I started writing about parenting gifted children back in 2005.
I mused on raising gifted kids on my personal blog as well as on BabyCenter’s Momformation, where the posts never seemed to generate as much enthusiasm as, say, a post about someone’s child vomiting in public. That’s kind of how it rolls with gifted issues. And don’t get me started on advocacy….
Years ago at a parenting workshop, a speaker said, “There is no perfect parent and there is no perfect school.” In my blog posts, I provide plenty of evidence that she was right.
The fact is, when it comes to raising my highly gifted boys, I didn’t/don’t really
know what I’m doing. But I can share my thoughts, my journey. You can
choose to read and relate and maybe learn from my mistakes. Or you can
write me off as a just another crazy mama.
Videos:
Parenting Gifted Children Archives:
Students who are not Challenged are Cheated
Giving up on Public Education: On moving to a private school for gifted kids.
Tips for Parents of a Gifted Kindergartener.
Smart, but Socially Awkward Thought on the asynchronous behavior of gifted children; children years ahead in math and reading but socially awkward and immature.
Dropping Out of School
Academically gifted children who drop out after their required
education ends, and don’t pursue a traditional college education. I include a link
to the book Secrets of Buccaneer Scholar, one of the best books of
2009. (Hindsight: the book was a year or two ahead of its time. Also, I might not have done a lot of offline reading in 2009. Just saying.)
Gifted Ed and Skinny Dipping (Swimming Naked) in the School Pool Read about what these things have in common.
Speaking Out for Gifted Children in Illinois My testimony from the Illinois State Board of Education budget hearing where I advocated for funding for gifted students.
Advocating for Gifted Children When the Blind Children are Kicking Lobbying A$$
“Whose child will be left behind?” Asked the chairperson. She gave a
nervous laugh when I told her mine would be, but I wasn’t joking. (Hindsight: I was correct.)
Why Advocating for Gifted Kids is like Masturbating I feel compelled to advocate, and I feel good for speaking up, but….
Special Programs for Gifted Children: Luxuries or Necessities? I was interviewed for a colleague’s blog about whether special programs for gifted children are luxuries or necessities.
Raising Gifted Children: Smart Child Left Behind Link to an article in The New York Times
that discusses how No Child Left Behind adversely affects gifted and
talented kids. This post also links to a map at the Davidson website
that shows how each state fares in the realm of gifted education.
Parenting Gifted Children: A Back to School Quiz
My boys’ first weeks back at school, and my then-11-year-old finding a
couple of adults who “get him”. I also include a quiz of things
possibly said by teachers and admins about the chance of my children
actually being challenged at the school.
President Obama’s Speech and Gifted Students
Reference to Neil Steinberg’s article in the Chicago Sun-Times about
the President’s speech to students. My children did not see the speech,
did yours?
Gifted Children, Summer Slide and Back to School
My boys read and keep themselves busy all summer doing science-y things
and computer programming. When they return to school in the fall, their
MAP scores typically go up, rather than down. Maybe the summer slide
should be called the summer soar.
Gifted Kids and the Summer Slide Musing on the fact that the summer slide is different for gifted kids than typical kids.
Working with Teachers
What do you tell your child’s new teacher? The post includes a link to
“Five Things Your Child’s Teacher Needs From You,” which provides a
helpful way to connect with your child’s teacher.
Rights of the Reader
Thoughts on finding age-appropriate reading for children who read above
above-level. Includes a review of Daniel Pennac’s book The Rights of the Reader.
Positive Feedback from Gifted Education Saturday Enrichment Programs
When my older son took a Saturday enrichment class through a local
talent development center, it turned out to be a positive
experience.
Advocating for Gifted Kids
Feeling stressed and pondering gifted education and parenting gifting
kids, I link to another blogger’s post on Advocating for Gifted
Children.
Gifted
There’s a lot of debate and confusion over the definition of
giftedness. What does it mean to be gifted? That question must be
answered before we can define who is gifted. (Hindsight: wow, look what NAGC did and how a well-known advocate for gifted children has to say about it. Yikes!).
Gifted Students, Differentiation, and Self-contained Classrooms
Parenting Gifted Kids has a great post up sharing compelling reasons
for gifted children to be placed in self-contained classrooms. Teacher
Sarah Robbins discusses the academic as well as social-emotional
benefits of such an arrangement.
Gifted kids and out-of-level testing After receiving my boys’ EXPLORE test scores, I realize it’s time for a talk with the school about what’s ahead.
Parenting a Gifted Child In this post I reference two resources for parenting gifted kids.
Gifted Girls Go Underground This popular guest post was written by my friend, IRL Julia. She discusses the challenges that are unique to gifted girls.
Gifted vs. Special Needs in Newsweek Link to a Newsweek article
in which a mom ponders what would happen if her gifted daughter
received the same special education services as her autistic son.
