3 Back to School Reminders for Gifted Students

This will be our second school year where A.J.’s is enrolled in gifted classes. Thanks to parent-teacher meetings and detailed emails with his teachers, his first school year as a gifted student was smooth sailing.  I’m praying for similar success as he enters second grade. Here’s a look at the back to school reminders we’re working on for his attitude and aptitude that I hope you find helpful for your gifted student too. Plus, I’ve got some ways to save on back to school clothing shipped directly to your door, instead of fighting crowds and check out lines.

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3 Back to School Reminders for Gifted Students

 

Back to School Reminders

for Gifted Students

Be Humble

Being humble is something A.J. struggles with daily. He’s very bright. He was an early reader and you’ve seen how talkative he is in our Mommy Talk Show videos.

People can notice his intelligence by talking to him for a minute or two. He’s gotten used it to. So much so, that he’s starting to rattle off elementary school record of straight A’s  since pre-k and taking accelerated classes. When A.J.’s Grandma was here for a weekend visit I heard him tell her “Not to brag BUT, I’m smarter than most of the third graders.”

While this may sound cute and funny, after you hear it 20-30 times a week from your child, it’s no longer a positive trait.

I’m working to remind him while all of these accomplishments are wonderful and we think he’s on a wonderful track for his education, it’s not necessary to tell someone in the Kroger checkout line that you’re taking a class with students who are two grades above you.

Reminder: Instead, we’d like him to talk about his favorite subjects and what he learned this week. We’re also going over scriptures about humility:

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” ~ I Peter 5:6

Commute to School

Be Honorable

I’ve heard that students as early as kindergarten are cheating on exams! Man, was I naive about how early students get sneaky.

For gifted students, there can be super easy subjects and topics they struggle with. Just like A.J. has topics he breezes through, but there are tough math problems he’s never seen that will make him upset quickly.

Reminder: Don’t feel pressured to cheat or take the easy route. If there’s something you don’t understand, ask for help. Your parents, teacher and tutors are here for you.

ipad app for kids

Be Helpful

Speaking of helpful, I’m grateful for A.J.’s teachers who’ve allowed him to do extra tasks to help the class overall.

He’s read their assignment directions out loud, done additional work and power point presentations on historic events and served as a classroom leader.

Reminder: Gifted students, be a leader in the classroom. With permission from your teacher, help a friend who’s struggling in class. If you know a lot about a topic, ask if you can do a special presentation to your classmates to expand their knowledge.

a-j-reading-ripleys

What is your child wearing on the first day of school? Have you started shopping for their school clothes yet?

A.J. had a bit of a growth spurt this summer. He needs longer jeans and shirts to adjust for his growth. Did you know there’s free shipping for order of more than $75 at Gymboree?

I can see A.J. rocking this Gymboree Boys Cool Flight Outfit on the first day of school, if it’s cool enough. It’s complete with a fleece & cotton hooded jacket, cotton jersey and cargo pants. I’ll order size 8 to adjust for his summer growth spurt.

 

Boys Flight Cool

 

He’s also obsessed with cars and trucks, so this Boys True Red Custom Cars Tee (currently 50% off) is perfect for him too. I like it because it goes with khakis or jeans.

 

Check out Gymboree’s new must-see markdowns that are budget-friendly for back to school.

Read my plea: Dear Moms, Make Back to School Season More About *You* Instead of Just about the Kids.


Gymboree Sale On Now!

About Joyce Brewer

Creator & Host of Mommy Talk Show. Emmy award-winning TV journalist.Wife & Mommy; Mom Blogger; Social Media Coach; Long Island, New York transplant living in Atlanta, GA. Follow Joyce on Twitter @MommyTalkShow Author of Use What You Know: A Business Idea Guide for Moms featuring interviews with mompreneurs who created businesses using their skills & backgrounds.

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29 comments

  1. I haven’t started their shopping yet, but I love Gymboree. I need to get over there soon.

  2. These are great outfits for back to school and I Love the back to school reminders. Usually great to remind of these skills and qualities since Summer we tend to let loose a little more. Gymboree offers a wide selection of fun clothing options, glad you shared them!

  3. These are great tips. Staying humble is good advice for anyone, but it’s even more important for people who are extra blessed in life in some way. Gotta keep yourself grounded!

  4. I have a gifted student and being humble was hard for her. Like really hard. Her attitude got her bullied for a but until she brought it down a few notches!

