Author | |
Angie Mc Board Moderator
Joined: Jan 31 2005 Location: Arizona
Online Status: Offline Posts: 11400
|
Posted: Feb 01 2012 at 9:19pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
This link gives a neat way to distinguish between a high achiever, gifted learner, and creative thinker.
My 13yo ds is a creative thinker in a family dominated by hard workers - high achievers (relatively speaking .)
Are you a creative thinker? Do you have a child who is a creative thinker? What are your favorite activities, outlets,...anything...that feeds and encourages this gift?
My ds loves legos, keva blocks, drawing, doodling, poetry writing, cooking, etc. He also loves baseball, building stuff, working with his hands.
Thanks!
Love,
__________________ Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
|
Back to Top |
|
|
MommyMahung Forum Rookie
Joined: Aug 25 2011 Location: Kentucky
Online Status: Offline Posts: 63
|
Posted: Feb 01 2012 at 10:01pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Wow! Thanks for sharing the link Angie. I truly don't know what type of learners my kids are. My kids are 6.5 son, almost 5 daughter and 3 yr. old daughter. I think my son is more of a gifted learner based on the comparisons, but I'll pay more attention to find out for sure. I have no idea with my girls. It's helpful to know that information so that I can adjust my teaching to better help them. This was a good one for me to see!
God Bless!
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Angie Mc Board Moderator
Joined: Jan 31 2005 Location: Arizona
Online Status: Offline Posts: 11400
|
Posted: Feb 01 2012 at 10:08pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Oh good, MommyMahung! Did you see yourself in the descriptions? It funny, I never identified myself as a creative thinker, mainly just hard-working (and definitely not gifted!), but the more I think about it, the more I do see that I do think creatively...even if I'm not creative in a more traditional, artistic sense...like crafts .
Love,
__________________ Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
|
Back to Top |
|
|
JodieLyn Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 06 2006 Location: Oregon
Online Status: Offline Posts: 12234
|
Posted: Feb 01 2012 at 10:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
too many answers
I think I fall mostly in the gifted learner (hence too many answers for me to manipulate the information never being quite sure what answer I should give )
With a sprinkling of creative thinker and one or two high achievers.
I'm not sure I could figure out anyone else in the house though
__________________ Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
|
Back to Top |
|
|
ShannonJ Forum Pro
Joined: July 08 2011
Online Status: Offline Posts: 172
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 9:24am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I guess I fall into the high-achiever with a bit of creative thinker. While I think its too early to classify my littles I think that dd falls squarely into the creative thinker with a bit of gifted learner.
Hmmmm. Activities? She loves all building items, make-believe games, drawing, art, crafts, and reading. Sometimes she just enjoys going and sitting out in the woods quietly, but she usually is in charge of a gaggle of kids explaining how they should all play a new game. She is working on learning to follow and allowing others a turn to lead.
I'm curious though as to how this might change as we grow older. Although I can say I love crafty stuff, I'm really not a creative thinker. I do love to copy others' fabulous ideas though.
__________________ ~Shannon
Mom of dd 12, ds 9, & dd 5
|
Back to Top |
|
|
kristacecilia Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 05 2010
Online Status: Offline Posts: 677
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 1:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Both my oldest and I were somewhere in the high achiever/gifted learner. I bet I am more HA and he is more GL. I am not sure about my 6 y/o yet. I would have to read it again. I can see my daughter being a Creative Thinker, but we'll have to wait for awhile and see.
Very interesting!
__________________ God bless,
Krista
Wife to a great guy, mom to two boys ('04, '06) and three girls ('08, '10, '12!)
I blog at http://kristacecilia.wordpress.com/
|
Back to Top |
|
|
CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline Posts: 6385
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 4:00pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Very interesting! I'm not positive about myself or others, but I do know my 5.5 ds is FIRMLY in the creative learner category!
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Mackfam Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006 Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline Posts: 14656
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:16pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
AngieMc wrote:
Are you a creative thinker? Do you have a child who is a creative thinker? |
|
|
I am predominately a creative thinker with some high achiever thrown in the mix. I'm very creative: thrive on opportunities to brainstorm, create, problem solve, but I also tend to be very efficient, practical, attentive and detail oriented. My oldest son is a creative thinker.
AngieMc wrote:
What are your favorite activities, outlets,...anything...that feeds and encourages this gift? |
|
|
** Creative thinkers are great "outside-the-box" brainstormers. They see an obstacle as an invitation to create. Others may see a challenge - a creative thinker sees an invitation.
