Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion If your child is gifted with a sport/instrument...

BTW, the really nerdy people drive those kinds of distances to show... RABBITS.

(Yes, I know someone who does this-- 22hr drive in the winter? 20 to 50 rabbits in cages inside of a minivan... now THAT is crazy.)

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Anyway. Back to various activities.

For anyone that is into dogging and obedience training, here are some fun things to try in training:

http://championofmyheart.com/relaxation-protocol-mp3-files/

This will result in ROCK solid stays for obedience. Even in the face of minor explosions inside the ring, probably. Dogs also love watching their handlers do frankly weird and amusing things while all they have to do is enjoy the show and get fed treats. LOL.

http://www.clickertraining.com/node/289

That's instructions for target-training with a 'stick' (a retractible pointer) but other trainers use a "tile" or "spot" target that rests on a surface.

Clickers are very basic operant conditioning-- it really is just as simple as in Skinner's original constructs. Some HG+ kids will do well to understand what they are doing using behavioral shaping tools. Both of the following give a good overview of clicker methodology.


http://www.dog-training-excellence.com/dog-clicker-training.html


http://www.dog-training-excellence.com/target-training-with-a-clicker.html


The single most pragmatic, useful analogy about clicker training that I have ever heard comes from an expert on the subject, and a border collie trainer/rescue operator. She suggests that trainers/handlers view the clicker as a "camera" that takes snapshots on the "click." When you click, you'll get MORE of what you just took a snapshot of-- so timing is really critical-- only take pictures of your animal doing what you are LOOKING for them to do, particularly if you are free shaping a new behavior.

One really awesome thing about this kind of dogging is that ANY dog can now be entered into AKC events with a companion registry-- and you can train in tiny amounts of time, really-- a few minutes here and there. Yes, it adds up-- but it is seldom a ton of time at ONCE, so it fits nicely around other activities and commitments.

I have mixed feelings about not being willing to allow DD to commit to piano like that back when she expressed interest in doing so.

She's lost that passion for it, now, but there was a time when she was experiencing that. We felt that it was just too young to specialize and close off other possible pursuits without even exploring them.

I don't know if we did the right thing, honestly.

UM,
My DS isn't into anything like this and we have to drag him to physical activities and insist on them or else he would be a puddle of goo on the floor, but, we live in a chess intensive area and have seen much. I would second Colin's mum, and your own instinct here about it being fun for him - my DS had a brilliant chess kid in his K class, older brother played and the trips to nationals and regionals were big family outings. The kid hated it - he was brilliant at it - but hated it - the kid is no longer at DS's school - but his brother, who got much less attention for his chess, is still doing quite well and placing statewide - the younger is nowhere to be found. Refusing to play, throwing fits. So I would say that his interest and willingness to be coached is a good sign of passion. Now, you still have to balance allocations of family resources, family time, and physically activity. But I think you are on the good side of things focusing on happiness, so long as nothing else is being dropped.

DeHe

Oy, HK--you're not helping!

Yeah, see. We're right there with it. DS is placing right below the top tier for his age, and where we live is very competitive for chess. If he wants to go to the next level, he needs to get a coach, etc. Note that I don't THINK, at this point, that he is a major big-deal chess wunderkind. I think he's gifted in it and is going to do well for his team and school, but not be top 100 for his age or anything. I am a chess dolt, though. This is speculation.

But, I mean, it is CHESS. Some part of me feels like it's a bit...I dunno. I would take an instrument a little more seriously, I think? I guess my own snobbery/preference is showing.

I know exactly what you mean. It was the same feeling that we got re: the classical musical, er... 'regimen.'

IKWYM too. I consciously didn't encourage DS to get serious about chess (not encouraging his programming, either) but do encourage music and maths.

But... mine was never that wild about chess anyway, and yours is.

Does it help to think of a decision, either way, being just for the next six months or year, and put a date in the diary to reconsider?

Yes, binip, we homeschool. :-)

Thank you for replying. I feel much less inadequate now. How great that your kid can have those in-depth experiences.

*Edited to say... not because I feel homeschooling is inadequate, but because the level of organization required to do institutional schooling AND all those activities is so beyond me I couldn't even fathom it.

Wow, this thread makes me feel so...inadequate! DD and DS each have two activities they're doing this spring, and that adds up to only a few hours a week total; DD occasionally asks to add dance or gymnastics, but she also really enjoys being at home after school and not having to go anywhere.

Not helpful to the OP (sorry @ultramarina!), but encouraging me to try pushing our family a little bit. Maybe we'll try adding something and see how it goes. (Of course it would help if they were interested in the *same* activities, but that doesn't seem likely.)

I don't think there's any reason to push it, though! DD10 isn't and hasn't been interested in specializing like this--she really values free time to putter around, hang out, play in the yard, and pursue her own creative stuff, most of which goes unfinished--so that's part of why this is foreign to me.