After-school activities....Those three little words can strike fear into any parent's heart. Extra-curricular activities are needed for resumes, college applications, to keep young ones occupied; they define many a child's life during pre-college years. Parents often rush to involve their children in as many activities as possible as early as…

Parents who homeschool gifted children often find the daily practice of home education very different from what they had imagined. Gifted children are complex in both personality and learning styles. Parents who say that homeschooling works well for their gifted children have learned from others or discovered on their own several secrets that make…

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 building resilience--that ability to push through hardship to success, to rebound from failure, and to "keep on keepin' on" when things seem impossible. The author assert that lots of gifted and talented kids need help building their resilience. In today's world, when striving for mediocrity can seem like…

As a young parent, the author hoped to find ideas, like recipes, that she could immediately put to use. In reality, it is a handful of basic good parenting principles that are especially useful when raising children with exceptional abilities. The author highlights five important elements of parenting that have consistently popped up in her…

Raising gifted children is both a joy and a challenge. How does one survive and thrive living in a gifted family? Parents play an essential role in helping children develop appreciation and respect for the world and their place in it. Intellectual development and emotional reactions begin at an early age, and many major behavioral patterns are set…

Almost every day, another gifted education program bites the proverbial dust. Parents all across the country feel both apprehensive and anxious about the cuts. They are concerned about the educational and social emotional well-being of these students. They also wonder if it is even possible to advocate for gifted education in today's bleak…

There is great pressure on parents to teach children to read as early as possible. In reality, precocious (early advanced) readers seem to almost master the skill on their own, without the assistance of highly touted, commercially available programs. The 18-month-old toddler who names the letters on alphabet blocks; or the 26-month-old who can…

How do educators create and nurture environments that respect and meet the developmental needs of gifted children? They know that many young bright youngsters exhibit intense sensitivities from birth, ask many probing questions, and are often verbally sophisticated beyond their years. They may have exceptionally long attention spans within their…

Gifted kids often share a list of common traits, but ultimately, they are individuals. They have their own strengths, their own weaknesses, and their own needs. One trait that many gifted children "do" share is asynchrony. In other words, gifted children may not follow a typical age appropriate time line. They may be markedly advanced, average, or…

Because college admission has become much more competitive, parents and students need to know that excellent grades and test scores may not be enough to gain placement, especially in highly selective schools. Keep in mind that there are more than 25,000 class valedictorians every year, most with nearly perfect standardized test scores. Also, the…

The media calls them the wizards of tomorrow, the fix-it-kids, athletes of the mind, star players, and champs. These are the young people who compete and win academic, artistic, leadership, and service related competitions. Competitors spell words as difficult as autochthonous, make new scientific discoveries, compose poetry, publish their short…

A talented child's motivation and artistic gift can suffer when the environment at home and at school are inadequately supportive. It's crucial, therefore, for parents and teachers to understand that any child's involvement in the arts can enhance overall success in academics and in later life. It's just as important to learn about the many ways…

The six issues of this newsletter have the following themes: (1) home schooling, (2) promising practices, (3) parent advocacy, (4) the young gifted child, (5) "being out of sync," and (6) philosophy of giftedness. Major articles include the following: "Homeschooling for Gifted Primary Students" (Patricia Linehan); "Learning to Fly: A Home…

Each of these issues of "Understanding Our Gifted" is based on the following themes: valuing parents, excellence revisited, networking, talent searches, attention deficit disorders, and mainstreaming the gifted. Feature articles of the six issues include: "'Pushy and Domineering': A Stigma Placed on Parents of Gifted Children" (Lynn C. Cole and…