Is my child gifted

        Parents may be wondering how to find out if their children are gifted. Whether your child is gifted or not, several of the resources listed throughout this article can enhance any child's educational experience. Give them a look!

There are several places to start looking for help with testing and assessment of your gifted child. Each state has a gifted program coordinator. For example, in 2005, Missouri passed a law that schools would have to provide programs for gifted children by 2012 (many districts have already complied). Here are some ideas to find testing:

 Contact the State's Gifted Organization

For help in finding a gifted program in their area, parents should first contact The Gifted Association of their state. The people in these organizations are very knowledgeable and may have information about qualified testers in their state. Mine is David Welch – State advisor, in Jefferson City, MO. His phone number is (573) 751-2453. The website given earlier is, is www.mogam.org

The National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) sponsors annual conventions for children in November each year. You can register online at http://www.nagc.org. They hold a Parent Day, there. You can contact Karen L. Yoho, CAE, Senior Director, Marketing/Membership, at www.nagc.org National Association for Gifted Children, 1707 L Street NW Suite 550, Washington DC 20036, and 202-621-5771. Or email her: kyoho@nagc.org

Contact the School Administration Office of the Nearest Large City

If parents are lucky enough to live in or very close to a large city, school systems in large cities usually have a psychologist who does the testing for their gifted program. These psychologists have private practices and often specialize to some degree in gifted children.

Many universities have gifted assessments. Check your state’s universities. The University of Missouri has an Assessment Resource Center (ARC), Robert Mullen – Director, in Columbia. His phone number is 800-366-8232. http://arc.missouri.edu. Universities might be able to help with testing for giftedness and programs for gifted children.

Parents can see if a nearby university has charter-school or gifted-child programs and coordinators. They often have free resources, and sponsor math and reading competitions, too.

Charter schools are public schools that run like private schools for bright students. Check your school district for charter schools. In the Kansas City area, there are a few charter public schools that act like private schools, but without a tuition fee. Children must submit an application and be approved, but it’s worth it.

The Brookside-Frontier Math and Science School (BFMASS) is a tuition-free, college-prep, public school. BFMASS is a secondary school for grades 6 – 12.

There are also two elementary schools under this same tuition-free charter public system: the Brookside Charter and Day School for grades K – 5, and the Frontier School of Innovation for grades K – 5.

Contact information at http://www.bfmass.org and email byasar@bfmass.org.

1.    Brookside-Frontier Math and Science School, 5605 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110. Phone: (816) 822-1331 or (816) 822-1332

2.    Brookside Day and Charter School, 5220 Troost Ave, Kansas City, MO 64110.

3.    Frontier School of Innovation, 6700 N Corporate Dr, Kansas City, MO 64120. Phone:

        (816) 363-1907. http://www.kcfsi.org or email info@kcfsi.org.

For classical education in a private school setting, check out schools like Faith Christian Academy at http://www.fcaclassical.com/academics/elementary-scope-of-coordination. The emphasis on the classical education is the wonderful thing about this school.

There are also the Accelerated Schools of Overland Park at http://acceleratedschoolsop.org.

You may be able to find similar curricula for your area on http://www.local.com. Find your state and search with the keywords: private school.

For teens, my state has The Missouri Options Program, offered through Valley View High School (Blue Springs School District), with no more than 10 students per teacher. Each student works 3 hours per day, at a computer terminal and progresses at his/her own pace (no extra-curricular activities are available; it's pure academics). When the coursework is completed, the student takes the G.E.D. exam and is awarded an actual H.S. diploma from Valley View H. S., NOT a G.E.D. diploma.

To be eligible for this MOP program, the student MUST either be taking full time classes at a community college or mix: taking some credits at the community college AND be working part time. The Missouri Options Program is administered by Julie White, jwhite@bssd.net. She may be able to help you find something similar in your state.

Parents can tap into public schools that partner with the gifted program from the K12 Company. We previously discussed the K12 commercial company for home tutoring that is paid for with public school funds. They also offer gifted testing. 

The K12 Company has home curricula for gifted programs and works with the public school district. They have regular curricula for any child whose education would thrive better at home. This also may be a good way to go if parents would like to home school their children but don’t know where to start. http://www.k12.com. Unfortunately, Missouri law - at this time - does not allow for K12 programs in my state. But maybe yours does!

“In many states, the inspired K¹² curriculum is available to families at no cost through virtual public schools and distance-learning programs. These are not tutoring programs — they're full-time, tuition-free, public schools using K¹² ’s award-winning curriculum.

“K¹² has partnered with these schools in the belief that all kinds of kids — from gifted children, to those needing a more flexible pace than what is possible in a traditional school — can achieve mastery of the key concepts and skills they need to succeed. It is this mastery that allows children to reach their personal potential.

“Parents in these home-based public schools benefit from the leading research in education and cognitive science.”

        Here are several resources for parents of gifted and talented children:

Note: there are several more resources for wonderful math enhancement ideas in Vol. 10 of my It's Not Rocket Surgery! series.

Educational helps for parents and bright children (in age order):

For help with breastfeeding issues and questions, the La Leche League USA is the best source. All the chapters and contacts can be found at this website: http://www.lllusa.org.

