Tag Archives: questions

The Big Questions 2

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Gifted Online from New Zealand have put together some resources for helping children after the recent Christchurch Earthquakes at http://ultranet.giftededucation.org.nz/WebSpace/364/

They say:

This page has been written in case it is helpful to the parents and teachers of children who experienced the earthquakes in Christchurch, but may also be useful to other parents and teachers of gifted children.

Gifted children often sense their emotions more strongly than their age mates, and have an enormous awareness of social justice and the needs of others. They may empathise far more deeply with those affected badly by the quake than another child their age would, even if they have fared relatively well themselves. While caring for these children in similar ways that we would care for other children who are shocked or grieving will often be appropriate, it can also be useful to help gifted children identify ways in which strong emotions are a positive thing in their lives. Strong emotions can be energising, can help us to be caring, can enable us to create and appreciate beauty and humour, and make us interesting to know. 

ISTE International Society for Technology in Education has put together teaching resources about seismic activity at 

http://www.iste.org/connect/iste-connects/blog-detail/11-03-11/An_Educator_s_Guide_to_Earthquakes_K-12_Teaching_Resources_on_Seismic_Activity.aspx

Ready Ed http://www.readyed.com.au/ has a teaching unit book Earthquakes volcanoes and tsunamis http://readyed.com.au/index.php?cPath=25_77&sort=5a&page=2

Dr Michele Borba discusses Post Traumatic Stress Disorders in children in an article at http://www.micheleborba.com/blog/2010/01/16/could-your-child-suffer-from-post-traumatic-stress-disorder-know-the-signs/

Lisa Rivero, author of Creative home schooling for gifted children, also has a helpful article on her blog
Helping children cope with disasters
http://lisarivero.com/2011/03/13/helping-children-cope-with-disaster/
which  includes a link to a PDF file from NAGC
http://www.nagc.org/uploadedFiles/About_NAGC/Division_Pages/GANewsSPRING05_Final.pdf

The Big Questions

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 “Are we in the End Times?” Sprite asked.
I was not really surprised that she asked the question.
Gifted Children tend to think about the big life and death questions. Unless we manage to shield them completely from all forms of media and news coverage, they will know what is happening in the world and they will be concerned.
 Combine that with their enhanced capacity for combining facts from a number of various sources and synthesising them and drawing conclusions and inferences and also their heightened emotional sensitivity and intensity.

I had prepared myself to be asked that question by the children in my Church Sunday School group yesterday. We usually spend a few minutes at the start of each session talking about and praying for any concerns the children have. Sometimes they ask for prayer for sick family members or discuss their concern about things they have heard on the news. But when asked about their week yesterday, all the children talked happily about school and family events and so we carried on with the regular lesson.
But it was a topic of conversation amongst the adults.

We read in the Bible

Matt 24:6-8 (King James Version)
6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

 7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places.

 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.

This sounds like a vivid description of recent events in our world.

But  some people say there have been many other times in history when this would have been true. Some of the early Christians in the book of Acts believed they were living in the End Days and were not working because of that belief.

We are told in Matthew 24:36 (king James Version)

 36But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only

So we are instructed to be ready for Jesus’ return at all times like the 5 wise virgins of Matt. 24:1-13 who had oil ready for their lamps.

And that is what I would have told the children if they had asked and also that we have the promise from Jesus in Hebrews 13: 5 that He will not leave us or forsake us.