Nathan Grabow, a young American composer and pianist performs his original composition entitled Concertino in G Minor for Piano and Strings. He wrote the piece when he was twelve years old and is thirteen at the time of this performance with the Marywood University String Project Presto Orchestra, which is a youth orchestra. Nathan plays the piano in this performance. This well written, award winning Tango titled, “A Collaborative Conversation” was composed by a 12 year old prodigy with the clarinet and piano used for the instrumentation. He studies composition under the direction of world renowned composer, Narong Prangcharoen. https://youtu.be/rPct8V6prfQ
Stone Soup Magazine for young readers, writers, and artists
Writing Activity: developing character and perspective with character sketches
This writing activity is built around 11-year-old Ella Staats’ story, “My Mother’s Little Girl'” published in Stone Soup in September/October 2012. Read the story and then work on your project, which is write a story with two lead characters. But before you write the story, write a full character development, at least two typed pages long, for each of the characters. The only place that the fictional world of your story really exists is in your head. The more you have imagined that world–what it looks like and what each of your characters is like–the more convincing your story will feel to your readers. In “My Mother’s Little Girl,” we are dropped into a family in which the daughter is what used to be called a tomboy. She likes her hair short, doesn’t wear dresses, and has no interest in playing with dolls. This puts her in conflict with her mother. So far, we can say, predictable and even boring. And then something happens. Towards the end of the story the daughter learns something about her mother’s childhood and why her mother acts towards her the way she does. You might say, towards the end of the story the daughter learns her own mother’s backstory. That is when something interesting happens. A light goes off in the daughter’s head, “Ah! So that is why my mother acts the way she does!” And I know, at that point, I found myself rethinking the story from the beginning. The whole story suddenly made sense. While neither character is likely to change, what I think the story is about is how understanding can replace misunderstanding when two characters, especially characters who love each other, can finally understand where they are coming from. I don’t know whether the author, Ella Staats, had worked out her two characters before she started the story, or if letting the daughter learn about her mother’s childhood was something Ella thought of as she was writing. Authors work in different ways. For this project, I want you to try working the more methodical way, which is to work out your main characters before you set them down in your fictional world. Project: First, read Ella’s story, to see a great example of the kind of writing you are trying to produce. Create a character sketch for two characters who are very different from each other. Think of the sketch as writing a short biography. Do your best to create characters that seem real enough to you that you can imagine several different stories in which they relate to each other. Write down what each character looks like, their family history, and their temperament. What do they each like to do? Let your imagination go. Then, when you have two people who feel real, put them together into a story. Let them interact with each other. You don’t need to share with your readers everything you know about the characters. But I think you will find that, with the main characters so worked out, you will be able to create a story that carries with it an unusual sense of reality.
Gifted Soup Ingredients from A-Z: Asynchrony
Gifted Soup Ingredients from A-Z: Asynchrony “Discover your difference – the asynchrony with which you have been blessed or cursed and make the most of it. -Howard E. Gardner The intellectually gifted 10-year-old who reads at a high school level. Are they driving? Or dating? Or able to run 6 miles for cross country? They may still be a 10-year-old in terms of developmental skills or they might be behind their peers in social, emotional and developmentally skills. The word asynchrony simply means there is a gap between the intellectual abilities of the child and their developmental and/or chronological age. The differences can be marked, apparent and often very confusing. Common misconceptions might be that a 5-year-old reading chapter books should automatically be an expert at tying their shoes and riding a bike. A child’s creativity may be off the charts but they can’t follow simple instructions. Scientific terms come easily but they are easily derailed or distracted to the point of tears. The saying goes that you can’t be good at everything. An intellectually gifted child can be perceived as instantly being good at all things academic and in conjunction, being developmentally far ahead as well. When in daily life, they may be accelerated in one subject and lagging in social skills. In a classroom setting, asynchrony can become glaringly apparent and cause confusion that can lead to frustration for teacher and child (and parent). Canned soup is not the same as grandma’s all-day Sunday soup recipe. The intellectually gifted child’s asynchrony may require that teachers and parents take a different approach than just following microwave soup directions. Does the intellectually gifted child always excel? The simple answer is a big no. Some do. Some present as failing. An intellectually gifted child may have the ability to excel at academic subjects but can present as failing or struggling because an asynchronous skill like holding a pencil correctly holds them back. They may be two to three level grade levels ahead on paper and fail every test presented to them. It may be a simple attention span issue guided by their developmental age, not their academic ability.
