The Joys and Challenges of Gifted Children

--5Th Grade Math Book of The Joys and Challenges of Gifted Children--

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Recently, I was reading a blog post on Gifted Children. This Mom had a unique perspective on just what it takes to raise a gifted child (being that all 3 of hers were). To her, having a gifted child, was not much different than having a extra needs child. In a way, I can see her point. There are assuredly challenges in motivating the exceptionally smart children.

The Joys and Challenges of Gifted Children

Jennifer, the author of the blog I was reading says, "In my observation, there are authentically Smart Kids, and there are Gifted Kids - and the parents of the authentically Smart Kids have the better end of the deal. True giftedness not only involves intelligence, but reasoning so covering the box that the box is not even recognizable. Gifted kids think differently, learn differently, recap to people differently. They are often misunderstood by teachers and peers, and they often struggle with fitting in and feeling accepted. There is a lovely petite term called "asynchronous development" that makes life oh-so-interesting: the gifted child may have the intelligence of one many years older, but his body, his maturity and his emotions are still at his biological age - or younger."

Grace
Grace was a child with a huge vocabulary before most of the children her age were even talking in sentences. people commented all the time on how grown up she sounded because of this fact. When she was 3, she started reading. I didn't feel like I had done whatever extra to get her to that point. She just came to me one day and said, "Mommy, I want to read this book to you." I was blown away that she was able to read me the whole book, only needing help with one or two words!

I also knew at a very early age that she had a real talent for music. As an infant, I worked at a child care town roughly an hour away. She came with me every day. On our commutes, she would sit in her car seat, trying to match pitches that I would sing to her. In her toddler years, she could hear a song one or two times, and know every word to the song. Before she was even walking, she'd be standing at the coffee table, tapping her feet to the rhythm of music. I knew I was going to have a very smart petite girl with some huge talents!

We had all the time joked that we were Not going to teach her to tie her shoes. After all, she needed to be able to learn Something in Kindergarten! Surprisingly, tying ended up being something she struggled with. In Kindergarten, she was already reading at about a 2nd grade reading level. She was identified as "Gifted", and put into a extra program with other industrialized readers. I was so glad she was put into that program. Up until that point, I wondered why I even bothered to send her to Kindergarten. Sure, she benefited socially, but academically, she was bored. The gifted trainer she worked with did a great job in exciting her to read more carefully, and gave her tips to push learning to the next level. She has continued to work with this trainer any times a year for the past any years. Now that she is a 4th grader, she is preparing for the statewide Battle of the Books. She is having a hard time getting motivated to read the books because, as she says, the books on the list are too easy.

While she is a very smart girl, she lacks some (Ok, a lot) in the area of self-motivation. Things come so easy to her, that she doesn't want to take the time to work at them. The idea of doing extra, just 'cause? Not in her line of thinking! Here's an example: Grace has been in dance since she was 3. This year, she was invited to join the competition dance group. I'm so proud of her! At the same time, I get so frustrated watching her. I know she can do the moves, and I know she has room for improvement. She just doesn't push herself!

Sadly, I can't get too upset with her, because I was the same way! When I was in 5th or 6th grade, I was identified as gifted. I was in a program called "High Potential." I was pulled out with some other children. I may have been a bit industrialized in some areas, but I never quite felt like I belonged in that group. I was terrible at math, and because I struggled in that one area, I didn't think I was as smart as the other kids in the group. Like my daughter, I didn't push myself. I didn't try at whatever quite as hard as I could have. I went straight through school in industrialized classes, and most of it was easy (though, history had a lot of numbers, so it wasn't my strongest area). I couldn't understand kids who struggled to read. Also, I played the flute. It came fairly easy to me (granted, if I had practiced, I probably would have been much better). I got by on my ability alone. I was in dance classes from 2nd grade straight through 10th grade. I danced at the contentious level for a incorporate of years, until I hurt my knee in 9th or 10th grade. Looking back, I wish I would have pushed myself harder. Instead of just getting by all those years, I wish I would have taken all to the next level and just Tried. I can only imagine where my music, dance, and even academics might have gone!

