If you are on the hunt for engaging gifts for you friends and family, check out this Gift Guide 2022 for over 450 smart, STEAM + mostly screen-free gift ideas for all ages, curated by The Kid Should See This™.
Here is another list you might want to check out: The Gifted Guide’s Favorite Games.
Baseball, the World Series…and Gifted Education is the title of Dr. Post’s most recent article in Gifted Challenges. It’s worth the read! Dr. Post makes so many excellent points in the article. What resonated with me the most was the list of 6 basic tenets of giftedness. The list reminded me of Del Siegle’s Gifted Children’s Bill of Rights.
Millersville University’s 36th Brossman Math and Science lecture was incredible! Dr. Chartier, a mathematics and computer science professor at Davidson College hit it out of the park in terms of keeping students from grades 4-8 engaged, interested, and involved for his entire lecture.
Students learned how knowing different positions of a soccer goalie can change the way they are perceived by players, how the analytics of basketball free throws informs coaching, and how knowing the impact football players have on their heads during practice versus games can help prevent injuries.
One of the puzzles Dr. Chartier shared, The Vanishing Empire State Building, was published in the Guardian’s April Fools issue. The speaker assured us the puzzle is not a trick and can be analyzed and explained. Check it out here! It’s mind blowing!
A BIG thank you to all of the parents and grandparents who were willing to pick you your middle schooler following the event!
Field Trip: The following students signed up to attend the Science Lecture at Millersville University, Get in the Game: Sports and Math Analytics, this Thursday October 27th from 1:00-2:15. Permission slips are due today.
Students Attending: Anna M., Ashlyn B., Caleb A., Eden H., Eden K., Elliott J., Jeniel V., Jeren B., Lila B., Logan B., Madeline G., Miles G., Wyatt C.
Online Parenting Workshop: Gail Post, PH.D is offering The Gifted Parenting Journey Workshop an online, four-part workshop series focusing on your unique joys, struggles, challenges, and questions related to parenting a gifted child. It will be offered on four consecutive Mondays at 7:30 PM EST starting on 11/21/22. If interested, please complete this Registration form.
Happy Fall!
We are entering our 5th week of gifted support classes and are half way through the first marking period. Elementary students have adjusted to being back, middle school students are able to find their classes, and we are humming along. Read below to learn about the contests and field trips details currently posted in your child’s Google Classrooms as well as what we are currently studying.
Contests & Field Trips
Writing Contest: Students can pick from 6 illustrations and describe what is going on in the picture(s) in 20-250 words. This contest is for all ages and the deadline for submissions is October 31st.
Field Trip: Millersville University is offering a lecture titled, Get in the Game: Sports, Analytics, and Math on October 27th from 1:00-2:15pm for grades 4-8. Transportation will be provided to and from the event with the exception of Middle School. Middle School students will be transported to the event but must arrange transportation home.
Classes.
Each class begins class with a problem of the day. Some problems are designed to allow and encourage creative thinking while other problems require critical thinking and logic. Every problem is engaging and challenging!
Elementary Topic: Let’s travel the world!
Students will be given a set budget to travel with their families to 3 contiguous countries for 7 days and 7 nights. Before setting off for the airport, all travel plans must be made. Students must research where they want to travel and create a budget that includes air flight, ground transportation, lodging, meals, and entertainment. The final destination will be Manor Middle School where gifted students from Penn Manor’s 7 elementary schools will gather together to hear about each student’s favorite destination.
Grade 7 Topic: More Specific Than Smart
Middle school students often begin 7th grade with a limited understanding of what it means, and what it does not mean, to be gifted. This unit of study is designed to inform students about the meaning of gifted and provide them with a deeper understanding of their own unique learning strengths and challenges.
Students will explore the meaning of smart by interpreting, analyzing, evaluating and synthesizing the unique strengths of literary characters and or historical figures. Students will select two characters and develop a scenario in which the characters work together using their unique strengths to solve a common problem. Students will conclude the unit by creating a personal learning profile.
Grade 8 Topic: In the Mind’s Eye: Truth Versus Perception
Students will explore the philosophical relationship between truth and perception. This unit applies concepts from Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” to help students discover how reality is presented and interpreted in fiction, nonfiction, art, and media. Students engage in activities such as Socratic seminars, literary analyses, skits, art, and creative writing to understand differing perceptions of reality. The unit features art from MC Escher and Vincent Van Gogh, and short stories from Guy de Maupassant and Shirley Jackson. This unit encourages students to translate learning to real-life contexts and problems by exploring themes of disillusionment, social deception, and the power of perception.