Mark Your Calendar! Event November 14th

Parent Class and Kids' Game Night

GPS Parent University and the Gifted Education Parent Council (GEPC) 

are partnering for this event: 

Presents:

The Vibrant Social and Emotional Life of a Gifted Child

Val Vista Lakes Elementary Library

November 14, 2017

5:30 - 7:30 pm

The social and emotional development of gifted children can be like a roller coaster ride!  This discussion will focus on how the nature and traits of giftedness impinge on the normal affective development of these students.  We will explore ways both parents and students can better manage the ups and downs of growing up gifted.

Register for the Parent University class here:   

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdcSflNV0FwNSyjkmdE5tNuMdI545zZ13CKPRTfCkEnX7O-9g/viewform 

Attention Kids in Grades K - 8

While your adults participate in the lecture, come meet new friends and enjoy a fun game night! Please bring your water bottle, snack for yourself, and favorite non-electronic game (such as: board game, card game, K’nex, Legos, chess, checkers, etc.). High School Student Volunteers will assist with game night. Kids meet in the Val Vista Lakes Elementary Multipurpose Room at 5:15 pm. 

Sponsored by:

Questions?  Contact:  giftededucationparentcouncil@gmail.com

 Together we can ensure that every GPS gifted student has the opportunity to learn and grow.

Click here to view a printable flier.

Parent Education Class: The Vibrant Social and Emotional Life of a Gifted Child

 

Mark your calendars!

GPS Parent University and the Gifted Education Parent Council are partnering to provide a free parent education class for parents of gifted children ...

The Vibrant Social and Emotional Life of a Gifted Child

The social and emotional development of gifted children can be like a roller coaster ride! This discussion will focus on how the nature and traits of giftedness impinge on the normal affective development of these students. We will explore ways both parents and students can better manage the ups and downs of growing up gifted.

DATE:  Tuesday, November 14, 2017
TIME:  5:30 - 7:30 PM
PLACE:  Val Vista Lakes Elementary Library (1030 N Blue Grotto Dr., Gilbert)
FREE, but registration is required.  Click here for the registration page.

Click here to visit Parent University on the web to see additional class offerings.

Regional Bus Stops – Logistics and Friendships

by Stephanie Newitt

School has begun and the morning craziness has started.  Bus stop schedules have been distributed by the district.  Maybe your child has old friends at the bus stop, maybe they have the chance to build new friendships.  Maybe your child attends a neighborhood bus stop or maybe it’s a new regional bus stop.  Whatever the case, it is most likely that they will mirror your parent view of the bus stop experience.

FIRST, LOGISTICS

If you have questions about your child’s bus stop, check out THIS LINK to the GPS Transportation Department.   The number of bus stops, though NOT the number of actual buses, have multiplied for 2015-16 due to the regionalization of ALP, Special Education, and ELL services.  We appreciate that the task of organizing bus routes and bus availability is more complex this year than it has ever been before.  We thank the transportation department for their efforts with this daunting task.

GPS Bus Stop Safety Tips

NOW FRIENDSHIPS

This is our third year attending a regional bus stop.  For our first year, all the children were new to the bus stop.  They made friends.  Though some of the children were in different grades, they connected.  They looked out for each other.  They playfully teased each other and respected one another.  This was their social safety net as they rode the bus to a new school.

What helped make this possible?  As parents we got out of our cars and connected with other parents.  This encouraged our kids to interact as well.  We parents swapped phone numbers so we could notify one another if one of the kids wouldn’t be on the bus one morning or schedule after school play dates at the park.  As parents we supported one another in teaching our children respect for each other, the driver and the property of others.  We shared similar values.  And we got together at least once over each summer so the kids could still feel connected.

 Relationships.  As we model for our children, and also guide them in building positive relationships, they will be able to develop the social skills necessary to navigate a successful life.  The regional bus stop, per our experience, has been an opportunity to build positive friendships.

Gifted Summer Summit 2015

Click HERE to see an enlarged flyer.

