LifeLearners: Gifted & Creative

ByrdSeed - Gifted (classroom) WebSite to Check Out

2011-09-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

As we head back into September, and start thinking about formalizing the learning process once again, a colleague of mine, Gord, who teaches the Immersive Technology courses at HCOS, sent me this link and I found it worth passing on (and adding to my top sites).

Ian states that ByrdSeed (www.byrdseed.com) is a place "dedicated to gifted education. Learn new ideas, share what you know, and grow as an educator." As parents in a home learning environment, you are the teachers and the information he has on his site would be helpful to you in how to create an environment and activities that will inspire and challenge your kids. There are lots of fun ideas here - check it out!

Gifted Adults

2011-06-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

I had the honour of attending the Symposium on Gifted Adults in Boulder, CO this spring and heard this essay read aloud. I thought it well worth the read and wanted to share it with you. Many of the gifted students I am working with are young adults and this has some good insights into the life ahead. Many of the parents I work with are gifted adults themselves and I think you would also find this information beneficial and interesting. Enjoy! Carmen

FOR THE SYMPOSIUM ON GIFTED ADULTS

Annemarie Roeper

March 5, 2011

A gifted adult, of course, develops out of a gifted child. The gifted go through a number of emotional experiences that differentiate them from others. This is more puzzling when they are young.

All of their lives, the gifted live with a sense of isolation because of their greater intellectual power, greater awareness of why things are happening, and greater capacity for logical conclusions that don’t always coincide with the way other people see reality.

Their ability to predict certain events frequently meets with general disbelief by others. Often they realize that some plan is bound to end in failure because certain aspects are not being considered, but their environment won’t accept it. People have a tendency to think in terms of one cause and one effect, but don’t know that everything has many causes and many effects and that one positive action may result in a number of negative by-products.

Gifted adults do not make decisions easily. With every step they take, they are aware of a multitude of available alternatives, as well as the possible unexpected consequences that could occur because of their decision. They rarely feel absolutely certain of doing the right thing or of the right answer to a question, because the available alternatives are endless.

The gifted are aware of the enormous complexity and total interdependence of all living things. The more gifted a person is, the more he or she realizes this fact. They penetrate more deeply into that which they experience. A person with good hearing ability can hear an airplane long before other people do, long before the others even know it exists. This, I think, is symbolic of the experience of the gifted adult.

Gifted adults think faster and with more complexity. They draw conclusions at a faster rate. Their horizons stretch beyond those of others. It could be called greater emotional and intellectual eyesight or else insight. Often, a gifted adult will interpret what others say in a more sophisticated manner and have a broader understanding. The gifted learn more quickly, they react more quickly—or sometimes more slowly because they have to consider so many factors. They have a drive to invent, a drive to explore, a drive to understand, a drive to go beyond that which we already know. I suspect that it is the gifted who have created the world in which we live, not only with their inventions but also with their actions and behavior and insights. This could have both positive and negative consequences. A gifted adult with a background of anger can use the same insights in a negative way and the same resources to make others suffer. The gifted adult, like the gifted child, can be a very inventive teaser, with the ability to tantalize others to the point of cruelty. Manipulation and deception are two other qualities that may come with giftedness.

Many people think that giftedness can be identified by only an IQ test, but there are other aspects of giftedness which may not be represented by an IQ test. There is emotional giftedness that might be called wisdom, which represents the quality of feelings that many people have. I think it is very akin, if not identical with, sensitivity. There are those people who can sense what goes on inside another person and they react not to what the person says, but to what they know the person feels. There are also people whose giftedness is purely intellectual; for some reason, the entrance to emotions is closed. Sometimes people are aware of this fact and feel it as a painful lack.

The gifted may have more anxieties than others because they are more aware of dangers but they also may know of more means to counteract their anxiety. The gifted adult deals with the complexities of the world, which include the negative as well as the positive. Their ability to predict and sometimes prevent events is often awe-inspiring. Gifted adults are usually driven by the need for action and invention and sometimes have difficulties finding appropriate outlets for their drives.

There has been much discussion about overexcitability in the gifted. There is definitely an emotional overexcitability, which might express itself in nervous behavior. The highly gifted are often difficult for other people to take, because their mind moves so fast and so easily from one subject to another that it is tiring to participate with them in a conversation.

Everything in the gifted adult’s life relates to his or her particular depth and complexity of experiencing the world. Nothing seems simple, particularly when it comes to the questions of right and wrong. There are so many levels at which we can experience the correctness of our conclusions and behavior. The gifted have a need to qualify what they say by limiting it with, “maybe,” “it looks like,” “by all appearances,” etc. They are reluctant to make a statement that is absolute. In fact, that may be an outstanding quality of giftedness – the realization that there is not absolute right or wrong. Finality is a difficult concept for the gifted because they can always find something that would disqualify the very statement they made.

