The Gifted Kids Network

Parenting a gifted child can be a challenging experience.  The Gifted Kids Network sponsors a variety of parent book clubs and discussion groups.  Register for parent classes at http://www.giftedkidsnetwork.com/Parents.html

SENG (Support the Emotional Needs of the Gifted) Online Parent Group

SENG groups are guided discussion groups about the special Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted children, and are an excellent opportunity to learn more about the special joys and challenges of raising gifted children.  Topics will include:  Identification/Characteristics, Parent Relationships, Sibling Relationships, Communication of Feelings, Stress Management, Depression, Motivation, Tradition Breaking, Peer Relationships, and Discipline.  The online format of this class is convenient for busy families.  Classes are asynchronous, parents can log in at any point during the week to contribute to the discussion.   Class begins September 7th and runs 8 weeks.   Cost of the parent group is $50 for the first parent/guardian and $75 for both parents/guardians.

Gifted Kids Network (GKN) Fall 2010 Classes You can register on www.giftedkidsnetwork.com/fall.html
Fall semester long classes are $250 for the semester. Classes run September 7, 2010 – December 23, 2010
Oh the Places We Will Go — Recommended for grades 3-5
Travel the world through virtual field trips to different countries and different time periods. Learn about the people, languages, food, clothing and culture of different people around the world and through time. We will create a virtual class museum of the time periods and places we travel to.

Animal Planet – Recommended for grades 3-5
Visit zoos and nature preserves through virtual field trips. Research endangered animals and what is being done protect these animals. We’ll examine the practices of wild life preserves, zoos, humane societies and more. As a class we will create a virtual zoo based on what we learn about the humane treatment of animals.
Heroes, Heroines, Images of Greatness – Recommended for grades 4-6
We will investigate historical heroes and heroines, Nobel Prize winners, and other great individuals. Join the discussion on what makes a great individual. Create a class Hall of Fame with modern day individuals who exhibit qualities of ‘greatness’.
Ancient Civilizations Recommended for grades 5-7
Students expand their understanding of history by studying the people and events that ushered in the dawn of the major Western and non-Western ancient civilizations. Geography is of special significance in the development these civilizations. Emphasis is placed on the daily lives, cultures, and accomplishments of people, their role in developing social, economic, and political structures, as well as in establishing and spreading ideas that helped transform the world. Students develop higher levels of critical thinking by considering why civilizations developed where and when they did, why they became dominant, and why they declined. Students analyze the interactions among the various cultures, emphasizing their enduring contributions and the link, despite time, between the contemporary and ancient worlds.
Digital Poetry – Recommended for grades 5-8
Students will learn about a variety of forms of poetry. Students will write their own poetry and combine it with music, sounds, and images to create a digital poem.

It’s been an exciting week for the Gifted Kids Network with two journals running stories about GKN.

Read the article about GKN in Tempo Magazine.

Read the article in Edweek.org

The pilot program of the Gifted Kids Network has just finished.  Students have been blogging all semester and many of the students reviewed the program in their blogs.   Many students discovered that taking online classes is more difficult than they imagined.  It takes a committed, organized, and motivated student to do well in online classes.   

Read one parent’s review of the program,

A new program, the Gifted Kids Network (GKN) is offering engaging, multimedia-rich classes that encourage student activism.  This is fantastic!
Bright, talented kids are learning how they can make this world a better place.

Eight-year-old Alex just completed the Beta program for the Gifted Kids Network.  Despite the work involved and the late start (we didn’t find out about the class until a month into the session), he loved it. 

Each week in his Space Colonies Class, he got to watch videos or play games that taught him about the factors to consider – such as atmosphere or geology – when assessing the habitability of planets. Later in the course, he read The Green Book, a story about a family that is forced to leave a dying Earth to colonize a distant planet.

If you ask him, Alex will loudly proclaim that “The Green Book is the worst book on the face of the planet.”  I still don’t know why he had such a negative reaction, but I suspect it’s because the main character was a girl.  And, even though he hated the book, it certainly inspired his latest writing, Alex’s Journal: Journey to the New Planet.

Take a look at all the amazing projects that these talented students completed in various classes on the GKN Student Blog Site.  You will be impressed.

I think that what he liked best about this class was the chance to connect with other kids who share his interests.  Alex has been asking for his own IM account for awhile, but I don’t think he’s old enough to handle a public account like AOL’s AIM.  However, on the GKN there is a “lounge” where the kids can chat in a safe, teacher-monitored environment.

Now, he’s looking forward to GKN’s Animal Planet Summer Enrichment Class where he’ll get to create a humane, virtual zoo.  Older sister Kayla is also excited about the Cool Tools Summer Enrichment Class where she will get to create an online multimedia project that will incorporate “digital photography, video creation, web design, and more.”

Personally, I’m thrilled that they will both get to participate in a fun learning experience from the comfort of our home, or wherever we take our laptops!

Technology of the 21st century provides educators with new and exciting possibilities for engaging gifted and talented students in enrichment programs. Enrichment 2.0, a web based enrichment cluster that allows students who are not physically in the same space to collaborate in an area of interest. Enrichment 2.0 utilizes the tools of the 21st century including wikis, blogs, discussion boards, videoconferencing, podcasting, interactive graphic organizers, and social bookmarking. Students utilize these technology tools and literacies to interact with high level content and produce authentic products. I’ve started a Ning group for educators interested in collaborating on Enrichment 2.0 activities. Please join our group and share ideas and resources for creating online enrichment clusters.

View my page on Enrichment 2.0

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Will Richardson blogged today on a topic very close to home, “supplementing my kids education“.  I have spent years supplementing my kids education, trying to keep them engaged in learning, even when school couldn’t.  Technology is one major aspect of that engagement in our house.  One of my initial blogs talked about my son’s first success in school, his first web site!  This week he is working on a high school science project with classmates using google docs.  Did they suggest this in school?  No, he was talking with me about the problems of sharing a document with 5 other people and the frustrations of one person changing something but not emailing to everyone … You get the picture.  Enter Mom, the technologist, as I’m now being called at home.  Google Docs is now his ‘best friend’.  If only schools would share the technology options with kids.  Productiving, engagement and learning would improve drastically.