There will be a Gifted Summer Summit on Thursday, July 9th from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Chandler High School.  The $99 per registration includes light breakfast and lunch.  This is open to teachers and parents of gifted students and anyone with a curiosity and desire to learn.

Registration is required and space is limited.  Click HERE to register or visit our website GilbertGifted.org events page for more info.

The keynote speaker will be Jim Delisle who has worked on behalf of gifted children and teens for more than three decades. As both a teacher and counselor, Jim learned how essential it is for people to understand that giftedness is more than simply "being smart"--it is the height of one's thinking and the depth of one's emotions that are the hallmarks of growing up gifted. The author of 17 books that have been published in multiple languages, Jim continues to consult with schools worldwide in an effort to increase awareness of the needs of gifted children and adults.

Other session topics include:
• Build it Big! - Future City Program • Social Media for the Gifted Classroom • Developing a Growth Mindset in our Students • Extension Menus for the Cluster Classroom • Learning To Exhale - Helping manage anxiety • Scattered but Smart - Organization strategies for gifted students • The “G Word” - grading the interdisciplinary unit • Math Application in the Upper Elementary Classroom.

Balancing Social Media and Screen Time

From the Summit Center of California …

“Balancing Social Media and Screen Time”

by John Aldava, PhD.
Licensed Psychologist

Dr. John Aldava joins Summit Center after over 13 years at Kaiser Walnut Creek working on the Child & Adolescent Family team as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist. Dr. Aldava has past experience with Contra Costa County’s Children’s Mental Health department, and as an instructor at JFK University in graduate psychology.

A common issue raised in my office for children and teens is the modern day challenge of a screen time which may include gaming, computers, social media, tv, and movies. The real issue seems to be one of balance as the screens start to take up too much time and take away from important things like interacting with people (in real life), physical activity, sleep, and nutrition. I see screen time as being dessert. If you eat too much dessert, there is no room for dinner. Dessert is good idea, but we can’t live on dessert alone.

Click here to view more.

Guest Lecture 1/15/15 - Social Communications for Gifted Students: Strategies to Help Strengthen Gifted Children's "SQ" (Social Quotient)

Parent Connections: As parents, we cannot control what happens on the playground. We cannot force kindness and friendship at school. Parents can only have direct input when it comes to relationships in the family and in the home. Care givers can make homes a place of safety and love. If our gifted children have deep roots and a strong foundation with family members, then our children will not be left with feelings of isolation. We must show our gifted children that they are unique and they are loved. 

We all like to receive love in different ways. Coming home to a clean kitchen may show that your husband loves you. Your mom may like to talk about how much fun you had as a child while growing up in her home. Your brother may do flips when given tickets to a football game. How does your child most like to receive love? Gary Chapman, author of multiple books describing the 5 Love Languages, suggests that in order for your child to truly feel accepted and loved, you must speak to the child’s primary love language. 

Using the links and documents below, discover how you can best show love to your gifted child. You must create a healthy relationship now, so that when your gifted child needs to talk about his feelings of isolation, perfectionism, anxiety, or depression, you are his trusted listener. 

1st → Take the 5 Love Languages test online and note the results 

2nd → To better understand each need, look at the descriptions of the love languages in the The Five Love Languages of Children

3rd → Look at the 50 Ways to Love Your Child for how to express love, and decide to implement strategies immediately

Guest Presentation: Social Communication for Gifted Students by Kathy Varga, M.S., CCC-SLP

Are you ever concerned about your gifted child’s verbal and non-verbal communitcation skills in social settings? Tonight Katherine Varga, a certified Speech Languange Pathologist, shared strategies that can help strengthen your child’s “SQ” (Social Quotient). Kathy Varga, as a member of the 2012 GPS Gifted Education Vision Committee, advocated for the social developmental needs of the gifted child. You can view her presentation at the link above. 

Guest Lecture - "Social Communications/Conversations" 1/15/15

Mark your calendars to attend our next guest lecture.

