“Even if you’re not a genius, you can use the same strategies as Aristotle and Einstein to harness the power of your creative mind and better manage your future.”

The following strategies encourage you to think productively,
rather than reproductively, in order to arrive at solutions to problems. “These strategies are common to the thinking styles of creative geniuses in science, art, and industry throughout history.”

Nine approaches to creative problem solving:

1. Rethink! Look at problems in many different ways.
2. Visualize! Utilize diagrams and imagery to analyze your dilemma.
3. Produce! Genius is productive.
4. Combine! Make novel combinations…
5. Form! Form relationships.
6. Opposite! Think in opposites.
7. Metaphor/simile! Think metaphorically.
8. Failure! Learning from your mistakes is one example of using failure.
9. Patience! Don’t confuse inspiration with ideas.

Nine approaches to creative problem solving:

1. Rethink!
   Look at problems in many different ways.
   Find new perspectives that no one else has taken.
   Solutions example: Finding a job or internship:
   1. Ask friends or colleagues for potential leads
   2. Over-sell yourself
      Send samples of your work or portfolio to anyone that might respond.
   3. Check local resources like Craigslist or your school’s job search
   4. Broaden your target audience.
      What other fields could you specialize in?
2. Visualize!
   Utilize diagrams and imagery to analyze your dilemma.
   1. How can you use pictures, images, graphs, etc. in your studies?
   2. Visit guides on concept or mind maps, picturing vocabulary, flashcards, etc.
   3. Write out one example of how you can use imagery, then print and post it in your study area.
3. Produce!
   Genius is productive.
   1. Perhaps originality is not the key, but rather constant application of thought and tools to arrive a solutions.
   2. Geniuses are the luckiest of mortals because what they must do is the same as what they most want to do.
      W. H. Auden (1907–1973) Anglo-American poet
   3. Genius is nothing but a great aptitude for patience.
      George-Louis Leclerc de Buffon (1707–1788) French naturalist
4. Combine!
   Make novel combinations…
   Combine and recombine ideas, images, and thoughts into different combinations no matter how incongruent or unusual.
5. Form!
   Form relationships.
   Make connections between dissimilar subjects.
   1. This doesn’t always apply to objects: form relationships with people and ask them questions!
   2. Get to know people in your field that can help you excel to the best of your ability.
   3. Write down one person that you could get in contact with, why you think this person can help, and print/post it for reference!
6. Opposite!
   Think in opposites.
   Don’t always stick with the obvious solutions.
   Get outside of your comfort zone.
   1. “Opposites” bring two approaches to a situation but they do share a basic similarity.
      Example: “right” and “left” are both directions, but which is the right choice?
   2. The Sesame Street Muppet Elmo teaches small children the concept of opposites!
7. Metaphor/simile!
   Think metaphorically.
   1. Metaphors are connections that are unusual or not an ordinary way of thinking:
      A sea of troubles; the heart of a lion; raining cats and dogs.
   2. Similes use “like” or “as” to illustrate
      The boy was as agile as a monkey. The miner’s face was like coal.
      The task was as easy as ABC. Dry like a raisin in the sun.
8. Failure!
   Learning from your mistakes is one example of using failure.
   1. As strange as it seems the human brain is failure machine: it generates models of reality, acts on them, and adjusts or creates new, successful models based on failures.
   2. From Daniel Coyle’s the Talent Code on Adam Bryant’s weekly interview: “every single CEO shares the same nugget of wisdom: the crucial importance of mistakes, failures, and setbacks… mistakes create unique conditions of high-velocity learning that cannot be matched by more stable, “successful” situations.”
9. Patience!
   Don’t confuse inspiration with ideas.
   Apply your ideas with patience for the reward they may deserve.

Adapted from:
Michalko, Michael, Thinking Like a Genius: Eight strategies used by the super creative, from Aristotle and Leonardo to Einstein and Edison (New Horizons for Learning) as seen at http://www.newhorizons.org/wwart_michalko1.html, (June 15, 1999) This article first appeared in THE FUTURIST, May 1998. Michael Michalko is the author of Thinkertoys (A Handbook of Business Creativity), ThinkPak (A Brainstorming Card Set), and Cracking Creativity: The Secrets of Creative Geniuses (Ten Speed Press, 1998).

