The Special Ways of a Gifted Child
Described below are some of the be havorial characteristics gifted children display during the preschool years Keep in mind that any child may show one or more of these traits, on a fre quent or occasional basis. What distin guishes the gifted child is that he shows many of them consistently and to remarkable degree
A gifted child may have an extremely high energy level, especially when he is working on projects that have par ticular interest for him. In some cases gifted children seem to require les leep than other children their age.
The gifted are often insatiably curi Ous and have a wide range of interest and hobbies. They ask many Inteli gent questions about the way things work and their questions ahis n ability to anticipate potential nuet For example, a child mih ries of questions about makina s How can a bee tell whic have the nectar to make hond Chan bees ever get stuck in the bay while they are making i
A gifted child frequently bus anut ly laing attention span and an vanced ability to concentrate the ought become absorbed in a project and work through recess or dict, harley noticing the passage of time
Gied children often have remark uble memories and can retain most of what they observe or learn. fthe smallest object is removed from a room for example, a gifted child of two or three may inquire where it is
Gitted children often like to collect things such as rocks or bottle caps Part of their enjoyment of this may lie in
the abstract thinking involved sort ing objects, noting similarities and dir ference and making judgments based on generalities
They may be precocious talkern, use Cruywn-up words at an early age and converse easily with adults. Instead of aying "Iharw a kitty." a gifted two year old might say "I saw a black and white kitty across the street and he was chasing a squirrel!
Gifted children who are talented in ver hurch often enjoy playing with words and thinking up rhymes, appo Kines of analogies They tend to re count events they have experienced, or they may retell in great detail stories iht were told to them
O n they can create short stories, letters at an early age For mple actild tight dictate a letter to ottica the age of three.
e d children teach S themselves to read For example, a Three bear child might surprise her went on a car cry by reading the road sit to them. A child of four might covered Teng books at the second grade love
Gined children frequently have rich fantasies and develop relationship with imaginary playmates
. They may have a mature sense of hu mar, understand when they are be ing teased and know how to tease back Gifted children may see the humor in jokes and puns that other children do not understand
• Gifted children may develop elabo rate theories about the way things
work-notions that are hased on ub servation and deduction as well as on careful questioning
They often prefer to play with older children and they get along well with adults At the same time oned children can enjoy playing or work ing on a project alone
A gifted child may be fascinated with chodes and calendars and understand how they work ahead of other children her age. She may learn to country and show an interest in other mathemat: cal concepts as well
A gifted youngster may be quick to understand cause und ctfeet relation ships, and she may speculate about what might happen "If we put out the sugar and water, could the beci use it to make honey?"
Gied children arrive at abstract thinking at an earlier age, and they are oten interested in philosophical is- sues such as injustice
Gifted children muy remember the var lous pitches of a sequence of musical notes, and they may sing sOngs in per fect tune at an early age
They may be am sually sensitive to the feelings of others and have an intu- itive understanding of a parents or a playmate's sadness or anger. Some times this is manifested as sympathy and concern for the plight of people they do not know but have heard about
• Often gifted children can put seemingly unrelated objects or ideas together to make new combinations. In this way, they develop imaginative and origi Real solutions to problems
