The word GENIUS has various connotations, some are misapplied. For example, set aside IQ scores, school grades and other measures of 'intelligence' - genius doesn't necessarily reside there.

The root of Genius is 'geni' - a greek and latin word meaning "to beget" or "to come into being" (like a genie rubbed from a lamp or like the biblical GENESIS) – that is, to produce or bring forth.  ‘Geni' is actually a verb, a word of action and intent.  In this respect, ‘genius' isn't knowledge per se, but what one DOES with knowledge.

GENIUS shares its root meaning with genial - "conducive to growth, enlightening, joyous and festive" (definitions from the Oxford English Dictionary).

You can see that the word 'genius' has more to do with bringing forth learning (joyous growth) and it's festive emergence from the self (thinking) than it has to do with intellect.

Genius is frequently used in reference to ingenious people - i.e., Edison, Einstein, Henry Ford, etc.  The word is a label describing their ability to associatively problem-solve using the marriage of creative and analytical thinking - to leap beyond the box of logic.  Delightfully, your young child's exploration of his/her unknown world is also ingenious, joyous, and rich with creative associations outside the box.  Children create meaning every day – they're geniuses.

Thomas Armstrong, Ph.D, (in his wonderful book Awakening Your Child's Natural Genius) explores the parenting value of recognizing your child's genius in practical, everyday parenting activities. He offers illuminating ways to observe your child's genius-at-work, especially when s/he plays.  Genius is a good word to describe how children learn - they actively PLAY to LEARN, they:

     • explore as they manipulate
     • spontaneously discover and learn in fumbling, persistent trial and error
     • experience fresh and satisfying cause and effect - what happens when...
     • delight in inadvertent success (achieve)
     • laugh from the sudden exhilaration of purposeful accomplishment (learn)
     • realize they command and control (self esteem)

In play is all the necessary motivation a child needs to learn.  What happens, as we mature, to that natural motivation?  In truth, it undergoes individual and unique transformations within each one of us, sometimes to the point where it gets lost altogether.  We could call this point ‘contentment' or the ‘status quo' - when the motivation shuts down, having arrived in a shady place on a long journey.  Your child is not likely to rest here long; nor should you.

Of course, it's not for us here at KidsSuccess to say what your journey is or where it may take you.  That's not our intent.  Our mission is to engage YOU, and your journey with your child, in ways that will bring forth the natural genius of your parent/child bond.  We DO this:

     • When we Play with Purpose
     • When we use Words at Play
     • When we find focus through the eyes of our own unique child.

The 12 QUALITIES OF GENIUS described here lead you directly to your child in refreshing ways.  As you engage your child's natural genius, you will experience HOW you can nurture, support and cultivate your child's inherent Success Skills.  It's a worthy journey taken Five Minutes at a Time, one quality to the next.

But before you enter your child's ‘Curiosity' (the first Quality), ask yourself; “How DO I interact currently with my child's natural genius?

For the next month or so observe the ways you support, suppress and/or act indifferent to it. These 12 Qualities of Genius will help you focus.

ENJOY THE JOURNEY