We are still looking for participants in an exciting opportunity to assist in field research. Pearson Education Inc. will be releasing the 5th edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC-V) in 2014.  In an effort to ensure that the assessment tool works well for children of all ability levels, Dr. Ruf has been selected to be an examiner to help norm the test, and the group she has been asked to assess is gifted children and teens, ages 6 years through 16 years, 11 months.   

Here are some of the basic requirements:

• Your child must have been previously tested and have an IQ of 130 at the 98th percentile or above. Pearson has requested that the primary qualifying test be no older than 2 years for children under 10, 3 years for children under 15, and 5 years for the older age range of 15-16.
• Your child cannot have been tested on ANY intelligence measure in the previous 6 months, or on any Wechsler Intelligence test in the prior year from when we schedule the test with Dr. Ruf.
• Your child's primary language MUST BE ENGLISH.
• Your child must have no diagnosis of any learning disability.
• Testing will be conducted in Dr. Ruf's home office in Golden Valley, Minnesota. We are generally scheduling morning and afternoon appointments for Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and morning appointments on Fridays. We are currently booking appointment dates through the summer, but will continue to do testing through the end of the year. 

So if you believe your child would qualify to participate in this testing, please write to me at Kathy@educationaloptions.com for more information.

 "You're the first generation to grow up in the ocean of information that we call the Internet. In some ways, this makes you incredibly lucky. You can get hold of information in a matter of seconds that the students in the picture above [from National Geographic] would never be able to find. . . . But the Internet is not an Answer Machine, into which you type a vague question and out of which comes a paragraph you can drop into an assignment."

This is a fun read and a thought-provoking article, with many interesting comments posted from readers.

Here's an article that has been making the rounds in the social media. While it's a little off topic in terms of focusing on gifted issues, it seems like valuable information for anyone - and especially for those of us who live in the Land of 10,000 Lakes!

In the article, Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning, Mario Vittone writes about how a child in trouble in the water doesn't react the way we may expect or the way it is portrayed on TV. So, as we begin summer vacations, this could be useful to know.

Whether you are new to the gifted community or a long-time advocate, you are bound to find the SENG Annual Conference a rewarding and empowering event. And you can bring the kids!  

This year's event will be in Orlando, Florida, from July 19 to 21. Featuring some of the leading experts in the field of giftedness, the conference is uniquely focused on the social and emotional development and challenges facing the gifted population.  

There is still time to register for this conference. Learn more at SENG's website. 

Here's an interesting article from Accuracy in Academia, Homeschooler Uprising in America? The author, Spencer Irvine, notes that the number of families homeschooling their children is increasing. Not only that, but those homeschooled kids are outperforming public school students. 

The Edina Center for Academic Excellence is offering some fun classes for eager learners during the summer. There will be Math classes available, along with Introduction to Rocket Science and Public Speaking. Sounds like fun!