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        December 2013   
 

TI logo whitespace Educational Options  
& TalentIgniter 
Newsletter 
  
In This Issue
Notice to Subjects of Dr. Ruf's Book
Join Mensa with Prior Evidence
A Call or Text from Santa
Just for Fun
Happy Holidays!

Keeping Up With Dr. Ruf
  
Besides her years of expertise as an educational consultant, Dr. Ruf also is well established as a national and international speaker on all issues of giftedness. 

 

Join Our Mailing List!

 

In the coming new year, Dr. Ruf is looking forward to heading in some new directions and accomplishing more in the areas of writing and speaking. Here are some present plans that will be kicked into high gear beginning in March:

 

1.  Dr. Ruf is looking forward to updating her book, 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options (originally titled Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind). The book will actually be completely new, with a look at where the children from the first book are now, 10 years later. If your family participated in the first book, please read the article below, Notice to Subjects of Dr. Ruf's Book.

 

2.  Over the past year, Dr. Ruf has expanded her blog and article offerings, such as her article on Teaching Social Skills to Young Gifted Children: Why and How. She is looking forward to doing more of that type of writing.

 

3.  Dr. Ruf will continue to be available to existing clients for the foreseeable future. The Educational Options email will still be functional.  Dr. Ruf will continue to give tests to other members of client families. By this summer, Dr. Ruf will totally discontinue using the Stanford-Binet 5 IQ test, and she will administer the following: the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children, 5th Edition (WISC-V); the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence, 4th Edition (WPPSI-IV); and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test, 3rd Edition (WIAT-III). As many of you know, she has participated in the norming standardization for the WPPSI-IV and the WISC-V, and so is very experienced with their use.

 

4. Dr. Ruf and I will continue our work with TalentIgniter.com. This will include developing new products - especially adding the adult version to the Self-Esteem Tests - and putting out a newsletter every other month.

 

But before all that happens, we wish you all the best that the season has to offer, no matter how you celebrate the holidays.


Best wishes,

 

Kathy Hara, Editor         

   

     
Notice to Subjects of Dr. Ruf's Book
5 Levels cover

 

As mentioned in the Greetings section of this newsletter, Dr. Ruf intends to do a follow-up to 5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options, with an update of where those children are now. She asks anyone whose family participated in that study to please contact her at dr.ruf@educationaloptions.com  to update your email information. After 10 years, most people have changed their email addresses, and Dr. Ruf will want to contact you.

 

 

As in the first book, participants will remain anonymous, using the same aliases as previously. And every precaution will be made to maintain the privacy of each family and individual. 

 
Join Mensa with Prior Evidence

 

If you have done IQ testing that puts you in the 98th or 99th percentile, you may be interested in joining Mensa, the High IQ Society. And now is a good time to do that. Through December 31, Mensa is waiving their $40 administrative fee for joining when you can submit prior evidence in the form of your previous testing. For more information, go to the Minnesota Mensa website, or call American Mensa at 817-607-0060.

 

 

 

A Call or Text from Santa
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It is Santa season! For those of you who have small children or grandchildren, here is a blog posted by Kim Caise, of Kim's Technology Treasure Chest, with a list of online methods for connecting with Santa Claus. Children may contact Santa Claus online, or even receive a text or phone call. Most are free, but Caise does make note of which resources may charge a fee.

Just for Fun


We mentioned Buddha Boards in our October 2013 newsletter. We thought it would be fun to show you some artwork recently produced on this device by Dr. Ruf's 3-1/2-year-old granddaughter Lilah. It's a hummingbird!
 
Happy Holidays to All Our Friends Around the World!
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Educational Options

EO LogoVisit www.EducationalOptions.com to learn about how Dr. Ruf's 4-Step Process will empower you to get your bright child's needs met. The website also includes many articles written by Dr. Ruf and others about gifted issues; categorized lists of books recommended for those seeking more information about their gifted children and themselves; Dr. Ruf's speaking schedule; an archive of this monthly newsletter, beginning in 2006; and more.                 
 
TalentIgniter
TI logo whitespace


TalentIgniter invites you to browse the many features offered on its website, including the following:
  • Dr. Ruf's TalentIgniter Blog.
  • The Parents' Picks section (with recommendations for parents of eager little learners, starting at infancy will have more age groups to be added as we find volunteers to send in their ideas to us! Please contact us at support@talentigniter.com if you have products and resources to recommend.) 
  • Book Recommendations for people wanting to learn more about gifts, talents, and how to develop both!
  • Detailed insider information about the Ruf Estimates Kids IQ Test Online Assessment, the inventory parents fill out to know how to help their own young children thrive. It's so much more than just a kid's IQ test!  
  • Self Esteem Test for Children and Self Esteem Test for Teens, filled out by the child with feedback for the parents.  
  • Milestone Tracker, a free online method to keep those precious memories and details of your child's growing years.   
  • A free resource, Ed Planner is your assistant and guide in planning and tracking your children's education for Grades 1 to 12. It will help you maximize your children's achievements as well as increase their chances of qualifying for highly selective colleges.  
5 Levels of Gifted: School Issues and Educational Options
5 Levels coverFormerly titled Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind), 5 Levels of Gifted, published in 2005 by Great Potential Press, combines four years of data gathering from 50 families
78 children with nearly 30 years of research and experience in the field of giftedness, individual differences, and high intelligence. The book is aimed primarily at parents and vividly describes the upper 10 to 15 percent of the intellectual continuum in human beings from birth to adulthood as manifested in their behaviors, thoughts, accomplishments, and test scores. She introduces the concept of Levels of Giftedness and makes it very clear how many factors contribute to a person's intellectual levels and achievement. 
Keys to Successfully Raising the Gifted Child
Keys ebook cover
You know your child is gifted. But how does that impact day-to-day life and your role as a parent?

Written by Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D., and Larry A. Kuusisto, Ph.D., Keys to Successfully Raising the Gifted Child is for parents who are new to the idea that their children might be intellectually advanced or gifted. This ebook addresses important parenting issues, including what to actually tell your child about his or her giftedness, how schools approach learning differences, best ways to provide emotional support, sibling rivalry, and more. The book delivers lots of provocative information that will lead to hours of good discussion, debate, and further investigation and research by group or class participants studying the gifted and talented. 

Deborah Ruf
www.EducationalOptions.com
 www.TalentIgniter.com
763-521-4565

Changing your email address?
Please let us know, so we can continue to send you our newsletter.
Simply send us a note at kathy@educationaloptions.com. Thanks!