Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion looking for input/ideas gifted support group

Hi everyone...I was hoping to maybe have some people share some opinions about a parent support group I am wanting to start up in my area. I have scoured our area and there is nothing for gifted families and I know how frustrated I can get when I don't have anyone to share/talk through issues/ideas when it comes to DS6's highly gifted ups and downs. I was going to start a support group for parents where we meet at a central library meeting room once a month to start out with and then maybe 2x a month if people are interested. I was going to pick a topic to discuss for the first month and do some research concerning books/resources for that topic...possibly see if I can find a gifted teacher from the county who might be willing to donate some of their time to come share on the topic as well and then have a period where we can all just share/talk

...my tough parts I am tossing around is the time and first topic....if you were interested in going to a support meeting would you prefer weeknights or weekends? If a weeknight I was looking at like 7-8pm (thought that would be enough for a person to do dinner before hand?) If on the weekend (I know weekends are tough on everyone -my family included, since that is family time) I was looking at like 3-4 in the afternoon. I prefer a week night but just don't know since we homeschool and our timing needs are so different from family's who don't homeschool. Would love to hear opinions on time periods....

the other question is would love to hear ideas for the first meeting topic...my main purpose of the support group is to have parents join in a discussion group concerning the emotional, social and educational needs of gifted children and parenting/family issues that arise in the family....some ideas I was tossing around were: asynchronous development, intensity and perfectionism or underachievement.....would love to hear opinions of which one you think I should tackle first or if you have a new idea?

Thanks so much for the help...you guys always keep me sane and with homeschooling DS6 and not having access to the public school gifted program really leaves me wanting to connect with others that go through the daily ins and outs of living with a gifted youngster(even though on his IEP it states that he is in the program, they do not allow homeschoolers to take part in it so he can't access it unless we go back to public school)

I, personally, would prefer weeknight evenings, but I think that it is going to vary a lot according to the people who join your group. I'd start with whatever is convenient for you and then poll people who show up as to what they would prefer for future meetings.

I've never been to one of these and and I don't know if they charge for facilitator training, but how about checking with SENG regarding their parent groups? They have info on their site: http://www.sengifted.org/smpg_parent_groups.shtml

That might give you some tips for groups, though, at least! Good luck! How are you thinking of recruiting and finding people for this group?

Thanks Cricket2 - I SOOO badly wanted to go to the SENG conference that came to Florida this summer but we were not able to attend :-( I have already checked into seeing if we have a SENG group near us and there are none and I would have to travel to another state to get their training - which is just not possible right now with money being so tight.

I used to teach in the county and the county next to us for many years so I have quite a few contacts I can reach out to for help with finding guest speakers. For recruiting/finding people I belong to a large homeschool group so was going to reach out to them, also to a large local mom's group I am an online member of through the local online newspaper site. There is also one large, well known mom's newspaper that is printed out once a month that lists all of the activities/groups/meetings for kids and family's in the entire county and I was going to contact them to see about getting a small story done. At the library where I am reserving the room, they have a calendar both online their site and then a printed notice goes out and is posted at all the county's public libraries letting everyone know of the various groups/meetings held throughout the month. So I am hoping between all of those I will be able to get some other parents to come! :-)

I second weekday nights.

The local moms I have met are very concerned with helping their kids find friendships with agemates who are true peers. Another theme has been the sharing of information on local educational resources, since it seems many of us reluctantly homeschool.

Good luck with your support group!

-M

I personally would rather attend something on a weekday night. As for topics - All those you mentioned sound great. Maybe add "How to advocate for your gifted child in a school setting." or "How to determine what my child needs educationally."

I agree with the general concensus of weeknights. I think for the first meeting I'd be inclined to do a "meet and greet" with a list of possibilities for parents to consider for future topics.

Oh could you move here?

Maybe a couple responsible, gifted teens could provide childcare/mentorship for the kiddos so that you could really relax?