At this point I need to say that many gifted people are also very goal oriented and driven to reach the goals they passionately pursue. I believe that this is a clear contradiction if we desire to understand the gifted. All of it is true, but nothing is 100% true. For this reason, it doesn’t happen infrequently that gifted people are seen as wishy-washy or undetermined because their extended complexity of view does not allow an absolute answer. Yet, their emotional astuteness will often make them aware of an absolute moral truth. The whole question of morality becomes much more complicated for the mind of a gifted person than the more average person. Things are simply never clear-cut and obvious the more we become aware of unexpected factors involved in the decision. It is like a mobius strip that ends up exactly in the opposite direction that it starts out. I think understanding the gifted mind works like the mobius strip. It might reverse what we start out with.

As we get older, we experience certain declines and changes with the same complexity and awareness as we experience the growing up years and adulthood and a new kind of pain enters our feelings when we realize so strongly our physical changes and deterioration. I am now 92 years old and observe myself as well as other old people. Some deteriorate emotionally, but I am also under the impression that there is asynchrony between physical ability and the emotional and intellectual awareness of one’s own deterioration. This has both advantages and disadvantages. I now notice that since I am insecure in my movements I have to watch them intellectually more carefully. It takes careful thinking whenever you put down your foot. Many old people fall and break an arm or something because they forget to be careful. I have learned that watching your own movements is a requirement of old age. The discrepancy between the body and the mind keeps on growing. I think that as they age, gifted people have more alternatives, but even for them there is a limit. I think gifted people are more lonely or isolated in general, but a lot of it depends on the temperament or constitution of the individual.

Now I would like to end this with a brilliant statement, but I have become overcome with senility and I can’t think of one. I am so sorry that I was not able to be there in person, but send my wishes for a successful symposium!

Most is taken from her newest book, Beyond Old Age.

Annemarie Roeper, Ed.D., is an educational consultant with more than 50 years of experience specializing in the psychological and educational needs of gifted children. In addition to hundreds of articles, she has published Beyond Old Age, Educating Children for Life: The Modern Learning Community and My Life Experiences with Children. In 1941, she and her husband, George Roeper, founded the Roeper School in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; they also co-founded the Roeper Review Journal. She developed the ANNEMARIE ROEPER METHOD OF QUALITATIVE ASSESSMENT and practitioners are now being certified throughout the United States in this methodology. She was the first person to be filmed for the Legacy Series of NAGC.

Parents Can Identify Giftedness in their Children

2011-06-14T10:15:00.000-07:00

At HCOS, we don't always test to see just how gifted a child is, and rely a lot on anecdotal evidence from parents and teachers. (We are freed from having to test because we don't have funding attached to testing. That's a positive spin on the fact that at present we don't get direct funding for our gifted students).

I was heartened, therefore, when I recently read the following, by the esteemed Linda Silverman, via the Gifted Development Centre, who does a lot of testing and research. Linda points out the following:

"Parents are excellent identifiers of giftedness in their children: 84% of the children whose parents say that they fit ¾ of the following characteristics score at least 120 IQ (the superior range). Over 95% show giftedness in at least one area, but are asynchronous in their development, and their weaknesses depress their IQ scores."

Reasons well (good thinker)
Learns rapidly
Has extensive vocabulary
Has an excellent memory
Has a long attention span (if interested)
Sensitive (feelings hurt easily)
Shows compassion
Perfectionistic
Intense
Morally sensitive
Has strong curiosity
Perseverant in their interests
Has high degree of energy
Prefers older companions or adults
Has a wide range of interests
Has a great sense of humor
Early or avid reader (if too young to read, loves being read to)
Concerned with justice, fairness
Judgment mature for age at times
Is a keen observer
Has a vivid imagination
Is highly creative
Tends to question authority
Has facility with numbers
Good at jigsaw puzzles

http://www.gifteddevelopment.com/What_is_Gifted/characgt.htm

So there you go. It helps to answer the "Is my child gifted?" question. Now I can reply with authority..."Well, you tell me!"

Ceilidh Briscoe: Musicians for Japan

2011-04-06T09:07:00.001-07:00

Encounters With Canada by Abbie Benett

2011-02-09T12:02:00.000-08:00

Abbie, one of the gifted students with Learning Services at HCOS, took an opportunity to travel with Encounters with Canada to Ottawa last spring. She has kindly shared with us this reflection on her experience. Thanks Abbie! - Carmen

Encounters With Canada

International Affairs: March 20-26

Encounters with Canada is an organization with a mission to expose Canadian Teenagers to different careers, cultures, and at the same time give them a whole new perspective on Canada’s capital; Ottawa. There are many different themes, ranging from Medicine, to Law. The week I went was focused on International Affairs. We had an ambassador come to speak from Latvia, the chance to learn African Dancing, and we raised $800 for war orphans in Africa. Outside of this, there were many different workshops and tours to go on. We were able to visit some of Ottawa’s most renowned museums, and toured the city’s landmarks by bus. In addition to the museums we were also able to visit Parliament, and watch the House of Commons in action, visit the Library, and take a look at the Senate. It was amazing to be able to see a part of Canada’s history that I’ve never been able to before.

