Mistakes are ok!

Many gifted children fear making mistakes. Either they have perfectionist tendencies, or if they'fail' at something they may experince imposter syndrome (the feeling that they are somehow a 'fraud' and probably not really gifted).

This week we used the America's Cup races to discuss failure / mistakes. We talked about how we feel when we make mistakes, the fact that people all handle this in different ways, and most importantly what we can DO if we make a mistake or if something doesn't go to plan.

We looked at items that were invented by mistake - silly putty, iceblocks, potato chips, microwaves etc. 'Mistakes are the portals of learning'.

We read a great little book called 'Beautiful Oops', which is all about making the most of our mistakes - changing them into something good.

Out of the mouths of babes...

Out of the mouths of babes…

At Quest last week we looked at changing the world. Firstly we discussed strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in the world. I love hearing children’s opinions – often they think about far more than we realise. Ideas are from years 1-6 students (5-11 yr olds). The future of the world is in good hands with these kids I think! 😊

                                            (I can change the world)

                                           (make more friends, stop littering, take care of the rainforest)

Strengths

People and places:

We have a home. We’re friendly. Collaborating. My family and my mum and my friends. A home. Cars. Nice people. Random acts of kindness. Free stuff for homeless / foster children/ poor people. Foundations. Me. Good people. Tall Buildings. People helping others. Kindness. Adopting animals. People who care. Family. Friends. Happiness. People being kind. Kindness and caring. A brain. Fun. Family. Smiles. Mr da Vinci. Mrs Thompson. Teachers. Shelter. Where we live. School. Friends. Life.

Activities / interests:

I can do art. I go to Quest. Boxing and All Blacks! Swimming. Japanese video games and arcades. Technology. T.V. Science. Food. Chocolate. Books. Education. Pie. Football. Music. Good schools. Playgrounds. Electronics. Quest.  Pokemon. Reading. Quest. Learning. Fudge. Math. Space. Moon. Art.

The environment:

Having the earth. Animals. Plants, trees. Ocean and wind and trees. Eco friendly stuff. Nature. Trees. Eco-friendly groups. Solar panels. Rubbish bins. Wind power. Geothermal power. Hydroelectric power. People planting trees. Looking after the environment. How we care for animals. Sun. Trees. Land. Water. Plants.

Weaknesses

People and places:

People throw rubbish. People kill things. Donald Trump. ISIS. North Korea’s president. Sadness. All Superpower countries. Bill English. Trump. People who are NOT NICE. Bad people. Robbers. Being hurt. Bullying. Beggars. Mr Trump. Cruelty / abuse.  Terrorists. Disease. Not everyone is kind.

Activities:

Guns. Bombs. Memes. Shooting. Stealing. Wars. Money. WW3? More war in that poor country. T.V. Money. Food. Vegetables. School. Being inside.  Fighting. No food. Square eyes and device addiction. I can’t read books. Getting out of bed. I can’t ride my bike really well.

Environment:

Rubbish in the sea. No trees. Pollution. Logging. Global warming. Death. Pollution. Cutting trees down. Cutting down trees for money. Car pollution. Littering. Land fills. Litter. The sun melting the ice and flooding the world. Rubbish. Green House gases. Animal cruelty. Litter. Pollution. Extinction of animals. We leave rubbish. Floods. Leaving rubbish.

Opportunities

People and places:

Vote out Trump. Have a different NZ Prime Minister. Give more respect. Donate. Living on Mars? Make houses smaller. I can change the world! Make more friends. Give kindness to the world. More homes. Show kindness.

Activities:

Lego shop. Bikes. Double decker car. Stop everything bad!! More technology. Stop doing wars. Don’t use petrol cars. Get kids to go outside. Be sporty. More free wifi. Time to do stuff. Not as much electronics. Less people playing on devices. Jobs. Play outside more. Stop battles.

Environment:

More animals. Whales. Stop oil ships from killing whales!  Stop using palm oil. Use less paper. Stand for trees. Plant more trees. Pick up rubbish. Recycling. Eat bugs. More medicine plants. More animals. Stop cutting down trees. Don’t use electrics as much. Stop polluting the ocean. Do not put rubbish on the ground. Don’t waste water. Re-use. Take care of the rainforest. Stop littering. Plant more plants.

Gifted Awareness Week

GIFTED AWARENESS WEEK 12-18 JUNE 2017

Each year in NZ, the week around 17th June is dedicated as Gifted Awareness Week - a week to take the opportunity to raise awareness about gifted children and their needs. 

Why 17th June? Because that is the birthday of Professor George Parkyn - an academic who was very important in Gifted Education in NZ - the first to achieve international recognition in the field of gifted education. He was founding Patron for the NZ Association of Gifted Children.

I take this opportunity to raise awareness amoung teachers about gifted children's needs, and also to chat to children about what 'gifted' means to them. I know it's not a word that everyone is comfortable with, so it is very informal. 

Parents might like to take the opportunity to read a blog, watch a free webinar, write their story to share anonymously, or other activities on offer. Here is a link to what is going on this year for Gifted Awareness Week. https://nzgaw.jimdo.com/ 



This week at Quest we are going to look at changing the world. Can kids make a difference? What do we think we could change / improve? This is a huge subject and we are just going to touch on it briefly. I think it is important for children to feel empowered and realise that if there are things that are bothering them, they can make a difference. Last week we looked at things we can / can't change - lots of great discussion. We had fun changing our voices / actions to pretend to be someone else, and also talked about our changing feelings / emotions. 

A question for you - what three things would you change about our world, and why?