Michael
Michael is a Kindergartner. He began reading last spring. I was so excited, I tried to push him. He shut down and decided to quit reading altogether. His interest is back in reading these days. His trainer informed me just today that he is among the Top 10 Readers in all the kindergarten classes at his school. Question is, he won't read for whatever else except me. He refused to read for the trainer who wanted to "test" his ability in order to pull him out for a extra guided reading group. His trainer opted not to force him, for fear he would shut down. I think that was a good selection - for now. My challenge now is to outline out how to build his reliance so that he can comprehend his true ability.

Going back to the blog that got me on this topic for a second. Jennifer says that it is prominent for parents to advocate for their children. We need to work with teachers to help our children, and to ensure they are continually challenged. On this point, I agree 100%. It was a struggle for me and it is a struggle for both of my kids who seem to be on the industrialized end of the spectrum. Not only is it prominent to make sure our kids are challenged, it is also prominent to help them stay motivated (as they may struggle with motivating themselves). Our children who are either truly gifted, or just authentically smart, may have a hard time fitting in with their "average" peers. We need to not only advocate for them with their teachers, but we also need to preserve them in their struggles. The same is true with any child. It is part of our duty as parents.

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Book Summary - The Total Money Makeover - A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness - By Dave Ramsey

#1. Book Summary - The Total Money Makeover - A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness - By Dave Ramsey

Book Summary - The Total Money Makeover - A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness - By Dave Ramsey

Bottom line - buy this book. Financial stress is the biggest threat to our nation right now. People are running scared every day as unemployment increases, the value of a dollar decreases and high paying jobs are disappearing. Dave outlines everything you need to do to go from bankruptcy to financially fit. If you have not read or heard of Dave, you will like him because he brings a southern down home common sense to his work. My grandmother was from Georgia and had a 5th grade education and she had more southern common sense than anybody I have ever met. Dave is the same way.

Book Summary - The Total Money Makeover - A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness - By Dave Ramsey

Why is this important to me? Look at this and you will see why it is critical to get a control of your money and finances. Divorce rates in this country are north of 50% and the number one cause is financial stress. Dave talks about women having a security gland and the necessity for secure finances. When the future is uncertain in terms of living, education and family, women tend to be affected more than men. This inherent difference cases stress and thus divorce. Dave discusses how to handle this a bit in this book and in much more detail in Financial Peace University. What ever happened to peoples WORD? There were 1,593,081 bankruptcy cases in 2010.

I think my grandparents are happy to be in the next world because SOME people in this country have lost their self-respect and have huge entitlement problems. I don't like making sweeping judgments and I understand that some bankruptcies are inevitable due to medical issues or trauma. I have no problem with that but there are a ton of lazy people thinking they can just wipe the slate clean and start over. Worse than that, they have done it more than once. This is like a part-time Catholic cheating on his wife but asking for forgiveness at Sunday mass each week. He figures he can just start over. This is a bad thing.

This book is packed with excellent information that if followed is designed to get you out of debt and financially fit. For the sake of time, I will highlight certain sections and the myths that Dave outlines.

1. Financial Fitness is 20% how to and 80% behavior. The concepts are really simple but it is the behavior that is hard. I can outline a diet and fitness plan for anybody in 5 minutes that will produce results. The question is will it produce results for you - i.e. will YOU do the work??????? Shocking Stat: 90% of Americans buy stuff they CAN NOT afford.

2. Emergency Fund - How many people have 3 to 6 month's worth of funds available in case of an emergency? I was really lucky to grow up with a financially astute father. I thought I was 5 years old again reading Dave's book because all the things taught in the book were taught to me at an early age. I realize that not everybody is that lucky. The horrible statistic is that most Americans are 2 weeks away from financial collapse.

3. Dave outlines a myth that is very real. They myth is that if you loan money to a friend or relative, you are helping them. In reality, if you loan them money, the relationship will be strained or destroyed. The only relationship that would be enhanced is the kind resulting from one party being the master and the other party being the servant.

4. Golden Rule: The borrower is always slave to the lender.

Dave has a mindset saying that says: You need to be Gazelle intense when it comes to your financial fitness. You need to recognize that it is your behavior and your focus that will dictate if you become financially fit. If you are in a financial mess then the "how to" steps outlined in the book - work.

1. Create an emergency fund.
2. Tackle your debt.
3. Save 15% of your money
4. Eliminate all payments
5. Give
6. Imaging a life with no payment and all income.......Victory!!!