This was certainly a week I will always remember. I came back home with a better understanding of the Canadian government, a new perspective on International Affairs, and much better French. Considering all the workshops were bilingual, or only in French, we had to learn quite a bit of Canada’s other language which was quite a challenge. The best part of Encounters would have to be the friends we made. On the last day, there wasn’t a dry eye – Everyone was crying even the guys. As we headed off to the airport to return home, numbers and emails were exchanged frantically between people. I still have two really good friends from Encounters that even now, I’m in contact with, but I’d have never even met If not for EWC.

Thanks!

Abbie Benett

Ever Think Your Own Giftedness is Frustrating Your Gifted Child?

2010-07-10T20:31:00.000-07:00

The question in the above blog title grabbed me, as most of my job is working, supporting the parents of gifted children. I'm not going to comment it, except to encourage you to think about it. The link to the blog from GiftedUniverse is below if you want to read the whole article.

"If you have a gifted child, it is most likely that either you or your child’s other parent are gifted yourselves. Probably both of you. And if you are gifted than the traits and qualities associated with YOUR giftedness also affect your gifted child. YOUR high energy level. YOUR emotional sensitivity. YOUR difficulty in finding a peer whether as a child or now. YOUR intensity. Yet if you read much of what is written about parenting a gifted child, it assumes the relationship is unidirectional: gifted child and their impact on the parent(s) rather than a reciprocal relationship...." by ELISA on NOVEMBER 12, 2009,

HTTP://GIFTEDUNIVERSE.COM/PARENTS-GIFTED-CHILDREN/EVER-THINK-YOUR-OWN-GIFTEDNESS-IS-FRUSTRATING-YOUR-GIFTED-CHILD/

20 Tips for Nurturing Gifted Children by Bertie Kingore

2010-03-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

I came across this article on-line and thought it had some good ideas. Bertie's website is: http://www.bertiekingore.com/index.htm

Kingore, B. (2008). 20 Tips for nurturing gifted children. GIFTED EDUCATION COMMUNICATOR. California Association for the Gifted, Summer, 2008.

1. Appreciate gifted learners as children. Just as all children do, they need love, friendship, reasonable standards of behavior, responsibility, time management skills, free time, and creative pursuits. They need your involvement in their development of independence. Appreciate them for who they are rather than who they may become.

2. Interact with families with gifted children. Gifted children seek interest-mates and intellectual-peers as well as age peers. You may also find solace interacting with another parent who lives with and loves a gifted child.

3. Recognize how the personal and instructional needs of a gifted child differ from others. Gifted students require intellectual peers who understand more abstract ideas and get their jokes. They learn best when instruction is at a pace and level that respond to their accelerated readiness to learn.

4. Appreciate the differences among high achievers, gifted learners, and creative thinkers. Skim the accompanying chart that compares high achievers, gifted learners, and creative thinkers, and ponder which column or combinations of columns best fits your child. Consider discussing the chart with your children to elicit their perceptions.

5. Understand the developmental crises for gifted students. Linda Silverman cautions that gifted students experience uneven development, underachievement often related to a lack of curriculum challenge, conflict between achievement and popularity, and difficulty selecting a career due to multipotentiality. Access her web site for further information.

6. Assure your child that being different is okay. Gifted children can feel disconnected from age peers who interpret so differently. Help them appreciate individual differences in others and themselves. Provide a place where it is safe for children to be themselves.

7. Be an encourager. A parent uniquely understands the whole child as you view your child in multiple scenarios over an extended period of time. As an encourager, validate your child’s worth and goals as you encourage passions for learning.

8. Emphasize that what is learned is more important than any grade. Interact enthusiastically as your child shares school work with you. Rather than focus upon the grade, prompt your child’s response with: Tell me about what you learned doing this? Draw a star by something you did well or liked doing.

9. Be an active listener and elicit children’s perceptions. Strive to understand their messages and feelings rather than too quickly respond to their words. Insure that children know you respect them and are genuinely interested in their information. Power struggles can be deferred with a request for their view instead of a barrage of our answers. What do you think we can do about this? How do you feel about it? Why do you think that happened?

10. Follow their interests and leads in learning situations rather than pressure them with your agenda. Our goals may not be their goals. Consult them on issues affecting them whenever you believe they understand the consequences.

11. Talk up to them. Advanced vocabularies lead to higher comprehension and achievement.

12. Enjoy music, plays, museums, art, sports, and historical places together and discuss the experience. These shared cultural experiences give family members warm memories to talk about over the years.

13. Model life-long learning habits. Talk about current events and volunteer with your child to help others. Our actions may model more than our words.

14. Facilitate real-life reading, writing, science, and math experiences. Get library cards and go to the library together. Enjoy browsing. Help children find good books and materials in the areas in which they express interest. Start at an early age to shop together with a list and a budget, write thank you notes and invitations, and plan the area and plants for a garden. One gifted sixth grader expressed sincere appreciation for geometry skills after working with his father to plot a patio space and cover.

