Weekend Fun and Links

Would you like some geek in your coffee?

Writer and photographer Kelsey Gaines has a mouth-watering and fun column this week in Foodista about coffee-art, featuring Batman, Darth Vader, and even Pikachu! Be sure to click through to the article to see the photos.

“For those of you who are unfamiliar, coffee art is more than elevating espresso from liquid fuel to artful: baristas use thermometer stems, spoon handles and a pitcher to create nifty designs with the contrasting colors of creamy milk-foam and caramelly espresso.” Read More

A Homeschooling Surprise in Solomon’s Oak

I recently finished reading Jo-Ann Mapson’s beautiful novel Solomon’s Oak, and I want to be sure to recommend it not only to book lovers but to anyone with an interest in homeschooling (something I didn’t know was in the novel until I came upon it).

“In their homeschooling, she put herself out there a little more each day. She made educated guesses and spectacular mistakes, but she was so excited about learning he wanted to write John Holt a fan letter, only to remember that the man died in 1985.” ~ Solomon’s Oak

Read my very short book review.

Interview with Dr. Vidisha Patel on Parenting the Gifted

SENG Director Vidisha Patel recently gave an informative and insightful interview to Lisa Van Gemert for the Mensa Bulletin. You can read the entire interview on the SENG website:

“Q: What are the specific challenges facing parents with regard to teaching gifted children the social graces?

Dr. Patel: As a parent, you have to model how you want your kids to be. When you see something inappropriate, it’s coming from something someone around the child is doing. When people behave inappropriately, it is often from feelings of insecurity or embarrassment. The parents don’t know how to react, and, really, it’s the parents who need the guidance. Gifted children are so intellectual and they can think beyond their peers, but they are still kids. They need to develop socially and emotionally to catch up to their intellectual ability. If a parent jumps the gun and takes them to an adult venue and they don’t behave appropriately, it’s really due to a lack of understanding on the part of the parent. Of course, this is all done for the right reason—the parent is trying to provide intellectual stimulation—but it ends up making it worse for everyone. The parent puts the child in the inappropriate situation, the child behaves badly, and then the parent feels the need to make up for it. They end up making excuses because they’re embarrassed.” Read More

Final Sunday Thoughts: Barbara Sher

“We were put here to do what we are… What you love, is what you are gifted at.”

~ Barbara Sher

A friend recently reminded me of Barbara Sher’s book Refuse to Choose, and the timing couldn’t have been better. We all go through crises of confidence once in awhile, and mine usually have to do with a feeling that I am not focused enough. Too many interests. Too many ideas. Too much diffusion. Too little direction. Too many blogs! It is very hard for me to converge my thoughts and activities to a single path, and I’m often left paralyzed by choice and, instead of doing too much, doing nothing (see Barry Schwartz’s excellent TED Talk on The Paradox of Choice for more on this idea).

In Refuse to Choose!: A Revolutionary Program for Doing Everything That You Love, Sher has a name for people like me (and, no, thank goodness, it isn’t “scattered”): Scanners. She writes, “To Scanners the world is like a big candy store full of fascinating opportunities, and all they want is to reach out and stuff their pockets.”

Watch Barbara Sher give her one-minute philosophy, below, and see more of her videos at the YouTube channel GuruSimple: