Open-ended, creative gift ideas for gifted and advanced learners: musical instruments, domino creations, coding toys, art kits, and blank books to inspire curiosity and talent development.
Category Archives: Parenting Gifted Students
Holiday 2025 Shopping Guide for Gifted & Advanced Children and Teens — Toy Ideas
In Part Three of a holiday gift-giving guide, the focus is on selecting toys that engage and challenge gifted children. Key preferences include open-ended toys fostering creativity and problem-solving. Suggestions include LEGO, Marble Runs, Snap Circuits, Rubik’s Cubes, and handheld microscopes, all fostering inquiry-based learning and deep thinking.
Holiday 2025 Shopping Guide for Gifted and Advanced Children and Teens: Game Ideas
Playing board games as a family fosters strong bonds while enhancing gifted children’s thinking skills. The article highlights several games like Zingo, Blokus, No Stress Chess, Scrabble, and Apples to Apples, which offer strategic depth and cognitive challenges suitable for advanced learners. Engaging family game time can also encourage valuable discussions and reflections.
Holiday 2025 Shopping Guide for Gifted and Advanced Children and Teens: Book Ideas
The article provides holiday gift ideas for families with gifted children, focusing on books that stimulate cognitive development and creativity. It highlights classic literature, emphasizing timeless themes and critical thinking, while suggesting a book-and-movie gift basket for added engagement. Additional resources for book selections are also recommended.
Bonus Idea #6 for Summer Thinking Activities: Gifted Kids and Hobbies
This article suggests various hobbies for gifted kids to explore during summer, enhancing creativity and intellectual growth. Activities like drawing, coding, and gardening can keep their minds engaged and foster new skills. The author emphasizes the importance of hobbies in personal development and encourages parents to support their children’s interests.
Bonus Idea #5 for Summer Thinking Activities: Volunteering for Gifted Kids
Volunteering, often overlooked as a summer activity, is beneficial for children, especially gifted ones. It fosters leadership, learning, and fulfillment. Engaging in age-appropriate service activities, such as helping shelters or organizing community projects, can make volunteering accessible to younger kids. Involving them early can enhance their development and commitment.
Bonus Idea #4 for Summer Thinking Activities: Field Trip Fridays for Gifted Kids
The post discusses “Field Trip Friday,” a summer activity where the author, a former Gifted Resource Teacher, took her sons on weekly museum visits to engage their minds and energy. It highlights the value of enrichment activities for gifted kids and mentions programs like Explore Virginia and national park passports that encourage family outings.
Bonus Idea #3 for Summer Thinking Activities: In-Home Cake Wars with Gifted Kids
In the summer of 2020, the author discovered the show Cake Wars, sparking a desire to bake creatively with their children. Although plans were derailed by the pandemic, the idea resurfaced years later, emphasizing baking as a fun way to enhance kids’ mathematical and creative skills. The author encourages family baking activities and sharing experiences.
Bonus Idea #2 for Summer Thinking Activities: Postcard Journaling with Gifted Kids
The article explores summer activity ideas for gifted kids, focusing on “Postcard Journaling” as a fun alternative to traditional journaling. The author shares personal experiences, emphasizing the value of writing postcards to capture memories. This approach engages children creatively while maintaining their writing skills and provides a joyful way to commemorate family vacations.
Bonus Idea #1 for Summer Thinking Activities: Scavenger Hunts with Gifted Children
The article introduces a series of six summer activity ideas for gifted children, starting with scavenger hunts. It highlights the fun and challenge of these hunts, which can be themed for extra engagement. The author encourages parents to create and share their own scavenger hunt experiences for collective inspiration.
Teaching for Talent 