Unique paper snowflake tutorial inside this post! It was snowing indoors at IEA’s tree-trimming party last Friday as parents, students and staff all worked together to create handcrafted ornaments and paper snowflakes to decorate the Barder House for the holidays. As families munched on cookies and...
What is an Academy? By Louise Hindle Louise is IEA’s Program Manager. A British import, Louise has 20 years of experience in education as a high school literature teacher, lead teacher, administrator, adviser, and consultant. She is also the parent of three fun and active school-aged children. IEA’s...
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The holidays are a time for rest and relaxation – if you can find a minute between making travel arrangements, hosting family and friends visiting from out-of-town, and finding the perfect gift for everyone on your list! The stresses that inevitably accompany the holidays can...
By Jennifer Kennedy Jennifer danced competitively for nine years growing up. Her dance career finished on a high note as a four-year letter winner on her college dance team. Many gifted children are perfectionists who put a lot of pressure on themselves to perform at the highest...
By Qiao Li One of the first assignments I received upon joining the IEA staff was to provide a Chinese translation for our program flyers. Being a native speaker, naturally I thought it wouldn’t take more than a few hours, but when I started looking on...
By Jennifer Kennedy I have a confession to make: I don’t always feel good enough to call myself gifted. I was identified as gifted as a child, but I never really felt like that label belonged to me at all. Other kids were smarter than me. Other...
The long-awaited Pasadena rain abated just in time for an evening filled with laughter, learning and storytelling during IEA’s “Imagine the Impact” fundraising event at the Brookside Golf Club. Long-time IEA supporters and advocates were joined by new faces as we welcomed friends and family...
The Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) has named 29 young people across the country as its 2015 Caroline D. Bradley Scholars. IEA’s Caroline D. Bradley Scholarship, the only merit-based, need-blind high school scholarship in the country, awards highly gifted students nationwide with a four-year scholarship...
And How That Can Help Gifted Kids By Jennifer Kennedy "Sometimes you need to talk to a two-year-old just so you can understand life again." – Unknown My niece is four years old. She has special needs that cover a wide variety of areas. Every time I am...
By Mark Erlandson Mark Erlandson, the parent of a gifted student who presently attends a boarding school out East, is a former lawyer and public high school English teacher from Wisconsin starting a new business as a legal writing consultant. Sad as it may be for some...
Gifted children often experience overexcitabilities, also called intensities. These areas of heightened stimulation are categorized in five areas: psychomotor, sensual, imaginational, intellectual, and emotional. Though overexcitabilities are not, in and of themselves, negative characteristics, they are often discussed as though they are problems to solve. However,...
We love celebrating the highlights and accomplishments of the IEA community. We wanted to take the opportunity to showcase this amazing community and what you have done over the past month so that we can all celebrate together. Even as summer wound down and IEA programs...
By Jennifer de la Haye, Yunasa Program Coordinator IEA’s pioneering Yunasa summer camps unite highly able youngsters with experts in the social and emotional development of gifted children. Campers explore and grow the intellectual, spiritual, emotional, social, and physical aspects of their lives. When I sat down...
By Linnea Pyne Linnea is a Certified Mindfulness Facilitator and a Mindfulness coach, teacher, and facilitator. She often teaches Mindfulness at the IEA Academy. Those who spend time with, raise, teach, and care for young gifted people agree that these individuals are different from their peers in...
By Anna Enger Anna interned with IEA over the summer, working closely with the IEA Academy program. Here she shares her reflections on some of the things she has learned from the experience. Prior to joining the team at the Institute for Educational Advancement, I spent a...
Whether you have a child or student who has recently been identified as gifted, know a child who may be gifted, or have encountered a child who is gifted and have questions, you may need a place to start, a place that gives you the...
We love celebrating the highlights and accomplishments of the IEA community, so we wanted to take the opportunity to showcase this amazing community and what you have done over the past month so that we can all celebrate together. Summer days at IEA continue to be...
By Jennifer Kennedy Several years ago, as I was looking for content to share on IEA’s social networks one day, I stumbled across a TEDTalk by Susan Cain. I found myself captivated by everything she was saying. She discussed introverts in an extraverted world, and I...
Much like many of the kids we serve, the IEA staff is a group of voracious readers. We wanted to share what we’re reading now in case you are looking for some good summer reads. New and Selected Poems, Volume 1 by Mary Oliver “I give my...
Every gifted child has a unique story. The following story is part of a series of posts highlighting gifted children and adults we have found through IEA programs, depicting the many faces of gifted. The IEA Academy – mentioned in this story – provides young...
We love celebrating the highlights and accomplishments of the IEA community, so we wanted to take the opportunity to showcase this amazing community and what you have done over the past month so that we can all celebrate together. Summer is a busy time at IEA...
By Jennifer Kennedy Jennifer is IEA's Marketing and Communications Coordinator and puts her enthusiasm for grammar to good use daily. I have a confession to make: I love grammar; I always have. When I began learning Spanish, I was excited about how much it taught me about English grammar. Proofreading...
Literature has so much to teach all of us. Because reading is a cherished pastime for many gifted individuals, we thought we would share some great quotes from children’s literature and beloved children’s authors that teach gifted kids and adults alike important lessons. Be Yourself “It is very...
Kate Duey is the Director of Admission Planning, LLC. She has worked with IEA supporting gifted students since 2009 and has a wealth of knowledge about their unique challenges and their wonderful potential. Kate has a BA from Harvard College and an MBA from Harvard...