Gifted Children
June 7th 2007 06:42
Hello Everybody,
I've wanting to write a bit about gifted children. I know the term can be very upsetting for many in that all our children our gifted, and I would agree with this point of view. I also am faced with the reality that my daughter is extremely well...GIFTED and TALENTED as it is known in California. I know that labels are not a good thing, but there has to be a way to talk about this without getting people pushed out of shape. I went to a California Homeschoolers Network Conference last year and for the first time was able to say yes my daughter is definitely gifted. She is well advanced for her four years.
Now this may not come as a surprise to those who have gifted children, but there is a great relief in knowing that your child is normal, but above average. The feeling of being able to talk about it among other parents is very normalizing. To find out that things my daughter does are quite normal within this circle made me sigh with a breath of fresh air. The other thing I learned is that there is an entire range of gifted children. Now I have no intent to have my daughter tested, but I am very happy to see her grow up and have a better understanding of her needs.
The best way for me to define my daughter is to say that she is a highly spiritual being. Her knowledge and questions surpass anything that I have thought or done at her age. To me this can only be a "gift" from God. She has an uncanny intuition that freaks me out to this day. She says things I'm thinking and seems to know my thoughts with amazing clarity. My daughter is a somewhat shy girl and although she loves to play with others, she is just as happy to draw, create, build, experiment by herself. She loves animals and has insisted we get a dog since she was two. She talks to our cat and has an uncanny ability with getting the animals to do what she wants. She tells me she is going to a vet along with a paleontologist, museum curator, and astronomer. She is also very sensitive, loving, and compassionate child who is always wanting to help others. Her mind is like a super-computer that does not turn off. From the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep she is activated as she says. Now mind you most four year olds are like that, but it's the depth of her questioning and her ability to process and retain information. Her inquisitveness just knows no bounds.
Ah yes, my point, well I for the first time last year while at the CHN, I felt that I had found a group of parents who understood my plight. Yes my daughter is very very smart and is creative beyond belief, but this too requires its own set of special needs. Just as a child who has a learning disability or any other type of handicap, children who are extremely gifted, have their own special needs. Often times they are very sensitive and can easily become over stimulated. This happens quickly and without notice and requires a special eye to catch. Many times teachers and parents who are not familiar with these children mis read the problem and just label the child as cranky or worst yet spoiled.
It has been my experience that these children are often very aware of their needs and may tell you when they need to eat and sleep and they may not always be at the best time. If they are not allowed to eat or rest when needed, they can easily go into overdrive where they can become very giddy, cranky, or even have a sort of melt-down. Children who are gifted seem to be hard-wired differently and easily be over stimulated by loud music, colors, and environments where there are lots of lights and people (such as malls).
I'm still learning everyday from my daughter, and just a few months ago I awoke to find her on the livingroom floor sprawled out with about ten to fifteen pieces of paper in which she had drawn her entire body. Now mind you she was interested in the human anatomy and wanted to learn about the physiology of the human body, so she took it upon herself to draw her hands, feet, and stomach. What is truly amazing about these drawing is their accurateness to her size and the detail with which she drew them. When I first showed them to my wife, she thought I had decided to start figure drawing again. It was then that I told her that our daughter had drew them. She had that funny look of disbelief that I always get when I tell people the stuff she does.
Well here are a few of her drawings.
I've wanting to write a bit about gifted children. I know the term can be very upsetting for many in that all our children our gifted, and I would agree with this point of view. I also am faced with the reality that my daughter is extremely well...GIFTED and TALENTED as it is known in California. I know that labels are not a good thing, but there has to be a way to talk about this without getting people pushed out of shape. I went to a California Homeschoolers Network Conference last year and for the first time was able to say yes my daughter is definitely gifted. She is well advanced for her four years.
Now this may not come as a surprise to those who have gifted children, but there is a great relief in knowing that your child is normal, but above average. The feeling of being able to talk about it among other parents is very normalizing. To find out that things my daughter does are quite normal within this circle made me sigh with a breath of fresh air. The other thing I learned is that there is an entire range of gifted children. Now I have no intent to have my daughter tested, but I am very happy to see her grow up and have a better understanding of her needs.
The best way for me to define my daughter is to say that she is a highly spiritual being. Her knowledge and questions surpass anything that I have thought or done at her age. To me this can only be a "gift" from God. She has an uncanny intuition that freaks me out to this day. She says things I'm thinking and seems to know my thoughts with amazing clarity. My daughter is a somewhat shy girl and although she loves to play with others, she is just as happy to draw, create, build, experiment by herself. She loves animals and has insisted we get a dog since she was two. She talks to our cat and has an uncanny ability with getting the animals to do what she wants. She tells me she is going to a vet along with a paleontologist, museum curator, and astronomer. She is also very sensitive, loving, and compassionate child who is always wanting to help others. Her mind is like a super-computer that does not turn off. From the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to sleep she is activated as she says. Now mind you most four year olds are like that, but it's the depth of her questioning and her ability to process and retain information. Her inquisitveness just knows no bounds.
Ah yes, my point, well I for the first time last year while at the CHN, I felt that I had found a group of parents who understood my plight. Yes my daughter is very very smart and is creative beyond belief, but this too requires its own set of special needs. Just as a child who has a learning disability or any other type of handicap, children who are extremely gifted, have their own special needs. Often times they are very sensitive and can easily become over stimulated. This happens quickly and without notice and requires a special eye to catch. Many times teachers and parents who are not familiar with these children mis read the problem and just label the child as cranky or worst yet spoiled.
It has been my experience that these children are often very aware of their needs and may tell you when they need to eat and sleep and they may not always be at the best time. If they are not allowed to eat or rest when needed, they can easily go into overdrive where they can become very giddy, cranky, or even have a sort of melt-down. Children who are gifted seem to be hard-wired differently and easily be over stimulated by loud music, colors, and environments where there are lots of lights and people (such as malls).
I'm still learning everyday from my daughter, and just a few months ago I awoke to find her on the livingroom floor sprawled out with about ten to fifteen pieces of paper in which she had drawn her entire body. Now mind you she was interested in the human anatomy and wanted to learn about the physiology of the human body, so she took it upon herself to draw her hands, feet, and stomach. What is truly amazing about these drawing is their accurateness to her size and the detail with which she drew them. When I first showed them to my wife, she thought I had decided to start figure drawing again. It was then that I told her that our daughter had drew them. She had that funny look of disbelief that I always get when I tell people the stuff she does.
Well here are a few of her drawings.
My Daughter's Foot Age 4
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