Gifted Community Enrichment: A Class for Grown Ups

Parents and guardians are always welcome and encouraged to attend classes with their child/children to make the most of this wonderful experience.  Alternately, join other grown-ups for Gifted Community Enrichment (GCE).  Each Saturday through our GCE sessions, The Super Saturday Program offers knowledgeable presenters, Q&A, and facilitated discussion to provide you with insights into life with gifted children, resources, and contacts.

  • Anyone with an interest in gifted education is welcome to come attend GCE, including parents, guardians, teachers, counselors…
  • There is no cost and no registration required to attend.
  • GCE is provided as a service to the community.
  • Sessions will begin at 9:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., 15 minutes after students begin morning and afternoon classes.

TSSP is a rare haven for parents and guardians of gifted children where we can talk with one another to compare notes about joys and challenges, make connections, learn what other schools are doing regarding gifted services, and simply relate in ways that others cannot. Through GCE, we actively foster this supportive communication.

For parents and guardians with a student attending class, we require attendance for the first 15 minutes of the morning or afternoon session the first week.  We need this time to communicate key information about the term.

For questions on GCE, please contact messagecenter@supersaturday.org.

We look forward to collaborating with you to help our community face the challenges of educating our children.

2025-2026 Schedule

Fall Term

 
Week 1, October 11th
1) Welcome & Orientation
 
After signing children into their classrooms, we ask everyone to stay for the first 15 minutes as we cover the most up-to-date policies including safety and security measures.  Following that, speakers for the term will be announced. The remainder of the time will be opened up for Q&A.  Because there is a wealth of knowledge among us, we encourage both new and returning parents and guardians to stay for the duration.  Our program is enriched with the diversity of every person attending.

 
 

2) Jessica LaFollette, Ph.D.
Staying Smart in the Age of Chatbots:
Preparing Your Gifted Child to Think Critically About Generative AI
How and when should parents and caregivers encourage our gifted children and teens to use AI chatbots?  Opportunities to learn with this new technology are almost as endless as the concerns it raises.  As an experienced gifted educator and parent, Dr. LaFollette will share a balanced and practical approach that gifted families can follow as we guide our naturally intelligent future leaders and thinkers into college and careers that will certainly include some aspect of artificial intelligence.  This session will include specific conversation starters, family tech experiments, and discussion of the value of natural childhood intelligence alongside the power and potential of generative AI tools.

Jessica LaFollette serves as the Parent representative on the National Association of Gifted Children’s Board of Directors.  She teaches gifted students at Piper Middle School in Kansas City and is an adjunct professor at the University of Missouri.  She is co-author of the LEAP Guidebook for Differentiating Instruction and the forthcoming book, Magic in the Middle: Hands on Challenges that Create Joy for Gifted Middle School Students to be published by Prufrock Press.  Dr. LaFollette is a Past President of the Kansas Association for the Gifted and past Chair of NAGC’s Parent Network.  When she is not teaching, she enjoys puzzles, reading, baking, and traveling with her husband and four children.
 
 

Week 2, October 18th
TBD
 
 
 
Week 3, October 25th
TBD
 
 
 
 
Week 4, November 1st
TBD
 
 
 
 
Week 5, November 8th
Kristie Speirs Neumeister
Game On: Strategy Tips for Parenting Gifted Kids
 
Parenting gifted children can seem like a strategic, evolving game where every move counts.  Just when you think you mastered it, you “level” up to a new stage of development requiring a fresh skill set.  In this session we’ll unlock key strategic moves to help parents navigate the challenging course of raising gifted kids, all with the ultimate goal of helping them become well-adjusted and ready to take on their own game.
 
 

 
Week 6, November 15th
TBD
 
 
 

In the Lobby:
Book* Swap
 
The last session of every term, The Program facilitates a book (*and puzzle, and board game…) exchange.  Is your home overflowing with books?  Do you have a voracious reader that you can’t keep up with?  Bring those children’s books you would like to pass along and pick up new-to-your-child books, whether or not you brought any.

A table will be set up near the doors to the cafe.

 
Note: On the last day of the term, some classes invite parents and guardians to view students’ work or a presentation.
 
 

While great effort is made to ensure attendees can count on the schedule as published, unforeseen problems may occur which make it necessary to reschedule or replace a speaker.

In addition to being posted above, dates and speakers are also posted as Facebook events and are posted to a Google Calendar.
Instructions for subscribing to the Google Calendar »

Past Speakers and Topics »