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Kite Kid Mama

Kite Kid Mama

Rising above the obstacles of giftedness

Ways to express all of our COVID19-related emotions
clinicians, educators, parents

Ways to express all of our COVID19-related emotions

Apr 3, 2020
online learning for bright and quirky kids
parents

Online learning for bright & quirky kids

Apr 1, 2020
online learning for adults
educators, parents

Enrichment for grown-ups

Mar 26, 2020
distance learning for kids and you
educators, parents

Remote learning & enrichment ideas for kids

Mar 25, 2020
parents

Topics & featured experts for the 2020 Bright & Quirky Online Summit (March 12-16)

Feb 25, 2020
clinicians, educators

A great way to compare points of view & build social competencies

Feb 8, 2020
extroverts with social anxiety can be difficult to understand
clinicians, educators, parents

How to navigate social anxiety in kids who are extroverts

Jan 26, 2020
when an extroverted child develops social anxiety
clinicians, educators, parents

When an outgoing child develops social anxiety

Jan 25, 2020
demystifying executive-function deficits
clinicians, educators, parents

Demystifying executive functions: what they are & how to teach them

Jan 24, 2020
Ways to show your class spirit on Valentine's Day
educators

Ways to nurture students’ hearts & minds on Valentine’s Day

Jan 11, 2020
signs of anxiety
clinicians, educators, parents

Common, but often overlooked, signs of an anxiety disorder

Dec 16, 2019
Four lessons that Frozen 2 conveys beautifully
clinicians, educators, parents

Four messages that Frozen 2 conveys beautifully

Dec 1, 2019
ideas for teacher gifts
educators, parents

Teacher gift ideas

Nov 30, 2019
Gifts for Potter Heads
parents

Need gift ideas for a Harry Potter fan?

Nov 29, 2019
Why it's essential to remember a “gifted” child’s true age
clinicians, educators, parents

Why it’s essential to remember a “gifted” child’s true age

Nov 26, 2019
gifts for space enthusiasts
parents

Gifts for space enthusiasts

Nov 17, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

Social considerations of imaginational intensity

Nov 12, 2019
Christmas gift ideas
parents

Gift ideas

Nov 9, 2019
school counseling friendship groups
clinicians, educators, parents

Counseling friendship groups don’t help when there’s undetected neurodiversity

Oct 16, 2019
17 ways to celebrate World Space Week
educators, parents

Ways to celebrate World Space Week (Oct. 4-10)

Oct 2, 2019
Bid-on-me jars for your school's silent auction
educators, parents

Silent auction themes for young bidders

Sep 15, 2019
Have a smart child who struggles? Don't miss Bright & Quirky's 2019 Smart but Struggling Student series for incredible insights, tools & strategies.
parents

Smart but Struggling Student masters series by Bright & Quirky

Sep 11, 2019
Learn about executive function skills
educators

Executive-function deficits can plague any student

Sep 6, 2019
Free bookmarks for your students
educators

Insights for teachers + free bookmarks for students

Sep 5, 2019
Fat Brain Toys’ 2019 Kidventor contest; deadline is Sept. 29
parents

Fat Brain Toys’ 2019 Kidventor contest: deadline is Sept. 29

Aug 31, 2019
Cool science experiments on the Little Passports blog | Kite Kid Mama
educators, parents

Cool experiments on the Little Passports blog

Aug 27, 2019
Teaching kids self-regulation for social-emotional success. Free webinar with Social Thinking founder Michelle Garcia Winner, SLP.
clinicians, educators, parents

Teaching kids self-regulation for social-emotional success (free Aug. 28 webinar)

Aug 21, 2019
Is he bright, but disorganized? This Aug. 25-28 free online summit can help.
clinicians, educators, parents

Aug. 23-25 free online summit re: major pain point for kite kids

Aug 20, 2019
A cozy, woodland-themed classroom students will love
educators

A cozy, woodland classroom students will love

Aug 16, 2019
How to encourage student questions (and still get through your lesson plan)
educators

How to encourage student curiosity (and complete your lesson)

Aug 10, 2019
Ways to get class donations
educators

How to let parents know what you need this school year

Aug 5, 2019
20% of kids face internal challenges most adults don’t recognize or understand. As a result, they’re harder to coach. Here's why & what helps. | Kite Kid Mama
educators, parents

How to harness the strengths of differently-wired athletes

Aug 2, 2019
Don’t give up. You can find answers – and help your child succeed. | Kite Kid Mama
parents

The difference a year can make

Jul 31, 2019
How to build trust with your students
educators

An easy way to get tremendous insights about your students

Jul 31, 2019
Don't make kids' gifts a competitionCan’t we all just accept what makes each kid unique? Let’s stop turning this into a competition – or worse yet, an excuse to mock or exclude someone. | Kite Kid Mama
educators, parents

Don’t make kids’ “gifts” a competition

Jul 20, 2019
The danger of making generalizations about parents | Kite Kid Mama
clinicians, educators, parents

