鈥淵ou can find magic wherever you look. Sit back and relax all you need is a book!鈥� 鈥� Dr. Seuss

优蜜视频 kicked off our Read-a-Thon just over a week ago! Since then we have held our kickoff event, our first game of trivia, and we are getting set for our first round of virtual book clubs. In times like these, our 优蜜视频 family is more important than ever. The 优蜜视频 Read-a-Thon is a time to connect, share, fundraise, and read together.

We know not everyone is in a position to give right now, but if you are, we appreciate any amount that you’re able to give to support this fundraiser. Our goal is $20,000 and we are already over 25% of the way there!

It is not too late to join! Check out the 优蜜视频 Read-a-Thon kickoff video and follow these simple instructions to join one of our four 优蜜视频 fundraising teams!

1. Go to the 优蜜视频 .
2. Click on “I Want to Fundraise for This.”
3. Click on “I Want to Join a Team.”
4. Choose which team you wish to join and create an account.
5. Build your personal fundraising page; add a photo, your personal statement, and your fundraising goal.

Finally, start sharing your fundraising page! And please join us for our upcoming book clubs!
Click on the title of a book to register for its book club:

Saturday, October 3
9:00-10:00am PDT
鈥� by Madeline L’Engle
鈥�  by Rebecca Skloot

10:15-11:15am PDT
鈥� by Roald Dahl
鈥� by Jorge Cham and Daniel Whiteson

Saturday, October 10
9:00-10:00am PDT
鈥� by Louis Sachar
鈥� by Jeffrey Kluger

10:15-11:15am PDT
鈥� by Pam Munoz Ryan
鈥� by RJ Palacio

While we are not physically able to be together right now, our virtual community is coming together to learn and grow. Thank you for your support so we can continue to support gifted children and create nurturing, enriching experiences that foster all aspects of each participant鈥檚 intellectual and personal growth.

When I summarize 优蜜视频鈥檚 work to people outside our network: 鈥溾�e are an educational nonprofit that works with gifted kids,鈥� I am often met with skepticism and confusion. The most common response I have received is, 鈥淚 believe all kids are gifted.鈥� I do too! All kids have special giftings. As a mother of a four-year-old and one-year-old, I exist in a state of perpetual awe as I watch the personalities of my own children and the children in my community unfold. My preschooler has a remarkable propensity for language; she has been holding elaborate conversations since before turning two, and through language, she has been able to reveal a deep understanding of her own emotion and the emotions of others. One of her best friends, who wasn鈥檛 interested in speaking as early, has LEGO architecture skills that could land him a job designing hoverboards and intricate skyscrapers and giant ships right now, at age four. A three-year-old I know can draw a Mr. Potato Head picture that he could easily slip into a book of 1920s surrealist art and no one would know the difference. And every child I meet astounds me with either a wild and creative imagination, a surprisingly sharp sense of humor, a well of empathy, or all of the above.

Yes, of course all kids are gifted, in that all kids have creativity, beauty, love, special talents, and unique modes of intelligence comprising their very being.

But this is not what we mean by 鈥済ifted.鈥� As a society, we needed a word to describe people whose experience of life is measurably different than their peers. I like the definition created by the Columbus Group in 1991: 鈥淕iftedness is asynchronous development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm.鈥� When we dismiss the term 鈥済ifted鈥� because we have disdain for labeling children, or because all children are gifted, we are denying the existence of an entire body of people, whose inner workings are remarkably different than most.