The LLL philosophy can be found on the international site: http://www.llli.org, which quotes,

“The ideals and principles of mothering, which are the foundation of LLLI beliefs, are further developed in THE WOMANLY ART OF BREASTFEEDING, the most comprehensive handbook on breastfeeding and parenting ever published. It has provided needed answers to three generations of nursing mothers on every aspect of breastfeeding.

Baby Your Baby http://www.dhss.mo.gov/babyyourbaby/resources.html

Many articles have been written on the subject of how tobacco and alcohol affect fetuses extremely negatively. One quick reference is: http://www.babycenter.com/0_how-smoking-during-pregnancy-affects-you-and-your-baby_1405720.bc?page=1.

Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, Kathleen M. Baggett kbaggett@ku.edu, (913) 321-3143, Ext. 237

ParentLink, sponsored by the University of Missouri-Columbia, provides support for parents through an information line, lending library, and community development activities. ParentLink's mission is to help parents provide safe, healthy and nurturing environments for their children. For more information, call 800-552-8522, or visit the ParentLink website, http://education.missouri.edu/orgs/parentlink.

Author Shannah B Godfrey (me) is available to help any parents of young children learn how to give them cognitive stimulation and emotional support through The Godfrey Method. Contact her at (816) 886-7904, http://thegodfreymethod.com, and shannahbgodfrey@gmail.com

Jolly Phonics Learning

http://www.jollylearning.co.uk

Parents as Teachers (PAT) is a parent education and family support program that is free to all pregnant women and parents of children up to kindergarten age. PAT focuses on the early years to help parents understand what to expect during each stage of their child's development. The program offers personal visits, group meetings, and developmental screenings. It helps link parents to a network of community resources.

It is available all in most of the U.S. and U.K. Certified parent educators offer parents practical ways to encourage learning, to manage challenging behavior, and to promote strong parent-child relationships. For more information or to find a PAT program near you, visit the National Parents as Teachers website. http://www.parentsasteachers.org.

Since children remember things better when they are put to music, a good way to facilitate your child’s character development is with Brite Music® CDs and follow-along books, http://www.britemusic.com/about-brite-music.

“Reading Through Tears”, by Byron Harrison & Jean Clyde. Visual Attention Span (VAS) Theory Research, http://www.vasresearch.com/index.html, is Tasmania's leading remedial center and is regarded by many to be one of Australia's finest remedial methods. VAS Theory explains the need for synthetic phonics to prepare for school and to augment giftedness:

"Guessing is inherently inaccurate… Knowledge of sounds needs to reach the stage where, when you see a letter, you automatically associate it with its most common sound.” [Note: this is exactly what The Godfrey Method does for young children.]

Libraries are a great place for parents to enhance their children’s learning. There are so many activities at the library branches. In the Kansas City area, the Mid-Continent Library has many branches with fun and stimulating things to do on the Calendar of Programs. 

Besides story time, there are many programs to choose from. Go to http://mcpl.lib.mo.us or your state’s library website for info.

Museums are also a great way to enhance your child’s mind with art, exhibits, galleries, and learning activities. Check out the museums in your area. There are many different kinds.

YMCA locations with children’s activities can be found online for your state. Mine is http://www.kansascityymca.org

Wouldn’t it be much better to prevent much of dyslexia (and possibly autism and ADHD) by starting phonics early at home than to have to try to fix it later? Wouldn’t it be better to help a savant be well-rounded in all areas of intelligence from the beginning? http://www.dyslexia-parent.com/news.html has many resources.

The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential: Dr. Glenn Doman classifies dyslexia, ADHD, ADD, epilepsy, and other brain disorders as fixable with his methods. http://www.iahp.org or http://www.gentlerevolution.com for products.

Scientific Learning: Dr. Michael Merzenich, who was featured in, The Brain That Changes Itself, by Dr. Norman Doidge. Dr. Merzenich's breakthrough brain mapping discoveries help a myriad of brain functioning. His method helps repair speech and reading problems, autism, social awkwardness, and sparking giftedness, showing that brain mapping can change for the better. Here are some links to more info about 

Dr. Merzenich’s methods: www.scilearn.com or www.brainsparklearning.com. Or call TOLL FREE 888-358-0212 ext. 1239. Dr. Merzenich offers a 5-day free trial of the BrainSpark software to use at home. Check the website.

Don’t forget the MENSA group’s resources for Bright Kids, as mentioned before. Contact the Gifted Children Coordinator email at giftedchildcoord@mamensa.org.

There is a great publication in many areas called Mother & Child Reunion. This pamphlet helps put the parents back into education and is full of ideas. It has stories, tips, activities, coupons, and community events, as well as interesting articles. It is distributed free to families of school children. Articles include your child’s learning style, homeschooling help, teacher tip, and common sense way to childproof a home. There are even lists of parent support groups for just about everything and anything. To check it out online, go to http://www.motherandchildreunion.com.

Animal Planet: Some home activities to expand children's minds at home can be found online at Animal Planet. http://animal.discovery.com. Animal Planet provides activities, games, videos, and features about animals.  Learn all things animal.

Amazing Space: Here is something to stretch your child's imagination: Amazing Space, http://amazing-space.stsci.edu. This NASA site of astronomy and space science education offers activities and videos for children. There are online space explorations for topics like telescopes, galaxies, comets.  Tonight’s Sky is a narrated video of the current month’s sky features.