15. Give books and learning games as presents, and then spend time together reading and playing those games. Research supports that reading and playing card and board games increases vocabulary, math skills, comprehension, and critical thinking skills.

16. Recognize that gifted children need to question and respond critically. They sometimes are impatient with conventions, such as spelling, grammar, rules, and even patience for others. Talk frankly about the importance of conventions without stifling their creativity and spirit.

17. Maintain a sense of humor! As a parent, every day we can choose to laugh or cry.

AT SCHOOL...

18. Support school efforts to differentiate and provide services for advanced and

gifted children. Consider attending school in-service programs on differentiation and the needs of gifted children.

19. As appropriate, supply home perspectives and feedback on your child’s well- being, responses to learning, and interests. No matter what our occupations, I have always believed that our children are our greatest work.

20. Be an advocate more than an advisory.

REFERENCES

Kingore, B. (2004). Differentiation: Simplified, realistic, and effective. Austin, TX: Professional Associates Publishing.

Silverman, L.K. (2000). Counseling the gifted and talented. Denver, CO: Love Publishing.

Silverman, Linda Kreger Silverman. Web site. http://www.gifteddevelopment.com *Kingore, B. (2008). 20 Tips for nurturing gifted children. GIFTED EDUCATION COMMUNICATOR. California Association for the Gifted, Summer, 2008. In Press.

Empty Space to Become & the value of Futility

2010-02-27T16:46:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to spend a day listening to Dr. Gordon Neufeld speak. WOW. I've put link up on left to his website and I would recommend buying a book or DVD. He spoke about an issue that is huge in gifted kids - how easily they are wounded and how negative behaviour is born from that wounding.

Let me hit you with a few highlights though, that relate to the kids we are working with.

Gifted kids are often are often highly praised. Not so helpful. If a child is internally motivated, praise will shut them down. Instead of praise and reinforcement and high structure, these children need "empty spaces to become".

They need:

room for initiative, creative and originality.
to be placed in charge of their learning whenever possible

You (parents and teachers) need to:

provide options and solicit intentions to get them into the Driver's seat
give interest the lead when providing information
generate questions before providing answers
provide opportunities for experimentation and exploration
not preempt intrinsic motivation with praise rewards and incentives. (from his notes)

The other thing that really hit me from this presentation was Neufeld's admonition that we, as teachers and parents need to be "Agents of Futility and Angels of Comfort" at the same time.

Many gifted children will try and reason themselves out of a "No" that is a firm "no". They will engage you in unending argument or withdraw ("I didn't want that item/experience anyway"). Neufeld's point is that in order to adapt, learn from your experiences and failures, gain resourcefulness and resiliency, you need to feel a No and understand it emotionally, not understand it intellectually. You need to be brought to tears over the futility of the experience, not allowed to argue your way out of it or wear their parent down. But that futility, that "No" should not alienate the child from their parent, which is where the "angels of comfort" come in. Comforting as you say no. You don't explain the No, which takes it to that intellectual level, you just stick to it and sympathize with the child's frustration.

Neufeld points out that those tears of futility have enough toxins in them to kill a small rodent. Which is why you feel better afterwards. I find this fascinating.

The other point I took was that Gifted kids are often born sensitive. It is a huge challenge to keep their hearts soft, and attached to their parents. If that fails, you often have behavioural issues.

Attachment goes into the importance for children to be primarily attached to and dependant on "tempered" adults rather than "untempered" peers, for the protection of their own hearts.

And as always, Neufeld promotes finding islands of competence and building on the positive rather than focusing on the negative.

Just to whet your appetite....buy the book or DVD!

Motivation (or the Lack Thereof)

2010-02-09T15:38:00.000-08:00

I've gotten to thinking about achievement and motivation with Gifted kids. A number of the students I'm working with this year really struggle with this and it seems worth-while to explore why these kids, for whom learning is "so easy", should struggle so with getting their learning for school completed.

From my reading (in this case, largely from the Alberta Special Education department) and my experience around giftedness, some of the factors around lack of motivation or achievement may include: perfectionism, a lack of clear relationship between effort and outcome, low self-esteem, lack of self-confidence, and a sense of low personal control over one's own life. The factors that contribute include emotional issues, inappropriate curriculum, poor self-regulation concerns.

It has been suggested that positive reinforcement and relationships with adults make a difference, along with interest-based curriculum, a focus on strength, self-selected topics, mutual respect and addressing real-world problems.

In would be great if these gifted kids could select and shape their own topics and outcomes and make the learning as real to their specific and immediate needs as possible.

This year, with gifted kids, I have seen some shut down because of motivation - if they can't see the point, they won't do it - I would go so far as to almost say - can't do it. They will have to believe it is important and interesting before they put in any time at all. It is a different challenge from students with your regular need for learning services - these children can learn, they just won't. That is, they won't learn what we say is important on a timeline that we say is reasonable. They are often very very bright and are learning lots, but it is what is important to them and on their own timeline. Much like adults.

