Just a reminder that the deadline for applications for the new members of the Creative Kids advisory board is approaching fast! Applications are due July 15, 2013. Members will serve on the board for 2 years, starting in August 2013.
For more information about nominating a creative kid you know, please visit the CK website.
by Rachel Taliaferro
I don't do well under pressure--particularly when faced with math. In high school, I took the SAT three times before I was able to sit through the math portion without being reduced to a tangle of nerves. At restaurants, I usually have to fake a trip to the bathroom or outside to "answer a call" in order to work out the tip and avoid the potential embarrassment of friends witnessing me scrawl messy multiplication all over the receipt.
Math anxiety isn't at all uncommon, and it's come to be a generally socially accepted impediment (it's more common to hear people talk about their troubles with math than about their troubles with reading, for example). What's interesting is that math anxiety isn't always connected to a lack of ability or knowledge--adults and children with math anxiety aren't necessarily bad at math. So what's behind it?
Oxford University Press sponsors PsychTalk Webinars, in which professors and professionals in psychology and education tackle different phenomena. Dr. Sian L. Beilock, a psychology professor at Michigan State University, recently hosted a webinar exploring the psychology behind the performance breakdown caused by math anxiety, high-pressure test situations, and pressure resulting from social and cultural phenomena like stereotype threat. If you or your child or student experiences math anxiety or any other form of pressure-induced anxiety, Beilock's webinar will provide insight into why the problem exists and some tips on how to overcome it.
by Bethany Johnsen
The National Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan, which opened to positive reviews in December, is far more popular than anticipated, achieving its expected first year’s worth of visitors—60,000—within its first 3 months. This Education Week article contains interesting reflections on the cultural importance of mathematics exhibits—of which there are currently very few—and of changing the public’s perception that math is little more than rote memorization and number crunching. For myself, it was not until I reached college that I was exposed to mathematical concepts I found interesting. I read the chapter of our textbook that explained infinity with real awe. Of course, by then I was firmly on the liberal arts path, and for many students such crucial moments of excitement and wonder in a math class never occur.
If you won’t have the opportunity to take your gifted child to MoMath or its travelling exhibit, the Math Midway, this summer, there are still plenty of ways to engage him or her in informal mathematics discovery. The Museum’s website offers a number of paper-based geometric activities, and the Exploratorium’s Geometry Playground activities will get your child outside to explore the richness of mathematics in the world around us.
by Joel McIntosh
Are you a social studies teacher or someone who loves offbeat stories from America's past? Love spinning a tale based on historical evidence? If you have always wanted to try your hand at writing children's nonfiction and know you can tell some great stories from America's past, we want you hear from you.
At Prufrock Press, we want to build a new series of high-interest children's nonfiction books based on American history, and we are on a search for great teacher-authors to participate in the writing project.
Imagine a series of children's books (ages 8-12) based around the themes of ...
Initially, we imagine specific books in the series would target periods or events such as the American Revolution, the Civil War, disasters in American history (e.g., the Hindenburg, Chicago Fire, 1918 flu pandemic, etc.), strange explorations, or surprising inventions. However, if you have a different idea, we would love to hear it.
These books will be high-interest paperbacks. Although these are nonfiction books, they should capture a child's imagination.
Your approach can focus on the funny, wacky, gross, mysterious, or highly unusual. Your format might be stories, puzzles, fun facts, or games. We’re open to any creative approach that taps into a child’s interests and holds his or her attention.
The audience will be kids who find delight in the unusual and surprising and who love to read. The books in this series will be sold in bookstores in the children’s nonfiction category, so they need to have strong appeal for the kids who are drawn to that area of the store.
If the idea for children's non-fiction histories excites you, we want to hear from you. Visit our Children's Nonfiction History Books Prospectus Guidelines, prepare a prospectus, and send it to us! We can't wait to hear from you.
by Lacy Compton
Growing up, I was a big fan of the summer reading challenges at my local library--checking out stacks of books at a time and filling up as many preprinted sheets with my "Books I've Read" lists as I could. I can admit, years later, that far too many of the books on my list were easy reads--not nearly as challenging as what I should have been reading each summer.
