Several weeks ago our district had a parent information meeting. After reading through some of their forms, it reminded me of the power of sharing information with parents. This idea reminded me of this blog that seems to get put aside. I guess one reason the blog gets put aside is the idea of the “other needs” for our children. Parent questions and needs are also critical for those of us raising children with advanced potential, and I feel like the blog is a great way to feed information to parents. Shout out to our amazing parents for reminding me of this!
One question that seemed to pop out at me (with the Holidays around the corner) was, “How do we keep little Suzie (not a real person) engaged at home?” Parents also noted the need for more help with increasing their child’s perseverance. The first thing that popped into my mind was ThinkFun Games. The games from this company offer critical thinking opportunities that are actually fun! Some games can be played alone.
Check out their website.
Another thing that popped into my mind was coding. One app I really like is LightBot. I like this because when students “run” the program it becomes a “self-checking” device. Students have to figure out what they did wrong. This game also provides students with some basic knowledge about coding. Check it out.
Two other great places to find games…
Providing games, building blocks, science kits, etc., that require imagination, thinking, and/or revisiting the problem give students an opportunity to build critical thinking skills and perseverance that will nurture potential and increase student success in many areas. And…it’s fun.
If you have a child who likes to opt out of challenge, you may have to play the games with them and not allow your child to quit playing. Set a timer, have your child attempt for that amount of time, and then let them walk away. They need to revisit the challenge at a later time.
So look into some of these games to engage your children at home, but also, make them READ a BOOK. That’s a soapbox for another day.
Teach to Educate 