Often gifted kids are computer wizards, or read everything, or dance or sing, or play an instrument or make movies or cartoons - but it is really hard to get them to do school work. Because in their mind (and in reality) school work is "fake-work" or "busy-work". It is practise for real life and these kids would rather skip practise and engage life the first time around. They are generally capable enough to make that work for them. Sadly, most of our educational system is not geared to their needs and forcing them to do it our way often will only cause them to disengage.

When I think of motivation and gifted kids this way, not as rebellion or laziness, it makes a lot more sense to me. They may the be unconventional or perceived as unreasonable, but as George Bernard Shaw put it: "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

Home Schooling With Joy

2010-01-21T23:21:00.001-08:00

Sarah Bennett is one of the founders of HCOS, a homeschooling mom, the mother of gifted children and a member of the schools Gifted Committee. This article is included on our blog site with her permission and was originally included in the HCOS newsletter, January 2010. Thanks Sarah, for your inspiring thoughts. Carmen

by Sarah Bennett

Ecclesiastes 8:15 talks about joy accompanying us in our work through all the days of our lives. I love that idea. And I also think it’s central to homeschooling. How can we teach without joy? How can our kids learn without joy? What is the point of carrying on, day after day, if there is no joy in the work that we do?

I think that things start to fall apart when joy is left out of the planning process. I’ve experienced that myself. We had a minor homeschool crisis about six weeks ago. I wasn’t having any fun. My thirteen year old daughter was definitely not having any fun – and I was ready to send her off to school. I even checked the bus routes to see what time she’d have to leave the next morning.

We ended up in that place because my planning had left joy out. Instead, I had more goals. I knew that Abbie was academically capable of the work. I also knew that it fit into our schedule. And it was good work; worthwhile work. Work that would prepare her for things to come. Unfortunately, my view was too narrow. It was my husband who pointed out the error and steered me towards a solution. Instead of sending her to school we decided that for six weeks we would radically change everything. We shelved everything except for math and then supported and encouraged Abbie as she worked on a project. She spent those weeks writing and researching and now she’s putting everything together in a website. Beyond all of the school related stuff she learned while completing her project, she was able to experience joy in learning again. Her excitement was fun to watch. She has delighted in her project.

I allowed the boys (9 and 7) to work on their own project during this time. We did a big unit study on our back yard. We used photos (many of them were actually taken by Jacob) of animals and birds that live in our yard, they painted, wrote poetry, wrote a story, researched habitats and animal behavior, looked at how God designed each animal to survive in this environment, learned about Christian stewardship of the environment and drew out food chains. All of this was scrapbooked and best of all…it was fun! They boys took great joy in their project and you can see the pride and joy on their faces when they show someone their book. This was a great reminder to me about how simple it really is to approach our homeschooling in a way that cultivates joy. Having fun and being joyful in our work doesn’t mean that we don’t work hard , it just means I have to be a little more creative.

I don’t want my kids slogging through their school work. I don’t want my teenager up late every night trying to complete her work. I don’t want my kids to miss out on the opportunities that time and flexibility have opened up. And so, as I plan to get back to the rest of our subjects in the new year, I’m making sure that joy is a central component of our studies. I’m a goal oriented person, so this is hard for me. I’ve had to sit back in the past six weeks and look at where we’re at academically and where I’d like us to end up by June – and then I ask myself why. What happens if we don’t finish our math book? Well, the kids are ahead in math so nothing would actually happen if they didn’t finish their math books. Nothing. We could spend the rest of the year playing math games and doing puzzles and they still wouldn’t be behind (“behind” what, anyway? That’s a whole other conversation). Just writing down that we could play games for the rest of the year and not finish our math books actually makes my eye twitch. I’m not sure I could handle that. But, knowing that we could toss it all and still be just fine gives me a sense of freedom and flexibility. It means that if an opportunity to go out and do something cool comes up I can jump on it and go – we can enjoy it, without worrying about whether we finished math or not.

We’ve been able to enjoy a number of opportunities that I probably would not have made time for if we were still following the schedule that we followed for the first six weeks of school. Abbie has had a couple of significant opportunities open up to her. She has started volunteering at the museum. This is a weekly commitment and takes two hours out of a school day. That’s a big chunk of time and yet, I think it’s going to be more than worth it. And she loves it. It’s something she gets excited about doing. The second opportunity is with Taekwon-do. Abbie’s a black belt in Taekwon-do and really loves to teach. Having some extra flexibility means that she has the time to help teach twice a week, train for more hours, and take advantage of other teaching opportunities that pop up during the week. Her instructor teaches at schools as well and Abbie was able to go with him to an elementary school where she worked with a little girl withspecial needs. The look on Abbie’s face as she told me about how she helped the little girl with Taekwon-do was worth every minute we spent away from our school work that morning. It was even worth the drive from West Kelowna to North Glenmore to pick her up afterwards. I reminded myself that I would have said no if she had asked to help teach on a school morning back in September or October. I would have said no. And Abbie would have completed a lot of subjects that day, but she would have missed out on an experience that taught her more than all of those subjects combined and that allowed her to use her gifts to help others. And isn’t that the true end goal? That we learn to use the gifts that God has given us to help others?

