Light Up Your Child's Mind

Renzulli, whose model for the education of gifted children has been widely adopted, presents a program for parents to identify and foster their school-aged children's interests and abilities. Inspired in no small part by education pioneers John Dewey and Jean Piaget, he tells parents how to help their children acquire new skills and interests and fully utilize the ones they have. Every child, “gifted” or not, has unique talents and strengths, not always apparent in the classroom, that can be cultivated through a variety of parent-directed exercises in creative thinking and productivity. Part I of this volume investigates academic “giftedness” vs. “out-of-the-box” gifts, and looks at kids whose learning styles and intellectual curiosity go against the current definition. Part II, the bulk of the book, offers practical paths to recognizing and developing those gifts and talents, and includes bulleted lists, dialogues, checklists and evaluations, chapters full of concrete advice, dozens of ideas and activities, plus case studies of individual kids' creative-productive projects. Part III covers special considerations: the “twice exceptional,” i.e., kids with gifts coupled with learning disabilities, ways to reclaim the underachiever and how to partner with teachers and schools. While Renzulli's discussion of giftedness is nothing new, the authors offer excellent step-by-step advice for parents of all children. (Aug.)