Gifted Atlanta

The University of Georgia has announced the schedule for its 2012-2013 UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekends. The first weekend will be Oct. 20-21, 2012. Students can stay on campus or commute for the two days of classes.

UGA-Duke TIP Scholar Weekends are for students in 8th-11th grades who have participated in the Duke TIP program, have been identified as gifted by their school, or are currently taking advanced classes (e.g., Advanced Placement, honors, or IB). The Scholar Weekend classes are taught by UGA professors or graduate students.

Students select a single course to study for the weekend. Classes in the fall session will include robotics, behavioral psychology, public speaking, American foreign policy, artificial intelligence, alternative media, and the physics of aircraft design.

An early bird discount of $25 is available through Sept. 14. The registration cutoff is Oct. 5, but as I always say about these programs, the high-demand courses will be full well before that, so don’t procrastinate.

The first few lines of the message I received this week from Lisa Richardson said it all: Thanks for these great resources! I wish more of them were on the south side of town where we live. My little engineer is at a slight disadvantage. 😦 

Following the old adage, “Better to light one candle than to curse the darkness,” Richardson is starting Codenistas, a technology education program in East Point for middle-school girls. Students will meet on weekends to learn web design, programming and other technology skills.

Classes begin September 8. Register now — there are only 10 spaces in the fall program.

From time to time, parents ask me about homeschooling their gifted kids. Since this isn’t an option I’ve ever considered for my family, I rarely have any information to share.

But thanks to reader Christine M., I can now point you to at least one resource: the Gifted Homeschoolers Forum. GHF supports parents of children for whom traditional school isn’t the best fit. In addition to articles and lots of links to additional resources, GHF offers online courses for home-schooled gifted students.

I also am personally aware of two parents in the metro Atlanta area who are trying to form home-school groups for gifted kids. If you’re interested in getting in touch with them, e-mail me via the Contact page and I’ll share what I know.

As we get settled into the school year, it’s time to think about enrichment for 2012-13. Here’s a quick round-up of enrichment programs and their registration dates:

• Ben Carson Academy at the Morehouse School of Medicine: Yikes! The registration deadline is tomorrow, Aug. 15
• K.I.D.S. Club at Georgia Tech: Registration will open in early September. Expected program dates for fall 2012 are Nov. 3 and Dec. 1.
• Callanwolde: Registration is ongoing for classes in the visual and performing arts. Classes begin in late August or early September. Mostly offering adult classes, but a few selections for kids and teens.
• Start:Code: Registration is ongoing, as new students can start in these computer programming classes at any time.
• Saturday School at Georgia State: Registering students through Aug. 24 for the Fall A session.

Fall is also the time to establish teams for competitions including Destination ImagiNation, Odyssey of the Mind and FIRST robotics league. For a list of competitive programs, see the Enrichment page on this site. Starting a team may seem daunting, but the volunteers, existing coaches and coordinators are usually more than willing to assist, so if one of these programs sounds like a fit for your child, give it a try.