** Clear goals are good because the creative thinker can identify, "I need to end up here," while being creative and inventive about getting there. Identifying the goal is energizing for the creative thinker. They enjoy a wide sense of space/freedom in how they'd like to get to that goal. Keep the goal in sight - be open to a journey in getting there which may (outwardly) appear wandering.
** Creative thinkers need reasonable tools to help them stay goal oriented lest they wander too far away and end up off-track. Anything that provides a healthy boundary gives a framework for the creative thinker....but expect the creative thinker to challenge the boundary in ways that may not necessarily be counter-productive. In our home, this can be very hard for a high achiever parent, who sees a goal and envisions an efficient mode of getting there that does not include the creative thinker's wandering.
** Creative thinkers enjoy a place for random ideas/projects to land - both physically in terms of a container/portfolio for sketches, drawings and plans, as well as the attention of an open listener that is willing to engage and pursue some of the creative thinker's projects.
** Help the creative thinker identify consequences for, and obstacles to, his/her ideas in open ended ways - in ways that point back to the goal but don't end the journey.
** The creative thinker needs the opportunity of time, space and tools in which to create. Boxing them in too much results in implosion, distraction....even rebellion.
My favorite activities, outlets:
Ordering spaces, organizing, brainstorming home ed challenges, brainstorming ANY challenge (so exciting!! go ahead. laugh. ), sketching, writing, decorating, vintage flea market shopping (with an eye toward thriftiness and how I can repurpose something to be practical/meet-a-need AND pretty <-- uber important to me), sharing/brainstorming with others (real joy for me!), cooking, reading, watching movies (almost any genre)
My creative thinker son's favorite activities, outlets:
sports, attending sporting events (!!!), building models, legos, drawing, building anything with his hands, physical activities, science projects/experiments, cooking, playing guitar
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Mackfam Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006 Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline Posts: 14656
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:27pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mackfam wrote:
My creative thinker son's favorite activities, outlets:
sports, attending sporting events (!!!), building models, legos, drawing, building anything with his hands, physical activities, science projects/experiments, cooking, playing guitar |
|
|
I forgot a couple of other outlets/activities he really loves:
photography, watching/reading anything that discusses *how-it-works* or *how-it's-made*, and FLYING! (He's in the Young Eagles Flying Program
And photography is a huge outlet of mine, too! I love photography! Not that I'm good at it....just that it's fun to envision how an image could look - in different light, from a different angle, etc.
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Sharyn Forum Pro
Joined: June 20 2009 Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline Posts: 417
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:37pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm definately a creative thinker. It's one of the things that lead me to homeschooling I think. Regular school just didn't seem to offer the posibilities for my children to be boundlessly creative.
Overflows with idea's... you should see the lists I've created on my ipad to try to gather all those idea's so they will never be lost, and radical idea of all radical idea's, that I might actually do them all
Now, nature or nurture? My children, those that I can tell, all seem to be creative thinkers too. Have I done this to them???
My eldest dd loves her friends but will happily go off leaving them should she see an insect she'd like to catch, or something else that gets her attention. I have been meaning to talk with her about this so she can develop some sensitivity to how to be a good friend. But I'm the same, I love my friends, but happily spend most of the time alone(you know, alone, but with 6 kids).
Off the wall humor. Lots of that in this house, but we share it amongst ourselves, after all who else would understand?
Definately a bunch of 'what are grades for?' people too.
What's our inspiration? Books, books, and more books, and nature, getting out in it.
__________________ Mum to dd (00), ds (03), dd (04), ds (06), one in God's care (08), dd (09), ds (11), one in God's care (13), and ds (13)
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Claire F Forum Pro
Joined: Sept 14 2011
Online Status: Offline Posts: 272
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:44pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
My four year old is very much a creative thinker! Absolutely. My oldest is probably more in the high acheiver category, as am I. My DD, well she's 2 .
Thank you Jen, for the ideas for a creative thinker! I really want to be able to bring out my 4-year-old's gifts as he grows and I really see homeschooling as such an exciting way to allow him to learn in his own way (he would absolutely stifle in a busywork-style classroom). I'll need to keep these ideas in mind as he gets older.
