All parents and teachers, not just those who work with gifted kids, are often concerned about how to make the best decisions for each unique child. All children need custom attention to help them grow up resilient, flexible, and compassionate. The challenge of working with gifted children is that it can feel isolating and lonely without proper support and resources. Sometimes just a little advice, validation, or encouragement, can go a long way towards working through the tough spots. Because of this 优蜜视频 offers complimentary Gifted Support Group (GSG) meetings during the school year.

GSG meetings invite leading professionals to share their knowledge and experience. These meetings provide support and community in a space specifically for shared discovery and exchanging resources and ideas. Someone else is going through or has gone through the same struggles. The GSG meetings offer a community eager to share what they have learned in their journey through not only gifted education, but also gifted living.

Talking about common struggles together is a great way to brainstorm solutions. Maybe something that didn鈥檛 work for one student is the fix another family is looking for. Sharing experiences with other parents and educators who interact with gifted children has proven to be enormously helpful in supporting gifted students strive towards reaching their full potential.

Sharing what we have learned may help someone else forego the struggles the community has encountered. But the right community of like-minded people can provide more than just new information, it allows you to be yourself. You can enter the space with no fear of judgment.

Join our community as we work together for continued success.

Here are some recording and resources from last year鈥檚 GSG meetings.

Linda Powers

Jill Stowell

Cynthia Molt

Susanna Pollack

Bethany Kwan

Maya Sissoko

Bonus

• with 优蜜视频 President, Betsy Jones sits down with Jill Stowell of The Stowell Learning Center.

Being gifted is not always easy. It is a far-too common misconception that gifted children are luckier or better off than non-gifted children and don鈥檛 struggle in any aspects of their lives. The natural assumption is that gifted children are academically advanced and therefore can sail through school and their childhood. What is not obvious to many is that some things that come quite easily to some may, in fact, be a source of confusion and anxiety for gifted children. One concept that can be difficult to grasp, understand and embrace is gratitude, which can be an all-too abstract idea for gifted and twice-exceptional children. The definition alone requires one to understand the concepts of thankful and appreciation 鈥� which, not unlike gratitude, require the ability to make emotional connections:

Gratitude: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.

Thankfully, the science of gratitude and its effects on happiness and overall wellbeing have been studied intensely over the past decade and new strategies for helping Gifted and 2e children understand, embrace, and reciprocate gratitude have been developed. What was once thought to be a self-explanatory concept has now been broken down into manageable strategies that turn the abstract into tangible exercises.

1. Break it down mathematically. For those gifted students that think concretely, linearly, or literally, breaking the concept of gratitude into measurable terms can help make it more understandable. Not unlike a mathematical equation, the following example questions can get students to think of kind and helpful acts as realistic by placing a value on them:

• How much did your sister help you on purpose? (This aims to measure intent.)
• How much did your sister give up to help you? (This aims to measure cost.)
• How much did your sister help you? (This aims to measure outcome.)

Instead of asking open-ended questions such as 鈥淲hy should you feel grateful for what your sister did?鈥� break the act up into more manageable pieces 鈥� the sum of which will then become clearer.

2. Break it down scientifically. In recent years, the science of happiness has been a hot topic and countless books have been written about it. Gifted students with a passion for STEM disciplines can understand, scientifically, how gratitude leads to increased happiness and what effect that has on the brain and the rest of the body. Infographics and articles are tremendously helpful in this respect, such as the following:

For example, the fact that happiness releases serotonin in the hippocampus is something STEM-minded students can understand in a tangible way.

3. Break it down visually: The YouTube channel The Science of Happiness has wonderful videos that capture the power of gratitude and the effects it has on ourselves and those around us in relatable ways. In one video, , viewers see the immediate and long-term effects of being on both the receiving and the giving ends of gratitude.
4. Use Your Talents! Saying 鈥渢hank you鈥� or presenting someone with a tangible token of one鈥檚 appreciation are not the only ways to express gratitude. For example, through the project, a student-led initiative part of the Design for Change movement, students experience a service learning project that brings STEM education to children鈥檚 hospitals. Their talents in leadership, project design, and the STEM fields serve children who are unable to participate in traditional schooling, increasing participants鈥� gratitude, appreciation, and empathy through their efforts.
5. Write it Down! Gifted students may feel shy or embarrassed about verbalizing what they鈥檙e grateful for, which is where gratitude journals come in handy. This can be integrated into the school day by teachers or into a daily or weekly routine by parents. Gratitude journals can be blank journals in which students practice free writing, or journals with templates or prompts that give students ideas for how to get started. The idea is simple: Your writing won鈥檛 be judged or reviewed; it is for you and you alone. You can be as concrete or descriptive as you鈥檇 like 鈥� the main thing is, put pen to paper and chronicle the people, events, and experiences that you鈥檙e thankful for. For some great gratitude journal ideas, .
6. Think Outside the Box: Too often, students are encouraged to show gratitude only for the great things they have, for example their friends, their family, their successes, and their accomplishments. But gifted students are creative thinkers and adept at seeing things from other perspectives. Therefore, they should be challenged to think about 鈥� and be grateful for 鈥� difficulties they鈥檝e encountered. You might ask, 鈥淲hat is a shortcoming you鈥檝e experienced that you are grateful for? What has this shown and given you, and why are you a better person because of it?鈥� By viewing failure as a learning experience, students can focus on embracing challenge and risk as part of the learning process 鈥� and something to be grateful for.
7. Random Acts of Kindness: In school, club, and camp settings, Random Acts of Kindness is a great tool for giving shout-outs to students for doing everyday kind acts. When someone witnesses another person doing something kind, such as staying late to help clean up, holding the door for someone, or carrying a heavy object for a peer, they write down that person鈥檚 name and the kind act on a slip of paper, then put it in a box. During a designated time each day, one slip of paper is drawn and that student is recognized publicly, such as at mealtime or during a break in activities. This initiative works well for those students who find it difficult to show gratitude face-to-face 鈥� and the anonymity and suspense factors of this initiative create a sense of mystery and community!

