Programs - For Children

“You are so smart!”

Yes, a gifted child may perform exceptionally in academics or scholarship exams.

“You are so talented” “You are so artistic” “You have such a unique way of thinking” “Wow! You are so creative!”

But Giftedness can also be identified through immense talent and performance in leadership activities, music or artistic performance or debate skills and innovation in exhibitions and so forth.

At a young, formative age it is not very easy to understand the limits and the full potential and capacities of a gifted child. Sometimes, a child’s talent may be latent or not easily observable. Thus, it becomes essential to provide children with a conducive and nourishing environment that will help them to become aware of their abilities. The Gifted Nurturing Program acts like a catalyst that helps each gifted child explore the possibilities that lie beyond the realm of what they know about their abilities.

This program is exclusively designed for gifted children to enable them to understand their potential. In contrast to the formal assessment method used in school, the focus of our program is to introduce gifted children to thinking skills and life skills that are essential for holistic development.

We provide a conducive environment for children to express, share, learn, make mistakes and be inspired from each other. We ensure that our students are given ample opportunities to hone and utilize their intelligence.

1. To create awareness within the child about his or her giftedness and its challenges.

2. To develop physical, sensory, socio-emotional, cognitive and spiritual facets of the gifted child.

3. To develop physical, sensory, socio-emotional, cognitive and spiritual facets of the gifted child.

The level of activities offered matches their abilities and children are provided with opportunities and challenges to enhance their growth. We put emphasis on striving toward excellence and engaging in collaborative work, encouraging our students to compete with themselves and not with others.

HOW DO WE CONDUCT OUR GIFTED PROGRAM?

We use a model derived from the Panchakosha model from the Taittariya Upanishad of Yajurveda. Holistic development for the entire being of the child is ensured by the focus on the five koshas/aspects of being.

Project partially funded by

Praj Foundation

Our nurturing program consists of three levels or years. It is essential to maintain continuous interactions between the student, counsellors, teachers and parents in order to ensure that the child builds the required skills to become a self- motivated, socially responsible and confident individual. The duration of each level is 6-8 months. This includes regular workshops on weekends as well as extensions such as an overnight camp, ecotours, visits to cultural centers and events.

The recommended entry point of the program is age 10 years. Each level focuses on key areas that are explained below:

This is the entry level program for gifted children where gifted children are exposed to a variety of mediums, environments, resources and spaces. The focus of this level is to create awareness in the children about their (gifted) characteristics and challenges.

Eligibility:

Children who have scored 90 PR and above on the Gifted Identification Tests.

Psychological Assessment:

Our in-house psychologists will share a profile of the children with their parents at the end of the program. This profiling will enable parents to understand their children better and to uncover the many shades of emotions that children are unable to express to their parents. We also offer guidance to both the parents and children when required.

Number of sessions/hours required:

Our program extends over a period of 6-8 months which includes workshops on weekends as well as extensions like overnight camps, ecotours, activities at the Gifted Katta.

Focus Areas:

  • Exploring the potential within
  • Understanding my emotions
  • Developing Creative thinking
  • Exploring social interactions
  • Connecting with nature

On completing Level 1 gifted children are expected to be aware of their characteristics, and foundation is established at each Kosha for gifted children. It is expected that now, they develop abilities, skills that will help them uncover and utilize their potential.

Focus Areas:

  • Building Critical and creative thinking skills
  • Developing conflict resolution and decision making skills
  • Exploring spiritual curiosity
  • Developing sensitivity towards social issues

Nurturing for adolescent gifted needs to focus on primarily decision making about higher education and career choices as well as to develop coping mechanisms to ensure that goal-directed behavior is reinforced. The program includes certain structured and unstructured interaction with the gifted adolescents. They are connected with a mentor most appropriate with their personality and interest area. Our pool of mentors consists of gifted adults who have had similar experiences in their lives as high achievers who faced challenges with peers, school etc.

Focus Areas:

  • Envisioning my future
  • Building socio-emotional coping skills
  • Contributing towards a social cause
  • Connecting with a mentor

For more information contact: Sameena Manasawala – gifted.inquiry@kaveri.edu.in