Asheville Citizen-Times from Asheville, North Carolina • Page Q7

WNCPARENT.COM 7 hrough testing or just day-to-day life, you have recognized that your child is smart really smart. Being intellectually gifted sounds like, well, a gift, but it comes with challenges too. Gifted learners need differentiated instruct ion through advanced material and stimulating, thought- provoking activities, both i nside and outside of school. You suspect your child is academically or intellectually gifted. Now what? First, schedule a conference and talk to your teacher about your observations and the potential need for a change in instruction.

are the first teacher, they bring critical information about their child to the says Judy McGuire, the AIG Facilitator for Bunc ombe County Schools. In county schools, parents, a nd even students themselves can nomi- ate an individual for the Intellectually Gifted McGuire adds. third through eighth grade, once a student is identified as gifted, they receive weekly services from an A IG specialist in school and are clus- ered in classrooms with at least five ther gifted I see gifted learners as students who rave says Ian Riddle, Tek-Kids ounder and instructor. want to a sk a lot of questions. They want to explore seemingly insignificant details.

raditional classrooms always upport this fully because of their where extracurricular enrichment comes in. ifted enrichment is about more than ifferentiated instruction at school. arents must nurture their alents extracurricular enrichment rograms are an opportunity to do just hat, and usually an ideal fit for gifted ids. The key is to pick activities that are interest to your child subjects they ant to know more about. Math and science often come to mind when thinking of gifted individuals, but there are reative opportunities, too.

In fact, math a nd technology are creative. You can paint with math. You can rite music with math. You can build ames with Riddle says. and technology are tools, and it is up to the individual to decide where to take In area public schools, after-school enrichment activities include Odyssey of the Mind, Math Counts, Destination Imagination, Science Olympiad, chess club, robotics and more.

The activities offered vary by school, so check your website or call their office. Many programs are available outside the K-12 public schools as well. Super aturday is UNC five-week Saturday morning educational enrichment program geared toward creative, ighly motivated, academically gifted students in grades three through eight. It provides opportunities for students to explore new ideas and broaden their perspectives through a wide array of experiential, courses in the arts and sciences everything from Movie Making Animation to Vikings, heater Technology to Icky Sticky Biology. Saturday is an amazing oppor- unity for families of gifted says Lori Davis, program coordinator of ultural events and special academic rograms at UNC Asheville.

offers classes and projects on a variety of exploratory and creative topics that kids might not have time to explore in their day-to-day iddell offers nrichment classes and summer camps hrough Tek-Kids. Most of pro- rams are rich in technology, which peaks to the majority of kids. owever, he offers classes like Hands- Geometry and Paper Airplanes the Science of Flight for those less drawn to echnology, too. he bottom line is that learning can be fun and engaging, when tailored to intellectual level and inter- sts. If your child is often bored in chool or in other age-appropriate edu- ational activities, it may be time to onsider gifted education and enrich- ent.

GIFTED LEARNERS By Penny Williams WNC Parent contributor FOR MORE INFORMATION County Schools AIG Program: www.buncombe.k12.nc.us/ City Schools AIG Program: http://bit.ly/13uC9Pq Saturday: nca.edu/super-saturday-program Tek-Kids: https://sites.google.com/a/ tekkids.net/home2/home THINKSTOCK How do you accommodate children who need advanced learning?.