Parents may opt to home-school their children rather than subject them to being bored, antsy, and in trouble at school every day. In this way, parents can declare their home a private school, which is not under the jurisdiction of public school laws. Note: there is a list of more homeschooling websites in the appendix of Vol. 7 of my It's Not Rocket Surgery!

One amazing curriculum that I use is the A-Beka system from Pensacola, FL. Of course parents must purchase the curriculum materials for each grade level. http://www.abeka.com or http://www.homeschool.com/resources/ABeka/default.asp. 

http://www.fhe-mo.org - Most important link for MO homeschool legal info! There are similar groups in each state. 

http://www.aop.com - Great online or traditional curriculum! Alpha Omega Productions: Switched On Schoolhouse and also their online accredited Academy. This is what I use with my teenage son. 

http://cdis.missouri.edu/high-school.aspx - Mizzou high school curriculum from the university. 

http://www.umkc.edu/hscp - University of Missouri KC high school curriculum. 

http://www.ce.BYU.edu/is/site/courses/highschool.cfm - Another great high school curriculum from a university! 

http://www.sonlight.com - Christian curriculum and list of homeschool conventions nationwide. 

Kumon: One company that advocates starting children early is the Kumon after-school, math and reading program. Kumon suggests enrolling children early in preschool age. “It’s always preferable to start young and begin developing skills early to get the greatest cumulative benefit.”  http://www.kumon.com/about/default.asp?language=USA. There are many campuses nationwide. 

Enroll your child in your area’s spelling bees http://www.spellingbee.com. The spelling bee sponsor for my locale is The Examiner. Contact Sandy Turner at sandy.turner@examiner.net or 816-350-6314.

Teen years can be a great time to help your gifted child explore unconventional careers. There are a lot of ideas at http://giftedkids.about.com/od/giftedadolescents/Gifted_Teens.htm to help you help your gifted children be proud of his/her abilities.

Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) immerses young women (6th – 8th grades) in hands-on experiences in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Professional women from STEM careers facilitate workshops and serve as the young women's role models. 

The EYH gives the young women who attend the EYH Conference an extended opportunity to explore the science, technology, engineering, and math careers in hands-on workshops. The conference features a women keynote speaker, too. EYH presents science in a way that is exciting, educational and relevant to daily life, while fostering career-opportunity awareness. 

There are EYH programs in most states. http://www.expandingyourhorizons.org.

Science Pioneers, in conjunction with the Girl Scouts of NE Kansas and NW Missouri, conduct this event in Science City at Union Station in Kansas City, MO. http://www.sciencepioneers.org. Search for EYH. Or phone: (816) 460-2261.

Check out these books from the bibliography of Linda Kreger Silverman. Gifted Child Development Center in Denver, 1-888-GIFTED1:

• Families of gifted children. Cornell, D. G. (1984). Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press.
• Caring for the gifted. Dickinson, R. M. (1970). North Quincy, MA: Christopher.
• Hereditary genius: An inquiry into its laws and consequences. Galton, F. (1869). London.
• Gifted children: Their nature and nurture. Hollingworth, L. S. (1926). New York: Macmillan.
• Thoughts on giftedness. Understanding Our Gifted. Johnson, L. (1993). 5(5A), p. 15.
• What happens to the gifted girl? Silverman, L. K. (1986).
• Critical issues in gifted education, Vol. 1: Defensible programs for the gifted (pp. 43-89). C. J. Maker (Ed.) Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
• A feminine perspective of giftedness. Silverman, L. K., & Miller, N. B. (2007).
• The international handbook on giftedness. L. Shavinina, (Ed.). Amsterdam: Springer Science.
• Commonalities between the intellectual extremes: Giftedness and mental retardation. Zigler, E., & Farber, E. A. (1985).
• The gifted and the talented: Developmental perspectives (pp. 387-408). F. D. Horowitz & M. O'Brien (Eds.) Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• The Conundrums of Success, a keynote address by Rosemary Cathcart

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/StarLightStarBrightIsmychildgifted

20 interesting facts about the English language

20 Interesting Facts About the English Language - This is superb! Brilliant!

Today I'd like to share with you something written by Darrielle Cresswell and posted as a guest blog on Kath's Blog at For Reading Addicts, March 4, 2015. 

Here is the link: http://forreadingaddicts.co.uk/language/20-interesting-facts-about-the-english-language/147

(My favorite part is about the "ough" words, which we cover in TGM's Home Early Learning Play School):

English, born from so many other tongues, and being so rich in texture and depth, is an extraordinary language. There are over 600,000 entries in the Oxford English Dictionary, and thanks to corruptions, misinterpretations, altercations and evolution, the language throws up many interesting quirks.

English just has so many words! There are many words that mean almost the same thing, words that are archaic, and words that don’t always seem to fit in due to the language constantly evolving. Here are a few fascinating facts about the English language we’ve put together for you. We hope you enjoy them!

Only two words in the English language end in ‘–gry’ these are angry and hungry. We can’t help but think these two things are somehow connected.

The word bookkeeper is the only unhyphenated English word with three consecutive double letters.

The letter E is the most used letter in the English language and accounts for a massive 11% of the written word.

The shortest –ology in the dictionary is oology, the scientific study of eggs.

The word uncopyrightable is the longest word in the dictionary where no letter is repeated twice.

When you cup your hands together to create a bowl it’s known as a gowpen.

The longest non-medical word in the English dictionary is floccinaucinihilipilification. It means the habit of estimating something as worthless.

