Vacations are fun, but they can also be a problem, especially for gifted children. Time away from school, even during the summer months, can negatively affect intelligence and academic performance, according to educational studies.
Research has shown that each month away from school causes children to lose ground on academic testing.
So how can parents prevent this? And how can they make the summer months work for their children instead of against them?
Spend Quality Time with Your Gifted Child
Is your child curious? Sensitive? A daydreamer? Creative? These are the traits that make your child special. The more you can interact with your child, the better idea you will get of how the child feels about himself or herself. You will also get some clues as to what you can do to keep your child’s mind active during those days away from school.
You can play games with your child, offer puzzles to solve, buy a painting kit or sketching pad, find a science project kit, or facilitate the learning of a foreign language with a software program.
The Internet provides a world of choices for stimulating a child’s imagination and creativity, and enables parents a way to share experiences and ideas. Facebook has hundreds of groups for parents of gifted children and offers videos and book suggestions for keeping children active during time away from school.
You can have a tutor come to your home for language or music lessons. There is much you can do on your own to further your child’s development of those special gifts and talents. There are many Resources for parents of gifted children. The National Association for Gifted Children offers tips and advice as well as a list of books on parenting gifted children.
Keeping their minds active is one thing. Keeping them comfortable is another. Your child may be gifted, but children are still children and need to enjoy that time in their lives.
Check out Schools for Gifted Children
Academic institutions including colleges and universities offer a wealth of possibilities for gifted children. Some offer early admission for academic programs. You can give your child an early start to college by encouraging a summer course in a special field of interest.
Summer camps usually offer programs in three different levels depending on age, in a wide variety of subject areas. You should register your child in the group that he or she is most comfortable with and can relate to most comfortably.
Find Volunteer Organizations
There are many volunteer organizations for your child to pursue special interests. Government agencies, charitable non-profits, and cultural groups offer opportunities to observe and explore areas of interest.
Local parks or recreation departments offer ways to study nature or participate in outdoor activities. The same is true for local YMCA and YWCA associations.
Visit Museums
Museums are certainly educational. And for gifted children, they offer a wealth of opportunities to explore great discoveries or cherished artifacts or examples of high achievement in a wide variety of disciplines.
They can be fun, too. In Baraboo, WI, children can visit the winter home of the Ringling Brothers traveling circus. Spread over 64 acres, it offers big-top entertainment, horses, elephants, magic shows, and Bengal tiger education.
In Amherst, MA, children can learn more about The Very Hungry Caterpillar or Frog and Toad, or many other childhood picture books at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
In Washington D.C., gifted children, who usually have great imaginations and unbridled curiosity, can put on disguises and go undercover at the International Spy Museum.
There are museums in almost every major city in the country, and range from art and literature, to science, transportation, nature, animals, history and more. Each one provides real-world experience for gifted children wanting to satisfy their curiosity or realize their daydreams.
Try a Summer Camp
There are summer camps all across the country that offer special programs for the Gifted or Talented child. One example is the Sky Connection in New England that offers traveling classrooms for children to explore subjects in a way far different from the traditional classroom. Their traveling planetarium is one of their more popular programs offered.
But summer camps offer a lot more alternatives. There are camps for archaeology, theater, dance, art, music, technology, engineering, entrepreneurship and more.
The Davidson Institute lists many summer camps throughout the country organized by subject matter. It can be a helpful guide for parents considering summer camp for their child.
Take Day Trips
Taking your child on a local day trip also helps develop that sense of exploration and discovery. There are regional attractions in every state and in many large cities. National Parks like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Black Hills, and Niagara Falls provide the grandeur and spur the imagination of all young people.
You can also take your child on a hiking tour to experience the wonders of nature along the way. You can visit gardens or zoos, or attend visiting performing artists who offer puppet shows or other unique activities and events. There are many free activities you can explore with your child.
Go to a Library
Libraries offer special opportunities for gifted children. There are books for all ages and all areas of interest. Many libraries are staffed with specialists in children’s literature and offer periodic events that will benefit children in some way.
Have Grandparents Lend a Hand
Grandparents are a great resource for children. They can learn about their gifted grandchildren and they have the time to spend with them. Why not use grandparents for that extra bit of love and support? Children are drawn to grandparents who have provided warmth and that friendly family atmosphere that supports their emotional development.
Grandparents share experiences and sometimes have great stories to tell – and who is to say whether they are totally true, but does it really matter? The point is that they can be fascinating for grandchildren and they can spur imagination.
Grandparents can learn more about their own opportunities to work with their gifted grandkids by reading the book Grandparents’ Guide to Gifted Children.
More Social Interactions
Playing with other children can help your child gain confidence and learn more about themselves. It gives them free time away from the routines and restrictions of classroom instruction and allows them to explore their own personality. It helps their social development, too.
But there are many more ways to keep your child’s mind active during a break. This list was just a start. Keeping your child mentally active will benefit them incredibly in the long run.
