On Sunday, I took Ryan to a gifted program that he is enrolled in, and I attended a seminar called "Challenges Facing Gifted Children and How Parents Can Be Supportive." I gleaned a plethora of information, and I've known that Zane exhibits a lot of characteristics of a gifted child, but the seminar made it much more obvious. I know there are children that are way more gifted than mine, but it's really neat to see some of these things jump out. One of the characteristics involve thinking an idea through and putting a plan in place.
Tonight, Zane was on the computer, playing a stupid game, which I hadn't approved. I had to explain to him why I didn't think it was a good idea for him to play it, and I told him that I wanted him to try a "Learn to type" website, just for 10 minutes. I talked to him about what a smart kid he is, and how one day, he is probably going to do something really amazing, and I told him that he is going to want to get his ideas down, and if he knows how to type, it will just make things easier for him. I also told him that he was going to be innovative. He asked me what that meant, so I told him, and he tried to hide a smile in his hands, but I still saw it. I think he likes the idea that he is innovative. I told him I only expected 10 minutes from him today. After a little resistance, he finally decided that he would do it. At the end of the 10 minutes, he called me over and said, "Mom! This taught me something! I can type something without looking at the keyboard." He only did the basic keys: aaasssdddfffjjjkkklll;;; But he did it without looking, and he was really proud of himself.
Anyway, for the rest of my story, he came upstairs while Andy and I were working on dishes, and he was eating some peanuts. We were talking about peanuts, and baseball games, and other things, and Zane came up with a really cool idea, that might even be innovative. He explained to us what he wanted to do with the peanut, and how he would do it. Then he said that he would have a way to make a lot of them, and then he would take the money he makes from selling the product, and he would use it to buy machines to do it for him, and then that would make a lot more, and he would hire people to do some things. I could have recorded it, or asked him to tell me it again so I could type it up, but I actually think it could be a good idea, so I am going to not write it here, because maybe some day, he will actually make it happen, and it will sell.
Anyway, he finished his little spiel, and Andy and I just looked at each other. I told Zane that was a very innovative idea (his eyes lit up!) and then talked to Andy about the seminar and how it related to what just happened. I am going to have to get Zane into one of those programs as well. I need to get my hands on more resources, because I have a feeling that with the right tools, and a little bit of nudging, they could fill their days when they are not at school with some pretty amazing stuff.
No comments:
Post a Comment