A few years ago, Dr. Patty Gatto Walden, Yunasa Senior Fellow and psychologist, presented at the Beyond Giftedness Conference in Colorado. I had the privilege of listening to her speak. One idea from her discussion especially stood out to me: she talked about the incoming 鈥渃hannels鈥� that each person experiences. In a classroom, a child might take in several channels at once 鈥� the message of her teacher, the mutterings of her classmates, the sound of the shifting leaves on the pavement outside, the feeling that her desk-mate is melancholy, the way the new piece of art on the left wall of the classroom makes her want to paint. A person whom we have deemed 鈥済ifted,鈥� whose 鈥渋nner experience and awareness is qualitatively different from the norm,鈥� takes in hundreds of channels. Hundreds. Not several. She might be absorbing the message of the teacher while feeling that something is happening in the teacher鈥檚 life that is new and exciting; she feels her desk-mate鈥檚 melancholy, and her skin starts to tingle and her tummy begins to sink; she listens to the mutterings of her classmates and feels their emotions, too; she hears every sound in the classroom and outside, and each sound makes her body feel something different. For the sake of time, I won鈥檛 describe all 200 or 400 channels that our gifted child might be taking in. Dr. Patty took it further and said that a highly gifted person takes in thousands of channels.聽 That is a lot for anyone. It is a lot for a child who is still learning who she is.

When we say someone is 鈥済ifted,鈥� we are not inferring that he is 鈥渂etter鈥� or 鈥渕ore special鈥� than other children. We need a label, though. We need a label because we need special programs. We need different types of classes, camps, workshops, counseling sessions, support groups, books, retreats, scholarship options, learning centers, and more, so we can help these children understand themselves and flourish. And at 优蜜视频, we want to provide gifted kids and their families with a community of people who deeply connect with them, so they don鈥檛 feel alone.

about 优蜜视频’s definition of “giftedness”. You can also learn more about how to understand, spot and address聽

Every October, people national wide celebrate National Book Month. Studies have shown that reading not only improves your vocabulary and spelling, but it鈥檚 also good for your mental health. This October, take some time to pick up a new book you鈥檝e been meaning to read or reread some of your favorites.

Below are some featured readings for parents and educators focused on best practices and strategies for raising and educating a gifted child. These books are listed on 优蜜视频鈥檚 (GRC), which serves as a free online tool created and curated by 优蜜视频 for our community. The resources listed in the GRC are appropriate for gifted learners from preschool through high school.

Comment below with your favorite reads and don鈥檛 forget to hashtag #NationalBookMonth on your social media to keep the reading train going!

The latest research in child development shows that many kids who have the brain and heart to succeed lack or lag behind in crucial 鈥渆xecutive skills鈥�–the fundamental habits of mind required for getting organized, staying focused, and controlling impulses and emotions. Learn easy-to-follow steps to identify your child鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses, use activities and techniques proven to boost specific skills, and problem-solve daily routines. Small changes can add up to big improvements–this empowering book shows how.

Differently Wired is a revolutionary book鈥攚eaving together personal stories and a tool kit of expert advice from author Deborah Reber, it鈥檚 a how-to, a manifesto, and a reassuring companion for parents who can so often feel that they have no place to turn.

In A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents and others who care for children how to identify these individual learning patterns. He explains how parents and teachers can encourage a child’s strengths and bypass the child’s weaknesses. This type of teaching produces satisfaction and achievement instead of frustration and failure.

Based on new surveys of nearly 1,500 gifted teens, this book is the ultimate guide to thriving in a world that doesn鈥檛 always support or understand high ability. Full of surprising facts, survey results, step-by-step strategies, inspiring teen quotes, and insightful expert essays, the guide gives readers the tools they need to appreciate their giftedness as an asset and use it to make the most of who they are.

Recognizing the different levels and kinds of giftedness, this book provides an insight into the challenges and benefits specific to gifted children with attention difficulties. Explaining why certain children are gifted and how giftedness is manifested, each chapter on a specific topic addresses the relevance for children with AD/HD, autism and Asperger Syndrome. Lovecky guides parents and professionals through methods of diagnosis and advise on how best to nurture individual needs, positive behavior and relationships at home and at school.

When is life like a prizefight, a garden, and a quiz show, all hurtling down the road on an office chair, wrapped in song? When you’re living in the land of the gifted and twice-exceptional. Join the author on her journey through discovery, understanding, and acceptance, as she copes with the challenges that only the gifted and twice-exceptional can create.

