Parents of gifted children meet roughly once a month to discuss a specific book or article that is of interest to the group.  Come to all the discussions, or come to only those that specifically pertain to you.  Read the book in depth, skim it, or take a look at the cover on Amazon before your run out the door!  The objective is to use the book to frame the discussion with other parents who face the same kinds of parenting challenges you do! 

Click on links to learn more about or register for a particular session.

Interested in having a book group in your area or at a time more convenient for you?  Let's start one up!  Contact your regional coordinator, or Newenka with your ideas and suggestions.  

CGCC Westmont Daytime Parenting Book Discussion

Generally meeting the first Wednesday of the month at the Commons in Westmont.

Registration is required

September 1, 2021:  Lifelines: An Inspirational Journey from Profound Darkness to Radiant Light by Melissa Bernstein 

October 6, 2021: Insight Into A Bright Mind  by Nicole A Tetreault link

November 3, 2021: TBD  link

December 1, 2021: TBD link

February 2, 2021: Gifted Lives: What Happens when Gifted Children Grow Up   By Joan Freeman  link

Previous Reads:

September 4, 2019: The Curse of Genius link 

October 2, 2019: Smart but Scattered     

November 6, 2019: Unwritten Rules: Real Strategies to Parent Your Child Into a Successful Adult  

December 4, 2018: The New Childhood: Raising Kids to Thrive in a Connect World by Jordan Shapiro.

February 12, 2020 (date changed, originally scheduled for February 5): How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk OR How to Talk So Teens Will Listen and Listen So Teens Will Talk

March 4, 2020: Raising and living with gifted kids

April 8, 2020: Movie Month!!!  Captain Fantastic

May 6, 2020: Finding Good Mentoring Relationships for your kids

June 3, 2020: Differently Wired  by Deborah Reber

August 5, 2020: Out of Sync by Stephanie Tolan

October 7, 2020: Understanding Your Gifted Child From the Inside Out by Jim Delisle

November 4, 2020: Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization by Scott Barry Kaufman

December 2. 2020:  The Gifted School: A Novel by Bruce Holsinger

February 3, 2021: The Gifted Adult: A Revolutionary Guide for  Liberating Everyday Genius by Mary-Elaine Jacobsen 

March 3, 2021: The Power of Self Advocacy for Gifted Learners by Deb Douglas 

April 7, 2021: Super Powered: Transform Anxiety into Courage, Confidence and Resilience by Renee Jain and Tsabary Shefali 

For more gifted book ideas, see our Gifted Book list in Resources.

CGCC Book Club & Virtual Coffee

Join hosts Violeta Balan and Katherine Peterson, SENG Model Parent Group Facilitators and board members in an online book club conversation created to support your journey as parents of gifted children. Usually, this conversation club meets bi-weekly on Thursday mornings from 9:00 am - 10:30 am, but it occasionally takes some breaks.

At past meetings, in 2020, we have discussed "Giftedness 101" by Linda Silverman, "The Highly Sensitive Child" by Elaine Aron,  "The Strong, Sensitive Boy" by Ted Zeff, "Supporting Emotional Needs of the Gifted:  30 essays on Giftedness, 30 Years of SENG" by various SENG Authors and Living With Intensity: Understanding the Sensitivity, Excitability, and the Emotional Development of Gifted Children, Adolescents, and Adults by Susan Daniels and Michael M. Piechowski (editors).  Depending on the book and the preference of the group, we have discussed one book for multiple meetings and sometimes we have also had just a social hour. 

In 2021,  we started our discussions with the topic of Mindfulness and we read  Planting Seeds of Mindfulness: Creating the Conditions to Help Gifted Kids to Flourish and Bloom Intellectually, Emotionally, and Spiritually by Michele Kane & Dorothy A. Sisk. We also had the pleasure of hosting Prof. Kane for one of our meetings. We then discussed the practice of Self-Compassion and read the book with the same title  Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself by Dr. Kristin Neff.  This book club is currently taking a break from meeting at least until June 2021.  Our next read will be  Differently Wired: Raising an Exceptional Child in a Conventional World by Deborah Reber.