Why parents of neurodiverse kids hate this meme

Jul 15, 2019
How to create winning parent-teacher dynamics that set students up for success | Kite Kid Mama
educators, parents

A game plan for great parent-teacher relationships

Jul 10, 2019
Teachers, not sure why one of your smart students is struggling? It may be due to a type of neurodiversity. Here are 20 traits & behaviors that are indicators. | Kite Kid Mama
educators

Why some smart students struggle + two freebies

Jul 3, 2019
Even the anti-bullying mom mocked gifted kids & their families | Kite Kid Mama
Uncategorized

When an anti-bullying mom mocked gifted kids & their families

Jul 2, 2019
The Problem with Potential - Kids don’t have to succeed all the time; they should have opportunities to explore & fail, too. | Kite Kid Mama
clinicians, educators, parents

The problem with “potential”

Jun 27, 2019
Summer can suck for kids who are bullied & excluded. On June 20, after another VBS camper tried to punch my son, was the day I said “no more.” Here’s what I’ve learned since then. | Kite Kid Mama
clinicians, educators, parents

The day I said “no more”

Jun 20, 2019
There’s more to giftedness than concert halls and I.Q. scores. It’s a true type of neurodiversity that affects the whole child – and it isn’t always pretty | Kite Kid Mama
clinicians, educators, parents

Understanding the gifted child’s brain

Jun 19, 2019
When you work with young kids on a daily basis, your books quickly become more “loved” than those in a public library! Here are some suggested books (with positive messages) if your reading materials are falling apart. | Kite Kid Mama
clinicians, educators

Kids’ books falling apart? Here are ideas if it’s time to replenish.

Jun 12, 2019
Gifted kids are often misdiagnosed disorders they don’t have. In many cases, this is due to lack of familiarity with common traits that are linked to their uneven brain development & “super-sensitivities.” | Kite Kid Mama
clinicians

Gifted kids misdiagnosed with disorders they don’t have

Jun 11, 2019
Most general-education teachers don’t feel equipped to meet outlier students’ needs | Kite Kid Mama
educators

Most teachers don’t feel equipped to meet outliers’ needs

Jun 6, 2019
Are the sacrifices worth it?
clinicians, educators, parents

Is this worth it? Remembering my why.

May 11, 2019
Building "social knowledge” can be far more complex that most people realize.
clinicians, educators, parents

How to help kids build “social smarts”

May 10, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

The struggles (& strengths) of twice-exceptional kids

Apr 22, 2019
parents

Camps that are a great fit + win a drone

Apr 18, 2019
parents

BrickUniverse delivers

Apr 17, 2019
educators, parents

Improving class lists

Apr 13, 2019
parents

The best youth coach email ever written

Mar 6, 2019
educators, parents

My interview with children’s author Peter H. Reynolds

Feb 13, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

How to help gifted kids who struggle socially

Jan 21, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

Some bullies have nice parents

Jan 19, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

Possible clues I missed

Jan 17, 2019
educators, parents

Why my child was the class clown, even though kids didn’t “get” his humor

Jan 17, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

“Peer” can have various meanings, especially for kite kids

Jan 17, 2019
clinicians, educators, parents

Out of nowhere, and yet, everywhere

Jan 17, 2019

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Meet Patti

Meet Patti

Thanks for stopping by. I created this site after learning why my son had been bullied & excluded since age five. It took three years to find out – mostly because of long-standing myths. That's far too long, so now I'm on a mission to help others. I explain what "the G word" is &, just as important, what it isn't. With the help of many experts, you'll also see tips for navigating this type of neurodiversity. Join me as I share what I'm learning.


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Affiliate links:

This site contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase via any of them, I’ll receive a small referral fee. (Usually less than half the cost of a tall latte.) I use this income to help offset the expenses to operate the Kite Kid Mama blog & its corresponding social media accounts. Also, there is never a mark up to you. Pinky swear! Learn more