My planning process looks a lot different these days. Sure, we’re jumping back in to a lot of the same things we were doing in the fall, but it’s with a joyful heart. We’re changing a few things, cutting back on a few others, and planning assignments and projects that will bring some of the joy back into our school days. Most importantly, I’m purposely planning in a “do the next thing” way. That means that I can still plan, but not for specific dates. And, if an opportunity comes up and we miss an entire day of school (or even just one subject) we can just pick up where we left off the next day and continue on our way without it throwing a wrench into a carefully crafted schedule.

If you’re having trouble finding the joy in homeschooling, my challenge to you is to pick one thing to change in the new year. Is there a particular subject that just sucks the life out of your homeschool? Change it. Turn it upside-down and approach it from another direction. Do something radical. And have fun! Nurture relationships, help your children discover their God given gifts and give them the opportunity to use them.

I wish you great joy in the New Year.

What does "gifted" mean anyway? Part 2

2009-12-04T11:36:00.000-08:00

Giftedness doesn't always come in the same package.

Sometimes people have "Upside-Down Brilliance"

"Upside-down Brilliance" is the name given by Linda Silverman to Visual-Spatial Learners. This is another kind of intelligence or giftedness, and one that is often unrecognized. If the description below fits you or your children, check out the Visual Spatial link on the left side of the page to find out more.

How to Spot a Spatial

Betty Maxwell, M.A.

Just for fun, here are some clues to help you recognize those picture thinkers lurking in your environment. Certainly not all traits listed will fit any one visual-spatial learner. Some clues may surprise you!

Picture thinkers may: be lost in space...seethe with impatience (a picture is worth a thousand words and is grasped instantly; everything else is slow motion) ...have terrible handwriting...have a wild imagination...hate timed tests, especially Mad Math Minutes...do math in the head and hate to write any of it out...have the right answers but not be able to show any steps (what steps?)...get math concepts but be poor with math facts and calculation...be good with maps, directions...draw or doodle while you talk... talk engagingly but write meagerly...know what’s on the floors above and below them... know how to get anywhere they’ve been once...ask many questions...be absent-minded, lose everything...be The Mess!...take forever to finish what they’re supposed to do...know material but do poorly on detail-oriented tests...agonize over multiple choice questions; they’re all right in a way...have strong emotions...be able to recite whole movie plots but not summarize...the main idea is a foreign concept...have original ideas, be inventive... may work backwards or start in the middle of a task... have poor phonemic awareness... guess at many words...be better with sight words...be forever late with projects...astound you with flashes of brilliance...think uniquely...search for words and gesture a lot...be rotten spellers...daydream...be computer wizards...be oh! so sensitive...have sudden enthusiasms...be artists, musicians, actors, inventors, , engineers, surgeons, architects, stage directors, physicists, computer programmers, pilots, wealthy entrepreneurs ---or their children!

This information is from the Visual Spatial website.

What does "gifted" mean anyway? Part 1

2009-11-30T17:11:00.000-08:00

I’ve had several questions around “how can I know if I am/my student/my child are gifted”. As it is not a simple question, though it seems so, I want to spend a few blog sessions addressing it. By the end, hopefully the subject will have more clarity.

Our Understanding of Giftedness is Changing

I thought I would start by reviewing what BC has to say. This blog is an abbreviation of the information on their website: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/specialed/gifted/whoare.htm.

The BC Ministry of Education speaks about giftedness in the following ways:

“Perceptions of giftedness vary even among gifted education specialists. At one time "gifted" was the term used to describe those students who learned quickly and obtained high scores on IQ tests. … Today "giftedness" is generally accepted to include a wide range of attributes, from the traditional intellectual measures to interpersonal abilities.”

There Are Different Types of Intelligence

Gardner's (1983) model of intelligence describes capabilities in seven areas.

• Linguistic: The ability to use words effectively both orally and in writing (e.g., writer, orator).

• Logical-Mathematical: The ability to use numbers effectively and to see logical relationships and patterns (e.g., mathematician, scientist, computer programmer).

• Spatial: The ability to visualize and to orient oneself in the world (e.g., guide, hunter, architect, artist).

• Bodily, Kinesthetic: The ability to use one's body to express ideas; to make things with hands; and to develop physical skills (e.g., actor, craftsperson, athlete)

• Musical: The capacity to perceive, discriminate, transform and express musical forms (e.g., composer, musician).

• Interpersonal Intelligence: The ability to perceive and make distinctions in the moods, intentions, motivations and feelings of other people (e.g., counsellor, political leader).

• Intrapersonal Intelligence: Self-knowledge and the ability to act adaptively on the basis of that knowledge (e.g., psychotherapist, religious leader).

