Gifted Resources Activity Report 2014

During 2014 Jo Freitag /Gifted Resources has:

Continued to undertake project work with Borderlands http://www.borderlands.org.au/

Developed and maintained the website for Gifted Resources
http://www.giftedresources.org/

and Jo Freitag’s website http://www.giftedresources.org/jo/

Written and distributed by email Gifted Resources Newsletter and Gifted Resources Newsletter Extension and Holiday programs

Maintained the Gifted Resources library, updated the catalogue and circulated library books by post.

Updated the Gifted Resources Information Packs.

Provided information and resources for teachers and parents during personal consultations, by phone, using Skype or Blackboard Collaborate webinars and by email

Provided information and resources for homeschooling families and those contemplating commencement of home schooling

Presented on Jo Hart’s Edublogs Fine Focus Columbus Cheetah Myth buster in January and February 2014

http://johart1.edublogs.org/2014/02/11/edublogs-webinar-overviews-janfeb-2014/

http://johart1.edublogs.org/2014/03/02/edublogs-webinar-overviews-feb-2014/

Presented at the first OZeLive online conference 22-23 February 2014
https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/02/28/ozelive-reflections-2/

Was a guest expert on Twitter #gtchat 0n 1 March 2014
https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/guest-on-twitter-gtchat/

Presented at the Community Connect webinar 27 March 2014 https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/03/28/community-connect-webinar/

Presented on a Q& A panel to a group of teachers and designed a page One Page to Tell to summarise important issues
https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/one-page-to-tell/

Presented at Jo Hart’s Edublogs Fine Focus (14/15 May 2014) – “One page to tell about giftedness”

Participated in RSCON 5 in July 2014
https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/08/07/rscon-5-july-2014/

Provided resources and prayer support for mentors from All Saints Rosebud with St. Katherine’s McCrae http://www.rosebudmccrae.melbourneanglican.org.au/  serving in the Kids Hope Aus program http://www.kidshopeaus.org.au/

Was invited to exhibit at Gifted Networking Expo but was not able to attend
https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/featured-flyer-2/

Developed a Persona Doll for Sprite

https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/2014/10/12/persona-dolls/
http://spritessite.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/could-sprite-be-a-persona-doll/
http://spritessite.wordpress.com/2014/10/30/sprite-as-a-persona-doll/

Participated in online conferences, webinars and weekly Twitter global #gtchat sessions
http://www.txgifted.org/gtchat

http://globalgtchatpoweredbytagt.wordpress.com/

Participated in Jo Hart’s Edublogs Serendipity and Fine Focus webinars http://johart1.edublogs.org/
Participated in Australia eSeries webinars https://australiaseries.wordpress.com/

Updated the Gifted Resources blog https://giftedresources.wordpress.com/  and Sprite’s Site blog http://spritessite.wordpress.com/  which were both nominated for the Sydney Writers’ Centre Best Australian Blogs competition
Participated in Gifted Homeschoolers Bloggers Forum Blog Hops  http://giftedhomeschoolers.org/blog-hops/
Participated in Hoagiesgifted Blog Hops
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/blog_hops.htm

Participated in the Brilliant Chaos Group on Facebook monthly creating challenges
http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/brilliantchaosonline/doc/253263591368971/
http://www.giftedresources.org/jo/creatingchallenge.htm

Participated in 52 Illustrations Challenge Group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/418616991575037/

http://www.giftedresources.org/jo/52illustrations.htm

Participated in INKtober 31 Group on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1463633423897107/

Posted a daily My Sky Twitter Bird picture http://www.giftedresources.org/jo/mysky.htm

Jo Freitag
Gifted Resources 

 

Persona Dolls

Recently I received a request from a teacher to answer some questions relating to giftedness to help her develop a persona doll for an assignment she was doing.

She supplied this information about persona dolls and the doll she intended to create.

“A persona doll is a doll developed by a practitioner/educator to enable children to gain an awareness and understanding of the richness and diversity of different backgrounds and lifestyles as well as to help children learn strategies for dealing with unfairness against themselves and others.
The dolls are given personalities, family and cultural backgrounds, likes and dislikes and the stories that are created around them enable children to explore positive and negative emotions.
To be able to develop one, I need to research and consult with children and their families to develop the persona doll identity and story. This is to avoid stereotypes and to provide an authentic representation of the children and their challenges.
I believe that developing a persona doll about giftedness can also be a way to advocate because children, families and educators where it will be shared will be cognizant of the current realities and difficulties faced by children that are gifted.”

She then asked a large number of detailed questions about ethnic, socio-economic and cultural conditions and everyday life matters to help her build a unique and authentic persona for her doll.

She would have liked to ask the questions to my youngest child also, hoping to hear a child’s voice expressed. Our youngest is now in his late twenties; so was not able to provide the child voice.

After replying that gifted children can be found in every ethnic, socio-economic and religion group so she could choose whatever background she felt most comfortable to use; I answered the giftedness related questions and some of the everyday life issues questions using my twice exceptional blog character, Sprite, to personalise the answers.

I have written a separate blog post about my answers for a post on Sprite’s Site and will include the link here
http://spritessite.wordpress.com/2014/10/13/could-sprite-be-a-persona-doll/

I have enjoyed searching the Internet for information about Persona Dolls.

Here are some of the interesting and helpful sites I found.

http://www.persona-doll-training.org/ukhome.html

http://www.amazeworks.org/curriculum/personadolls.html

https://extranet.education.unimelb.edu.au/ceiec/DiversityDolls/index.html

http://www.montessori.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/99725/issue_66.pdf

http://www.teachingforchange.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ec_personadolls_english.pdf

http://maisiareflections.wordpress.com/2011/11/03/personas/

I began to consider the idea of buying a persona doll here http://www.persona-doll-training.org/ukresources.html

 

or here http://www.amazeworks.org/store/p_pdoll.html

and dressing it as my Sprite (I already have all the mini versions of De Bono’s 6 Action shoes and a mini plaster cast); or of sewing one myself.

I found sewing instructions here
http://www.livingcrafts.com/blog/doll-room/a-doll-for-every-child

This is what I imagine a Sprite 2E twice exceptional persona doll would look like.