FINDING OUT WHETHER YOUR CHILD IS GIFTED IS THE FIRST STEP IN GETTING HER THE CHALLENGE SHE CRAVES
Article Appeared in the Chicago Tribune
September 19, 1999

Is your child truly gifted, or are you just one of those pushy, “stage mother” types who thinks his or her bright child is really a genius? “Parents’ observations of their own child’s gifts or special talents are the greatest indicator,” says Linda Kreger Silverman, who is director of the Gifted Development Center in Denver. “If your child’s teacher says your child isn’t gifted, and you feel certain that he or she is, seek testing. Of the 3,000 or so children we’ve seen at the center, 84 percent of the parents who thought their child was gifted were right; and 95 percent had a child gifted in some area, even if their total IQ did not fall into the gifted range.”

Mary Edwards of Denver says having gifted children is “a wonderful and amazing world. I have a 12-, 9- and 4-year-old, all gifted; each one is unique. In many ways, it’s like any other parenting.” The term “gifted” is applied, generally, to people with an IQ of 130 or higher. That, in turn, is broken down into subcategories of “moderately gifted” (130-144 IQ), “highly gifted” (145-160) and “profoundly gifted” (161 or higher.) Because most media images of giftedness are at the profoundly gifted extreme (think “Good Will Hunting”), many parents who suspect their child may be exceptional dismiss the idea because little Johnny or Susie isn’t playing Mozart concertos at 4 or working on integral calculus in 1st grade.

Parents of gifted kids are often gifted themselves, so they tend to think their child is not different from other children. (More than 2.5 million children, or 2 percent of the total number of children in the U.S., have been identified as gifted.) The Institute for Behavioral Genetics at the University of Colorado has identified the genetic markers related to giftedness, and there have been numerous articles in Scientific American on the subject. Thus, if the parents are exceptional, having children who are highly intelligent is the norm — for their household, anyway.

Here’s the catch when it comes to giftedness: It’s well known that children’s early development sets them on the path for future learning. Educational psychologist Maurice Fisher, publisher and owner of Gifted Education Press of Manassas, Va., says, “All the research evidence that I have read about the human brain shows that if infants don’t get proper stimulation at an early age, their brains don’t develop properly. This is true in humans; it’s also true in lower animals, as shown in controlled scientific studies. “If the gifted child is not stimulated in infancy, preschool and early elementary education,” Fisher says, “they lose their potential. If we don’t pay enough attention at ages 3, 4 and 5, which are critical periods to develop their brains to their maximum ability, they will lose their giftedness because they are not challenged and nurtured by their families and/or schools.”

Meanwhile, most public schools that have gifted programs don’t start with students until around 4th grade, which is past this critical period. Some gifted children begin school just like every other child, when they’re 5. That’s when the trouble can start. By definition, giftedness is “out-of-step” development. That is, intellectual, physical and emotional development occurs at different rates — higher, faster growth that’s out of sync with the norm. So a child who is 5 years old may read at a 10-year-old level, understand math at a 7-year-old level, and be socially adept at a 4-year-old level.

In her book “Counseling the Gifted and Talented” (Love Publishing, $45), Silverman points out that gifted children are two standard deviations from the norm, or the top 2 percent of the population, just like those children who comprise the lower 2 percent of the population. Because public schools are set up to attend to the needs of those in the middle, Silverman writes in her book, those children on either end of the spectrum are left outside. Gifted children have tremendous difficulty learning within the structure of a “normal” classroom, she writes; they require special education in order to meet their unique way — and speed — of learning.

Elizabeth Meckstroth is author of several books on giftedness, including “Guiding the Gifted Child” (with J. T. Webb and Stephanie S. Tolan; Columbus Ohio Psychology Publishing, $18) and “Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom” (with Joan Franklin Smutny and Sally Yahnke Walker; Free Spirit Publishing, $12.95). Meckstroth used this analogy: “If we were TV sets, some of us would only get five channels. Others are wired for cable — the general population — and some of us (the gifted) are hooked up to a satellite dish. That makes these gifted children capable of making connections that others don’t even know exist! “Teaching those types of voracious minds in a regular classroom without enhancement is like feeding an elephant one blade of grass at time. You’ll starve them.”

Edwards’ experience with her three children has convinced her that gifted kids seek stimulation. “One of the most common misconceptions,” she says, “is that the parents are pushing the child. In my household, my children are dragging me through the muck and mud, and I have to struggle to keep up with them. I spend an average of three hours a day driving the three of them to and from school and sports activities. They basically choose their own interests — passions, really. If my children aren’t challenged, their behavior deteriorates. Their minds have to be occupied at a high level for all our lives to run smoothly.”

