Field Trip to the San Diego County Fair Plant*Grow*Eat Program

On Wednesday, June 7, four of my students, their parents, and I took a field trip to the San Diego County Fair for the annual Plant-Grow-Eat Program. We came from different locations around Southern California and met each other there in person for the first time.

Blue Ribbon Time. Congratulations Jameson and Abel.

Each of the students from around the San Diego area were provided with materials (seeds, soil, and a planter pot) for growing a radish plant. At the fair all of the students presented their plants and the judges handed out awards for the biggest, healthiest plants. Twins Jameson and Abel were awarded first place blue ribbons for their plants. Maverik was also awarded a blue first-place ribbon, and his sister, Iliana was awarded a second place ribbon.

In the Petting Farm.

We were able to walk around the fair during pre-fair hours and see many farm animals including a petting area where we could feed and pet the goats and some other animals. It was a fun, enjoyable learning experience.

Iliana feeding the goats.

Maverik petting a pig and feeding a goat.

We had a fun day.

Fun with Storytelling, Puppets, and Mensa Kids

By Dr. Jenelle S. Miller

The National Mensa Annual Gathering was held in San Diego at the beginning of July 2016. The gathering hosted numerous programs and special events for members of Mensa and their guests. To qualify for Mensa, you must have scored in the top 2 percent of the general population on any one of more than 200 accepted, standardized intelligence tests — including Mensa administered admission tests — at any point in your life.

I had the unique pleasure of attending this gathering to assist with the children’s program which consisted of about 60 Mensa students between the ages of 4 and 12. In between a couple of science sessions, I engaged the children in a unique story that has been a part of my family since my father was a little boy. As you will see in the photo taken during the event, I became a storyteller and performed the Tajar Tales with puppets. Back in 1993 my artist sister, Jill Kerry, and I republished this whimsical tale written by Jane Shaw Ward in the 1920s; and then created the puppets, plush Tajar dolls, and an audio CD to develop a complete "story kit." I often use the story kit as an example during my "Student Publisher's Workshop" where I teach children how to collaborate together to write, illustrate, and narrate stories as well as make puppets and perform puppet shows. My sister and I are both big fans of including the Arts in education.

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Legislation Day in Sacramento: Advocacy for Gifted and Talented Education

New experiences are treasured adventures. That’s how Monday, April 11, 2016 felt to me when my husband and I accompanied several other Board members of the California Association for the Gifted (CAG) in meetings with senators and assembly members at the State Capitol building in Sacramento, California. This was my first experience as a Board Member/Parent Advocate for gifted and talented education at the legislative level. Prior to our meetings with legislators, I and other CAG Board members contacted our state legislators to set up times for individual meetings. I am a constituent of Senator, Ben Hueso of the 40th Senate District and Assemblywoman, Lorena Gonzalez of the 80th District. I was fortunate to secure a meeting with Senator Hueso, himself, and grateful to schedule a meeting with Assemblywoman Gonzalez’s staff member, Laurel Brodzinsky.

The purpose of our meetings was to introduce ourselves to our state legislators and offer ourselves as resources of information about gifted and talented education (GATE). We provided each legislator with a folder containing information about CAG including our mission statement and our regional educator and parent representatives. Also included were the following three CAG position papers that can be found on the CAG Website: “Characteristics of Gifted Children,” “Twice-Exceptional Gifted Students,” and “Extending and Differentiating the California Common Core Standards.”

The results of our meetings were outstanding. Senator Hueso thanked us for the information and expressed the desire to help us as we press forward to advocate for legislation that will increase and provide better services for GATE in California, especially where it concerns minority populations in his district. Assemblywoman Gonzalez’s staff member assured us that she would pass on the information to Gonzalez. Having the opportunity to present resources and create awareness for gifted education among our state legislators was our ultimate goal and made CAG Legislation Day at the California State Capitol a huge success.

Senator Ben Hueso, Jenelle Miller, John Miller