The Importance of Extracurricular Activities

One of the most important lessons a parent can impart to their child is that learning does not begin and end in the classroom. All too often children walk home straight from school and fire up their videogame console or put cartoons on the television as soon as they get home. Extracurricular activities are a great way to enrich your child’s mind outside the walls of the classroom. No matter what your child’s interests are, there are many worthwhile afterschool pursuits that don’t involve vegging out on the couch. Here are a few types of extracurricular activities that can open up a new world of discovery to your children.

Sports

No list of after school activities would be complete without sports, and for good reason. Sports impart many valuable life lessons to children, such as teamwork, problem solving, sportsmanship,  and countless others, all while helping to maintain your child’s physical fitness. Even if you don’t consider your child to be athletic enough to play something like football or soccer, there are many sports that don’t require natural athleticism, such as table tennis and golf. Regardless of the specific sport, athletics are a great way to keep your child’s body and mind occupied with a worthwhile pursuit.

The Arts

If sports don’t appeal to your child, perhaps the arts are more to his or her liking. The arts cater to a wider variety of interests than most people would imagine. For instance, if your child is interested in playing an instrument, he or she can take up the pursuit as a soloist, playing in an orchestra, or even creating music in a band. Theater is a great option, offering children the opportunity to act, dance and sing. There are many more artistic pursuits that are equally fulfilling, such as painting, ballet, and poetry.

The extracurricular pursuits outlined above are far from the only worthwhile ones. Other activities such as chess, yoga and scouting are other great ways to keep your gifted children busy and engaged with worthwhile pursuits, instead on the couch playing video games.

3 Tips For Creating Gifted And Talented Curriculum

Gifted students are those students who show the capability of high achievement in different skill or academic areas. These students are often integrated within a regular classroom but may also be taught at special schools or within special programs that are created just for gifted students. The challenge with teaching gifted students is that their curriculum cannot be approached in the same way as the curriculum for the standard classroom. To overcome this challenge, there are three things that should be kept in mind.

1. Do Not Generalize

When it comes to gifted students, you cannot simply create a broad curriculum as you would for a standard classroom. You need to customize the curriculum for each student to prevent them from feeling bored, unchallenged or struggling to do something that does not fit within their talent base. Doing this ensures the students are all challenged and reaching their maximum potentials.

2. Allow Time for In-Depth Study

Gifted students like to explore topics more deeply and to get as much information as possible. With this in mind, you want to ensure that there is time allotted to allow for more study and research into topics being covered in class. Additionally, make sure that you include discussion time where students can ask questions and explore topics as a group.

3. Let Students Set the Pace

Each student should be allowed to work at their own pace as much as possible. This may mean that not all students are working on the same thing at the same time. However, gifted students should not feel held back or rushed, which is why allowing them to work at their own pace works best.

Designing curriculum for gifted students can be challenging. You want them to feel comfortable with the material, allow them to work up their full potential and keep them from getting bored. Following these tips can help with creating a solid curriculum for gifted students.