This book is an exploration of story and its importance in early childhood. It provides a thorough theoretical foundation, and considers how to practically implement the use of stories to aid children's wellbeing and holistic development. The chapters cover topics including cognitive and emotional development, creativity, play, mathematics,…

When children play, they often create a mess, but what a beautiful mess it is! "Creating a Beautiful Mess" describes the ten most important play experiences all children enjoy and how these experiences support learning, creativity, and social connections. These broad categories of play include building with blocks, pretending and make…

The promotion of creativity in young children has been included in the agenda of the educational authorities in mainland China since 2001. Since then, attempts to implement this policy have appeared in different forms. The educational bureaux take measures by publishing documents and guidelines on the subject. While some kindergartens endeavour to…

A brief overview of gifted and talented students touches on definitions of giftedness, typical characteristics of gifted and talented students, incidence in the school population, and educational alternatives. Lists of references for further reading, as well as organizational resources, are included. (JW)

Recognizing the role of creative representation experiences in early childhood in developing a foundation for adult thinking skills, this booklet and accompanying videotape present six key experiences in creative representation in the High Scope Model: (1) recognizing objects by sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell; (2) imitating actions and…

The article distinguishes between gifted, creative, and talented and describes child development as involving five "roots," consisting of genetics, bodily nourishment, self-concept, environment, and acculturation. (DB)

Defining creativity as a process that draws upon talents, education, skills, thinking and working styles, and inherent intelligence, and pinpointing motivation as the single most important ingredient in the creativity recipe, this book provides dozens of concrete, hands-on exercises and techniques that can help a parent or teacher keep creativity…

A review of issues regarding the process of mentoring relative to the creative child or adult considers both teacher and parent roles in the process. Encouragement in the creative realm must be constructive and geared toward the individual's special needs and interests. Particular differences may be seen among mentoring processes for individuals…

Presents some rules of thumb for parents and teachers who are developing software libraries. Includes comments on drill and practice software, programs (simulations and adventure games) that teach thinking/problem-solving skills, and programs that foster creativity. Also includes list of resources for selecting software. (JN)

This book explores how young children learn to draw and draw to learn, at home and school. It provides support for practitioners in developing a pedagogy of drawing in Art and Design and across the curriculum and provide advice for parents about how to make sense of their children's drawings. This book is enlivened with the real drawings of seven…

Three pamphlets (Practitioner's Guides) present guidelines from the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented at the University of Connecticut. The guidelines are based on theory-driven quality research that is problem-based, practice-relevant, and consumer-oriented. Each pamphlet has a section summarizing research from the literature or…

The home is viewed as a critical component in the development of creativity in children and a force to improve the effectiveness of educational programs. The article defines creativity and its importance, describes early facilitating environments (involving respect for the child, independence, and enriched learning), and discusses the home-school…

This brochure for educators and parents discusses gifted children, creativity, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The overlapping symptoms of ADHD and creativity are identified, which include: inattention, hyperactivity, impulsivity, difficult temperament, deficient social skills, and academic underachievement. The possibility of…

Interviews with 169 children labeled 10 years earlier as gifted, nonlabeled but equally able, or having average ability revealed significant intergroup differences in work patterns and emotional outcome. Intense academic study possibly inhibited creative development; parents and teachers should be aware of the possible loss of creative potential…

This annotated bibiliography of readings and resources for parents and teachers of gifted children is divided into the following categories: books containing general information about gifted and talented students, 1985-1989 (15 items); practical self-help books, 1979-1989 (16 items); books on specific areas in gifted education (13 items);…