The words facetious and abstemious are the only two words in English that contain all of the vowels in the correct order.

A sentence that contains all 26 letters of the alphabet is called a pangram. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog is the most famous example of a pangram.

The only word in the dictionary that ends with -mt is dreamt, the variant of dreamed.

Used as a verb, owl means ‘to act wisely despite knowing nothing’.

The dot over the ‘i’ and ‘j’ in English is called a tittle.

The word checkmate comes from a Persian phrase ‘Shah Mat’, which translates as ‘The King is helpless’.

The combination of letters -ough can be pronounced in 9 different ways (hold onto your hats USA)! The following sentence contains them all: “The rough-coated, dough-faced, thoughtful ploughman strode through the streets of Scarborough; after falling into a plough, he coughed and hiccoughed.”

The longest word in the dictionary without any vowels is rhythm.

Flabellation is the use of a fan to cool something down.

Scarecrows were once known as hobidy-boobies.

When skateboarding first took off it was known as sidewalk surfing.

In written English the letter Q only appears once in every 500 letters. It appears 4 times in this piece, including the one in the previous sentence.

A word formed by joining together two parts of existing words is called a portmanteau word and many new words are added to the dictionary this way. Brunch is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch, while motel is a portmanteau of motorcar and hotel. It is said that Oscar Wilde pushed duds (clothes) and attitude together to create dude.

We hope you enjoyed those little English facts, feel free to add your own in the comments!

Here was my comment:

There are only 4 words (and their variations) that start with “dw” – dwell (dwelling, dwellings, dwelled, dwelt), dwarf, dweeb, dwindle (dwindles, dwindled, dwindling). Dweeb is slang.

Don't you just love it?!

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/20InterestingFactsAbouttheEnglishLanguage

Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) now available

Hey Moms! All the activities from the series, It's Not Rocket Surgery! for early reading the right way, are now published together in one place! Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) is here: http://www.amazon.com/Home-Early-Learning-Play-School/dp/150789404X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1423921195&sr=1-1&keywords=Shannah+B+Godfrey

So, you've used A Funny Boy Was Prince River with your child, who now knows all the beginning phonics sounds, but you wonder what to do next? All of the Home Early Learning Play School (HELPS) activities, each previously found at the end of each volume of It's Not Rocket Surgery! by Shannah B Godfrey, are now together in one book.

This amazing book has each of the spelling rules presented in fun activities that help your child understand phonics, how to decode words, and become an excellent, confident reader!

You'll also find the answers to all of The Godfrey Method mottos:

Early reading the right way.

Keep It Simple for Success (KISS your child) with The Godfrey Method.

Learn how to overcome the Top Ten Myths of reading.

Dress your child's mind for success.

Reading is hearing with your eyes - phonics, phonics, phonics!

The two most crucial things kids need, quality parent-time and excellent reading skills, together.

Nurture your child's nature and notions.

Dyslexia is induced - it's the disease you get from sight-reading.

"No Child Left Behind" has become All Children Left Behind.

Just say NO to Common Core!

How to put your children on the launch pad of life and watch them soar!

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/HomeEarlyLearningPlaySchoolHELPSarenowallinoneplace 

How to help your children reach their highest potential

       What parent wouldn't want to help her children become their best? To give your child a well-trained mind, it is necessary to understand that true self-esteem comes from achievement, and that usually requires effort and practice. Almost any child can become more gifted or academically talented with the right guidance and training.

        Are people born with talent? Most people think the only way to be great at something, from music to sports to math to chess, is to be born with a rare ability. Greatness isn't just born, it’s grown, which is important information about the learning process that every parent, teacher, and coach should know. 

        Recent research shows that even the most talented people have to devote a huge amount- a minimum of 10,000 hours- of dedicated, focused practice before they can achieve the level of world-class performance. Besides talent and practice, there is a third element necessary for success: inner determination (the child's own attitude and self-motivation).

        Giving your child a well-trained mind requires a classical education. The classical curriculum is very demanding, as it should be. For example, 9th grade students are expected to read 25 books, among them Homer's Iliad, Plato's Republic, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. There is a blueprint for parents to use at home. Children’s minds need to be challenged and stretched. It is tragic when the public school standards are lowered for the convenience of the parents and teachers. A well-trained mind requires as much time and practice as any other talent.

        Is teaching traditional grammar a waste of time? No! A professor of classics disagrees with the establishment’s war against grammar. He shows that a solid grounding in the grammatical analysis of sentences is necessary for good writing and speaking skills. It not only helps with one's native tongue, but also in learning foreign languages. He attributes a student's inability to write in complete sentences, as well as logical paragraphs, to a lack of foundation in basic grammar.

        The education people try to blame it on phone texting, but it really started with the whole language fiasco. In trying to make things easier for the few stragglers, we lost the rest of the students with our easing of criteria and requirements. When we make no demands, excellence does not happen. “No children left behind” has become all children left behind. And now Common Core is making it even worse!

        Well-meaning parents and educators believe that praise, encouragement, and advantages ("self-esteem-first" method) translate directly into happiness in childhood and success in adulthood. But did you know that the reverse is true? Misplaced indulgence only produces young adults who are stymied by the ordinary challenges of life, lack basic skills of empathy, and fear humiliation above all else. Yes, be positive, but lovingly require achievement and higher standards.

