Speaker: Umar Ahmed Badami, CDB Scholar

Materials Needed: Paper and pen or pencil

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQ_oe3m1puI&feature=youtu.be” title=”Virtual Learning Lab: Intro to Special Relativity”]

The winter holidays are officially behind us and if you鈥檙e like us here at 优蜜视频, summer is now on your mind! We鈥檙e looking forward to trading in boots for flip-flops, scarves for suntans and short January days spent indoors for the long outdoor days of July. Young Adult fiction author Jenny Han captured this feeling best when , 鈥淓verything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August.鈥�

Summer brings with it much more than warm weather and outdoor fun, however. And for gifted students in particular, their insatiable thirst for knowledge does not take a summer vacation. In fact, they often clamor for more rigorous, individualized learning that focuses on their personal areas of interest. (How often have you heard your gifted student say, 鈥淢om! There鈥檚 a robotics/coding/physics/theater camp happening in July! I really want to go!鈥�) The 2013 compendium Expanding Minds and Opportunities: The Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success, sums up this perspective perfectly: 鈥淓ffective [鈥 summer learning programs expand learning opportunities. They do not replicate classroom lessons鈥� (Connelly & Young, 222). For precisely this reason, gifted students thrive in high-quality, intentionally-designed summer programs.

First and foremost, summer provides a unique opportunity for students to engage in meaningful, rigorous learning outside of the confines of a traditional classroom setting 鈥� and away from traditional testing, benchmarks, and standards. Rather than being taught to a test, students have a greater say in what they learn, how they learn it, and how they choose to present their acquisition of new knowledge. Instead of taking a multiple-choice test, as they may have to do time after time during the school year, students in a gifted summer program might design and construct an engineering project; write, direct and star in a short film about their favorite literary character; or design and test an experiment according to a hypothesis they鈥檝e always wanted to explore.

One of the best personal projects I鈥檝e seen came from a 12-year-old student in a Newtonian physics class. Rather than make a tri-fold display showing examples of where Newtonian concepts can be found in everyday life, this student decided to combine his interest in physics with his passion for skateboarding. He made a short film of himself doing various skateboarding jumps and tricks, then added graphics to highlight which laws of motion were present, when, and where. He effectively combined physics, filmmaking, and graphic design, and followed up with further explanation on what he had learned 鈥� thereby also practicing public speaking. He was provided with a forum to work across disciplines and, more importantly, was able to take ownership of his learning.

At overnight camps and residential programs, outcomes and takeaways extend far beyond academics alone. Sleepaway opportunities help gifted students gain independence, make and own many of their decisions and build self-confidence by exposing them to environments in which not every decision is made for them. While they may still need to follow a given schedule, they are often presented with choices between different activities, classes and social engagements. For some, this may be their first foray into doing their own laundry, setting their alarm clock (and sticking to it!) and making it to meals and classes on time. As such, students gain ownership of their daily schedule and learn to set priorities.

For older students, many summer programs take place on college campuses, often providing first exposure to the higher education experience. Their eyes light up as they walk across the quad, sit in lecture halls, comb through library stacks, and watch chemistry labs in action. Through these experiences, the erstwhile faraway prospect of college becomes more of a reality, instilling further excitement in studying what they are most passionate about in a setting that inspires them.

Lastly, summer programs provide many with their first exposure to a setting of exclusively gifted students 鈥� especially if their school does not have a gifted program. Often, students report feeling like they have found their home away from home, that they fit in, and feel comfortable being who they are. Being around like-minded peers exposes gifted students to a new community: one in which it鈥檚 cool to be smart, push yourself and see things from seemingly endless perspectives.

With an ever-expanding array of summer gifted programs to choose from, the selection process may seem daunting, but there is sure to be a program that fits your child鈥檚 needs academically, social-emotionally and geographically. We would be more than happy to answer any questions or provide guidance! For more on 优蜜视频 and other summer gifted programs, please visit: our website and .

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Source:

Peterson, Terry K., editor. Expanding Minds and Opportunities: Leveraging the Power of Afterschool and Summer Learning for Student Success. Collaborative Communications Group, 2013.

Louise is 优蜜视频鈥檚 Academy Coordinator. Academy offers K-8th grade students challenging enrichment classes that focus on exploration and application of knowledge.

This year, 优蜜视频 had the tremendous opportunity to host both 3-week Summer Academy sessions at The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens, that scholar鈥檚 paradise situated in the center of San Marino, known and loved by curious minds near and far, young and not so young! It was a boon to our community to enjoy this remarkable location, and more, to begin to appreciate how such partnering might enrich our classes further. As we conclude our inaugural Academy program at The Huntington, we look back at the summer sessions through the eyes of our most important critics: the Academy students themselves!

鈥業 LOVED EVERYTHING!!!鈥� screams the written evaluation from Simone O. on her post-program survey. Simone spent the summer in classes like Ancient Rome, Physics Lab, Planetary Astronomy and Scientists Like Me, devoting a fair amount of time in between with her nose in a book, a smile on her face and an eager commitment to staying for extra time on Thursdays to enjoy our mini-lecture series. She, along with the other friends she made, also described making new connections and 鈥榰nforgettable memories at The Huntington鈥�. As they hung out at lunch, shared stories and laughter, walked the gardens and dodged the sprinklers, they took time to tell us:

• We do unique, fun experiments and activities to further our understanding of demanding concepts, such as creating a diagram of the solar system made out of different food items to help demonstrate each planet鈥檚 qualities
• It was challenging intellectually – but in a good way!
• We鈥檝e understood art and art history through cool scavenger hunts in the gallery
• The teachers have been such a big part in our learning process. They have the ability to make learning fun and much more interactive than regular school
• We were inspired by scientists from the past by visiting the 鈥楤eautiful Science鈥� exhibit
• You get the chance to work at a pace that suits your own learning style and level of interest
• We understood the context of Bronte鈥檚 Jane Eyre through seeing and talking about key texts with a leading curator (even though the text was impossible to read!)

