Imagine students from all around the world solving the same math problems over the same 48 hours. That's what happens on World Maths Day on Tuesday, March 1 (the official competition runs for 48 hours, for as long as it is March 1 somewhere in the world). All students and schools from around the world are invited to unite to set a new world record for the numbers of questions correctly answered in math. Then, as part of the World Education Games, World Spelling Day will take place on Thursday, March 3, and then, eventually, World Science Day will be scheduled in 2012.

Students (including homeschoolers) play at home and at school against other students around the world in live games of mental arithmetic.  Each game lasts for 60 seconds and students can play up to 100 games, earning points for their personal tally.  There are 5 different levels of play, 20 games on each level. The students who answer the most questions correctly appear on the Hall of Fame.  

 

Registration on the site is quick and easy, and participation is free of charge. During the registration process, you will also be automatically registered for World Spelling Day, which takes place on March 3. Once you have registered, you receive an email with simple instructions for getting started. Visit the World Maths Day website for more information, start times, and to register.

With so much going on in the Middle East these days, here's a fun way to hone your knowledge of the geography of that area.  

 

This map game is offered by Rethinking Schools Online, which was started in 1986 by a group of teachers from the Milwaukee area. Besides wanting to improve education in their own schools, they want to shape reform throughout the public school system in the United States. So after you complete (or give up) on the puzzle, you might want to browse the site.

 

The Gifted Education Press Quarterly is offering a complimentary copy of its Winter 2011 issue online. Contents include Discussion of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr (2010); Nurturing Creativity; Gifted Girls; Educating Twice-Exceptional Children; Summary of Gifted Lives: What Happens when Gifted Children Grow Up (2010) by Joan Freeman; Ray Bradbury, Gifted Science Fiction Writer.

 

To receive your copy, send an email to  gifted@giftededpress.com, and then consider subscribing. The GEPQ appreciates your support in making their magazine a resource available to all educators and parents who want to maintain and expand programs for gifted students.
 

We've recently heard of a book out of the Netherlands entitled Enjoying the Gift of Being Uncommon. Written by Willem Kuipers, the author coins the phrase eXtra intelligent (Xi) to alternate with the term "gifted," as adults are often uncomfortable applying that term to themselves. As in his counseling career with his partner Annelien van Kempen, Kuipers guides his readers in understanding why they feel so different.

For more information about the book, read a posting from Linda Silverman's Foreword at highability.org. To order the book, go to the English language version of Kuipers' site at http://www.xi2.nl/EN/sources/book.html.

Is It a Cheetah is an article familiar to many parents of gifted children around the world. This was written by Stephanie Tolan, who has moved back and forth between writing fiction and nonfiction and has won such prizes as the Newbery Honor and the Christopher Award and has been a New York Times bestseller.

Now Tolan has written Change Your Story, Change Your Life, and she is offering it as a free download.

Her website, StoryHealer.com, is named for the healing power of what Tolan terms "Story Principle." This "enlists one of our greatest natural assets-imagination-to change our stories and enrich our lives." Her website is "dedicated to exploring the infinite possibilities of story for the benefit of ourselves and our world."