Summer Camps, Experiences, and Activities:

Mensa has a list of 7 ideas for keeping kids' minds engaged during the summer months.

Tech Quest Camp at CVTC (This one I endorse! It's fantastic! For students entering 5th grade and above)

Summer Institute for the Gifted

Epsilon (math camp)

Camp Invention (here in Mustang!)

Duke TIP summer studies


Common Characteristics of Gifted Children:

  • Rapid learner; puts thoughts together quickly
  • Advanced vocabulary
  • Excellent memory
  • Insightful
  • Has abstract ideas
  • Vivid imagination
  • Enjoys solving problems
  • Intense concentration and long attention span
  • Wide range of interests (or extreme focus in one area)
  • Deep, intense feelings and reactions
  • Highly sensitive
  • Abstract or complex thinking
  • Strong sense of justice
  • Preoccupied with own thoughts—daydreamer
  • Asks probing questions
  • Creative
  • Highly developed curiosity
  • Interest in experimenting and doing things differently
  • Unusual sense of humor
  • Desire to organize people/things through games or complex schemas
  • Perfectionistic and self-critical
  • Demonstrates leadership characteristics
  • Is self-confident with older children and adults
  • Offers unique or clever responses

List compiled from the following resources: nagc.org; us.mensa.org

Gift Ideas for Gifted Children:

Often gifted children enjoy playing games or doing projects that stretch their minds. Here is a list of gift ideas that cater to those who enjoy fun, challenging, or creative games, hobbies, or reading materials.

GAMES

Battleship, Boggle, Checkers, Chess, Clue, Capsela, Domino set, Mancala, Mastermind, Outburst, Perfection, Pictionary, Puzzles, Scattegories, Scrabble, Stratego, Tangrams, Traverse, Tri-Ominoes

BOOKS or MAGAZINES

Dictionary, Thesaurus, Newbery award books, Fairy tales, Guinness Book of World Records, Kids Discover Magazine, Muse Magazine, Games Junior, Sudoko for Kids, National Geographic for Kids

HOBBIES

Art supplies, camera, chemistry set, coin collecting kit, electricity kit, insect kit, journals to write in, M.C. Escher tesselations, models of cars/planes/skeletons, musical instruments, puppets, rock collecting kit, stamp collecting kit

TOYS

Robot, Kites, Sunprints, Binoculars, Calculator, Magnifying glass, Telescope, Stop-Motion movie making kit/materials, Sphero


Websites to check out:

http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources-parents

National Association for Gifted Children


http://www.exquisite-minds.com/

Exquisite Minds: Gifted and Creative Children is a great resource for parents (and teachers) of gifted children.


www.hoagiesgifted.org/parents.htm

Hoagies gifted offers a wealth of information on gifted children for parents.


Helpful Books:

The Survival Guide for Parents of Gifted Kids by Sally Yahnke Walker

Living with Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents, and Adults by Susan Daniels and Michael Piechowski (Editors)