Life with Gifted Children: Infinity and Zebra Stripes

by Wendy Skinner

Overview

Double Award-Winner! When her seven-year-old son showed his understanding of the concept of infinity while talking about how zebras all have their own unique patterns of stripes, Wendy Skinner knew that he was going to need something more stimulating than the regular school program—her son’s gifted intellect and advanced talents were going to be a challenge. In this book, Skinner shares her family’s story of struggle and eventual success in working with the school system, trying out various educational options to meet her children’s needs. Enlightening anecdotes of the author’s experiences and discussions of a variety of educational approaches help parents reading this book discover effective strategies for minimizing parent-school conflict. Learn how to build trusting relationships with teachers and administrators, as well as how your voice can influence school decisions that will allow your gifted child to learn and thrive.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940013105935
Publisher:	Great Potential Press, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2007
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	170
File size:	432 KB

About the Author

Wendy Skinner lives a stone’s throw from Minneapolis, Minnesota, with her husband, two gifted children, a dog, a gerbil, and a goldfish. She earned her B.A. in Elementary Education from the University of Northern Colorado. As the quintessential career substitute teacher, Wendy has taught nearly a decade in bilingual, Spanish immersion, special education, and regular classrooms in every grade and nearly every subject. She also teaches writing part time in a nontraditional fifth/sixth-grade mixed classroom. When she is not teaching or advocating on behalf of gifted children and their families, she spends her time with her family, writing, and selling cut flowers at a farmers’ market during the summer.

Editorial Reviews

This book describes the joys and challenges of raising gifted children. The author shares the good, the bad, the awesome and the difficult, and accurately depicts challenges that most parents of gifted children face at one time or another. Throughout her book, Ms. Skinner encourages parents to reach out for information, to collaborate, to persist, and to enjoy their children. She offers reasonable strategies and advice and does so with a friendly, encouraging voice. I recommend this book.

Jackie Drummer

Wendy Skinner describes in detail parenting two gifted children. This is not a fairytale account. It details the struggles, the successes and failures of seeking but not always finding solutions that would best serve her two children, both gifted but with sharply differing needs and interests. It is very real and indicates that despite setbacks and unexpected problems, persistence pays off and answers are indeed available. A most useful and readable book. I highly recommend it.

Robert V. Heckel, Ph.D., ABPP

How fortunate for her children that Wendy was there to advocate for them as they met frustration in their school experiences! And how fortunate for the reader that she kept a journal and was able to detail how she tore down barriers to ensure that her children received an appropriate education. Every parent of a gifted child would do well to read this book. It should be required reading for teachers and administrators faced with planning appropriate educational experiences for gifted children.

Lea Trimble

If only there were a gifted education budget category especially to purchase materials for parents of gifted students. Were that the case, this book could be placed in the hands of all parents who experience rearing gifted children. Although written by a parent to assist other parents of gifted children, it is a book for both those working directly in the field and those who collaborate with educators of gifted students.

Barbara Prichard

Wendy Skinner shares her experiences as she navigates through both of her gifted children's educational lives. Her story is one told from the heart, and I believe many readers will identify with both the joys and the struggles that she shares in this short volume. To be honest, I found myself not wanting to put this book down and finished reading it in just a few sittings. It clearly illustrates the need for advocacy to continue to occur for these students.

Sue Love