The cheetah cubs are based on renowned author Stephanie Tolan’s now-famous cheetah metaphor for gifted children. Cheetahs are the fastest animal in the world, but if we put restrictions on them and hold them back, Tolan posits, would they still be cheetahs? If a cheetah was caged and never allowed to run, would it be a cheetah? If a cheetah were fed only zoo chow so that it was left undernourished, would it still be a cheetah? If a cheetah never learned how to be a proper cheetah, would we ever say that it was not, in fact, a cheetah?

The answer, of course, is no. Holding gifted children back in school, giving them only dumbed-down books to read (the intellectual equivalent of zoo chow), or refusing to acknowledge their gifts does not make these children any less gifted. But nor does being gifted make them immediately able to deal with all difficulties that come their way. They need nurturing and guidance to reach their full potential, just like any other children.

These illustrated picture books are for young gifted children who need help understanding the difficulties that come with their gifts and who must learn to appreciate their strengths rather than focus on their struggles. Each book tells an engaging story, which is followed by pages for the child that contain questions and activities for the child to enjoy, as well as pages for parents (or teachers) that offer information about the topic at hand and tips about what to talk about with the child. These books are an important first step toward enabling gifted children to feel good about themselves for exactly who they are.

Readers may also want to check out Out of Sync: Essays on Giftedness by Stephanie S. Tolan, which contains, among other interesting and enlightening writings, Tolan’s cheetah essay.

The post The Cheetah Stories Set appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The cheetah cubs are five gifted youngsters who exhibit the five overexcitabilities. These cubs illustrate several of the difficulties commonly encountered by gifted children, and yet they all also demonstrate how to deal with such issues in a positive and often a proactive way.

These illustrated picture books are for young gifted children who need help understanding the difficulties that come with their gifts and who must learn to appreciate their strengths rather than focus on their struggles.

Titles in Series:

Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Custom Built
Color My Boots
Catch On 
Can You Believe It? 

The Cheetah Stories Set

The post Can You Believe It? appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The cheetah cubs are five gifted youngsters who exhibit the five overexcitabilities. These cubs illustrate several of the difficulties commonly encountered by gifted children, and yet they all also demonstrate how to deal with such issues in a positive and often a proactive way.

These illustrated picture books are for young gifted children who need help understanding the difficulties that come with their gifts and who must learn to appreciate their strengths rather than focus on their struggles.

Titles in Series:

Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Custom Built
Color My Boots
Catch On 
Can You Believe It? 

The Cheetah Stories Set

The post Catch On appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The cheetah cubs are five gifted youngsters who exhibit the five overexcitabilities. These cubs illustrate several of the difficulties commonly encountered by gifted children, and yet they all also demonstrate how to deal with such issues in a positive and often a proactive way.

These illustrated picture books are for young gifted children who need help understanding the difficulties that come with their gifts and who must learn to appreciate their strengths rather than focus on their struggles.

Titles in Series:

Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Custom Built
Color My Boots
Catch On 
Can You Believe It? 

The Cheetah Stories Set

The post Color My Boots appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The cheetah cubs are five gifted youngsters who exhibit the five overexcitabilities. These cubs illustrate several of the difficulties commonly encountered by gifted children, and yet they all also demonstrate how to deal with such issues in a positive and often a proactive way.

These illustrated picture books are for young gifted children who need help understanding the difficulties that come with their gifts and who must learn to appreciate their strengths rather than focus on their struggles.

Titles in Series:

Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Custom Built
Color My Boots
Catch On 
Can You Believe It? 

The Cheetah Stories Set

The post Custom Built appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The cheetah cubs are five gifted youngsters who exhibit the five overexcitabilities. These cubs illustrate several of the difficulties commonly encountered by gifted children, and yet they all also demonstrate how to deal with such issues in a positive and often a proactive way.

These illustrated picture books are for young gifted children who need help understanding the difficulties that come with their gifts and who must learn to appreciate their strengths rather than focus on their struggles.

Titles in Series:

Ready or Not, Here I Come!
Custom Built
Color My Boots
Catch On 
Can You Believe It? 

