By Qiao Li
Living through a pandemic has not been easy. For gifted children particularly – whose advanced cognitive abilities are often coupled with heightened intensity – It’s been especially challenging to adjust to this “new normal.”
While intellectually understanding the situation we face, a young gifted child may not yet possess the emotional vocabulary to process what’s going on around them. This can cause anxiety, stress, and can seriously affect their overall wellbeing.
At Yunasa Summer Camps for Gifted, campers learn to practice mindfulness to calm their busy mind, and to fully be in the present moment without judgement or fear. As writer Stephanie Tolan shared, “gifted children can spend a lot of time in their minds, mindfulness can help the gifted child to slow down, and focus on their bodies and how they are responding to their environments…”
Practicing mindfulness is learning to be more aware – of the present moment, of one’s bodily sensations, of one’s emotional state. By recognizing that there are other aspects of the self in addition to their mind, gifted children learn to integrate their whole self – the social, emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual – as they approach decision-making and emotional response with confidence and resiliency.
Practicing mindfulness during the pandemic can be a very important tool for gifted children to weather this storm with their inner strength. IEA has created a monthly Mindfulness Calendar to share with families. To get your February calendar, please visit here.
Additionally, if you are interested in learning more about our Yunasa camps and how we plan to run a safe camp, please visit our program page.
