What parent isn’t looking for free, terrific summer activities for kids? And who better than the Mensa Foundation to come up with brain-tastic ideas? (In the interest of full disclosure, I work for the Mensa Foundation and created this. That’s okay, right?) If you’re looking for totally awesome things to
Oh, oh, oh. I loved Top Dog. I have used something from this book at least once a week since I’ve read it. I actually waited to write this review because I was worried I would be too ridiculous in my praise. So it’s been six months, and it’s still
We’ve long believed you’re either creative or you’re not, but that’s simply not true. Encouraging children’s creativity (which often means preventing the world from driving it out of them) is as crucial as their cognitive development. I wrote an article for the Mensa Bulletin on this, and you are welcome
PowerPoint Countdown Timer Slides are slidedecks that automatically count down, advancing without clicking. They’re great for teachers who want students to be able to track progress and manage their time. While there are PowerPoint timers available, this is different in that there is an editable text box that allows teachers
Sleep is a constant struggle for many adults and kids, and it’s a key issue with the gifted, whose minds tend to spin out of control exactly when they need sleep the most. I wrote this article for the Mensa Bulletin that explores how (and why) to get a good
The best math resources are those that are also free! If you’ve got a mathemaniac, have I got some great free resources for you. Many mathematicians agree that probability and statistics are under-taught in schools, especially in light of their use in everyday life. The Web site for the Actuarial
Confession: I loathe Accelerated Reader. Perhaps the title of this post was a spoiler. My friend Jen Marten wrote this terrific article about what’s wrong with Accelerated Reader. I would like to add a few points to her wonderful list. Much has been written about the problems with Accelerated Reader,
Give Kids Choice (Without the Chaos): A Simple Strategy That Works Want to know one secret to getting students more engaged in tasks? Give them a voice in what they do. We all value choice, and kids are no different. There’s even research about how autonomy is necessary for developing
This simple yet cool one-slide PowerPoint lets you “spin” a wheel, and it even includes a satisfying “spinny” sound. Uses, you ask? choose teams choose assignments select number of seconds or minutes or times something will be done anything requiring an element of randomness take the place of dice in
When your child is the star of the football team, no one blinks an eye when you wear a jersey with his number on it or a photo button with his picture. This is so far from the case when your child is gifted that the only similarity between the two
Let’s be honest: working in groups is not typically a strength for gifted learners. That doesn’t mean that we just shrug our shoulders and say, “Oh, well I (or my child) just prefer to work alone.” That’s simply not practical in today’s cooperative learning and work environments. So how can we
A gifted fifth grader received this advice on his report card: “You could work on ways to exhibit patience for others who don’t work at your same fast pace. Also be aware that you don’t overstep boundaries by helping people when they are trying to discover something on their own.”