Mine is definitely a tinkerer - much to big brother's dismay at times! He is the king of taking things apart. He doesn't mean to be destructive, but it winds up that way a lot of the time. But he definitely likes to do things with his hands and keep physically busy. Legos are a huge favorite.
Jen's point about setting a clear goal is a big one - and for my son, not giving him too much direction or "how to get there" instruction is big too. He wants to figure out how to get there himself, whether he is really capable or not. He loves free-form art projects - giving him materials and letting him create whatever he wants. If we do have something a little more directed, he'll always find a way to make it his own, whereas my older son is quite concerned with following the directions properly.
He's also orders information in his mind randomly (versus linear ordering) - which means he'll often complete something out of order, or try to. He'll try to build a lego set using the instructions, for example, but never follows the steps in order. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. This linear-ordering Mama has to remind myself often to let him do it his own way, even though my logical brain is sputtering in protest!
He really enjoys hands on activities, especially when he isn't being given a lot of direction.
__________________ Claire
Mom to DS 12/04, DS 5/07, DD 8/09
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Sharyn Forum Pro
Joined: June 20 2009 Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline Posts: 417
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:46pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Mackfam wrote:
sports, attending sporting events (!!!), building models, legos, drawing, building anything with his hands, physical activities, science projects/experiments, cooking, playing guitar |
|
|
Lego, how could I forget Lego it's like dog hair in this house. Expect to find it everywhere, hope not to find it in your cereal.
My boys love their Lego. The eldest also loves his sport, the other is a bit young yet.
__________________ Mum to dd (00), ds (03), dd (04), ds (06), one in God's care (08), dd (09), ds (11), one in God's care (13), and ds (13)
|
Back to Top |
|
|
3ringcircus Forum Pro
Joined: Dec 15 2011
Online Status: Offline Posts: 420
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:56pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I'm a gifted learner. G & D are so very different from each other, but very much creative thinkers. I can't see how they'll work well in any kind of education setting other than me exposing them to things and having them run w/ whatever inspires them. Hopefully I'm gifted enough to figure out how to sneak in some of the 3 R's in the middle of their tangents
My LOs prefer to play w/ random household items, and not toys, although there are a few favorites. G loves Legos, and D loves his kitchen (and being in the kitchen w/ me).
Both of them love playing with water. We set up a fountain occasionally (a pump from Lowe's in a large plastic urn plus a few of the attachments found in the same dept.). I set up the fountain for outdoor play when I got concerned about how much water they waste.
I'm thinking of setting up our kitchen desk area w/ art supplies they can have somewhat free access too. The thread about using mason jars is helping me figure the whole layout out. I pray that they don't make so much of a mess that I have to put the supplies out of reach again.
I'd like them to have more access to music. My ipod is breaking (click wheel). Not sure what I'm going to replace it with. They will start piano lessons soon. We are a musical family (I was a music teacher in my "previous life"). I'd like them to learn the basics so they can build on it in the future if they so choose.
I guess it's the gifted thinker in me, but we have a lot of non-fiction books, and watch a lot of Netflix documentaries. It really gets their creative juices flowing--in a more scientific way. We have fiction, too, but they are so interested in how things work.
__________________ Christine
Mom to my circus of boys: G-1/06, D-1/04, S-4/10
Started HS in Fall'12
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Sharyn Forum Pro
Joined: June 20 2009 Location: Australia
Online Status: Offline Posts: 417
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 5:57pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Drawing and painting, can't forget that too, it's a big creative outlet for us, such that I'm wondering why I forgot it
__________________ Mum to dd (00), ds (03), dd (04), ds (06), one in God's care (08), dd (09), ds (11), one in God's care (13), and ds (13)
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Mackfam Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006 Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline Posts: 14656
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 6:01pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Sharyn wrote:
Lego, how could I forget Lego it's like dog hair in this house. |
|
|
I'm ROTFL!!!
Yep. Dog-hair-legos!
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Claire F Forum Pro
Joined: Sept 14 2011
Online Status: Offline Posts: 272
|
Posted: Feb 02 2012 at 10:58pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We have legos everywhere too! My husband is as into building legos as the kids, so it's really out of control . DH's home office has been dubbed "The Lego Room." Between that, my 4 year-old's tendency to take things apart and my 2 year old DD who scoops up handfuls of legos and drops them around the house like pixie dust - I feel like I am always finding little lego parts!