Thursday, 1/15/15

7:00-8:00 p.m.

Greenfield Elementary Library

Katherine Varga will be sharing strategies that can help strengthen gifted children's "SQ" (Social Quotient).  

Educators can receive certification hours for attending.

Hope to see you there!

Imaginational Overexcitability

("Heavenly Nostrils" cartoon by Dana Simpson can originally be found HERE)

Gifted people often demonstrate some of Dabrowski's Overexcitabilities.  One of the categories is called Imaginational Overexcitability.  While in pre-school, my son had an imaginary friend named, Jelly-lo.  My child was a quiet boy while Jelly-lo was incredibly naughty.  My son was able to experiment with the world by talking about Jelly-lo's bad behavior and then asking about consequences.  While in the primary grades, my boy lived in a world of mice.  During his playtime, he was a teacher of a classroom of mice, and he blew a whistle to bring the imaginary class to order,  These mice played with my child and his real friends while on the playground at school, and the mice also went on adventures with my son and his real grandpa. Read below to see if any of Dabrowski's descriptions have made an appearance in your family's life.

IMAGINATIONAL OVEREXCITABILITY

Imaginational OE reflects a heightened play of the imagination with rich association of images and impressions, frequent use of image and metaphor, facility for invention and fantasy, detailed visualization, and elaborate dreams (Dabrowski & Piechowski, 1977; Piechowski, 1979, 1991). Often children high in Imaginational OE mix truth with fiction, or create their own private worlds with imaginary companions and dramatizations to escape boredom. They find it difficult to stay tuned into a classroom where creativity and imagination are secondary to learning rigid academic curriculum. They may write stories or draw instead of doing seatwork or participating in class discussions, or they may have difficulty completing tasks when some incredible idea sends them off on an imaginative tangent.

(This post was written by Tawnya Sherman)

See more about overexcitabilities at this website.

Guest Lecture Series 2014-2015

Gilbert Supporters of the Gifted,

with the GPS Gifted Education Parent Council,

present their 2014-15 Guest Lecture Series:

All Guest Lectures are open to parents with gifted students of all ages in the valley.  Guest lectures will take place at the Greenfield Elementary Library from 6:45-8:00pm.  Come to connect with other parents and learn from experts about helpful parenting strategies that focus on the gifted child’s development.

11/13/2014 -- “Executive Functioning Skills”

Join us to learn methods for helping our children learn organizational skills. Discover strategies to help our children tackle projects without so much emotional drama that often comes with giftedness.  Deedee Abaroa is an exemplary ALP teacher at Quartz Hill Elementary, and she has mastered techniques for working with gifted students.  She will share with us her understanding of how effective organizational skills can empower our gifted kids as they develop awareness of their own thinking and their own behaviors. 

1/15/2015 -- “Social Communication/Conversations ”

Are you ever concerned about your gifted child’s verbal and non-verbal communication skills in social settings?  Come hear Katherine Varga, a certified Speech Language Pathologist, share strategies that can help strengthen your child’s “SQ” (Social Quotient).  Kathy Varga, as a member of the 2012 GPS Gifted Education Vision Committee, advocated for the social developmental needs of the gifted child.

4/9/2015 -- “Nonverbal Giftedness/Visual-Spatial Learners”

Your child has been identified as a “Visual-Spatial” or “Non-Verbal” Learner.  What does that mean?  How do these children learn?  What learning strategies work best for them?  Come to our concluding guest lecture of 2014-15 to find out.

In addition, the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented will present:

Parent Day on Friday, February 6, 2015 from 8:30am-5:30pm at the Black Canyon Conference Center in Phoenix.  More information at www.arizonagifted.org

Tips for Parents: Friendships of Gifted Elementary School Children

Sometimes gifted and talented children struggle with making and keeping good friends and getting along with their peers. This GREAT ARTICLE from Davidson Institute for Talent Development is full of tips that can help your child create some connections.  

Click HERE to read article