If you're a parent of a gifted reader with no clue where to start to find him or her new, challenging books this summer, here are a few websites to help:
I also happily recommend two of the latest titles to reach my current "read" list (yes, I still keep a list of what I've read each year as an adult):
by Rachel Taliaferro
One of the most difficult tasks for teachers of all grades is maintaining a level of interest and engagement among students that is conducive to learning. After all, a student can't learn what's being taught if he or she isn't paying attention.
So how do you foster and maintain engagement in a 21st century classroom? The nonprofit organization Next Vista for Learning encourages implementing simple technology to hold students' interest. The organization's website hosts a free library of instructional videos made for and by teachers and students with the idea that students will be more challenged and engaged if a lesson or concept is presented by their peers. Visit the site to browse through videos covering a wide variety of subjects, or to learn how you and your students can submit a video lesson of your own.
For some video ideas from Rushton Hurley, the founder of Next Vista for Learning, visit The Journal for seven tips on making videos that will capture and keep students' attention in the classroom.
by Bethany Johnsen
Looking for ways to keep your gifted kid mentally stimulated and learning throughout the summer? Scientific American’s Bring Science Home activities let parents and children ages 6–12 indulge their scientific curiosity together with experiments that are simple enough to perform at home and fun enough for summer. Together you can mummify a hot dog, extract DNA from smashed strawberries, turn milk into plastic, and much more.
Doing these tabletop experiments with your child is sure to provoke interesting questions and conversations about science. Scientific American invites you to share your experiences or photos from the activities by commenting here or on their Facebook page.
by Lacy Compton
As the mother of a young daughter, I can't help but find myself engrossed in and touched by stories of other parents and their children, like the one in a recent Huffington Post series on families with children with mental health or learning challenges. In this interview, Vanessa, now 26, and her mother, Liz, talk about Vanessa's struggles with dyslexia, particularly some of the everyday challenges she faced as a child (and still faces as an adult trying to go back to school).
One section of the interview particularly resonated with me, when Liz discussed how others reacted to their suggestions that Vanessa had a learning disability:
Liz: You know, there is a stigma, people who think, She doesn't see things backwards, that's just malarky. I had someone tell me once, "Oh, she's doing it for attention." No. It's not for attention. It's very real.
No, it's not for attention. It is real. And I know there are so many parents just like Liz facing similar issues, seeing the very real struggles their children have every day with simple tasks. Share this article with those parents; help them see they are not alone.
by Bethany Johnsen
As a sophomore in high school, I paid 50 cents for an old book called The Story of Biochemistry at a flea market. It may sound like an odd pleasure-reading choice for any teenage girl, and particularly one like me, who called chemistry class “the bane of my existence.” Perhaps it was the pairing of the loathed subject with the word “story” that enticed me. In any case, the book lived up to its promise. I read it quickly and with excitement. I loved learning the stories behind the most important scientific discoveries of our past, which meant, of course, feeling their significance. I told my parents, “I would like chemistry if our textbook was like this.”
Making science classes more “like that” is also the suggestion of a recent Scientific American blog post, To Attract More Girls to STEM, Bring More Storytelling to Science. Its authors, teachers at a STEM-focused high school, argue that the reason for the gender gap in the STEM fields is not a shortage of girls with ability, but the failure of our science curriculum to engage their interest and kindle their passion. The remedy they propose—telling the stories of science—could lend the STEM fields some of the allure traditionally left to the humanities.
Plenty of resources are available to help infuse science storytelling into your classroom without ever hitting the flea market. Consider showing students episodes from Idaho Public Television’s History of Science series , or using the exciting lesson plans available from the University of Minnesota or the University of Florida.
It's not news that being the parent of a special needs child can take immense personal, psychological, and emotional tolls. But what about the financial consequences? Money magazine recently published "Paying for Finn: A special-needs child," a personal account from writer and professor Jeff Howe of the complicated, extensive costs of parenting a child with special needs.
Howe openly details what he and his family have spent to make sure his son leads as normal a life as possible in spite of his disabilities, and he estimates what that cost will look in the future, when there will be significant strain on federal and state assistance. For both educators and parents, or anyone who knows a special needs child, this is an informative and moving read.
For more resources on parenting children with special needs, check out our website.
