When children play, they often create a mess, but what a beautiful mess it is! "Creating a Beautiful Mess" describes the ten most important play experiences all children enjoy and how these experiences support learning, creativity, and social connections. These broad categories of play include building with blocks, pretending and make…

The author shares that her journey with gifted homeschooling was filled with folly and a slow learning curve. By sharing some of the struggles and insights she faced, the author hopes others will benefit or find solace in knowing they are not alone when their square peg children do not fit into round holes. In this article the author discusses:…

The Big Lift is a collective impact initiative extending from preschool to third-grade in San Mateo County, California. The initiative is a partnership of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, the San Mateo County Office of Education, and the County of San Mateo. Launched in 2012, the initiative aims to boost children's reading proficiency in…

Gifted children crave meaning through learning experiences, and they are naturally inquisitive. This article provides a teaching framework that parents can adapt for use with gifted children to help facilitate STEM knowledge and skills. The CReaTE Framework, adapted from an evolving lesson plan framework, can promote learning in a nontraditional,…

A recent issue of "Educational Leadership" highlighted the lack of current focus in schools on humanities education (Ferrero, 2011). As the young lives of gifted children become ever busier with extracurricular options, parents are left with the question of how to best complement their child's academic life with his or her social and emotional…

Teaching adolescents can be quite challenging. Dr. Judy Willis, a neurologist and teacher, explains the inner workings of the adolescent brain. She uses the findings of brain research in her classroom to explain how parents and teachers can trigger untapped inspiration in students. Middle school education has often been a "black hole" for gifted…

One goal of 21st-century education is to develop mature citizens who can identify issues, solve problems, and communicate solutions. What better way for students to learn these skills than by participating in a science and engineering fair? Fair participants face the same challenges as professional scientists and engineers, even Nobel laureates.…

Today, there are more program options in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) than ever before. Because people are living in an age of increasing globalization, advocates of gifted children must understand that involvement in STEM fields is paramount for the children to be competitive in the job market and for the nation to…

Online learning continues to grow rapidly across the United States and the world, opening new learning opportunities for students and families. Informed estimates put the number of K-12 students in online courses at over 1 million, as parents and students are choosing online courses and schools for a variety of reasons that grow out of their…

This investigation examines school-family partnership relationships in rural and remote settings. The study highlights the teaching-learning relationships of classroom teachers, parents as instructors/supervisors, and students as they make sense of numeracy and literacy outcomes in distance education contexts. The case study data provide insights…

School in the Park is an innovative museum-based educational effort to engage students in their community during the school day. Since 1999 several hundred students have been educated each year in museums and the zoo in San Diego. This is more than a field trip, it is changing the way that education is provided. Challenging the Classroom Standard…