted, and that giftedness equals perfection. Many teachers misunderstand a gifted child’s tendency to learn by either moving through a subject more slowly and deeply, or by skimming the surface of many topics.

Five Questions to Ask the Teacher
1. What are your academic goals for the year?
Focus on your child’s progress with respect to the teacher’s class goals. If your child has already mastered subjects described by the teacher, discuss and give examples of the level your child has reached.

2. What do you see as my child’s strengths; can you give me some examples?
Probe beyond “I enjoy having Johnny in my class.”

3. What are some areas that my child needs to work on?
The teacher’s answers might give you a sense of your child’s accomplishments in areas that are not strengths.

4. How would you evaluate my child’s learning style?
If the teacher hasn’t thought about this, can you describe ways that your child prefers to learn — for example, alone or with others, by seeing or hearing, in a very quiet space or with a radio playing? If you think your child is a visual spatial learner, it’s important to tell the teacher, because many teachers assume students are linear sequential learners.

5. How can I help?
Determine the specific areas where you can help the educational process at home or by bringing materials to school for everyone to use. This is an excellent way to emphasize your child’s strengths and share with other children who might have similar needs.

At the end of the conference, summarize the main points, especially if you or the teacher have agreed to take some action. When you get home, write a thank-you note, and share appropriate parts of the conference with your child.

Read more on FamilyEducation: http://school.familyeducation.com/gifted-education/parent-teacher-conferences/38665.html#ixzz1ZyaRyfA5

New School Year Update

Sunday, August 7th, 2011

Welcome back, Higley Gifted! We are so excited for the 2011/12 school year.

As a quick update, we are having our first board meeting (yes, anyone can attend this–not just the board members, please!) and a new Concept of the Month will be posted later this week. Our board meeting will be held this Tuesday, August 9th, at the Centennial library, 7 pm. We need everyone’s input on issues and activities this year, so plan on attending!

Aren’t summer breaks wonderful? Hopefully we all feel refreshed and ready…to…go!!

April: Good with words? What to do…

Wednesday, March 30th, 2011

Language talent in our children is quite complex and interesting. We learn to speak naturally, but learning to read is a whole other thing. It requires training many different parts of our brain to work together, when it is not automatic for our brains to do so.

Following learning these things, we learn, as parents, the importance of fostering good language development–both at home and school. We need to understand that, as usual, both genetics and environment are at play here. According to brain research, as our children age, environment becomes more and more important and influential in language development.

Some things we can do at home to help with this environment: Read to your children. Talk often and with enthusiasm about the books both you and they read. Sit down together and talk–especially at the dinner table. Use positive and engaging talk. This will provide a positive feeling that they can associate with communication. Along with other kinds of books, encourage your child to read classic literature. Classics will stretch imaginations, challenge ideas, and expand abilities of expression. According to David Sousa, author of How the Gifted Brain Learns, classics “shock students into thought, forcing them to confront new concepts”. Guide your child to extracurricular activities that are rich in language use–like essay contests, theatre groups, lectures, seminars, or reading groups.

At school, it will help them to learn Greek and Latin roots/stems. Literature circles, poetry and journal writing, writer’s workshops, and any use of language that encourages divergent thinking (questions with no certain answer) are excellent ways to develop language ability. Hopefully your child’s teacher is able to provide a good quality list of books for your child to choose from. Both the opportunity to choose, and the somewhat controlled, high-quality choices are beneficial to your child.

Our children need to go deep, up, and out in their language development. Good luck in helping provide opportunities to do so! Hopefully some of the suggestions mentioned will help. For next month? Of course it is yet another juicy topic: teaching our kids self-management. Yikes!

One Fantastic Event Done, One More To Go!

Tuesday, March 8th, 2011

A huge thanks to everyone who helped pull off a very successful Night of Fun and Learning–especially our speaker Linda Levitt and kid’s class teachers!

And for our last event of the year, stay tuned…The beginning of May will feature great food and awards for those who win this year’s Gifted Writing Contest! Thanks in advance to Higley Elementary and Middle School for hosting this event.

December: What to Do With Math Talent

Thursday, December 9th, 2010

The next three months will be spent on the following: December-math talent; January- language talent; February- artistic talent.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but sometimes I feel extremely overwhelmed by the idea of raising my children. Am I handling each aspect of their lives well enough? Is their academics suffering because of something I am not doing right? Gaining knowledge in each of these areas has been very enlightening to me, and I hope you will take the time to read this and to do your own research to learn more about how to help your own children.

The best description of how the brain works in regards to mathemamatics is that there are many areas of the brain that process the different kinds of math problems. Different parts of the brain are used for exact calculations than are used for approximating. Sometimes language is used in processing certain types of problems, and sometimes language is not involved. The more complex the problem, the more language is likely to be used, and therefore more areas of the brain are involved. What does this tell you? That there is no simple answer when it comes to meeting the needs of various mathematical learners.

So if your child is talented in this area, how do you make sure their needs are met? Chapter 6 of David Sousa’s How the Gifted Brain Learns tells us the following options. Check to see that the following, at least many of these, are happening in your child’s classroom:
* Open-ended problems are being solved using multiple strategies. (A simple test to know if it is the correct type of question: If you are unsure how to proceed in order to solve a problem, then it most likely requires a multistep approach and is a good question for a mathematically gifted child.)

* Thought-provoking and nonroutine problems are being provided on a very regular basis.

* The level of complexity is regularly raised until students are engaged in a spirited debate about potential approaches to solutions.

* Because mathematically gifted students often show their talents in other curriculum areas, it is a good idea for teachers to involve math in all lessons. Tying various areas of curriculum together helps boost brain retention and creativity. For example, after learning how to add/subtract/multiply money, students could be asked to study how money was used historically by the Native American Indians or during the Gold Rush, etc.

No matter what, strategies for our children need to develop deeper understanding, lay stronger foundations, foster a willingness to seek out the connections between different aspects of math, involve higher-level thinking skills (i.e. open-ended vs yes/no questions) and cultivate a desire to understand why particular mathematical methods are correct (see p.183).