During the last several years, the author has become increasingly concerned with the question, "Are we preparing gifted children for college? Or are we preparing them for Life?" Parents and educators want their children to be successful. But what does that mean? At the outset, the author wants to credit Lisa Rivero, a Board member of Supporting…

To meet the needs of young gifted and talented learners, teachers need the flexibility to respond to individual needs without the stress of extra planning and preparation. Certainly, some planning comes into play. Engaging the gifts and interests of these students in a way that is also reasonable presents a unique challenge. One of the most…

What can parents and educators of gifted children do to help them build the connections that will allow them to thrive? In this article, the author suggests a few practical and simple things that parents and educators of gifted children might want to consider as they live and work with them day by day. He breaks those suggestions out into two…

A study done in 2006 found that two-thirds of gifted children reported having been bullied. All children are affected adversely by bullying but gifted children differ from other children in significant ways. Many are intense, sensitive and stressed by their own and others' high expectations and their ability, interests and behavior may make them…

Bullies come in all sizes, shapes, ages, genders, and ethnicities. Bullies generally attack that which they do not understand, what is strange, different from their perception of the norm or someone whom they resent. Their motivation has to do with making themselves feel stronger, more secure or to compensate for their own sad experiences.…

Homeschooling parents worry a lot. And homeschooling parents of gifted children seem to worry even more than most. Parents who homeschool intense, smart, sensitive, and perfectionist children and teens are often themselves intense, smart, sensitive, and perfectionistic, even if they don't always think of themselves as gifted. One shouldn't be too…

Gifted children are children first, and they have educational and social-emotional needs that run all over the map. Anyone who knows gifted children is familiar with the sudden shifts within a child who might be doing high school level scientific study, handwriting at a third grade level, display the wit and wisdom of a middle aged adult, and…

When the author started homeschooling, she would listen jealously as other parents discussed curriculum for reading and math, two subjects that her daughter never needed any instruction in as a young child. She was eager to try out curriculum, but her visual spatial daughter was not quite ready for learning on paper. She found out that searching…

The author is the proud parent of The Most Complex Child on the Planet[TM]. This has been confirmed by numerous teachers, administrators, doctors, therapists, specialists, friends, family members, and random strangers on the street. She has accepted her son's complexity (mostly) and is trying to work with it instead of against it. Now she is…

In this article, the author shares his own observations and experiences as a veteran GT coordinator in a large school district that includes several charter schools and several families who have opted for home schooling. Specifically, he recounts several occasions when parents requested a hybrid educational model that combined home schooling with…

While resources for the gifted are not abundant, many schools do offer classes, programs, services, and/or clubs that broaden student learning beyond the curriculum. What can educators do to expand the horizons of gifted children--to open their minds to new worlds of knowledge and understanding? Programs for gifted students, particularly those…

Both parents and students bring their own styles into the college selection process. Counselors who are aware of the characteristics of these styles can best help students when selecting appropriate schools. This article discusses parental approaches to choosing a college. To assure good decisions, educators need to take a more active, systematic…

In this article, the author talks about celebrating the differences of all gifted students. Rather than isolate or ridicule creative individuals, people need to recognize that the very characteristics that enable creative people to think originally may cause them to be seen as different and even bizarre. She suggests that people need to accept and…

Peter, 7 years old, spends most of his time playing with his stick alone. After several unsuccessful attempts to get Peter to join his cousins, his aunt asks the boy's parents if they have considered having him evaluated by a psychologist. Peter's parents are not as concerned about the stick behavior as is his aunt. Although the attachment to his…

In order for students to learn well, someone or something must capture their interest. Novelty and intellectual challenges are good approaches for gaining attention. Imaginative strategies include storytelling, discrepant events, dressing in costumes, music, dynamic video clips, comic strips, humor, models, puppets, the element of surprise,…