The Cheetah Stories Set

The post Ready or Not, Here I Come! appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Our bodies are bombarded with sensory information all day every day. As adults, we know how to filter out what we don’t need to attend to in order to function in the world, but children can feel overwhelmed with sensory overload. Teaching children methods of intentional sensing is an effective way of helping them to understand what their bodies are telling them—the secret code that is the language of the body.

This book introduces children to the language of the senses and teaches them specific strategies to help them cope with sensations that are unpleasant or overpowering, causing stress or unhappiness. Children who learn these types of self-regulation techniques can use them to become happier and more mindful of both what is happening around them and what is going on within.

The post The Secret Code of Senses – Student Book (Perfect-Bound) appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Intentional breathing is the act of using our breath to help us calm down, whether we are upset, angry, scared, or stressed. It is a technique that even young children can master. This book offers children an easy way to learn five different kinds of breathing techniques so that they can begin to take control of their emotional responses and self-soothe in order to feel better in difficult situations. It is also a wonderful way to introduce children to the concept of mindfulness.

The post Breath Magic – Student Book (Perfect-Bound) appeared first on Classical Education Books.

The flashcards feature short, relevant sayings about proper behavior at the dinner table, around the home, and out in public. The front of the card features the manner while the back offers a short explanation of the manner.

The post Manner of the Week – Flashcards appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Our bodies are bombarded with sensory information all day every day. As adults, we know how to filter out what we don’t need to attend to in order to function in the world, but children can feel overwhelmed with sensory overload. Teaching children methods of intentional sensing is an effective way of helping them to understand what their bodies are telling them—the secret code that is the language of the body.

This book introduces children to the language of the senses and teaches them specific strategies to help them cope with sensations that are unpleasant or overpowering, causing stress or unhappiness. Children who learn these types of self-regulation techniques can use them to become happier and more mindful of both what is happening around them and what is going on within.

This book is printed with a special dyslexia-friendly font that is easier for some children to read.

Related Resources:

The Secret Code of Senses – Student Book
The Secret Code of Senses – Instructor Guide 

The post The Secret Code of Senses – Student Book (Dyslexia Version) appeared first on Classical Education Books.

Intentional breathing is the act of using our breath to help us calm down, whether we are upset, angry, scared, or stressed. It is a technique that even young children can master. This book offers children an easy way to learn five different kinds of breathing techniques so that they can begin to take control of their emotional responses and self-soothe in order to feel better in difficult situations. It is also a wonderful way to introduce children to the concept of mindfulness.

This book is printed with a special dyslexia-friendly font that is easier for some children to read.

Related Resources:

Breath Magic – Student Book (Standard Font)
Breath Magic – Instructor Guide 

The post Breath Magic – Student Book (Dyslexia Version) appeared first on Classical Education Books.

This book presents young children with fifteen problems, each one depicted through the pure, uncluttered medium of a full-page illustration. The illustrations show children in age-appropriate situations in which what they want or need is unavailable or unattainable, at least given the circumstances presented. Children must consider the problems and then answer basic questions about them and complete related extension activities.

But don’t be fooled! The secret to the effectiveness of this book is that, although the problems are presented simply, they are often anything but simple. Each problem presents a scenario with no easy answers. Many of them coax children toward an understanding that getting what you want, how you want it, when you want it is often not possible; in real life, we often must compromise, or make the best of a less-than-ideal situation, or look for a new way of accomplishing our goal. These lessons are critical to children learning to be resilient, to be flexible, to persevere, to delay gratification, and, most importantly, to problem-solve, which will make them more effective at everything they hope to accomplish for the future, both personally and professionally.

This book is printed with a special dyslexia-friendly font that is easier for some children to read.

Titles in Series:

What to Do? Level A (Dyslexia Version)
What to Do? Level B (Dyslexia Version)

What to Do? Level A – Student Book 
What to Do? Level B – Student Book 
What to Do? Level C – Student Book

The post What To Do? Level B (Dyslexia Version) appeared first on Classical Education Books.