What strategies and exercise have you employed to get your Gifted students or children to understand and show gratitude?

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Fall is here. School has started again, and the wonderful freedom and chaos of summer has come to an end. As a parent, I do my best to embrace the fullness of each summer season. The loosening of the scheduling belt, the extended bedtimes, invitations for play and rest, and the messy, frivolous fun. But to be honest, by the tenth week, I鈥檓 ready for it all to be over. For the routine to resume, the schedules to be set, and for the intensity to diminish. Often for families of gifted children, the summer can be a time of , or it can be a season of , boredom or frustration for parent and child.

With the passing of each season, and the beginning of each new year, I am reminded of how parenting is a long-distance journey. Sometimes it feels as if I am just 鈥渟urviving鈥� each passing season, while experiencing the fullness of life and living from a place of intentionality eludes me. My deep desire is to live each season of my child鈥檚 development being engaged, present, and intentional. This is far from being a 鈥減erfect parent,” and includes giving myself permission to not necessarily like each challenge and struggle that my child and I face. Rather it is about making sure that I show up and be present with and for my child. To be able to attain this desire, I have to regularly practice awareness of my own strengths, resources, and most of all, my own needs.

As parents we are so diligent in preparing our child for their future, making sure that their academic, relational, and physical needs are met. Additionally, parenting gifted, 2e, and can pose a unique strain on our personal and internal resources. Yet, as parents, we often neglect our own needs for connection, renewal, and personal growth. We鈥檝e all heard the saying before, 鈥淧ut on your own oxygen mask first before assisting another person.鈥� Tending to our own physical, emotional, intellectual, relational, and spiritual needs is vital for our own health and well-being, but also for our children鈥檚. Daily, our children are seeing a model in us of what adulthood looks like. How we tend to our health, growth, or relationships can set a valuable example to them that
they may emulate in their own lives.

For me, the beginning of a new school year has become a time to reevaluate my own life and needs, and set new intentions for the season ahead. This fall, I encourage you to take some time to reflect on your own life. I like to call it a 鈥渓ife inventory.鈥� Reflect on the five domain life areas and which ones you tend to favor or nurture, and which tend to be forgotten or even dismissed. Ask yourself the sustainability question: 鈥淗ow long could I go on this way, and what would be the results?鈥� Sometimes the answer to that question can be fairly revealing or shocking. After taking inventory, set some intentions for yourself to develop some of your more tender areas. This isn鈥檛 about packing your schedule with more 鈥渢o do鈥檚鈥� or activities for yourself. It鈥檚 about listening deeply to your life, and recognizing what changes you need to pursue to bring about more intentionality, meaning, and wholehearted living. Not only will you be refueled for the continued journey at hand, but I fully believe that our children will benefit from us modeling a life well-lived with purposeful engagement and authenticity. Wishing you a wonderful fall season, and may we all never stop learning and growing!

For those readers in the Pasadena/Los Angeles area, beginning on September 26th I am leading an eight week parenting support group for mothers raising children with high emotional intensity. This unique group provides a place to share with other mothers, give and receive support, and to reflect on yourself as a parent. If you鈥檙e looking for an opportunity to grow in your own awareness and move towards intentional parenting聽then go to to learn more.

Michelle Bodwell, LMFT, ATR specializes in providing individual and group therapy for women in all seasons of life. Her goal is to provide each woman with a safe and therapeutic place to explore their feelings, be supported, find creative solutions to problems, and to become a more fully integrated whole person. She is a mother to two amazing gifted sons, who have been by far, her best teachers in life.

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