        Children need to learn to cope and can’t do so when adults remove all obstacles. So, in summary, to give your children a well-trained mind, give them a classical education with emphasis on traditional grammar, lovingly expect them to study and accomplish milestones, require them to practice or put in time and effort, and don’t do everything for them. More and more of our college students are finding it hard to cope on their own without mom and dad. Cases of anxiety are on the increase because of the misguided self-esteem push, which method was one of the many Project Follow Through failures. More to come from Common Core.

As Linda Kreger Silverman said, “A bright child who is capable of scoring in the high ninety percentiles on group achievement testing may not be gifted.” Regardless, being academically talented is a worthy pursuit. The technology jobs of the future need intelligent, successful students.

        Resources: http://www.societyforqualityeducation.org/index.php/resources/category/C10/  

Outliers: The Story of Success, by Malcolm Gladwell.
The Talent Code, by Daniel Coyle.
The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, by Jessie Wise and Susan Wise Bauer.
The War against Grammar, by David Mulroy.
The Self-Esteem Trap: Raising Confident and Compassionate Kids in an Age of Self-Importance, by Polly Young-Eisendrath.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/StarLightStarBrightHowtohelpyourchildrenreachtheirhighestpotential

Be proud! Geeks and nerds run the world

        Geeks and nerds run the world. It’s true! Think Bill Gates and Alan Greenspan. Think doctors, lawyers, and computer programmers. Very few athletes make it to the top, and they rarely run the world.*

        In the technology arena and research & development, the science and engineering departments are made up mostly of gifted children who grew up to be geeks and nerds. They change the face of the world one discovery, development, or upgrade at a time. They improve the standard of living for everyone. Our technology workforce is demanding better-educated people now and in the future. Reading early the right way is the foundation. Direct instruction in phonics, math, music, etc., is the key.

        Gifted children want to fit in and are sometimes worried to show their intelligence in secondary schools for fear of being labeled a nerd. Tell them that ‘geeks and nerds run the world’ and often become the bosses of those types who used to make fun of them. It’s okay to develop athletic skills, in fact there is a mind-body connection that is discussed in Vol. 8 of my book, It's Not Rocket Surgery! However, if a choice had to be made, it is much more important- for a child’s future success- to develop his/her mind and intelligence.

         As previously discussed, intelligence is one-part nature, one-part nurture, and one-part inner determination. Whatever the factors, it is clear that parents must not let their gifted children be left to fend for themselves in school. Parents can follow the best practices of phonics reading instruction (and math and music instruction) with their children at home to ensure a great foundation for success.

        Gifted children need exposure to many types of learning to be well-rounded. One of the best programs for kids is scouting. They start as young as 6 years and go until age 18. Scouting gives your child a sense of accomplishment. Being able to claim the rank of Eagle Scout on a resume' is an impressive and prestigious thing.

        To find information for a scout troop near your home, go to the Boy Scouts of America office near you: http://www.hoac-bsa.org.

For info on Brownies and Girl Scouting, go to http://www.girlscouts.org/.

        Many writers and philosophers, who help shape that way we think, are grown geeks and nerds, too. It takes a measure of intelligence to write a compelling essay or book. It takes a deeper thinker to tap into our innermost humanity and explain the world to us. Anyone should be proud to be called a geek or nerd. What’s the opposite of this? A materialistic, shallow person, who doesn't usually accomplish much.

        There is nothing wrong with looking your best if you also develop your mind and talents. Let fashion and working-out be your accessories, not your focus. I love to watch TLC’s What Not to Wear as they transform a brainiac into a beauty. It enhances her talents, rather than becomes her focal point.

        Children should never be ashamed of their mental abilities. At the same time, they need to stay humble and teachable. This is the great trick – to understand your gifts, use them for good, and not be smug about it.

        My children love to play video games (as well as excel on the swim team, athletics). One has a gamer shirt that says, ‘Pirates always beat ninjas.’ Likewise, brains always beat muscles. That is why we humans have always dominated our environment – there are animals bigger and stronger than mankind, but our brains usually give us the ability to survive better. They also give us the greater responsibility to care for the rest of the planet.

        Wise parents will help their children to appreciate their mental gifts with an eye towards using them to do good things for the world, to improve it for themselves, others, and their children. They will help them realize that intelligence is a gift to be used to benefit their sphere of influence, something they can be proud to pass on to the next generation. They will teach them to realize that childhood is very short and that, sooner than they think, people will reward them for being intelligent.

*(My husband reminded me that Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse Ventura were both athletes who became political leaders, but they are by far the exception, not the rule.)

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/StarLightStarBrightBeproudGeeksandnerdsruntheworld

10 ways to nurture your young child's gifts

Every child is a unique. What are the best ways for you to nurture your young child's gifts?

         First and foremost, NEVER teach your baby to read by sight-words. This will only hinder his/her capabilities later in life. Use true phonics by direct instruction, starting with The Godfrey Method books like A Funny Boy Was Prince River.

        Some children learn more quickly than others due to genetic and/or environmental factors, mixed with personal motivation. Whether a child is noticeably gifted or not, his parents can still enhance learning and give him an advantage in school.

        Parents can put too much pressure on children to perform, and they can put too little pressure on them. The best way for a parent to enhance a child's learning is to provide a stimulating learning environment without forcing a young child to learn. One of the most important steps is to use flash cards (and other teaching methods) only while the child is interested. When the child is ready to stop, you stop. Never try to force the child to finish the whole alphabet in one sitting. Later, you can pick up where you left off.