Designed to provide support for the difficult job of parenting and teaching gifted children, this book provides the resource parents and teachers need to not only understand why gifted children are so extreme in their behavior but also learn specific strategies to teach gifted children how to live with their intensity.

In Genius Denied, the Davidsons — founders of a nonprofit institute that provides assistance to gifted children — offer hope and practical advice to parents and students alike. They show parents how to find an appropriate education for their children, when to go outside the school system, and how to create a support network with school authorities and other parents.

Gifted children and adults are often misunderstood. Their excitement is viewed as excessive, their high energy as hyperactivity, their persistence as nagging, their imagination as not paying attention, their passion as being disruptive, their strong emotions and sensitivity as immaturity, their creativity and self-directedness as oppositional. This resource describes these overexcitabilities and strategies for dealing with children and adults who are experiencing them and provides essential information about Dabrowski’s Theory of Positive Disintegration.

If you鈥檙e making your book purchase on Amazon, please consider using 优蜜视频鈥檚 Amazon Smile as a portion of your purchase will be donated directly to us so we can continue providing high-quality programs and services to gifted and advanced youth nationwide.

One of my favorite past times is reading.  I love to read, especially travel stories, stories about small-town America, funny stories, classics, fantasies, science fiction, to name a few genres.

I have compiled a list, based on my research from Good Reads, and the public library reading lists, and some of the books that I have read, and read to my children throughout their growing years.  I hope you enjoy and maybe discover a favorite book or author.  That鈥檚 always the fun part. 

Elementary School Level: 

Mixed: A Colorful Story by Arree Chung, author and illustrator, Pre-K – Grade 2:

When a Blue and a Yellow fall in love, they create a whole new color and they name her Green.  Green is bright like Yellow and calm like Blue, but really, she鈥檚 her own color. Soon other colors begin to mix and a colorful new world is created.

Grow up, David! By David Shannon, author and illustrator, Grade 1 鈥� 3:

A new adventure in Shannon’s picture book series about a very mischievous boy! This one focuses on David鈥檚 relationship with his older brother, who generally thinks David is a pain. But when David needs help, his brother comes through and allows for a tender moment.

Front Desk by Kelly Yang, Grade 4 鈥� 6:

Mia and her parents, immigrants from China, are excited to have jobs and a place to live when they start managing a motel. But their new boss won鈥檛 make repairs on his building or pay the family what they have earned. In her efforts to improve her English, Mia learns what a well-written letter can do to help her family.

The Girl Who Drew Butterflies: How Maria Merian’s Art Changed Science by Joyce Sidman, Grade 3 鈥� 8:

Sidman鈥檚 signature poetry and love of nature shine through in this exquisitely researched, highly attractive and entertaining biography of Maria Merian, a revolutionary and groundbreaking 鈥渃itizen-scientist鈥� in the 1600s.

Middle School:

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, (The Chronicles of Narnia (Publication Order) #1), by C.S. Lewis

There are a thousand stories in the land of Narnia. In the never-ending war between good and evil, The Chronicles of Narnia set the stage for battles of epic proportions. Some take place in vast fields, where the forces of light and darkness clash. But other battles occur within the small chambers of the heart and are equally decisive.

Journeys to the ends of the world, fantastic creatures, betrayals, heroic deeds and friendships won and lost — all come together in an unforgettable world of magic.  So join the battle to end all battles.

Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry

Ten-year-old Annemarie Johansen and her best friend Ellen Rosen often think of life before the war. It’s now 1943 and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are “relocated,” Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family. Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen’s life.

Speak: The Graphic Novel, Anderson, Laurie Halse

Melinda enters her freshman year of high school as an outcast after events that took place at a party during the summer. As she is grappling with what happened that night, she attempts to find solace in her art class. Released on the 20th anniversary of the original publication of Speak, Emily Carroll鈥檚 illustrations give a haunting and powerful new visual perspective to this classic novel.

