Looking for stuff to do this summer?

• Fermilab has a number of science-related summer workshops for K-8 students. The workshops last between one and four days. Go to Fermilab's Science Adventures page to see all the offerings and learn more.

• The Batavia Robotics Club has fun summer Lego Robotics camps for kids from grades 1-12. See the options at their website.
• Do you have a child who likes to read? You can find recommended reading lists arranged by subject of interest at Hoagies' Gifted Ed Page here. There are a number of other readings lists available on an earlier blog post. To find them, click on the "reading" tag on the right sidebar.
  
  

See March 18 post below for a list of other local summer programs. They might still have openings!

Have you seen ... ?

• This article on Mind/Shift, "For Frustrated Gifted Kids, a World of Online Opportunities," describes various online options enjoyed by gifted learners looking for more.

• The Spring 2014 CTD Newsletter focuses on twice-exceptional students.

• The Davidson Institute brings us this Q & A from Tamra Stambaugh, a researcher in gifted education at Vanderbilt, that explores the impact of the Common Core on gifted education.

Thank you to all who attended the March 24 seminar co-sponsored by CANDO and BPS101. Liz Selander Hutchins' presentation, “How Well Do You Know Your Gifted Child?” identified a cluster of characteristics common to gifted learners, dispelled prevalent myths about gifted students, and provided a number of suggestions and strategies to work successfully with and nurture this unique population of students. In addition, Ms. Hutchins shared valuable insights from her many years of experience working with gifted students while teaching at BPS101, and invited parent discussion to share strategies that have helped their children with some of the challenges associated with giftedness. We hope you were able to join us and benefit from Ms. Hutchins' considerable expertise.

Below are links to some of the books and resources that she mentioned.

• Genius Denied by Jan and Bob Davidson
• Some of My Best Friends Are Books by Judith Wynn Halsted
• articles by Sylvia Rimm on giftedness and underachievement

We hope to offer more such seminars in the future!    

Helping our kids find something new to read can sometimes feel like a never-ending quest. How do you find appropriate and engaging books, especially when those children are voracious or reluctant readers?

While many readers work on a system of recommendations from friends, or trial and error, it is nice to have a curated list to start from. There are a number of useful websites and lists online that can serve as guides, helping you and your child branch out and find good books that you might not have heard of yet, and more importantly, that your child may not have read yet!

Here are a few of those lists and links:

• “Find a Book” by Lexile measure This site offers a number of customizable search features, including one you can use to generate a list of books using your child's Lexile measure information (found on your child's MAP scores). You can also find out the Lexile measure of most book titles.
  

• Mensa for Kids Excellence in Reading Award Program This program offers a number of lists by age group (and a T-shirt award for children who read everything on a particular list).

• The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) lists award and honor winners from current and previous years on their website, including books that have been honored with the Newbery Medal and Honor, the Sibert Informational Book Medal, and some listed otherwise as Children's Notable Books.

Of course, teachers and librarians can be great resources as well! Our local libraries maintain many reading lists available online or at the youth services desk.

If you have any reading lists or other resources to share, we'd love to hear about them! Add as a comment below or email us at [email protected].