5 activities to help a gifted child reach their full potential

High-potential children tend to be verbally advanced for their age and fascinated by words. If this is the case for your little one, encourage them to make a dictionary of new words. How? By following these easy steps:

• Write down any unknown words you see or overhear (e.g., on the news, on the radio, in a book, in a conversation between adults)
• Look up the words in a real dictionary and write their definitions in a small notebook
• Next to each definition, include a drawing (especially if the word is an object)
• Share what you’ve learned with your family once a week

High-potential kids tend to be curious about current events at an early age. They want to know and understand what’s happening in the world. To encourage your child’s thirst for knowledge, ask them to write a newsletter for the whole family. They can follow these instructions:

• Read, watch, or listen to the news every day
• Summarize what you’ve learned in a notebook
• Write an editorial (e.g., share your opinion, make predictions)
• Draw a cartoon of an important event
• Show the newsletter to your family and answer their questions
• Etc.

High-potential children are often very sensitive and logical, so it’s not uncommon for them to dislike sad, unfair, or improbable story endings. Rewriting an upsetting ending can help your child feel better about the story and tap into their creativity. Ask them to do the following:

• Pick a book whose ending you disliked
• Write a short paragraph explaining why you didn’t like the original ending
• Rewrite the final chapter
• Present this new-and-improved ending to your family
• Etc.

Is your child’s mind always racing with a thousand questions? An active brain is one of the many traits of gifted children. If your child loves to learn, encourage them to get creative with a topic they’re passionate about. They can follow these steps:

• Choose a subject you want to know more about
• Do some research
• Visually represent what you’ve learned on a poster board or a wall in your home (with your parents’ approval)
• Take a picture of your work
• Present it to your class or family
• Etc.

Gifted children are often extremely sensitive. They may find it difficult to untangle, name, and manage all the emotions that coexist in their bodies. Drawing can be a great way for your little one to make sense of what they’re feeling. To help, you can do the following: 

• Lay your child down on a large sheet of paper
• Trace the outline of their body
• Ask them to draw and name the emotions they feel in different parts of their body (e.g., anger in their stomach, embarrassment on their cheeks)
• Encourage them to use the colours that best represent each emotion
• Etc.