**Gifted students will show patterns of development that exceed their peers in one or several of the intelligences.**

Gifted Characteristics = Above Average Intelligence, Creativity and Task Commitment

After an extensive analysis of research studies of gifted individuals, Renzulli (1986) concluded that giftedness involves the interaction of three sets of characteristics: above average intellectual ability, creativity and task commitment. This interaction may result in giftedness in general performance areas such as mathematics, philosophy, religion or visual arts, or in the performance areas as specific as cartooning, map-making, play-writing, advertising or agricultural research.

Treffinger (1986, p.40) defined the characteristics as follows:

Above Average Intelligence

• Advanced vocabulary

• Good memory

• Learns very quickly and easily

• Large fund of information

• Generalizes skillfully

• Comprehends new ideas easily

• Makes abstractions easily

• Perceives similarities, differences, relationships

• Makes judgments and decisions

Creativity

• Questioning; very curious about many topics

• Has many ideas (fluent)

• Sees things in varied ways (flexible)

• Offers unique or unusual ideas (original)

• Adds details; makes ideas more interesting (elaborates)

• Transforms or combines ideas

• Sees implications or consequences easily

• Risk-taker; speculates

• Feels free to disagree

• Finds subtle humour, paradox or discrepancies

Task Commitment*

• Sets own goals, standards

• Intense involvement in preferred problems and tasks

• Enthusiastic about interests and activities

• Needs little external motivation when pursuing tasks

• Prefers to concentrate on own interest and projects

• High level of energy

• Perseveres; does not give up easily when working

• Completes, shares products

• Eager for new projects and challenges

• Assumes responsibility

*Task commitment refers to the passion and the perseverance that follows when students are involved in problems, topics and projects of their own interest or choosing, in our outside of the classroom. Gifted students are typically committed to tasks that are personally meaningful. A lack of commitment to a task assigned by someone else does not necessarily mean the student lacks task commitment.

Regional Science Fairs

2009-11-25T14:48:00.000-08:00

I encourage all you science-minded scholars out there to check out the Science Fair link under "Cool Opportunities". There is a regional science fair near you and the Foundation will walk you through the process and find you a mentor to help you along. Travel! Meet Interesting people! Build a rocket! Learn something new! Enjoy!

The gift doesn't fall far from the giving tree

2009-11-09T22:15:00.000-08:00

This week I had a chance to meet the parent of one of the gifted students with whom I am working. What a treat! As we were chatting over lunch, we discussed how similar kids were to their parents - specifically gifted kids.

The conversation reminded me of a quote by Linda Silverman. She states:

"Where one child in the family is found to be gifted, the chances are great that all members of the family are gifted. Brothers and sisters are usually within five to ten points in ability. We studied 48 sets of siblings and found that over one-third were within five points of each other, over three-fifths were within ten points and almost three-quarters were within thirteen points...Parents IQ scores, when known, are usually within ten points of their children's; grandparents' IQ scores are often within ten points of their grandchildren's."

(Silverman, Linda in a paper What have We Learned About Gifted Children, published in 1997)

It seems to me that God knew what he was doing in making families; often gifted people can feel very alone, but right from the start God has put us in relational groups of people that are remarkably similar to us - we have a built-in support group, a group that can spur us on, challenge, debate with and encourage us, sympathize with us, people who have gone down the path we are going, at least to some degree.

I know it doesn't always feel like that - I know I felt so totally different from my family that at times I wondered if I was adopted. True story. I was also the only blond. Very suspicious. Sometimes, when we are in a family and looking at each other from an individualistic point of view we see only the differences - he is musical, I'm into art, she's the brain, I'm more social - but viewed from the outside and as a group, you see how very similar we all are to our family. And it's a good thing. A finger-of-God good thing.

And so, I invite you to join me this week in being thankful for family.

Excuse me, what was that question again?

2009-11-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

The formulation of a problem is often more important that its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skill. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle, requires imagination and marks real advance in science.

Einstein and Infeld (1938)

Young Author Spotlight

2009-10-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

I wanted to join in celebrating the success of one of our HCOS LifeLearner students, Celeste Catena, who is having her first novel, Undefeated, published this week. Below is the Press Release from the Penticton Writers and Publishers regarding Celeste and an invite to attend her book signing this

weekend.

Well done Celeste!

P.S. To all of our young authors, please remember that HCOS accepts student work for their newsletter and would love to publish something of yours!

Penticton Writers and Publishers

4011 Finnerty Road, Penticton, British Columbia

V2A 8W2

www.penwriters.com

For Immediate Release

Celeste Catena is an author at nine years old. The young Kelowna student was the youngest contestant (8 years old) at the most recent Can West Global Spelling Bee contest held in Kelowna. She placed fifth in the field of 34 young spellers.

Yasmin John-Thorpe, a cofounder of Penticton Writers and Publishers, was the head judge at the Spelling Bee. She was impressed with Celeste’s performance during the rounds of the Bee.