There are factors that may hide or “mask” giftedness in a child, particularly when the parents and/or teachers don’t know what to look for or when learning disabilities and giftedness exist within the same child. Those children are considered “twice exceptional” and can languish in a public school setting without the proper identification and support, says Meckstroth. Experts point out that gifted children can have an enhanced nervous system, which translates into a boundless supply of curiosity and physical energy. According to Meckstroth, it’s a common mistake to assume a child like this is hyperactive. She says most gifted children who are misdiagnosed with ADD (attention deficit disorder) or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) are those high-energy, high intensity, brilliant young children who are expected to sit still in a traditional classroom and listen to information they already know.

Some ways to tell whether your child is hyperactive or merely in need of intellectual stimulation? In Silverman’s book “Counseling the Gifted and Talented,” she writes, “Hyperactive children tend to lack voluntary control of attention and behavior, such as interrupting and then losing the thread of the conversation. Gifted children who are high in psychomotor energy are simply very active, with few other symptoms of hyperactivity. They are capable of focused attention and intense concentration when they are interested; aimless activity seems to occur most often when there is insufficient mental stimulation.”

Surviving on less sleep than their “normal” counterparts, gifted children are capable of multiple focusing (watching TV, talking on the phone and doing their homework), and in fact may find working on one task at a time more difficult than “multiplexing.” As Meckstroth puts it, “It’s like asking them to nail Jell-O to a tree — these children need more to sink their teeth into than one simple task at one time.”

FINDING SIGNS OF GIFTEDNESS

In many cases, parents of these children suspect giftedness long before kindergarten. Joan Franklin Smutny, director of the Center for Gifted at National Louis University in Evanston, says these are some of the early signs of giftedness in preschoolers:

Has curiosity about many things.

Asks thoughtful questions (why, how, what if).

Has an extensive vocabulary.

Solves problems in unique ways.

Has a good memory.

Exhibits wit.

Has a sustained attention span.

Is very observant.

Shows talent in making up and telling stories.

Yesterday Jennifer called me. She left a message saying that she got my name and phone number from the head of PTA for Northern California. She explained that she is working on the casting for a new TV show. In the show genius children ages 4 to 12 will answer trivia questions. She asked if I can help her identify participants for the show.

I told her that I will send out an email to “Develop Your Child’s Genius” subscribers, and parents who are interested will be able to contact her directly. Here is her email:

Hi Esther!

Below is the casting info for our show. Thanks so much for sending it out! Hopefully something will work out

Best,
Jennifer Cron

Below is the casting info for our new show for a MAJOR network. We have a limited time to narrow down our candidates for the project so the sooner you respond, the better your chances are of being selected.

Are you the parent of a little genius? Is your child a walking encyclopedia of knowledge? Now casting children (ages 4-12) who are extremely bright for a new major network series from Mark Burnett Productions (cast Survivor, Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader, etc). We are looking for children who are exceptionally advanced for their age in one or more subjects.

Does your child know all there is to know about Baseball, the Presidents of the United States, English Literature, etc.? If so, then we want to meet you! Parents, this is your chance to let your child’s genius shine.

Please email us NOW at casting.jennifer@gmail.com (the sooner the better!), make sure you include your name, phone number, your child’s name & age, the city you live in, a brief description of their genius and several photos of all of you (please note your photos will not be returned).

All the best,
Esther

Animal Genius combines wacky animal facts, entertaining fast-paced animal games, and photo-realistic graphics to make this into an outstanding video game for kids. Plus all directions, words and identifications have voice-overs so young kids who aren’t yet reading can play. It is rare to find a Nintendo DS game that talks to you.

The game is themed around earning 25 animals — five animals in each of five habitats. Kids select the rain forest, arctic, woodlands, ocean or grasslands and once there, the game offers them an animal to earn. Kids earn the animals by playing games to get points, with animals varying in cost from 25 up to 125 points.

Kids gain the points by repeatedly playing four fun games in any order they wish. In the game called “Scratch and See,” kids see a blank gray screen. By moving the DS stylus back and forth across the screen, kids “scratch” away part of the gray mask covering an animal underneath. Since kids will only see part of the animal, they must deduce which animal they are viewing from the traits they can see. The game then asks them to select the correct animal from a list of four.

The “Maze Munch” game lets children become a lion, a clownfish, a skunk or a chameleon that travels through a maze. When playing as the clownfish or the skunk, they need to gather food while avoiding predators. Playing as the lion may be a little disturbing to younger children because you chase zebras, pounce on them and devour them (no blood is shown, but you do hear a loud roar).

“Matchomatic” cleverly asks kids to match animals to specific traits such as the body coverings or the type of tail. Kids use the stylus to select an animal on the lower screen and then fling it up into one of two circles on the top screen showing the trait.

