Quality Criteria for the Advancement of Gifted Pre-School Children in Kindergarten

by Hanna Vock

An attitude that is supportive of giftedness

appreciating giftedness and thereby promoting a trusting relationship.

Targeted individual observation

by the use of applicable guidelines for observations,

as best soon after the beginning of attendance in kindergarten

in order to identify the fortes, skills and interests of the child
in order to determine what the child is intellectually occupying itself with, what it is fascinated by, what it is pondering and the way it thinks
documentation of these observations

Continuous observation of everyday life in kindergarten

and evocative observations in order to verify and substantiate early impressions

Appreciation

of the extraordinary fortes and interests of the child
even if these are „intellectual“ interests and dealing with academic topics

Active communication of that appreciation

directed at the gifted child, its parents and the other children in the group.

Casual research

in cases of noticeably aggressive or depressive moods
considering as a possible cause for these that the child is permanently not challenged enough
put an end to this not being challenged enough and watch whether the child then becomes more balanced, happier and more active

Integrating the child in the group

by enhancing communication between the gifted child and the other children
by incorporating the gifted child’s interests and ideas for playing in projects
by taking into account the child’s possibly asynchronous cognitive and emotional development

Organising „clusters“ of gifted children,

in order to provide positive group experiences
in order to experience encouragement and stimulation by other gifted children
in order to promote satisfying playing and learning experiences for the child

Deliberately holistic advancement

in projects – regardless of who initiates them, children or teachers
always addressing several developmental domains simultaneously

Facilities and equipment at the kindergarten

games and materials for playing, books and other media which are apt to provide stimuli and challenges even for a gifted child

Experts

Invite them to kindergarten or go and meet them outside of kindergarten .

An athmosphere of genuine voluntariness

should be created in activities.
Any kind of pressure to perform should be avoided.
As long as the child is always free to withdraw and does not have to fulfill the adults’ expectations there is hardly a chance that it will feel overwhelmed

Avoid too little challenge

Ascertain the child’s potentials.
Fully utilize the gifted child’s potential at its individual pace of learning.

Allow for „race tracks“

Overcome your own reservations
Encourage parents not to decelerate their child’s developmental pace.

Find a favourable time for school enrolment

together with the child, the parents and the school.

Supportive cooperation with primary school

is to be sought actively.

At best the entire team of a kindergarten assumes an attitude that is supportive of giftedness.

It is also vital that professional openness and competent communication prevail among the team. But even if it is only one person in the team who implements measures of advancement for gifted children, this is a great gain for these children.

This article was written in collaboration with the “Kita Sedanstraße” in Remscheid, which was certified “Integrative Focus Kindergarten for the Advancement of Gifted Children” in 2006.

The translation of this article was made possible by
Heike Miethig, Alsdorf, und Helma Dressen, Aachen.