These 6 simple steps are easy to understand but hard to follow. As you know, most people will not follow these steps. This is why people gamble, and play the lottery. One of Dave's rants which I agree with is - "The lottery is a tax on the poor and people who can't do math."

Remember - "Where focus goes, energy flows" If you are in a financial mess then I recommended that you start with this book and change your mind set to fix the problem.

To live like no one else so you can later live like no one else is a brilliant saying. This basically means that you need to be disciplined and sacrifice now to have financial freedom and security later in life. Remember that if you are nervous about your finances now, it will only get worse as you get older. Most people do not think about their health and energy until they start to lose them. If you HAVE TO work into your 70's because you don't have money then that is a horrible thing. If you work in your 70's because you love it and DON'T have to then it is a blessing. Which do you want?

I hope you have found this short video summary useful. The key to any new idea is to work it into your daily routine until it becomes habit. Habits form in as little as 21 days. One thing you can take away from this book is look in the mirror. Denial affects you like poison. If you have financial problems then admit it and make a commitment to do something about it NOW. Schedule 15 minutes every day toward your financial education to fix the problem NOW.

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Is Homework Important?

--5Th Grade Math Book of Is Homework Important?--

the full report Is Homework Important?

Debates rage on about the degree of value (or harm) that homework has on kids. Almost everybody reading this record has muscled through countless hours of homework, some hating it, some loving it, while most perhaps reconsider it a benign, boring necessity.

Is Homework Important?

On the one hand, homework has survived centuries of study reform, and is still thriving, so it must have at least some indispensable value. However, modern study in study has shattered these past norms producing hundreds of schools that focus on the student's thorough development, leaving traditional homework assignments out of their principles all together.

Why traditional study Advocates Homework

It seems the value of homework in traditional study is to bridge the gap in the middle of school and home. Teachers can cover far more material in a given year, and it's also believed to institute disciplined study habits and inculcate a feeling of independence through learner initiative. By being held to list for concrete assignments, a learner experiences personal accountability and sense of accomplishment. Personally, I very much remember and appreciate the sense of accomplishment, even though I hated every aspect of homework.
Finishing was awesome!

An discussion Against Homework

Getting more work done in a given year is amazing as long as the work itself has value to the individual. Many (if not most) students feel their school assignments have exiguous "real world" value to them.

Those feelings are proven true by the Tv Show "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader" where fully functioning, efficient adults are challenged to rejoinder the types of questions traditional 5th graders are predicted to know. When the adult answers incorrectly, there is a sense of embarrassment and humor. Yet the episode **I** get from that is 5th graders are studying Pure trivia. They're studying facts that lose their value after the 5th grade. So does it make sense to invite kids learn even more of this trivia in a given year, by taking on homework?

In regard to accountability, that's developed equally well by All activities that involve other people. Every act of transportation will only be understood by a listener, if the speaker expresses themselves clearly enough. If the words are mumbled, for example, the listener will hold the speaker to account, by saying something like "Huh? I didn't hear what you said" and now the speaker gets a second occasion to communicate. This is real-world accountability and it happens naturally in human interactions.

There is more to Life than Homework

If the child is cooped up in his room completing assignments which seem meaningless to him, just so he gets a grade in school, he's studying less about the subject and more that life is drudgery. At schools without traditional curriculums like The Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, Ma, the kids still learn all the basics of human knowledge: reading, writing, math, they just learn that at a pace and in a style that fits for them.

I was once volunteering at a school in Los Angeles, Ca called Play Mountain Place where they too are free to create their own studying paths. The kids had friends in traditional schools who would have homework assignments, and a few of the kids felt left out. "We Want Homework!" They demanded. The staff members asked them if they were serious and the kids assured them they were. The staff abruptly assigned them homework in their beloved are of study, and off the kids went with their assignments. The next they came back, assignments were finished, although they lost interest in having another assignment. I asked one learner why and she said "Because I would rather do other things."

New Thoughts on Education

The commercial Age required students to be mostly focused on values like obedience. Work that felt like drudgery was the most many could expect or even hope for. In the commercial Age, there is no job security, the web has drastically shifted entire industries, nearly killing some and creating fertile ground for the rise and reach of thousands of new ones. Kids today need to be agile, intuitive, and open to a faster rate of change than ever before in human civilization. Homework is gadget leftover from an outdated studying principles and its value for the future leaders of our world should be seriously questioned.

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