  5. These are great tips- Humble means a lot! Sometimes it’s hard when you’re trying to be positive but just like anything else you have to work at it. I also love your back to school outfits

  6. These are some great suggestions. I know that raising a gifted child has its own struggles.

  7. Being ahead definitely comes with its own problems. I think encouraging them to help others who are struggling is a really good idea!

  8. Humility Can be difficult. It’s great that you are teaching your son to stay humble!

  9. These are great tips. As far as what my son is wearing on the first day? I have no idea. He is 14 and who knows what he will select from his new clothes. *sigh* Teenagers….

  10. There are so many lessons to learn growing up, but these are as important as reading and writing. It’s wonderful you are considering it all for your sweet and smart son.

  11. These are all beautiful lessons for all the kids. I think humility is one of the best values that we can teach our kids. It’s really important that they know their capabilities and not be boastful about it.

  12. Our Family World

    Raising a gifted child is a challenge for parents. As much as we want to protect them from being bullied and being called nasty names by the underachievers, we must still understand that they are children that need understanding and guidance. Thank you for this post. I will bookmark it and see if any of my grandchildren show signs of being gifted.

  13. I’ve seen the little kindergarten-aged children ushered in for cheating. Some of the kiddos can be sneaky early. The car shirt is sweet. Your little one is a little cutie pie. I love the Bible verse. That’s a good one.

  14. My son is only one so I’m nowhere near this as yet. However, I love the points especially the ones about being humble and being leader. You’re never too young to learn those lessons, but not enough people do.

  15. I absolutely love this. It can be hard to rein in a smart kid. Beautiful reminders.

  16. Children who are taught to be humble at young age tend to grow up being more compassionate and understanding.

  17. These are such great reminders. Keeping these in my back pocket for my son this year!

  18. I know for a fact that I wasn’t humble when I was in school growing up. I was one of 2 black girls in the gifted & talented courses in my grade level and felt the need to prove to everyone that I was smart. College taught me a major lesson. I wish I had been told about fixed vs growth mindsets while growing up so I wouldn’t have been as arrogant. Oops, lol

  19. These are good reminders for the kids. I always remind my kids to be kind and helpful especially if they see someone, a fellow student, in need.

  20. These are a great reminder for any age. We’re headed to 8th grade and Kindergarten. The kids wear uniforms so no fun shopping for us.

  21. Great tips that we use with our gifted kids. They are pretty good on the humility and honorable sides. My daughter is helpful and a leader in class but my son not so much. Because he gets the material quickly and breezes through it in class, he tends to finish before his peers and ends up disrupting them because he is done and ready to play or talk. Going to focus on that one! Thanks

  22. These are lessons to carry not only in your early years but throughout life. I love what you’re doing here to help mommies stay encouraged.

  23. A.J just put a tear in my eye & made my day. Humility is a beautiful trait & his self confidence is so super important also.
    I really wish the best for your family & that he can find that fine balance in maintaining his confidence without dimming his light in order to be humble.

  24. Great tips for a successful school year! Great reminders for the kiddos

  25. These are really great tips! I totally agree with them, and we should all apply these tips to our lives!

  26. I have a gifted child as well and it’s a struggle to keep her stimulated and out of trouble in the classroom! She had a wonderful teacher who worked with us last year and I’m hoping we have a similar situation. Something that I have noticed on the cheating or the giving up….is that kids who are told that they are smart grow afraid to make mistakes because if they can’t do it – they must not be as smart as everyone thinks. That leads to lying about scores or even cheating. I found a book called “Mindset” that’s been amazing. Praising effort rather than result so their hard work is the important thing. Not the grade. Kids with a growth mindset will seek out harder problems because they thrive on the challenge of learning. Fixed mindset children will try to keep the status quo and actually start to avoid challenges . It’s really helped with my daughter’s frustration with math.

  27. Smart and stylish…looks like AJ is definitely starting out on the right path. I love you advice, especially that about helping out other students in need. To develop those positive characteristics at such an early age will do nothing but further develop his growth both to studies and to society.

  28. Great advice! I suspect this is the path my daughter will be on, so I appreciate this advice! And free shipping is always a great gift.

  29. Kudos to him for achieving this! I was in a Gifted & Talented School and I wish my mom had these tips when I was in there because I think it would have made the experience a lot less stressful.