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Gimme your ideas. 🙏 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama
Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu. Smiling is infectious; you catch it like the flu. When someone smiled at me today, I started smiling too. I walked around the corner and someone saw me grin. When he smiled, I realized I’d passed it on to him. I thought about the smile, then realized its worth. A single smile, like mine, could travel round the earth. So, if you feel a smile begin, don’t leave it undetected. Start an epidemic and get the world infected. 𝘈𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘳 𝘶𝘯𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama
This contagion is one that’s okay to spread arou This contagion is one that’s okay to spread around. 😊 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
Yesterday, I was jotting down ideas for future blo Yesterday, I was jotting down ideas for future blog articles. Life, as we know it, has changed drastically within the past two weeks, so I decided the next one needed to be about the student-teacher connection – and how to bridge that chasm during pandemic-driven school closures. 🤲 ~ A couple hours later, an alert popped up on my phone. @angela.watson had addressed this very topic in her new podcast episode. I encourage you to listen to the collective wisdom of her & her tribe, at your earliest opportunity. 📻 There is so much ingenuity – and sincere care – in those 23 minutes. 💕 ~ Thank you to everyone who is trying to fly the plane as you build it. 🛫 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴? 👍 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama
Skill & intelligence are important, but courage & Skill & intelligence are important, but courage & determination are, too. 💪 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
Distance learning for grown-ups? Heck, yes! 😉 ~ Distance learning for grown-ups? Heck, yes! 😉 ~ Whether you'd like to expand your professional skills or start a fun new hobby, all you need is a laptop, tablet or smart phone. You can learn a ton without an in-person class or private lesson. 🙌 ~ If you'd like some tips or thought-starters, there's a new article on my blog about resources I use.🖱 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴? 👍 ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
As many of you know, I’m passionate about the im As many of you know, I’m passionate about the importance of social-emotional learning. ✨ It’s one of the areas “kite kids” struggle with most. 😥 Usually that or their intellectual intensity (a.k.a. overexcitability). 👍 ~ That’s why I’m excited to hear Social Thinking® is offering free access to one of its webinars today in honor of the first-ever international #SELday! 🙌 The webinar is called Understanding Self-Regulation: Help Your Students Learn to Help Themselves. 👩‍🏫 ~ In it, Social Thinking® founder Michelle Garcia Winner, SLP, explores the many moving parts of social & emotional self-regulation, & how it involves personal problem-solving. For additional details & access to the webinar, visit @socialthinking ✅ ~ For more info about International SEL Day, follow #internationalselday 🖱️ ~ Like what I'm sharing? 💕 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
Truth. 🌟 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
Never give up, friends. 🏋 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
In December, I wrote an article that seems to be m In December, I wrote an article that seems to be more relevant than ever. 🤯 Therefore, I'm sharing it again. Here's an excerpt... ~ @aileen_family_therapist, LCSW, owner of Bloom Child & Teen Therapy in Chicago, says 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 tends to be 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗱 (& 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗱) because of the ways in which kids convey it. 😳 ~ “Children often 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗿𝘀, 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗱 of a situation or future possibility.” 🤔 ~ What people often see instead, she says, is frequent 𝗶𝗿𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲, 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝘀𝗹𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀. 😣 ~ To read the full story, go to my Instagram bio & click on this image of a girl pulling bed covers over her head. 🖱 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴? 🙌 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
If you've been following me a while, you know my n If you've been following me a while, you know my nine-year-old has 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲𝗱 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 & 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆. Many adults don't think this is possible when a child has a great deal of book smarts, but that simply isn't true. (In fact, 𝗶𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀.) 😭 ~ Here's what helps, though, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗮 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴: connection. 🤗 I have seen this firsthand with teachers, who cared about my son, but didn't understand the intricacies that come with being intellectually "gifted" & also having an anxiety disorder (a.k.a. a twice-exceptional child). Interacting with peers is really stressful for him, so anything that helps him feel accepted is pure gold. 🙌 ~ Although my son still struggles, the teachers who humanize themselves & occasionally tell stories about their lives & embarrassing moments that they had, have helped my son feel less alone...less "weird" & like an alien. In fact, those are the parts of his day that he's most likely to tell me about voluntarily. 😜 (One 3rd grade teacher's most embarrassing moment, as a child, was walking out of a bathroom with TP stuck to her shoe.) 😂 ~ As I watch educators scramble (in impressive ways) to try to figure out how to turn in-class work into distance learning, know that for many kids – & not just the differently-wired ones – 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁, more than anything, 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 & care about them. 😘 A few weeks ago, when my son was out sick for several days, his teacher sent me an email saying to tell him that she missed him. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗜 𝘁𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗶𝗺 that. It was not only one of happiness, but comfort & connection. 😍 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴? 🙌 ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
I was listening to a podcast episode yesterday ab I was listening to a podcast episode yesterday about one of the silver linings of this quarantine... The host pointed out that, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲. 🚷 And that, perhaps, we should use this change of pace & environment as an opportunity to think outside the box & improve practices that don't work. 🙅‍♀️ ~ I've seen others pointing out 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 & inventions that originated 𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰𝘀. 💡 The most notable of which seem to have come from 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝗮𝗰 𝗡𝗲𝘄𝘁𝗼𝗻. (Before he was Sir.) As a college student during the Great Plague, papers he'd begun to write on campus, & finished at home during quarantine, ended up becoming early calculus. 😳 In addition, he formulated the law of gravitation 🍎🌳 during that time & expanded on another scientist's ideas about optics. (Newton realized white light is, actually, a mixture of colors & that you can separate it into its components with a prism.) 🌈 ~ In today's world, great ideas seem to strike just as we're about to fall asleep 🛏 or while we're daydreaming the shower. 🛀 However, now that we're all shaking up our routines, who the heck knows when inspiration will strike. ✨ Be strong, friends, & stay curious. 😊 ~ 𝗟𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁? 💕 ~ ➡ Tag a friend in the comments (or send it to her/him) ➡ Share this post as part of your Instagram story ➡ Follow me @kitekidmama ➡ Make a small contribution to help keep this effort going: www.kitekidmama.com/donate
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