1) Breastfeed. Studies show that at the age of six children who were breastfed for six months or more score an average of 6 points higher on IQ tests than formula fed children. And breast milk is FREE. Formula costs a family on low income a great deal of money…and it limits your child’s mental capabilities.

2) Talk. From about 26 weeks a foetus can hear in the womb. Studies have also shown that children who were talked to in the womb and as babies have better verbal skills. One of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to give your child a running commentary on your activities. “We need to give you a bath now. Let’s take your little pink shirt off. Out come your arms. Now let’s pull it over your head.” I have gotten a few strange looks on the Tube of course, but my daughter’s intelligence is more than worth it.

3) Let them explore. We have all heard the expression…kids will be kids. But often one of a baby’s first words is “No,” because they hear it so often. Clearly some things like sticking things in electrical outlets must be “No,” but other things can be made safe for your child. For instance, our lower kitchen cabinets are always child proof. We keep the plastic ware and canned foods in them. It is a skill that I learned from my great-grandmother. Even as an adult, I fondly remember sitting on her kitchen floor surrounded by cans of food. I would build towers. I would play store. Those cans were wonderful FREE toys…and it allowed me as a child to safely explore the adult world. As parents/carers our job is to create a safe world in which to allow our children to explore…and learn.

4) Test their limits. We never learn what we are capable of accomplishing if we are not allowed to try. It is natural for parents/carers to want to protect their children, but sometimes by watchful waiting we can allow them to develop a sense of accomplishment. My daughter could ‘climb’ the stairs before she walked. We of course had safety gates at the top and the bottom so that she never could attempt this new skill without the watchful eye of an adult, but we often would put her down at the bottom and allow her to crawl them. We were only a step or two behind of course should something go wrong. She has taken that same determination into other tasks as well…tackling the jungle gym at the ripe old age of two.

5) Expand their horizons. In most large UK and US cities there is an abundance of exciting and educational activities for young children. Living in London, we are lucky that our museums are FREE. But even when we lived in the US, we found that by purchasing annual memberships to the local zoos and museums we could provide the relatively cheap entertainment for the whole family. The Los Angeles Zoo for instance offered a family membership for around $50 that admits 2 adults and up to 4 children under 18. Most US attractions have similar offers. If even this paltry amount is too much for your tight budget, we have asked for memberships as gifts from grandparents.

6) Read. You can never begin reading too soon…even before birth your child can hear you. As small babies, brightly coloured cardboard books that they can touch and even chew are wonderful. Older babies and toddlers enjoy books with flaps or texture which they can touch and explore for themselves. My 2 year old loves to ‘read’ her picture books to Mummy now. And don’t forget the value of your child seeing you read. Our daughter often demands her own ‘paper’ on Saturday morning as she eats breakfast and reads along side Daddy. If she sees me reading on the couch, she often brings an arm load of her own books for me to read to her.

7) Listen and learn. Sometimes as parents we forget that our children have a great deal to teach us as well. Their open and loving attitude has much to teach adults, who can so easily get caught up in inconsequential tasks. One of my fondest memories was the sheer joy of jumping in a puddle with my daughter. To enjoy such priceless moments we must take the time to listen to our children with our hearts as well as our ears. We must also free ourselves from fears and convention to realise just how much we have to learn from these little treasures.

Meggy can already read at 3 years old.

No matter how old your children are, you have an immense power to affect their growth, development and success in life. By actively pursuing activities that contribute to the better development of their brain, you provide them with an advantage over all other kids, and increase their chances to be successful in life. By doing that, you also make sure they will have plenty of experiences of success and achievement, so that they become self confident, positive and optimistic.

There is a lot of talk recently about the “Right Brain/Left Brain” issue. Basically, researchers have found that the human left brain is “responsible” for completely different functions than the right brain. Researchers have concluded that in every person, one of these hemispheres of the brain is dominant. According to this theory, the left brain is the analytical one, responsible for measurement, logic, math, analysis and the right brain is responsible for creativity, art, intuition and the use of words. Some people even claim that men are left brain dominant, while women are usually right brain dominant, and proceed to explain that men think in pictures, while women think in words. No wonder, they claim, there is such a big gap in communication between men and women!

Research has shown that it is very important to increase the communication, or the connection between the 2 hemispheres of the brain. If we do that, we increase the functionality of the brain. This can be done in all ages, and has proven to be beneficial.
Improved balance between the two hemispheres, improves peace of mind, harmony, reading and comprehension, and develops better concentration and focus.

