We鈥檙e kicking off Women鈥檚 History Month by sharing resources specifically for the amazing girls* in our gifted community who are already making history! What resources have been helpful for the gifted girls in your life? Share them with us!

Though normally a 7-week program, the signature Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program will be running virtually in 2021. The 2-week opportunity is available to rising sophomore, junior, and senior girls鈥攖rans and cis鈥攁nd non-binary students. No prior computer science experience is required. The program covers projects related to computer science, such as art, storytelling, robotics, video games, web sites, and apps. Participants will also hear from guest speakers, participate in workshops, and connect with female engineers and entrepreneurs.

The EngineerGirl website is a service of the National Academy of Engineering that is designed to bring national attention to the exciting opportunities that engineering represents for girls and women. Every year, the EngineerGirl website sponsors a contest dealing with engineering and its impact on our world. Though submissions are closed for 2021, the next prompt will be announced in September.

This week-long summer mathematics camp for high school girls provides a stimulating and supportive environment for girls to develop their mathematical ability and interest. In 2021, the program will be virtual and open to all genders. Participants learn about the exciting mathematics of Codes, interact with peers who share an interest in mathematics, and work with female mathematics graduate students and professors. The campers stay in a residence hall and are chaperoned by female mathematics graduate students and undergraduate students.

Dr. Ellen Littman is a clinical psychologist licensed in New York State, with a focus on high IQ adults and adolescents. Dr. Littman has been recognized by the American Psychological Association as a pioneer in the identification of gender differences in ADHD, with special expertise understanding issues affecting women and girls with ADHD. She was a podcast guest on the topic of 鈥淲hy ADHD is Different for Women鈥� in December 2020 鈥� you can listen .

Designed by Smith鈥檚 professors and staff, precollege programs offer an inspiring learning experience. The hands-on, collaborative environment lets students directly engage with world-class scholars who help them pursue their passions and develop new skills. Both remote and on-campus opportunities are available.

The Advantage Testing Foundation Math Prize for Girls is the largest math prize for girls in the world. Each fall at MIT, nearly 300 young female mathematicians compete in the challenging test of mathematical creativity and insight. Their goal is to promote gender equity in the STEM professions and to encourage young women with exceptional potential to become mathematical and scientific leaders. Their format for the Fall 2021 contest has not been announced at the time of publication.

Kim Moldofsky鈥檚 mission for this blog is to help parents raise STEM-loving, Maker-friendly kids. She writes about raising gifted children, girls in STEM, and the Maker Movement. Additionally, she is the founder of #STEMchat, which brings parents, educators and STEM professionals together monthly via Twitter to share resources and ideas.

* We are using 鈥済irls鈥� to include any gender-expansive or gender nonconforming youth. Definitions may differ by organization.

鈥淚鈥檓 bored out of my mind鈥� says a piano student who practiced for hours every day under the diligent watch of his parent.

How could someone work so much and be so bored?

People who work and study for the sake of doing, or do it because of external pressure, can burnout quickly. Gifted children, who are highly sensitive and embody various cognitive, physical, and emotional intensities, are more prone to burnout and boredom, as explained in Dabrowski鈥檚 over-excitabilities (OE).

For example, gifted children can concentrate on learning one subject for a long time as long as they are mentally stimulated. This is characterized as psychomotor OE 鈥� a high-energy child. However, if their mind is insufficiently stimulated, or if they already know the subject before class starts, they get bored quickly and lose interest in the subject they are learning. Children with psychomotor OE can often be misdiagnosed as ADHD.

In addition, the thirst for knowledge, or intellectual OE, is a common trait in gifted children. They are deeply curious about the world around them, love to ask probing questions, and can be highly self-critical with their struggles to be 鈥減erfect鈥�. The need to be 鈥減erfect鈥�, which is often measured by test scores and achievement, can be a disastrous recipe for burnout.

Gifted children often struggle with over-developing one aspect of self, while overlooking the rest of who they are. As Dr. Michael Piechowski, author of聽 . 聽eloquently stated, 鈥溾�� cognition without an emotional sense to give it value, positive or negative, is sterile. The passion for learning and mastery, so characteristic of the gifted, is driven by a very powerful emotion: intense interest.鈥�

It is important to recognize that gifted children not only think differently than other children, they also feel differently. Their intellectual complexity combined with their emotional intensity gives them a qualitatively different way of experiencing the world. Nurturing a gifted child鈥檚 body, heart, social and emotional self is key to putting value to their achievement and finding balance.