High School

The Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck

The Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression, a book that galvanized鈥攁nd sometimes outraged鈥攎illions of readers. First published in 1939, Steinbeck鈥檚 Pulitzer Prize-winning epic of the Great Depression chronicles the Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s and tells the story of one Oklahoma farm family, the Joads鈥攄riven from their homestead and forced to travel west to the promised land of California. Out of their trials and their repeated collisions against the hard realities of an America divided into Haves and Have-Nots evolves a drama that is intensely human yet majestic in its scale and moral vision, elemental yet plainspoken, tragic but ultimately stirring in its human dignity. A portrait of the conflict between the powerful and the powerless, of one man鈥檚 fierce reaction to injustice, and of one woman鈥檚 stoical strength, the novel captures the horrors of the Great Depression and probes into the very nature of equality and justice in America. At once a naturalistic epic, captivity narrative, road novel, and transcendental gospel, Steinbeck鈥檚 powerful landmark novel is perhaps the most American of American Classics. Brave New World.

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

With precisely 35 canvases to his credit, the Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer represents one of the great enigmas of 17th-century art. The meager facts of his biography have been gleaned from a handful of legal documents. Yet Vermeer’s extraordinary paintings of domestic life, with their subtle play of light and texture, have come to define the Dutch golden age. His portrait of the anonymous Girl with a Pearl Earring has exerted a particular fascination for centuries – and it is this magnetic painting that lies at the heart of Tracy Chevalier’s second novel of the same title.

The Sun Is Also a Star, by Nicola Yoon

Natasha: I鈥檓 a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I鈥檓 definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won鈥檛 be my story.

Daniel: I鈥檝e always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents鈥� high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store鈥攆or both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

Bill Bryson鈥檚 own fascination with science began with a battered old school book he had when he was about ten or eleven years old. It had an illustration that captivated him鈥揳 diagram showing Earth鈥檚 interior as it would look if you cut into it with a large knife and removed about a quarter of its bulk. The idea of lots of startled cars and people falling off the edge of that sudden cliff (and 4,000 miles is a pretty long way to fall) was what grabbed him in the beginning, but gradually his attention turned to what the picture was trying to teach him: namely that Earth鈥檚 interior is made up of several different layers of materials, and at the very centre is a glowing sphere of iron and nickel, as hot as the Sun鈥檚 surface, according to the caption. And he very clearly remembers thinking: 鈥淗ow do they know that?鈥�

Bill鈥檚 storytelling skill makes the 鈥淗ow?鈥� and, just as importantly, the 鈥淲ho?鈥� of scientific discovery entertaining and accessible for all ages. He covers the wonder and mystery of time and space, the frequently bizarre and often obsessive scientists and the methods they used, and the mind-boggling fact that, somehow, the universe exists and against all odds, life came to be on this wondrous planet we call home.

Adults:

The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyereson

When Miranda鈥檚 once beloved, then estranged uncle Billy unexpectedly passes away, he leaves her two things: his struggling Los Angeles bookstore and one last scavenger hunt like the ones he would organize for her in her youth. But this time the stakes are high; each clue uncovers family secrets buried far too long.

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata

Keiko Furukura marches to the beat of her own drummer. Or rather, to the music of her own convenience store. She may not have any idea how to function in the outside world, but she is completely in her element at the conbini where she has worked for 18 years. Her friends and family, however, all think there鈥檚 something wrong with her, so she resolves to find her own cure.

The Dinner List by Rebecca Serle

When Sabrina Nielsen arrives at the restaurant to celebrate her 30th birthday, she is astonished to find the people from her 鈥渄inner list鈥� (any five people, living or dead, you would invite to dinner) seated at the table for an evening none of them will forget. This is a charming, heart-warming and heart-breaking book about how it feels to be young and what we lose, and gain, as we become adults.