The activities that have been shown to develop and improve the brain hemisphere connectivity are usually the ones that use both sides of the body in concert. The cross pattern we all use while walking or swimming and  babies use when they crawl, develops and strengthens the connection between the brain hemispheres. By cross pattern, I mean the movement when we bring the right arm and the left leg forward, and then the left arm and the right leg. It has been shown that some brain injured children who did not crawl, developed severe handicaps, and by practicing the activity of crawling, they have shown surprising improvements.

If you have a very young baby, and you want to help it develop strength in both sides of the brain, you can massage both feet or both hands, for a few minutes, several times every day. When you gently massage your baby’s feet, and stimulate both feet at the same time, and then each foot – one after the other, and watch your baby’s face, you will notice that your baby enjoys this activity very much. It is not necessarily a calming activity, because massaging the baby’s feet is actually stimulating.

I recommend doing this a few minutes every day, before or after changing the baby’s diapers. This activity also forces you to take a few minutes a day to look into your baby’s eyes, smile to the baby, and massage its feet and hands. You will notice that it
strengthens the bond you are creating with your baby, and this is a priceless bonus.

Another activity that has been proven to greatly contribute to higher intelligence as well as better health is swimming. This activity can be done at any age, and if you swim with your baby or your child, it will contribute to your health too. If you have a baby, find a “water babies” affiliate in your area. If you have an older child, there are many ways to involve them in swimming. Encourage them to participate on a swim team, or to get involved with a school swimming activity. Practicing every day will improve their health tremendously.

Very young babies enjoy being in the water, kicking their legs and use their arms for swimming. Many YMCA centers have baby swimming classes. If you have a swimming pool at home, or you belong to a club, you can take your baby with you into the water, and hold it in the water. However, make sure that the water they swim in is warm. Babies need a higher temperature than adults need. Also make sure the water is clean. The quality of water is important to children of all ages, and I have to remind you to watch your child at any time when they are in the water, to prevent drowning. Please use caution.

Be aware, that very young babies have a very heavy head compared to their body, and they cannot by themselves keep their head above water. So make sure that your baby is supported at all times.

Another activity that improves the brain connectivity and balance is crawling. If your baby is still young, and does not crawl yet, swimming is preferred. You can also team up with a friend or a partner, and “imitate” crawling movement holding the baby’s arms and legs, in cross pattern. You stand on one side of the baby, while the baby is laying on its tummy, and the partner on the other side. You hold a hand and a foot, and so does the partner. Then while you bring the arm forward, the partner brings the leg forward, and visa versa, creating a rhythm. Do it just for a few minutes, while having fun. You can repeat it several times a day.

For all children who know how to crawl, make sure your child has room and opportunity to crawl. You might have to clean the floors, and make sure that the floor is free of little objects your child can choke on, but encourage the child to crawl as much as possible.

For older children, chasing each other while crawling can be a fun and crazy game. You can get on your hands and knees too, it will do you good! If you have several children, encourage them to play “catch” while crawling. This is good exercise, and it contributes to their intelligence.

Walking and running are natural activities, that utilize the cross pattern, and are great at balancing right and left hemispheres of the brain.

As we know, most people have a dominant hand. Some people are right handed, and some people are left handed. Statistically, most people are right handed, but there are many left handed people. In the past, (a few generations ago), it was common practice to force children to use their right hand for writing, tie their left arm behind their back,  if they attempted to use it for writing. Children were punished for using their left hand for writing, cutting with scissors, playing ball etc.

For school age children, an exercise has been shown to create wonders: practice writing using your weak hand. If you are left handed, practice writing with your right hand, and if you are right handed, practice writing with your left hand. This can feel very awkward at first, and takes some practice. So I recommend turning it into a game. Do it with your child, take turns and compete. The one who writes clearer, or faster, wins. For example, every word earns a number of points, and whoever earns most points gets am award. Invent some games, and turn it into a fun activity.

Only a few minutes of practice a day, will make a big difference. And remember – by doing this you are giving your child an advantage many other children do not have.

Another activity that is amazingly productive for your child: drumming. I know, this is not for everybody. If you cannot stand the noise, maybe it is not the right activity for you. However, when your child learns how to drum, he is using both hands in turn, and is also learning a pattern. It will be a lot of fun to play a game, in which one of you invents a pattern and “drums” it (you don’t need a drum for this) and the other(s) have to recognize the pattern and imitate it. You can provide an award, and use it as an incentive. The pattern can become more and more complicated as you get better at this game. This game strengthens your child audio memory, improves the brain connectivity and improves pattern recognition.

My kudos to you for being a great parent! Next week we will look into some other enjoyable activities that can give your child the edge and turn him into a genius!

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