National Parenting Gifted Children Week
SENG
(Supporting Emotional Needs of Gifted)
has announced that the third week in July of
each year will be National Parenting Gifted
Children Week. This designated week, now
placed in the National Special Events
Registry, is intended to celebrate the joys
and challenges of raising, guiding, and
supporting bright young minds.
According to James T. Webb, Ph.D., founder
of SENG, each day of this week will focus
attention on a particular area of interest to
parents of gifted and talented children. This
year, the daily topics will be:
- Challenges of Parenting Gifted
Children
- Underachievement Issues
- Advocacy for Gifted Children-Teaming
with Educators and Legislators
- Identifying and Recognizing
Giftedness
- Special issues for Gifted Minorities,
Gifted Boys, and Gifted Girls
- Misdiagnosis, Depression, and Suicide in
Gifted Youth
- Parenting Supports and Resources
This year's celebration of National Parenting
Gifted Children Week coincides with SENG's
25th Silver Anniversary National Conference,
which will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah,
July 18-20. SENG conferences focus on the
social and emotional needs of gifted children
and their families.
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Greetings!
After more than five years as American
Mensa's National Gifted Children Program
Coordinator, Dr. Ruf is stepping down. She
will be handing over the reins of this
volunteer position to Keri Guilbault, a worthy
successor.
In keeping with Dr. Ruf's strong advocacy of
Mensa, we are including information in this
issue about some of the programs and
features of the organization which we hope
our readers will find useful.
In the meantime, Dr. Ruf will take a little time
off . . . to go fishing! We hope everyone else
will also have the opportunity to enjoy the
summer.
Sincerely, Kathy Hara, Editor
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Mensa for Kids
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A little over a year ago, in April 2007, the
Mensa Education and Research Foundation
unveiled its new web page Mensa
for Kids.
In a style that should appeal to children, pop-
ups on the home page lead readers to
articles and interactive features. There is
the Feature of the Month. The current
feature is Maine's Guide to the Solar
System (or, Fun with Planets), and the
archive takes you all the way back to its first
feature from April 2007, Diamonds (and
Laser Pointers) are a Kid's Best Friend.
There is also a page of games, activities and
puzzles, which includes jigsaw puzzles
(ranging from 4 to 49 pieces), arcade games
and family crosswords. Other paths from the
site's home page lead to a list of other fun
web pages for kids, resources for parents
and teachers, a place for sending feedback
to the webmaster, and a blog.
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Mensa Foundation newsletter
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To keep you updated on the work of the
Mensa Foundation, they have created a new
online newsletter. Foundation News is a
quarterly publication designed to keep you
updated on the projects and people of the
Mensa Education & Research Foundation.
Each issue will feature new programs,
upcoming events and profiles of the people
who support the work of the Foundation.
You can read the most recent issue of the
Foundation News here.
To learn more about all of the Foundation's
programs, visit their web
site.
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Mind Games
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For the past 18 years, Mensans have
gathered for three days in April to play
games. More than 40 new-to-the-market
games are entered by manufacturers and
inventors, and Mensans play the games,
ranking their favorites. Five of the entries are
chosen as Mensa Select Winners.
This year, 210 Mensans played 54 games in
Phoenix. Mind Games 2009 will be in
Cincinnati April 24-26, and members of
Mensa may register now.
Here are the Mensa Select Winners for
2008:
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Oprah looking for Talented Kids
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Oprah Winfrey is looking for amazing and
talented kids to be on her Oprah Winfrey
Show. Whether singing, dancing, playing an
instrument, painting or other talents, she is
looking for prodigies-in-the-making.
For further information about the show and
about submitting a video, click here.
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Books and more books
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Last February, Dr. Susannah Richards
spoke at the Supporting the High Potential
Reader, Writer, and Thinker Workshop
sponsored by the Minnesota
Educators of the Gifted and Talented .
An Assistant
Professor of Reading/Language Arts at
Eastern Connecticut State University, Dr.
Richards shared a list of web sites for book
lists which she recommends.
As we head into summer vacation for our
school children, what better time to share
this with you than now!
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"You wake up in the morning, and your purse
is magically filled with twenty-four hours of
unmanufactured tissue of the universe of
your life! It is yours. It is the most precious of
possessions. No one can take it from you.
And no one receives either more or less than
you receive."
- Thomas Arnold Bennett
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