What鈥檚 more, the students told us that all classes were overall more in-depth and more specific than anything they鈥檝e had the chance to enjoy so far 鈥� as well as being interestingly inter-disciplinary! Feedback, so far then, suggests this time was, indeed, one of 鈥榩aradise鈥�.

Naturally, watching friendships develop and personalities emerge is, of course, a major part of the summer camp experience. For 优蜜视频 staff and Academy teachers, one of the most thrilling parts of the last 6 weeks has been watching our community of children grow intellectually, as well as socially, and grow to believe that their passions and interests are shared with others and could give them pathways to a unique future. Parents, too, have taken extra time to write and to let us know how glad they are to have 鈥榙iscovered鈥� us, that their child 鈥榟ad a blast鈥� and that their child 鈥榠s already asking about when she can take another class鈥�. In addition, as we evaluate, we love to hear your ideas for future classes, from Robotics to Botany, from Architecture to Art History; rest assured, we will continue to listen and respond.

The Oxford English Dictionary tells me that the lexical item 鈥楶aradise鈥� can be traced back to Middle English to the Old French word, 鈥榩aradis鈥�, via ecclesiastical Latin from Greek 鈥榩aradeisos鈥� or ‘royal (enclosed) park’. Having been on site at The Huntington did indeed elevate us and make us feel 鈥榬oyal鈥� and protected, but in a more modern sense of the word, as young scholars, our Academy students found their idyllic place and their idyllic state of mind in a safe and stimulating community.

Thanks to all who contributed their honest thoughts to this blog and to all who made this happen, and happen so successfully! It was paradise.

See more highlights from Summer 2014 Academy!

More information about Fall 2014 Academy coming soon! To stay updated on future offerings, join our email list.

In this day and age of technology, more and more web-based resources are becoming available at our fingertips. Apple鈥檚 iTunes App Store, for example, has hundreds of applications specifically geared towards children鈥檚 learning and enrichment. Likewise, more e-learning websites are cropping up all over the Internet, offering a seemingly endless amount of educational lessons and tutorials in the form of short videos. Such educational resources are great for homeschoolers, teachers looking for ways to differentiate in their classrooms, and the life-long learner in all of us. While some parents may frown upon the use of web-based videos as a learning tool for their kids, I believe that these can be great resources for supplementing one鈥檚 education when used in moderation.

Some of the benefits of e-learning include:

• The freedom to discover and explore. With all of the information available online, your child has the opportunity to discover new subjects and delve deeper into topics that interest him or her.
• The freedom to learn at his or her own pace. Your child also has the freedom to decide on the pace of learning based on his or her ability in any one subject. In regards to videos specifically, your child has the freedom to control (literally) the speed of the lesson by pausing, rewinding, and fast-forwarding through content if he or she desires to review or skip specific segments of a lesson.
• The freedom to learn practically anywhere at any time. Since these are web-based resources, your child can learn anywhere you have access to the Internet and a computer or mobile device and at times that are most convenient to your family鈥檚 schedule.

With all of these benefits of e-learning in mind, I did a little research of my own to pinpoint which websites out there are the most gifted kid-friendly. Each of these websites is devoted to providing accessible, user-friendly educational tools; and best of all, these resources are free to the public! So here are my picks. Enjoy!

3.

NeoK12 is a website that offers educational videos and lessons, including games and quizzes, specifically geared to Kindergarten through 12th grade students. According to its mission, NeoK12 promotes learning through educational videos because they 鈥渂elieve that kids learn best when they 鈥榮ee鈥� how things work, when, where and why they happen.鈥� Through its comprehensive collection of videos, kids can learn about areas of study such as geography, social studies, physical science, English, math, and the human body. The site even hosts segments of the Discovery Channel show How It鈥檚 Made.

My picks:

• 鈥� Learn about the properties of the four fundamental states of matter: solid, gas, liquid, and plasma!
• 鈥� Check out this lesson on how our organs, vessels, and muscles work together in our bodies鈥� circulatory systems.
• And for fun,

2.

Khan Academy seeks to 鈥渉elp you learn what you want, when you want, at your own pace鈥� via video tutorials and lessons. It currently hosts a library of over 4,200 videos on topics ranging from chemistry, physics, trigonometry, and even humanities.

Students can create their own profiles to track their activities and earn achievement patches and badges, while parents can track their child鈥檚 progress over time. There is also a community aspect to this website, where students can ask questions about a concept they didn鈥檛 understand and have them answered by other Khan Academy students.

My picks:

• 鈥� Get an introduction to one of the coolest numbers in math! It also informed the .
• 鈥� Learn about the nuts and bolts of our DNA in this video about cells, chromosomes, and genes.

To learn more about the origins of Khan Academy, view creator, Salman Khan鈥檚 TEDTalk, .

1.

An offshoot of TEDTalks, TED-Ed delivers 鈥淟essons worth sharing鈥� through brief videos on topics ranging from the arts and literature to mathematics and psychology. Each lesson also includes multiple choice and open-ended questions for your child to engage with the content, as well as a 鈥淒ig Deeper鈥� section, which provides additional information and resources for your child to further explore the topic.

My picks:

• 鈥� Learn about how the invention of the train shaped the invention of standardized time zones.
• 鈥� Check out this fascinating video on bacteria and its chemical language!

(Please note that 优蜜视频 is not in any way affiliated with Apple, Inc., NeoK12, Khan Academy, or TED. We just wanted to share some of the great resources we鈥檝e found with you!)

What鈥檚 your child鈥檚 favorite online resource? Please share in the comment section below.

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