        Learning should be adult-guided wherever possible. Children learn best by answering (and asking) questions, and adults do best by guiding those leads along with the lesson plan. (Home learning is important, even in conjunction with other school attendance.) Yes, it's important to regularly introduce the basics of reading, writing, arithmetic, music, and art, by direct instruction, but if the child is interested in tigers, then study books about tigers to introduce language arts. Go to the zoo together.

        Children's brains need some rest time. They need a break between school and homework. They need a break between school and tutoring. The goal is to have a child who loves learning and knowledge of all kinds. Too much pressure can backfire, causing a child to hate reading, math, or other areas. Do you want a child who can get good grades but can't actually think or analyze for himself?

        To maintain a balance between encouragement and pressure, keep your motivators positive. Give rewards for achievements, not punishments for failures. If a child is not achieving to his ability, look for the root cause. Is there quiet time provided at home for homework? Do the parents read a lot, themselves? Be a good example. Turn off the TV and the games and have quiet time (we do this at 7:00 p.m. each evening). 

        Understand that different children learn differently (see Vol. 8 of my book, It's Not Rocket Surgery!). Try new approaches. Whatever the goal, we parents have to remain calm and not get into a power struggle with the child. This is extremely important. Don't make learning a chore that kills the love of learning. The goal is true knowledge, not just the ability to ace a test. Maintaining a balance between encouragement and pressure requires consistency and variety, simultaneously. No easy feat!

        Regularly work on the basics and occasionally introduce a little variety for fun. Do family field trips. Point out science and art in nature around you. Teach fractions and chemistry with cooking projects. Use Cuisenaire rods (way cool) for hands-on fractions and math. But never, never call a child lazy nor link his core character to grades and homework. Trying to motivate children to excel without putting too much pressure on them can be a balancing act. But so worth it!

        Sometimes success comes from practice, practice, practice, which children can hate. The old saying, ‘Practice makes perfect,’ is true in anything - math, music, art, sports, reading, etc. Some children are self-motivated to practice, especially the things they love, and some aren't. Find positive ways to motivate your child.

        When your child doesn't want to practice the piano or do homework, set the kitchen timer for 15 - 30 minutes and have a race to see how much s/he can get done. Offer a reward for focusing on the task until the timer dings. Achieving little bits here and there add up and make a good compromise.

        Another idea is to allow the child to do a pleasing activity after doing an unpleasant one. Something we have done is to have "TV bucks." We printed fake TV dollars and laminated them. For every hour that my child reads, I give her one TV buck. Then when she wants to watch TV or play a video game, she has to pay me a TV buck for each hour's worth. This keeps the reading time up and the TV/game time down, and links them together as a reward for good effort. (Or you can keep track of reading time vs. TV time in a notebook.)

        And finally, when your child fails at something, put your arm around him or her and say only positive encouragement. True self-esteem comes from accomplishment, but "you don't have to win every battle to win the war". Being gifted comes from internal motivation, so watch and see what excites your child and develop those areas, without excessive force. There are many hands-on ideas to try in Vol. 1 of It's Not Rocket Surgery! for young children, so I won’t repeat them here.

        Remember, being gifted is a combination of your child’s genetics, environment, and attitude. As the Serenity prayer says, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference!"

        Yes, it is possible to raise bright, gifted, and genius children in a happy environment.

        I must thank one of my readers, Mr. Pavel Ryzlovsky, for helping my research on Project Follow Through and the Whole Language mess (see Vol. 4, 5, & 6). In response to my articles on www.examiner.com he commented:

“Dear Ms. Godfrey,

        “I must say that, over years, I have been reading all those prizes for the "Whole Language method of reading" in disbelief, and I patiently waited for the moment someone would start debunking the myth it was constructed upon.

        “I can tell you that the method* you justifiably exposed has also been called to assist promotion of the same sort as reading in instrumental music teaching, and so it's been doing considerable damage there, too.

        “Thank you, and I sincerely hope that your article makes the whole mountain of wrong teaching and poor reading shake. All the best to you.”

        So I sent him Cathy Froggatt’s wonderful article, Whole Language at the Fork in the Road,  http://www.nrrf.org/satire_WL_at_Fork.html. His second reply was:

“ Dear Ms. Godfrey,

        “Thank you kindly for sharing this story with me, it's a really good satire. I would like to add that, with the whole population's silent participation, we have already accumulated several obstacles to good-quality language teaching. The other one I see that will need to be tackled is our adherence to student-oriented learning.

        “I remember reading of a study which was conveyed to determine what sort of language-teaching system has been the most effective one. This study was unprecedented in its scope (and was done at an unprecedented cost of some $10mln) [even more]. It found that teacher-oriented education has been consistently bringing the best results, in every aspect several times better than the student-oriented type.

        “The outcome of the study was disseminated among the teaching districts throughout USA; however, only one tenth of their total number embraced the teacher-oriented system; in other districts both parents and teachers refused it as "too demanding" (for children and teachers).

        “The sooner we recognize what's wrong at the roots of our approaches the better. We have a long way to go to get out of the trouble we put ourselves into. Regards, Pavel.”

