Back when I was scouting out preschools, I stumbled across circle time at a highly recommended school. I watched as the teacher skillfully corralled a group of 2-year-olds into sitting patiently and singing, clapping their hands and listening to instructions. There was one boy, though, who got up, sat aside and started to play with a train. The teacher...
An Interview with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
In June of 2013, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman released his book, and a review appeared on GPS. At the time, I wrote, "Why should the gifted community take notice of this book? We always talk about how we think our children should be challenged; so,...
How to Raise a Problem-Solver
We want our children to be able to recognize problems and have the initiative to tackle the issue and find a solution. Yet most conventional parenting practices involve parents solving the problem for the child. Methods such as spanking, time-out, and removal of privileges put the problem in the parents' hands, considering the problem solved when the...
The Changing Seasons of Motherhood
I remember the season when I had two tiny ones under my feet all day long, and the days were long. The nights were often even longer. It was a season filled with wild emotions, exhaustion, unbelievable joy, discovery, and what felt like a never-ending marathon of diaper changes. I was very often bleary-eyed from another night of waking with multiple...
8 Tips to Ignite Your Child's Love of Learning
Children naturally love to learn. Unfortunately, that love often gets stripped away by middle childhood as learning becomes competitive, directed, and overwhelming. Whether your child attends school outside the home or is home educated, these 10 tips will help ignite (or fan the flame of) your child's love of learning.1. Let them see your love of learning!...
35 Things Positive Parents Can Do to Reduce Sibling Rivalry
I am delighted to welcome Sumitha Bhandarkar to Positive Parents today. Sumitha is the creator of one of my favorite resources!************************************************************As parents we all have certain dreams for our children. We want them to be happy. We hope they will be kind, gentle and well-liked. We wish for their positive...
The grit-talent dichotomy: Creating false expectations for gifted children
What is the grit-talent dichotomy?A hot topic in the education community, stemming from Angela Duckworth and Carol Dweck's research, champions the and in the role of achievement. While few would disagree with the benefits of building resilience, learning from failure, and nurturing a desire to succeed, a false dichotomy has unfolded....
Difficult passage: Gifted girls in middle school
Young gifted girls embrace learning with a burning drive and passion. For the most part, they delve into elementary school with confidence, excitement and energy. They tend to love school...Until they don't.Something happens between elementary and high school that dampens the spirit for far too many gifted girls. Middle school is difficult for most...
Positive Strategies for Better Behaved Kids
Children, like all human beings, behave better when they feel good about themselves and the world around them. As a social species, we all need to be seen, heard, understood, loved, and connected. When those needs are met – when our hearts are content...