Support Networks

Saturday, 26 July 2008 11:33

Being a parent is intense, often exhausting and also rewarding. Being a parent of gifted children adds to the mix. I have just returned from the US where, among many other things, I attended a conference for women bloggers, Blogher08. I was impressed with the way that blogs can be used as a support network. Why not start your own blog? Blogspot.com is one easy to use format; it is a good way to be creative, indulge your love of writing and make connections to others in your area of interest. Once you have found some like minds, you add them to your Blogroll on the sidebar of your blog, and they add you, and eventually you have a supportive network reading eachother's posts and leaving comments. These two are a good example from the Hoagies Gifted site:
- http//themorechild.wordpress.com ; and - http//bunsofstrudel.blogspot.com these are both written by gifted parents of gifted kids.
Also, http://t oddlerplanet.wordpress.com is a very special woman who blogs about her children but whose site has evolved to become a support network for people suffering from inflammatory breast cancer.
If, after reading these and others, you decide to start your own, let me know and I'll link to it on this site.

Last term my class began their own blogs as a way to present ther homework project. It was the most engaged I've ever seen a class in their homework! I marked them by leaving comments on their blogs, and they all linked to each other's blogs. Of course, we set the privacy levels very high, and I reminded them that their parents, the Principal and other teachers would be reading their posts and comments. Now I need to: think of an exciting, engaging homework task for Term 3...........

Just in...

Did you know?

"I learnt so much about gifted children, backed up by very interesting research which gave me a better understanding of the needs of gifted children and how best we can nurture their strengths, skills and habits." An educator attending a NSWAGTC seminar.

NSWAGTC Blogs

The blogs appearing on the NSWAGTC site are designed to provide colour, news and subjective views about the many issues and concerns facing gifted children and their parents, care-givers and educators.

Some of the blogs are associated with formal roles of the NSWAGTC, such as the President and the Webmaster. These allow the persons filling these roles to note to members any current news and changes.

Other NSWAGTC blogs are written by individuals with experience of gifted children from one or more perspectives - for example Cate's Blog is from the viewpoint of a primary school teacher and parent of gifted children. These blogs are written solely by the person identified and represent his or her views, rather than necessarily those of the NSWAGTC.

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