Grade Skipping AKA Grade Acceleration Part II
Out of level testing and how to determine what parents and teachers
can do to challenge a gifted kid. After excelling on a out-of-level
test that he asked to take, my younger son did not want to skip ahead a
grade in math. He is happy where he is. How do you find a way to
challenge a gifted kid and also keep him where he is happiest and most
comfortable?
Grade Skipping AKA Grade Acceleration Part I
Grade acceleration and why my son simultaneously attended both 5th and
6th grade math. By the way, he received an “A” in the 6th grade class
and a “B” in the 5th grade class.
Profoundly Gifted Round Up Links to Carol Fertig’s blog that has several posts about profoundly gifted kids.
Profoundly Gifted and Selectively Mute. Where does a child thrive? One of Kim’s boys is thriving at the public school, one is not. Kim wonders where the right place for her boy might be.
9 year-olds Taking the SAT? Link to my post at BabyCenter’s Momformation blog for my thoughts on gifted children and above-level testing.
Follow-up to Teacher Conferences After a frustrating teacher conference I laid out the differences between “gifted”, “highly gifted” and “profoundly gifted”.
When Your Gifted Child Gets a Detention If you’re like me, you may see it as a reason to celebrate.
Gifted Students and Challenge: A parent talk with Jerry Schechter, PhD
A guest blogger discusses a parent talk I hosted featuring a local
psychologist who specializes in treating gifted kids. He discusses the
challenges in raising gifted kids and gives advice to parents to help
them to raise their gifted kids.
Schooling a Highly Gifted Young Child (circa 2004) The story of a highly gifted child, (hindsight: a really bad teacher) and budget cuts.
Why We Never Use the R-word in Our House (Anymore) We don’t use the “R” word, now that I know the hurt the word causes some people.
Sending My Gifted Kids to Public School My boys tried out the local public school and liked it.
Wherein This Mom Takes on the Illinois Board of Education A recap of the Illinois State Board of Education Budget Hearing.
How Did I Miss This? I Was Left Behind! Link to a Washington Post opinion piece called Gifted Children Left Behind
Attention Gifted Ed Advocates in Illinois
We’re considering sending the boys back to public school. Also, the
Illinois State Board of Education will be holding budget hearings and I
encourage allies of the gifted to attend these hearings and speak up at
them.
Free and Appropriate Education? In which I reference a blog entry by Laura Vanderkam about a recent court ruling out of New York.
Senator
Durbin doesn’t know from mommybloggers, my kids are not entitled to
appropriate public educations and other notes from Political Playdate
Saturday Senator Dick Durbin spoke at the opening of the new
“Gifted Academy” building and I talked his ear off about mommybloggers. I
also spoke to an Illinois State Senator who basically told me that
public education does not work for all children.
Giving Up On Public Education Parents at the Gifted Academy support each other as “refugees” from the public school system.
Back to School Jitters
I was feeling anxious with only three weeks left before the start of
the school year. When a mom of a new student at the school wanted to
touch base, I was happy to talk to her, but didn’t want my growing
concerns about the school to turn her off.
If You Send a Geek to Sports Camp…
Indoor or outdoor sports camp, that is the question. After sending my
child to an outdoor camp that he hated, I was concerned about his
return to public school.
Gifted Ed Gets It’s Day in Court… Supreme Court
Parents in the state of California are suing their school district to
pay for their son’s private gifted school. Kim states that it is almost
impossible to get school’s to cover this because gifted kids have no
legal rights since giftedness is not considered a disability. This case
could give some answers to the questions presented for review before
the Supreme Court.
School Fundraising – taking it to a new high
My son’s attempt to raise about $20,000 to sponsor a classroom at the
private school for gifted kids. (Hindsight note: he did it!)
End of School Year Nostalgia – Part II
I attended a class presentation at the end of my younger boy’s
kindergarten year. Each child received a meaningful award from the
teacher. We are all happy the boys transferred to the private school.
No Child Left Untested?
Links to a post about 100 students in California opting out of state
testing as well as an older post of mine on a similar topic.
Misdiagnosis of Gifted Follow-up One reader wrote discussing a positive meeting with Dr. Mary Ruf. Information about her book is listed in the post.
Misdiagnosis of Gifted Children
Misdiagnosis of gifted children is common, so if you’re seeking a
therapist, find one who has experience working with highly gifted
children. The post includes resources for parents.
Leave No Gifted Child Behind
References Susan Goodkin’s piece Leave No Gifted Child Behind in he
Washington Post. The main idea is that by forcing schools to focus their
time and funding almost entirely on bringing low-achieving students up
to proficiency, the No Child Left Behind Act sacrifices the education of
our most gifted students.
Time-Traveling Children Life with asynchronous children and parenting kids outside of the mainstream.