A Parent’s Guide to SENG Annual Conference Too Much? Too Little? Just Right?
A parent recounts strategies for navigating the SENG annual conference, advising attendees to prioritize needs, choose backup sessions, review speakers, be flexible, explore exhibits, and share learnings. She notes sessions suit homeschoolers and families and encourages participation to find what’s ‘just right’.
Homework: The Good and the Bad
Homework can support learning when meaningful, connecting classroom tasks to real-world purposes, but it may feel irrelevant or burdensome—especially for gifted or twice-exceptional children. The article suggests adapting assignments, involving students, breaking tasks into parts, communicating with teachers, and providing supports and accommodations.
Basic Recipe for Parent Advocates
This post offers a ‘homestyle’ advocacy recipe for parents of gifted children: identify your child’s needs, research policies, connect with supportive insiders, assemble a team, and persist politely. Avoid negativity, adapt strategies, involve the child when appropriate, and trust your instincts to secure appropriate educational support.
Can We Capture and Measure the Creativity Beast?
This article examines efforts in New Zealand to define and measure creativity within classrooms, describing a Talent Development Initiative that used multiple identification tools and observation profiles. It discusses socio-cultural influences, trial results favoring certain scales, and the complex, evolving relationship between creativity and giftedness.
The Impact of Giftedness on Psychological Well-Being
Research on gifted children shows mixed findings: some studies find better psychological adjustment, others find increased vulnerability. Outcomes depend on type of giftedness, educational fit, and personal characteristics. Overall, academically gifted children are not consistently at higher risk for depression, anxiety, or suicidal behavior.
Healthy Transitions to the New Year
Advice for easing children’s transition after holiday breaks: start the year positively, ask and listen to children, notice behavior, relax daily, acknowledge strengths, provide opportunities, and be patient. Small, incremental progress helps gifted students readjust to routines and stay focused while planning for the future.
Advocating is a Little Like Jumanji
Using board game metaphors, the post describes parents’ advocacy for gifted education as strategic and challenging: institutional policies and procedures can obstruct individual families, students risk boredom or reprimand, and coordinated groups of informed parents often achieve better outcomes by combining resources, experience and persistence to effect change.
Nurturing Social And Emotional Development In Gifted Teenagers Through Young Adult Literature
This article argues that young adult literature can serve as a therapeutic tool for gifted teenagers, enabling emotional growth through bibliotherapy. Teachers can use age-appropriate novels and guided discussions to address sensitivity, build supportive classroom environments, and foster friendships that help students navigate adolescent challenges.
Fostering The Social And Emotional Development Of Gifted Children Through Guided Viewing Of Film
This article recommends guided viewing of films to support social and emotional development in gifted elementary students. It explains bibliotherapeutic stages, offers facilitation guidelines and discussion prompts, describes follow-up activities, and lists age-appropriate films addressing friendship, grief, gender roles, and talent.
A September Secret
A student writes to their teacher revealing they are academically advanced, describing early reading and math skills, and asking for a plan to keep learning challenging without alienating classmates. They request enrichment, harder assignments, mixed-age grouping, and understanding so they can learn and still make friends.