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Lauren is a 2012 Caroline D. Bradley Scholar and a rising high school sophomore attending a boarding school in Connecticut. She recently shared with us what she thinks incoming freshmen should know to help them prepare to enter high school. Here are her tips.

I don’t think I’ve ever been more nervous and excited for anything in my life than I was for starting high school. But let me emphasize “nervous,” as I’m sure all of you rising freshmen are or will be.

Therefore, I’ve compiled a very brief list of how to get prepared over the summer – in other words, a list of all of the things I wish that I’d done before my own freshman year!

1) Make a detailed list of what you’re going to need in the fall!

It turns out that just writing “clothes,” “shoes,” and “school supplies” leaves a lot of room for forgetting important things. Instead, make it specific: “six multicolored binders,” “rain boots,” “soccer cleats.” For boarders, this is twice as important, because there are things for your room that you’re really going need to remember: dryer sheets, duct tape, staplers, snack food, etc.

2) With #1 in mind, try your best to go shopping as early in the summer as possible!

Buy as many school supplies as you can before they go to full price in August, and boarders, make sure you get to the dormitory section of Target before the college students do! Trust me – everything is sold out if you wait until late summer.

3) Try to prepare for sports and classes a little bit during the summer as well.

A little nervous to take freshman physics? Then try to get your hands on a textbook and read through it a little. Not sure what to do to make JV soccer? Run drills throughout the summer. It’ll be worth it in the fall when you feel confident and prepared to take on high school!

4) Speaking of sports, don’t shy away from them!

A lot of schools have athletic requirements. Trust me, and don’t be stressed about this! Just start thinking about your fall activity early, and–if it’s competitive–make sure you prepare a little. But also, don’t become too obsessed with making a certain team, because your plans can always change. I went into this past fall absolutely determined to play field hockey but ended up doing soccer. In the winter, I was sure I was going to do basketball, but found myself in hockey instead. So, don’t stress too much because plans can and often do change, but remember to stay fit if you’re looking to try out for a competitive sport. And if you want to try out for something but you’re nervous to do so, try out anyway! I promise you, it’s really not that bad.

5) Relax!

With how busy my own summer schedule is, I probably have no right to say this, but I’ll say it anyway: try to just have a slow, relaxing, fun summer, because–trust me–the fall holds plenty of excitement and stress to make up for it. So, read good books, watch good movies, get killer tans, hit the beach, and spend time with your friends and family. Boarders, try to spend time a lot of time with your family; homesickness can be pretty rough at first, and you’ll miss them a lot. All in all, just try to take it easy in between athletic conditioning and school supply shopping.

I hope these tips are helpful as you prepare for school this summer.

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The lovable title character in Roald Dahl鈥檚 Matilda is a precocious young girl who can teach the world a lot about gifted kids. Here are 12 lessons from the novel:

1. can often be seen early in a child鈥檚 life. Matilda is depicted as an extremely precocious and advanced child, speaking perfectly by 18 months, reading by age 3, and multiplying double-digit numbers in her head by age 5.

2. Giftedness is innate, not taught. One myth about gifted children is that they are the product of pushy parents. This may be true with some high-achieving children, but it is not generally true of gifted kids, whose intellectual ability comes naturally, sometimes even without any parental support. By giving Matilda parents who have absolutely no interest in her abilities or education, Dahl illustrates that some children just have natural intellectual ability.

3. Gifted children love to learn and often have a variety of interests. Because of this, many gifted children love to read. It appeals to their need to constantly learn and take in new information. Before she is even in school, Matilda spends as much time as possible reading. When she starts school, she tells her teacher, Miss Honey, all kinds of interesting facts she learned from reading. 鈥淭his child, Miss Honey told herself, seems to be interested in everything鈥� (231).

