For Families

Every parent hopes for their child to be smart and to excel in school, but sometimes parents just don't know what to do with a child who is especially exceptional. Keeping him or her challenged, interested, and engaged can be tough. Parents of gifted children should know that they're not alone and that there are hundreds of resources on the Web that can help every step of the way. Here are some that stand out from the crowd, offering advice, information, support, and educational resources to help you support and encourage your child's special abilities.

Organizations

These organizations help gifted students and their parents get the education, emotional support, and guidance they need to grow up happy and well-adjusted.

1. PAGE of Wake County: This is the parent resource group for parents of gifted children in our area. They provide enrichment, advocacy, and support for the entire gifted community and work tirelessly to ensure the voice of our community does not go overlooked. I HIGHLY recommend connecting with this group, taking advantage of their Super Saturday events, and considering taking an active role within the group.

2. North Carolina Association for the Gifted and Talented: NCAGT serves as a hub for educators, parents, and advocates dedicated to nurturing the unique abilities of gifted learners in North Carolina. Through dynamic conferences, groundbreaking research, and collaborative initiatives, NCAGT empowers communities, parents, and educators across North Carolina to unlock the full potential of every gifted child.

3.   National Association for Gifted Children: The National Association for Gifted Children is one of the best places for parents of gifted children to find resources, reading, help, and advice on raising an exceptional child.

4. Davidson Institute: This is a non-profit organization that supports and nurtures the development of profoundly gifted young people. This is a great resource for research-based information about giftedness.

5. Gifted Child Society: The Gifted Child Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to furthering the cause of gifted children. Through their website, parents can find helpful information and learn about seminars and workshops they can attend.

6. SENG: short for Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted, is an organization that wants to help ensure that gifted children are understood, accepted, nurtured, and supported by their families, schools, and workplaces.

7. Mensa for Kids: Mensa embraces younger members through this fun website, offering up monthly themes to get kids reading and learning at an advanced level.

8. Institute for Research and Policy on Acceleration: Find out more about the latest research being done into academic acceleration through this organization's site.

9. Center for Talented Youth: Located at Johns Hopkins, this organization engages gifted kids and their families through programs, summer classes, and even a bi-monthly magazine.

Twitter

Find quick 140-character-or-less quips and updates about working with, parenting, and helping gifted children from these excellent Twitter feeds.

10. @gifted_guru: Head to this feed to hear from Lisa Van Gemert, a gifted youth specialist for Mensa.

11. @JeffcoGifted: This nonprofit group of parents, teachers, and community leaders tweets about advocacy and resources for gifted kids.

12. @HoagiesGifted: Head to this feed to get resources and articles aplenty about gifted education and parenting.

13. @laughingatchaos: Jen is a mom raising gifted kids. She shares her experiences, both the good and the bad, here and on her blog.

Blogs

These blogs offer excellent advice and resources to parents, teachers, or anyone working with gifted children.

16. About.com Gifted Children: Carol Bainbridge, an expert on gifted children, maintains this blog, which is chock full of learning ideas, information, and more.

17. Parenting Gifted Kids: Head to this blog, written by gifted educator Sarah Robbins, to learn more about how to challenge and help your gifted child.

18. Gifted Exchange: This blog focuses on gifted kids, touching on issues of schooling, parenting, education, and more, all written by the staff at the Davidson Institute for Talent Development.

19. The Prufrock Blog: Prufrock is one of the leading publishers of materials for gifted, advanced, and special needs students. On this blog, you'll find updates on their latest releases.

20. Unwrapping the Gifted: Head to this Education Week blog to hear from Tamara Fisher, a K-12 gifted education specialist. She gives great insights into gifted and talented education.

21. Parents of Gifted Children Resource Group: Here, parents can find resources and make connections with other parents of gifted children.

22. Gifted Parenting Support: This blog is an excellent place to read more about how to parent and educate children who are gifted and talented.

23. Gifted Guru: This blogger offers up resources, books, commentary, and more on the subject of gifted education.

24. Gifted Education Perspectives: Follow this blog to learn more about all things gifted, from what defines it to how to best educate bright students.

25. Creating Curriculum for Gifted Children: This blog approaches gifted kids from an educator's perspective, but parents can also learn new ways to challenge and interest their children.

26. Gifted Education Consultant: Sonia White, author and gifted education specialist, shares her passion for helping gifted children through this blog.

27. Gifted Phoenix: On this blog, parents can find some insights into giftedness issues, education, and parenting, from a New Zealand perspective.

28. Byrdseed: Focusing on creativity, accelerated learning, literature, and more, this blog offers resources and inspiration to gifted educators and parents of gifted kids.

Resources

If you're looking for resources to help you parent or just support your child, these sites are great places to start.

30. Hoagies' Gifted Education Page: On this site, you'll find a bit of everything, from conference listings to tips on understanding your gifted child, making it an excellent resource for any parent.

31. Gifted Development Center: Looking for information about giftedness and how to raise a gifted child? Dr. Linda Silverman provides both on this helpful site.

32. Gifted Child Today: This open-access journal is a great read for parents who want to learn more about how to cater to the needs of their gifted child.

33. Gifted Child Quarterly: Another open-access journal, this journal is a bit more scholarly, publishing research done on giftedness and talent development.

34. Exquisite Minds: Parents and teachers who work with gifted children can find resources, online games, tips, tools, and more on this social site.

35. BrightKids: BrightKids is a discussion group for parents of gifted children and is maintained through MENSA. You can join here and get tips and advice from other parents of bright kids.

36. Educational Resources for Parents and Teachers of Gifted Youth: Mensa is a great place to look for help with a gifted child. Here, they offer up a collection of resources for parents and teachers that ranges from lessons to fun activities.

37. Gifted Homeschoolers Forum: This site offers a chance to get resources and talk to parents who are also working to raise gifted children.

38. Gifted Children's Bill of Rights: This resource will help you learn how to stand up for your kids and make sure that his or her rights are being respected.

39. Gifted Journey: This site is a great resource for learning about giftedness, touching on everything from bullying to IQ tests.

40. teachfine on gifted and ed tech: This site collects resources that combine gifted education and technology, creating a great list of articles and sites that parents and kids can use to learn.

Articles

These articles will help you stay informed and educated about issues relevant to your gifted child.

46. Gifted Students Go Dumb to Fit In: Is your child lowering his or her potential in order to fit in with peers? This article explores the stigma of being smart.

47. Gifted Children Need Help, Too: Many teachers and parents believe that smart kids don't need help; they'll do well on their own. This just isn't the case, as you'll learn here.

48. Hey, Teacher, Get Help Somewhere Else: Make sure your child isn't working as a teacher's aide in his or her classroom, a common occurrence as this article explains.

49. Top 10 Myths in Gifted Education: Learn some of the biggest myths about teaching gifted kids from this great YouTube video.