__________________ Claire
Mom to DS 12/04, DS 5/07, DD 8/09
|
Back to Top |
|
|
CrunchyMom Forum Moderator
Joined: Sept 03 2007
Online Status: Offline Posts: 6385
|
Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 8:13am | IP Logged
|
|
|
In mulling over the chart and thinking about our family, it is also interesting to note how the kind of thinker one is will also be at play with one's temperament.
So, in looking at Jen's list about how she's a creative thinker, I'm also thinking her choleric tendencies help drive and focus that in concrete ways.
I think that my husband is also a creative thinker in many ways, but his work ethic makes him better equipped to follow through on more of his ideas than I am.
This chart is very helpful for providing a vocabulary to ponder these differences.
I think that one thing I struggle with as a mother is adjusting to "interruption." LIFE is just one GIANT interruption I was always the sort to begin a project and work off of the momentum, whether it was a personal project (like deciding I was going to learn embroidery) or an academic project (like a school project or paper). I also would withdraw into myself a great deal and do that one thing with little thought for anything else.
I have not adjusted well to having to think in spurts, and when I have to stop working on a project because of other responsibilities (like parenting or cooking dinner, lol), it is HARD for me to pick back up where I left off once I no longer have the freedom to be absorbed in it. I also think I lost brain cells once I had children
This is SO sanguine of me. And, I see a lot of these tendencies in my 5.5 ds. He is very capable when he's motivated, and whether he is motivated is dependent on how he *feels.*
Maybe this is off-topic, but I can't quite discern whether my immense struggles in this are more a matter of nature or nurture. I can't tell you how many times I left those school projects at home, and my parents brought them into me so I didn't lose points. They also didn't require my room to be clean or that I always remember my chores because "that's just how I was."
So, in the case of the really creative thinkers in your home, do you simply adjust to allow them the freedom to think and perform in the style where they flourish?
OR
Do you recognize that the world is not a friendly place to creative thinkers and insist that they conform to *some* extent so they can learn to think and have organizational habits conducive to a real world environment, whether it be in managing a home or performing professionally?
I guess I don't even know if my own struggles as a complete FLAKE are the type of thing I could have learned more practical skills for and still can, thus I would HOPE I could offer my son this. Or do I just ACCEPT that this is how he is and know he will likely struggle in the same ways I do?
I'm going to stop now since I can't quite find the words to fully express what I mean, lol.
__________________ Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Mackfam Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006 Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline Posts: 14656
|
Posted: Feb 03 2012 at 9:37am | IP Logged
|
|
|
CrunchyMom wrote:
In mulling over the chart and thinking about our family, it is also interesting to note how the kind of thinker one is will also be at play with one's temperament.
So, in looking at Jen's list about how she's a creative thinker, I'm also thinking her choleric tendencies help drive and focus that in concrete ways. |
|
|
That's very interesting because I was considering the same thing yesterday as I looked at this. In all the areas the creative thinker tends to wander off and daydream, I would be more focused and decisive. That's the choleric in me. I have always tested sanguine/choleric on temperament quizzes, but I think a better description of me overall would be choleric/creative thinker. I think my choleric tendencies seem like they'd be a better match for high achiever, and I do fall in that category in many places, but for the most part, I'm creative thinker. I also found it interesting that my husband is most definitely high achiever, but he is not choleric! He's a phlegmatic!! So....here's this high achieving, laid-back, loyal, generous husband of mine....paired up with this constantly brainstorming, creative, driven, motivated wife! Makes for some CRAZY decision making!
CrunchyMom wrote:
So, in the case of the really creative thinkers in your home, do you simply adjust to allow them the freedom to think and perform in the style where they flourish?
OR
Do you recognize that the world is not a friendly place to creative thinkers and insist that they conform to *some* extent so they can learn to think and have organizational habits conducive to a real world environment, whether it be in managing a home or performing professionally? |
|
|
My guess is a healthy balance of both, Lindsay. A creative thinker really needs a great deal of latitude and freedom. It's integral to their being. Removing all of that freedom would be like taking away the sunshine. There is no space left to create. It's suffocating.
I think that just as the temperaments each have strengths and weaknesses, and knowing that Christ is the perfection of each of the four temperaments, helps us see that we can seek the balance, rejoicing in the good of our temperament as well as our "thinking style", and work within who we are while stretching toward the balance - virtue. I mean, as a choleric, I can't be so DRIVEN that I mow over everyone else. That's certainly my impulse sometimes, but I have to temper that and seek Christ's perfection of focus while still being open, receptive to others, considerate.