4. Gifted kids often outgrow 鈥渃hildren鈥檚鈥� content early. Oftentimes, they view children鈥檚 books as overly simplified and opt for more advanced content that provides greater depth and complexity to subject areas. At age four, Matilda reads Great Expectations in one week and thoroughly enjoys it. Though she doesn鈥檛 fully understand everything in adult books, she understands enough to appreciate, enjoy, and learn from them. These books also challenge her intellectually in a way that children鈥檚 books can鈥檛.

5. Gifted children often have a . Matilda鈥檚 dad frequently talks about cheating his customers, and Matilda speaks out against his actions. She plays tricks on her parents when they are mean to her in an attempt to achieve balance in an unjust situation. She also gets extremely upset when she is accused of things she did not do.

6. A supportive figure in a gifted child鈥檚 life is incredibly important. The librarian who introduces Matilda to fantastic literature and Miss Honey, who encourages Matilda to learn more advanced concepts, keep Matilda challenged and interested in learning.

7. is the best way to meet the needs of gifted students. When Matilda skips grades, she works well at the advanced level and is finally academically challenged while still being happy. Miss Honey explains to Matilda, 鈥溾�榃hile you were in my class you had nothing to do, nothing to make you struggle. Your fairly enormous brain was going crazy with frustration. It was bubbling and boiling away like mad inside your head. There was tremendous energy bottled up in there with nowhere to go鈥� [Now you are] competing against children more than twice your age and all that mental energy is being used up in class. Your brain is for the first time having to struggle and strive and keep really busy, which is great鈥欌�� (229-230).

8. Sometimes gifted kids just know things intuitively, without being taught at all. On Matilda鈥檚 first day of school, Miss Honey asks her who taught her how to multiply. Matilda responds, 鈥溾�業t鈥檚 just that I don鈥檛 find it very difficult to multiply one number by another鈥 simply put the fourteen down in my head and multiply it by nineteen鈥鈥檓 afraid I don鈥檛 know how else to explain it. I鈥檝e always said to myself that if a little pocket calculator can do it why shouldn鈥檛 I?鈥欌�� (73-74). Often, gifted children cannot explain how they know something; nor can they understand why they know something, while others don鈥檛. Matilda, like many gifted children, 鈥渏ust knows.鈥�

9. Gifted children have a deep, intense focus when interested in a topic. Before Matilda is old enough for school, she spends all day absorbed in books. When she starts school and Miss Honey differentiates her work by giving her a geometry book to read and study, Matilda 鈥渧ery soon became deeply absorbed in the book. She never glanced up once during the entire lesson鈥� (91). This strong focus among gifted children when intellectually stimulated and challenged is common.

10. . 鈥淭he nice thing about Matilda was that if you had met her casually and talked to her you would have thought she was a perfectly normal five-and-a-half-year-old child鈥nless for some reason you had started a discussion with her about literature or mathematics, you would never have known the extent of her brain-power鈥� (101).

11. Gifted children just need to find friends with whom they can connect. She is well-liked by her classmates and has several friends. Gifted children often form one or two really close friendships, and Matilda develops a meaningful peer relationship with Lavender, who is also bright. Matilda also has deep social relationships with adults, including Miss Honey and the librarian. She can talk to adults on a more intellectual level than she can with her classmates, which is typical of gifted children.

12. Gifted children are often mature and wise beyond their years. When Miss Honey invites Matilda to her cottage for tea, there are noticeable socio-economic differences. 鈥淸Matilda] seemed to be aware of the delicacy of the situation and she was taking great care not to say anything to embarrass her companion鈥� (189). Matilda had never encountered a situation like that before and was not taught how to act in that scenario. However, she looks at the context and understands how to behave. Miss Honey even tells Matilda, 鈥溾�楢lthough you look like a child, you are really not a child at all because your mind and your powers of reasoning seem to be fully grown-up鈥欌�� (195), and Matilda and Miss Honey 鈥渢alked to each other more or less as equals鈥� (231).

What other gifted characters do you love? Please share in the comment section below.

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