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New session of parenting group will start in January
Two local experts on the emotional needs of gifted children will offer a new round of the parents’ support group they started this fall.
Kathy Courchene and Muriel Knope, the group facilitators, both have been trained by SENG (Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted) to lead parent groups. The sessions will touch on such areas of concern as perfectionism, self-management, and relationships with family and friends.
The local group will meet in the Dunwoody area on six consecutive Monday nights, beginning Jan. 24. The cost is $120 for up to two individuals who are closely involved in the life of the gifted child (e.g., two parents, one parent and one grandparent, one parent and a nanny, etc.). For more information or to register, contact Muriel Knope at knope-at-mindspring-dot-com. (I’ve disguised the address to limit robotic spam from hitting Muriel — you can reassemble it to e-mail her.)
Free NAGC presentation at Davis Academy
When the National Association for Gifted Children comes to town for its national conference next week, two of its experts will offer a free presentation at The Davis Academy, a private school in Sandy Springs.
Dr. Robin Schader and Katie Augustyn will present “Raising Gifted Children,” a discussion of how to foster the talents and abilities of elementary-age children. The program, which is open to the community, will be Tuesday, Nov. 9, from 6:30-8 p.m., at Davis Academy’s middle school building, located at 7901 Roberts Drive, 30350.
Thanks to Dr. Spomenka Newman for alerting me to this program.
Deadline near for NAGC Parent Day
As part of its annual convention, the National Association for Gifted Children (with the Georgia Association for Gifted Children) will hold a one-day seminar for parents on Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Georgia World Congress Center.
While most of the NAGC’s main convention is geared toward educators, Parent Day is ideal for parents who want to foster their children’s growth and success. The event will offer sessions on parenting gifted kids, and working as your child’s advocate with your school and teachers. There also will be time for networking with other Georgia parents of gifted kids.
The deadline for advance registration by fax or mail is Oct. 26, although if you miss that, you can register at the door on the day of the event.
If you’re a member of GAGC or NAGC, the event fee is $65. If you’re not a member, you’ll pay $110, which includes one year of membership in both organizations.
More information and the registration form are available through the NAGC web site.
Update: SENG parent group changes schedule
As previously posted, a parent discussion group is forming using the model developed by Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG). The group’s leaders have changed the meeting dates. The first meeting now will be on Wednesday, Sept. 29. The group will meet for six weeks, ending on Nov. 3.
Because the class was shortened, the price has dropped to $120 for up to two people.
Meetings will take place from 7-9 p.m. in the upstairs meeting room of the Kroger on Holcomb Bridge Road in Roswell.
For more information or to sign up, contact Muriel Knope at knope-at-mindspring-dot-com (address modified here to protect her from spam). You can also visit SENG’s web site to learn more about the objectives and methods of SENG parenting groups.
TV show looks at challenges of raising high-intelligence kids
A friend tipped me off to a program airing on Discovery Health called “My Kid’s Smarter Than Me.” It will be shown several times this weekend, beginning tonight. The official description of the program is:
Walker will soon have his IQ tested. His obsession with cars has produced an amazing talent: At just 3 years old he can identify the make and model of any car by sight alone. MY KID’S SMARTER THAN ME explores the joys and hardships faced by ordinary families raising off-the-chart kids. In this special we meet child geniuses ranging in age from 3 to 15, who have never gone public with their talents: Pranav, a 7-year-old from Ohio who has an IQ 16 points higher than Einstein’s, and Autumn, an 8-year-old art prodigy whose works sell for thousands of dollars. With “in the moment” interviews with the children, their parents, siblings and experts, MY KID’S SMARTER THAN ME enters the world of parenting extraordinary children.
Classes will teach about parenting gifted kids
As parents of gifted kids, we share their struggles as they work through the social and emotional issues that can come with being gifted. These can include feelings of isolation or not fitting in with peers, as well as pressure — from themselves or others — to succeed or be perfect.
A new discussion group in the Metro Atlanta area will give parents a forum to talk about how to support gifted children’s emotional needs. The group is being formed under the auspices of Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted (SENG), an organization founded to help parents, teachers and others to nurture gifted individuals as they find their place in the world.
The group will meet in Roswell every Wednesday evening from Sept. 22 to Nov. 10. The class will include reading and discussion of the book A Parent’s Guide to Gifted Children, by James T. Webb, Janet L. Gore, Edward R. Amend and Arlene DeVries.
The cost for the eight-week program is $150 for one person or $175 for two people attending together. For more information, contact one of the SENG-trained class leaders, Kathy Courchene or Muriel Knope.
Gifted Atlanta 