“I kept saying ‘you are correct’, amazed that this young girl was still standing after so many rounds,” says John-Thorpe. “When I finally had to ‘ding’ the bell to indicate she had spelled the word incorrectly, my heart broke”.

The encounter continued when John-Thorpe approached Angela Catena, Celeste’s Mom, after the contest to ask if Celeste also liked to write.

“When I found out Celeste was not only a keen speller but an avid reader and loved to write, I invited her to enter the Young British Columbia Youth Write Contest, sponsored by our group, for a chance to attend the BC Youth Write Camp,” recalls John-Thorpe.

After the one week camp, Celeste’s mom asked the Penticton Writers and Publishers to help with publishing Celeste’s first novel, Undefeated. The group edited and published the novel, and John-Thorpe, who is the organizer of Raise a Reader has booked multiple author appearances for Celeste at schools in the South Okanagan. Celeste will make a presentation to grade 4s and 5s and the Raise a Reader program will purchase a copy of her book for each student attending the presentation.

Residents can ‘meet the newest valley author’ Celeste Catena while she autographs copies of her first novel at Mosaic Books in Kelowna on October 31, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Opportunity

2009-10-14T12:44:00.001-07:00

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

- Thomas A. Edison

Creating your Own Blog

2009-10-07T22:00:00.001-07:00

Part of my hope with starting this blog is to encourage each of you to start your own blog as well. If you become a follower of this LifeLearners: Gifted and Creative Site, and have your own blog as well, we can link to each other's sites and get to know each other a bit that way. I would also encourage you to comment on this site; share an opinion or ask a question. There may be others who are thinking the same thing and are just a bit reluctant to "speak up".

If you would like me to post something for you - a poem, a picture, a short, polite rant of sorts - you can send it to me and I'm happy to add it to this site for you. If you want to see something on this site that I haven't included, or have an opportunity or resource to share, please, email me! Any benefit, any strength we have is as a community of learners.

My intention is that this be kind of our collective "living room" - a place to relax and share. So...pull up a chair and put your feet on the coffee table; if you were at my house, we'd share a pot of tea and pull out the pencil crayons and doodle while we chat.

Carmen

Welcome!

2009-10-03T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

If you are receiving this email, you have been a part of the gifted program last year or have applied and have been accepted to take part in it this year. I am so excited to be working with each of you and I am looking forward to emailing and chatting with - perhaps even meeting - each of you during the course of the year.

The Gifted program is continually growing and being shaped to meet the needs of the families and students of HCOS. After a year of being taken care of by a very capable but busy volunteer gifted committee, this year the Gifted Program was put under the Special Education departments' governance and budget and I have been hired (part-time) as an advocate & consultant for the Gifted, as part a of a larger Learning Services team.

The "Gifted Program" has developed into LifeLearners: Gifted and Creative Enrichment Services. I will be working with your individual teachers, and sometimes with you as families directly, to help support your gifted students. Some of this will be by being an advocate for you with your on-line or individual teachers, to encourage them to reduce or alter your workload in order to allow you pursue your gifting without hindrance or perhaps to challenge you to test and use and explore your gifting. Sometimes teachers will approach me to see if I can suggest a mentor for your child in a certain subject area or interest, or to recommend curriculum that will meet your needs. In this way I will be a consultant and advocate for your child.

I will also be the person to talk to if you are requesting additional funding for your child for an item/service that is related to their gifting. I'll send along more info about that as we go along.

One of the ways in which we are hoping to provide support is by creating an online blog called LifeLearners: Gifted & Creative, where students, parents and teachers can all access information about resources for the gifted, good books to read about giftedness, good books your kids might enjoy, website or challenges, contests and opportunities that would be of interest, along with a space for discussion about common questions or concerns around giftedness. This website would be open to any student, because one of the things we are finding is that, working with home learners, the school likely has more than our fair share of gifting. Many parents, who may not have signed up for the gifted program, would benefit from access to these additional ideas and resources. We want to make this support available to all who need and would benefit from it.

Before I go further, (I could go on and on with ideas and plans) I would ask two things:

1) Please talk to your individual teacher about creating an updated IEP (individualized education plan) for your gifted child and have them email this to me, along with any testing your child may have had done. This may not happen right away, I understand we are all very busy, but this is a place for us to start formally helping your child. If your student is in grades 10 - 12, I will be the one creating the IEP and working with you to select courses.

2) If you have ideas or suggestions you would like to see happen as part of the LifeLearners Services this year, please email me, we want this to be as useful as possible in meeting your needs and supporting your roles as teachers and parents.

My prayer for all of us is that God will make our paths straight as we seek seek his face and entrust our selves to him. This is perhaps the most important and joy-filled part of my role; to pray for you and your children as we journey together.

With Thanks,

Carmen

Advocate & Consultant for the Gifted

HCOS SE Learning Services Team

Oh Begin!

2009-09-07T18:33:00.001-07:00