Ideas For My Pocket: a Support Group for Families: Every Child is Gifted!

One day my 6^th grade son came home from school and told me that ELP (the Extended Learning pullout Program in our school district) was changing its name. The new acronym would be GTP, which stood for: Gifted and Talented. “This bothers me, Mom,” he told me, “All children are Gifted and Talented, only in all different ways.”

Well, I was taken aback for a second. What a profound thing for my son to say! So true! I decided I didn’t like this name change either! So I looked into it, and wrote a letter or two, using my son’s comment to emphasize why we didn’t like the extended learning program to single out only these children as gifted and talented! Apparently, the old acronym ELP conflicts with the English Learners Program, so no one listened to us. But the principle remains true: ALL Children ARE Gifted and Talented in so many ways.

This son of mine had a fabulous 3^rd grade teacher that taught this principle to her class. Mrs. Lukert posted a chart—that had caught my eye—which listed 8 different ways to learn. (See below) Each student, she taught, learns in one of these ways, or a combination of them. Some learning styles are more visible, and some ways are more conducive to current classroom teaching styles, but all ways are good. All have different gifts and talents, and all these gifts are just right for them. How grateful I am that she taught this concept to my children!

Mrs. Lukert gave me the form she had referred to: “The Eight Intelligences: Characteristics of Individuals who have Strengths in a Particular Intelligence.” It lists 8 different categories of learning, emphasizing that all are Smart, but best show it in different ways.

1. Verbal Linguistic (Word Smart) Those who think in words; like reading, creative writing, and discussions; and do well on written assignments.

2. Logical-Mathematical (Math Smart) Those who are able to see patterns and relationships; enjoy working with numbers and formulas; and tend to be systematic and analytical.

3. Visual-Spatial (Picture Smart) Those that are good at pretending and seeing with the mind’s eye; like drawing, sculpting, and designs; and are very aware of color, shape, and texture.

4. Bodily-Kinesthetic (Body Smart) Those that communicate well with body language; enjoy hugging, dancing, and role-playing; and are happy being involved rather than sitting still.

5. Musical-Rhythmic (Music Smart) Those who love to sing and make music; are visibly effected by sounds, tones, and rhythms; and are skilled at noticing and mimicking sounds.

6. Interpersonal (People Smart) Those that care about others; love team activities; and are sensitive to others’ ideas and feelings.

7. Intrapersonal (Self Smart) Those who prefer to work alone; are usually self-confident and in tune with their inner feelings and insights; and often have strong, well thought-out opinions.

8. Naturalist (Nature Smart) Those who like to study nature; like to group items in categories; and are aware of subtleties that others may not grasp.

See Multiple Intelligence Approaches to Assessment by D. Lazear, 1994. Tucson, AZ: Zepher Press.

So each Child is Gifted, in different ways. How does knowing these things matter? What should we parents do with this knowledge?

1. Study. We parents and grandparents would do well to study each child we influence. When we find each one’s special gifts and intelligences, we can help him feel good about who he is.

Olivia has two little granddaughters that were born a month apart. She has them both over to her house once a week for a Grandma time together. Grandma time started when these little girls were 18 months, and as they have grown up, she has been able to watch them develop. Now, two years old, one of the girls is constantly jumping! Terribly coordinated for such a little girl, she loves to climb, to bounce, to mimic those who are dancing. The other little girl spoke early. She can easily repeat phrases and animal sounds. She can even express herself when scared or frustrated. Olivia has realized that one is body smart, and the other is word smart. They will likely develop other gifts too, but knowing these things, she can help each to celebrate her own style of learning.

2. Provide Expression.

2- year old Sammy needed people. He simply loved to be with other kids. So his mom set up an early Play group. Since the children were still very young, she kept it short with lots of time to play. But they also had a structured activity, story time, and of course snack time! Sammy was in heaven, and counted to days til playgroup!

Tanner loved to line up rocks. He would find shiny ones to show his mom, pointing out their intricacies. His mother took him to a mineral store, with money in his pocket that she had helped him earn, so he could buy some special geodes and quartz. She took him to the Natural History museum, where he could see a whole room full of special rocks!

Belle would always turn on the music. Almost daily, she would walk into the room and say, “Let’s turn on some music!” Her parents let Belle learn to dance. They helped her learn the piano as well. With their help, Belle got to surround herself with good music and perform it too. Incidentally, as Belle grew, she was interested in Speech Pathology.

Trevin loved to listen as his mother read him long books. As he grew, he enjoyed arguing and was good at debates. He loved to tell jokes too. He mother always thought he would become a lawyer!

From the time she was a toddler, Rachelle loved the sound of words. One time she laughed and laughed about her new favorite word, “Hullaballoo!” Rachelle would memorize and repeat an entire book, enjoying all those words. When she grew and learned to write, you guessed it, she wrote books! Gobs of them! Her parents provided her with reams of paper, and a desk of her own in the family room!

3. Celebrate. We can champion our children’s own intellectual gifts. This is especially important when a child notices an area where she seems to be deficient. Parents can point out the special gifts this child has, and use them to help her succeed.

Tasha’s son Garrett belonged in the Extended Program at her school. She knew it because he was always tinkering and thinking outside the box. But when he tested for this opportunity, he didn’t pass the assessment. Tasha knew that even though he did not do well in writing or spelling, Garrett had an amazing way of seeing how mechanical things work. In fact, Garrett wanted to be an Inventor when he grew up! Fortunately, Garrett’s teacher felt he belonged there too, so she went to bat for him. “I think there is a way to have him tested orally,” the teacher told Tasha. Sure enough, there was, and she was willing to painstakingly administer the oral test. With no writing involved, Garrett passed with flying colors. He began to see himself as Smart after that. And, in fact, Garrett went on to get a Master’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering!

May we look for and find the special gifts each of our children brings with him or her and those each develops and help in this process. May we impress upon each how special and unique AND SMART--EVEN GIFTED each one is!