        I researched and found the study to be PFT. Later, Pavel sent me the link to Don Potter’s website, http://www.donpotter.net/ed.htm, full of the wonderful writings of Dr. Samuel Blumenfeld and others. Thank you, Mr. Ryzlovsky. There are many of us crying that the emperor (whole language and sight-reading) has no clothes!

        *And, thanks to Glynne Sutcliffe for leading me to Laurie Rogers’ website, http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com, which shows how the same faulty method has been used in “reform” math, causing even more damage. Also see her http://www.saferchild.org.

        There is a marvelous resource called, “Are You Willing to Try Something at Home?” from Davis County, Utah, Spectrum Gifted Program. It gives parents ideas of things to do with their children that are fun learning activities. It is broken up into sections that help a child’s mind learn to solve problems:

Divergent thinking (all the possibilities)
Convergent thinking (selecting choices)
Planning
Evaluation
Decision making
Creativity
Forecasting
Communication

        The materials in this workbook give parents ways to help their children develop these skills to become good problem-solvers in life. I noticed that they’ve changed the name to Davis Enhanced Education Programs (DEEP, formerly Gifted and Talented Programs). http://www.davis.k12.ut.us/213810114132536240/site/default.asp. Contact them for a copy of “Are You Willing to Try Something at Home?” at 801-402-5140 (FAX 801-402-5333), or Sheri Sauvé, Supervisor, and Jayne Barkdull, Administrative Assistant, atjbarkdull@dsdmail.net

The district website offers two documents: Depth, Complexity, and Higher-Order Thinking and Strategies for Advanced Learners. Take a look!

        One day the realization hit me that being gifted is just that – a gift. I didn’t personally do anything to get a great memory and logic, it was given to me by God and nature. It may have been genetically passed on to me from my parents, which is still a gift. I had nothing to be arrogant about because my giftedness wasn’t a personal accomplishment, just a gift.

        What if my mother had taken antihistamines at the wrong time in pregnancy? What if oxygen had been deprived during my delivery? What if I had been dropped on my head as an infant? Then I wouldn’t be gifted, I would be handicapped.

        What if my father hadn’t taught me to read by phonics at age three? Hadn’t nurtured my gift? So I learned gratitude for my gift, plus a realization that others had different types of gifts to be appreciated. I think it is important to help our children be humble about their giftedness, not arrogant. It is called a gift for a reason. Use it for good things in this world. One of the best ways to help children learn to use their gifts unselfishly is by serving their fellow man, helping make the world a better place in their corner.

        As discussed in a previous blog article, being gifted is a combination of genetics (nature), environment (nurture), and attitude (the child's own viewpoint and choices). It’s not all genetic. I like to say, “Intelligence is one-part nature, one-part nurture, and one-part inner motivation.” There are many different kinds of gifts and talents, and each should be encouraged and celebrated. Not all are academic.

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/StarLightStarBrightHowtonurtureyourchildsgift

How mothers and fathers see giftedness differently

Is there a difference between Fathers vs. Mothers when it comes to perceptions of a child's giftedness?

        Expanding on the previous blog article, Linda Kreger Silverman, on http://www.gifteddevelopment.com, writes:

        “What is giftedness all about? It certainly is a term that makes people uncomfortable. I remember going to a back-to-school night in 1976 and offering to find a mentor for any child who wanted to learn something he or she wasn't learning in school. There was no cost for the mentor. All the parents had to do was join the Boulder Association for the Gifted for $5 per year. I had no takers. One father stopped me afterwards and said something to the effect that his daughter was reading several years above grade level, and had a chemistry lab in the basement, etc., but he was “sure” his daughter wasn't gifted!

        “Since those days, I have endeavored to discover what gifted means to different people. Most of my work has been with parents, and I began to notice that mothers usually called the Gifted Development Center to inquire about testing, while fathers often viewed the assessment with skepticism. When I spoke to parent groups, mothers would nod and smile and fathers would sit with crossed arms and question marks on their faces. One father came up to me after a presentation and told me about his son who had won all kinds of awards as a scholar at Stanford University, but he, too, was certain his son wasn't gifted. I asked him, “What would he have to do to be gifted in your eyes?” The father retorted, “Well, he's no Einstein.”†

        “Then I came across a study in which the researcher thought mothers labeled one child in the family as gifted for their own “narcissistic needs.” [Not!]

        An incidental finding of this study was that when the school had labeled the child, gifted, the mothers believed the label and the fathers denied it, which led to marital conflict. That was when the light bulb went on for me. I realized that mothers and fathers were defining giftedness differently. The more I thought about it, the clearer it seemed that the male writers in the field tended to view giftedness very much like the fathers I had run across and most female writers seemed to share the perspective of the mothers.

        “[With men] all the emphasis is placed on products, performance, portfolios—the external trappings. And the child is expected to keep up the hard work throughout life, performing, producing, achieving. So ‘gifted’ has become the label bestowed by schools on “task committed,” hard working students who get good grades. Clearly, these are the students with the greatest potential for achievement in our competitive society. Is that what giftedness is all about? [No.]

        “The achievement view of giftedness has been with us from the very beginning, with Sir Francis Galton’s (1869) study of eminent men. Today, educators are still looking for children who have the potential to be eminent men. The eminent child in school is the winner of the competition for grades and awards.

