Parents of gifted children play a powerful role in expanding their world and helping them discover what they love. When gifted children have impassioned, open-minded, and creative family members, they are free to discover what they love and who they are as people. For gifted learners, curiosity, passion, and interest are absolute essentials.…

In the last issue, the author's analysis amplified the letter A. In this article, she works with the letter B. In upcoming articles in this series, she will extend the material and offer understandings about gifted education and high-ability learners as she moves alphabetically from C through Z.

Young people are encouraged to use this writing journal for kids as a means to think, write, and be creative. The journal helps children to explore their worlds, learn about their families, and record their memories, feelings, and dreams. Following explanatory sections for parents, teachers, and the writer, the journal contains these sections:…

Designed to be used before and after attending a performance of "Alice in Wonderland," this cue sheet provides information about the performance and suggests activities to help families foster children's understanding and appreciation of the performing arts. The cue sheet presents activities to help children think about the performance,…

In this book, the author reveals the creative force of children's narrative imagination and shows how this develops through childhood. He provides a new and powerful understanding of the significance of narrative for children's intellectual growth and for learning and teaching. The book explores a series of real stories written by children between…

The booklet presents suggestions for parents working as volunteers in their gifted children's classrooms. Parents are advised to allow the children to help plan and execute the activities, which are designed to be multidisciplinary, inexpensive, and adaptable. Activities described include explorations of the language, geography, and culture of…

This brochure, developed by a manufacturer of wooden blocks and trains, offers advice on the selection and use of toy blocks with children. The guide asserts that blocks, while often thought of as the most simple of toys, have great strength as creativity builders. Topics discussed in the brochure include: "Why We Want Our Children to…

These learning activities are designed for use in the classroom or at home when activities for special moments are needed. They can be introduced with a minimum amount of preparation and materials and a maximum amount of success. They are intended to give children a learning experience that is fun while developing imagination and creative…

Defining creativity as a process that draws upon talents, education, skills, thinking and working styles, and inherent intelligence, and pinpointing motivation as the single most important ingredient in the creativity recipe, this book provides dozens of concrete, hands-on exercises and techniques that can help a parent or teacher keep creativity…

This "funbook" presents reading and writing activities to help children prepare for reading and writing. Activities introduce the alphabet, and assist children to print letters of the alphabet and engage in other readiness tasks. The margins of many of the pages present instructions for "reading partners." The booklet includes…

This special section on the spirit of play discusses (1) characteristics of adult play; (2) styles of playfulness; (3) the creation of environments that foster children's sense of wonder; and (4) strategies for training teachers to be playful and to be attentive to children's play. (HOD)

The "Everyday Learning" series has been developed to focus attention on the everyday ways in which children can be supported in their growth and development. It is for all those who are involved in children's development and learning, including people caring for young children in their own or others' homes, such as parents, grandparents…

The legacies of all cultures can be found in their creations--their arts, their celebrations, and their traditions. This book is designed to help educators introduce students to the diversity of people around the world through creative, hands-on activities based on cultural traditions. It offers teachers, librarians, and parents access to 28,000…

Based on the assumption that the more parents enjoy playing with their children, the more children will learn from their parents, this booklet is a collection of fun activities for parents to do with their preschool children. The booklet is organized according to location for the activity, whether in a particular room in the house or outdoors.…

Developed by national reading experts for "reading partners" to use with children, ages birth to grade 6, this booklet presents activities that help very young children to get ready for reading and writing, and guide older children to expand their reading and writing interests and skills. The booklet has three sections, one for…