CONCRETE EXAMPLE: (that my creative thinker/sanguine son just provided!) He's looking at his lesson plans (our healthy boundaries), and he's just asked to exchange his science assignment for the day with an electricity kit he's been working with. Choleric impulse: You can do both - your way and MY way! ( ) My answer: Sure! You can exchange my plans for yours. The request was reasonable and it's in keeping with the end goal which we identified together at the beginning of the year: exploring science topics. (we kept it broad because (1) he's in 6th grade and I'm fine with broad goals, and (2) I knew he was a creative thinker and needed lots of space and latitude - defining this goal too tightly would be more restrictive for him.) I guess I wouldn't come at it from the angle that the "world isn't a friendly place to...'x thinkers'.", although I do completely understand what you were trying to say there!! My 2 cents for that question would be that each temperament needs some tools to work within their temperament - like the suggestion I gave of offering the creative thinker lots of room/space/freedom to exercise within healthy boundaries, and identifying goals and allowing the creative thinker be in the drivers seat for getting there (if the creative thinker is also sanguine ( ) you might need more check in points along the way to keep the creative thinker pointed toward the goal). BUT.....here's where I get to be choleric. I don't give a flip whether the world is friendly toward me, my thinking style, my temperament!!! HOWEVER....I do want to be a saint. I do want to be pleasing to God. I do want to grow in virtue. And that requires some stretching in terms of my natural temperament. When I consider ways I must stretch toward virtue, new habits of thought I need to train myself in, it is much easier to motivate when I think of it in light of the end goal - to be a saint. I figure that if I can become a saint, all the other stuff will work out on its own.
I think it's dishonest, insincere - even incongruous - to try to deny my natural temperament when stretching toward virtue. In other words, I would look like a fool (and have before) if I try to morph into someone I'm not in an attempt to try to balance myself. It's actually impoverishing!! What does work for me is the time-tested, saint-approved method of finding the weaker tendencies of my temperament and areas of vice I seem to excel in ( ), and seeking the opposite virtue.
So, to sort of bring it back to your original question: adjust and nurture OR give tools for conforming? I would rephrase it just slightly for my answer:
Adjust and nurture AND give tools to stretch toward virtue and balance.
I hope that wasn't too far off the beaten path in an attempt to BRAINSTORM with you.
__________________ Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19, ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Jenn Sal Forum All-Star
Joined: June 23 2005 Location: Texas
Online Status: Offline Posts: 897
|
Posted: Feb 10 2012 at 11:41am | IP Logged
|
|
|
My 10yo dd is a cross between high achiever and gifted. But she so much want's to be like her 7yo brother who is very much a creative thinker. Finding outlets for her is much more difficult for me than for my son. I guess that makes me more like him, a creative thinker.
__________________ Jennifer, Texas
Wife to Mark, Mom to Cora 13,Kade 10, Sarah in Heaven 12/05, Colette 7, Corin 5, & Kieran 2
|
Back to Top |
|
|
Angie Mc Board Moderator
Joined: Jan 31 2005 Location: Arizona
Online Status: Offline Posts: 11400
|
Posted: Feb 10 2012 at 5:32pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks so much for your input here, friends. I plan to spend some time this weekend reading and replying.
Jenn Sal wrote:
My 10yo dd is a cross between high achiever and gifted. But she so much want's to be like her 7yo brother who is very much a creative thinker. Finding outlets for her is much more difficult for me than for my son. I guess that makes me more like him, a creative thinker. |
|
|
Jenn, I can see that! What's funny here is that I've always considered myself a high achiever and definitely not gifted - obviously ...but since reading this article and watching Ian...and seeing that we are a lot alike...I realize that I am actually a creative thinker to some extent. With you and your great sense of style, decorating, and ability to beautify anything is so obviously creative. Since I don't have any obvious signs of being creative...other than my cooking (but even then I tend to stick to the recipe blah, blah, blah) I just didn't see creativity in me. But now I think that its more about *how* I think...*how* I problem-solve...*how* my mind will wander all over the place looking for just the right solution to most any problem I perceive. So, perhaps, how I home educate is among the best examples of my creative thinking!
Love,
__________________ Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
About Me
|
Back to Top |
|
|
|
|