        “After we tested his son, one Dad said to us, “He's only five. What could he have done in five years to be gifted?” Women, on the other hand, perceive giftedness as developmental advancement. If a Mom sees that her daughter is asking names of objects at 11 months, and memorizing books at 17 months, and asking complex questions before she's two years old, she gets very anxious. “How will she fit in with the other children?” “What will the teacher do with her if she's already reading in Kindergarten?” “Should I hide the books? I don't want them to think I'm another ‘pushy parent’.”

        “Developing faster than other children makes a child vulnerable, and mothers are keenly aware of this vulnerability. When they can ignore it no longer, when the fear of “What will happen to my child?” rises in their throats, they gulp twice and call a specialist for guidance on their child's unique developmental progress (with one part of them screaming in their heads, “Do you realize how foolish you're going to look if you're wrong and this is all in your head?”). Despite the myth that “All parents think their children are gifted,” nine out of ten of the parents who break down and make that phone call are right.”

        Note: actually, many of us moms delight in our child’s giftedness and do everything we can to help our child enhance it. Shame on any mom (or teacher, or magazine, or doctor) who would squelch a child’s intellectual development! Continuing:

        “…So what is giftedness? The Moms are right. It is developmental advancement that can be observed in early childhood. But the child doesn't advance equally in all areas. As she asks, “What happens after you die” and “How do we know we aren't part of someone else's dream?” she still can't tie her shoes! An eleven-year-old highly gifted boy got off the plane with his calculus book in one hand and his well-worn Curious George in the other. The higher the child’s IQ, the more difficulty he or she has finding playmates or conforming to the lock-step school curriculum. The greater the discrepancy between a child's strengths and weaknesses, the harder it is for him or her to fit in anywhere.

        “And Moms, a word about you. I would like a dollar for every mother who has sat in my office and said, “He gets it from his father.” Our society has such an achievement orientation toward giftedness that most women can't relate the concept to themselves at all. “I'm only a mother. I haven't done anything gifted.” Linda’s next book is about unrecognized giftedness in women. It's entitled, I'm Not Gifted, I'm Just Busy!” See gifted teen girls in future blogs.

        So mom, if in your gut you feel your child is gifted, make the call to get him or her tested. There are so many support systems for gifted children now. Quoting Linda Kreger Silverman again:

        “The damage we do to gifted children and adults by ignoring this phenomenon is far greater than the damage we do by labeling it. Without the label for their differences, the gifted come up with their own label: “I must be crazy. No one else is upset by this injustice but me.”

        “It’s time we took giftedness out of the closet and separated it entirely from the concept of achievement. It’s time we recognized it, valued it and nurtured it in our schools and in our families.”

        The male emphasis on achievement is also a bit misleading because, if achievement comes, it may be later in life or in an unexpected area. Some people are “late-bloomers” when it comes to achievement. One of my cousins floundered all through his 20s and 30s, but is now highly successful.

       Some Myths about Gifted Children - http://www.ri.net/gifted_talented/character.html

Gifted Kids are like cream that rises to the top in a classroom:
                Not necessarily. Gifted Children can have hidden learning disabilities that go undiscovered because they can easily compensate for them in the early years. As time goes on though, it becomes harder and harder for them to excel, [like my 5th son, as discussed previously], which can lead to behavior problems and depression.

Gifted Kids are so smart they do fine with or without special programs:
                They may appear to do fine on their own. But without proper challenge they can become bored and unruly. As the years go by they may find it harder and harder as work does become more challenging, since they never faced challenge before.

Gifted and Talented means the same thing:
                Again, not necessarily. There is no rule that states that a child who is capable of scoring to the high ninety percentiles on group achievement testing must be considered gifted. We must remember that achievement tests like the Metropolitan Achievement Tests are "Grade Level Testing".  Such a child is most definitely Academically Talented. But further individualized IQ and out of level academic testing must be given before we can define that child as "Gifted".  

                At the same time, there is no rule that states a child identified as gifted should be Achieving to high standards in the classroom. This type of stereotyping can do serious and irreversible damage to both groups. ANY child can benefit from enrichment. Academically Talented Children can benefit from Honors (Grade Level) Classes. Intellectually Gifted children may need a differentiated curriculum and possibly even a different environment.

They need to go through school with their own age mates:
                Where it's true that children need to play and interact socially with other children their age, they do not need to learn with them. Especially in the case of a highly gifted child who may have a chronological age of six and a mental age of 11 who has been reading since two. To put that child in a reading class with other six year olds who are just learning to read is sheer torture for that child.

                My 5th daughter tested as a very gifted child, so she attended the Spectrum Program for gifted children in Davis County, Utah. They have classrooms for gifted children that challenged them in wonderful ways. My daughter was writing college-level papers in 3rd – 6th grades, and had many hands-on experiences from a teacher trained in teaching gifted children. My child had the best of both worlds: kids her own age, who were also gifted from all over the county, in her classroom. Kudos to Davis County!

Giftedness is something to be jealous about:
                This is perhaps the most damaging myth. More often than not gifted children can feel isolated and misunderstood. They have more adult tastes in music, clothing, reading material and food. These differences to other children can cause them to be shunned and even abused verbally or physically by other children. [But this is NOT a reason to hold them back. There are solutions for this.] Experts in the field of gifted education are beginning to address the higher incidences of ADHD and Spelling/Handwriting disabilities in the gifted population verses those in the much larger normal population. 

http://thegodfreymethod.com/content/StarLightStarBrightHowmothersandfathersdefinegiftednessdifferently