As we look forward to our visit from Sue Breen, New Zealand’s best known educator of gifted preschoolers and younger school children, WAGC is launching a blog post series on young gifted children.
Download the flyer for our visit from Sue.
First of all a web round-up. What is already online about the young gifted child? Here are some sites you may find helpful, starting with local articles.
The Kiwis:
- Among the articles on the Gifted Education Centre site is one by Sue Breen on working with gifted preschoolers. I’ve linked to the whole articles page, as it is worth knowing about.
- Among the proceedings of the Reaching Forward Conference is a power point show by Brenda Thorrington. If you’ve already read Sue Breen’s article, you will spot that there is a connection between these two outstanding educators. You’ll find other fabulous articles among the conference proceedings as well.
- Some useful information from the littlies site. Great to see something about giftedness on a general parenting site.
- The Treasures site has also impressed me by having an article on gifted preschoolers.
- A research article on early readers by Valerie Margrain of Massey University. The section on misunderstandings about these children and their families is a must-read for newcomers to the field.
The World:
- Don’t miss the “ways of feeling” information in this NAGC article on the Family Education site. Giftedness usually affects feelings as well as thought.
- An AAGC article on the characteristics of gifted preschoolers will be helpful to parents and teachers. A handy jargon guide near the end will help demystify other information on giftedness and assessment.
- Rebecca Howell, on the Creating Curriculum blog, writes about very active young children, and the importance of keeping both bodies and minds adequately challenged for these youngsters.
- David Farmer, on the Austega site, discusses milestones, flexibility from parents and caregivers, and some activities for young gifted children.
- Hoagie’s has a page on Young Gifted Children. The “Flowers are Red” poem is there – tissues at the ready for this one. Lots of other great links as well.
- This article on acceleration includes some comments on early entrance into school (Kindergarten is the new entrant class in US Schools, although means preschool here). Note that in New Zealand, early entrance to school is illegal. However, some of the private schools have their own preschool on site, and under these exceptional circumstances, workarounds are possible. It appears that early entrance to school was already illegal when I entered school myself, somewhat in advance of my 5th birthday! (Link shared by Lisa Rivero – thank you).
- A research document on early entrance to first and second grades, by Li Ching Ke and Chien Hung, Li, in Hong Kong. (Link shared by Leslie Graves – thank you).
- An academic article on identification of young gifted children, by Steven I. Pfeiffer and Yaacov Petscher. The Gifted Rating Scales referred to are not included in the text, but are designed for use by teachers rather than psychologists. (Another link from Leslie).
There is more information to be found online, but I hope this offers a useful starting point for those considering the needs of the young gifted child.
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