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Book Review of Coloring Outside the Lines: Raising a Smarter Kid by Breaking All the Rules

Coloring Outside the Lines: Raising a Smarter Kid by Breaking All the Rules
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I can't say enough about this book it's AWESOME!!! He goes beyond the "getting good grades" aspect of school. This book is especially welcoming to me as a parent who has been told my child is very gifted in areas that can't be graded, many listed in the inside cover "speaking convincingly and eloquently, thinking fast, finding logical solutions to problems easily, is curious, sets goals and doesn't think about failure, is very self confident, is overly creative and engaging".

BUT this was pointed out to me in a negative manner "your child is so intelligent BUT in ways that can't be graded so they are viewed more as negative "traits" and should not be displayed in school. My child suffers from too much "free spirit-ness" and it certainly causes us great concern because we wanted him to fit in into the "structured society" of school norm.

This book helped us find ways to balance some of the things we struggle with, my child doesn't have to try hard to get grades, and he's fine with that. But what the teacher and we as parents see instead is he's capable of so much more because he's not really putting in much effort. So we push him harder (or try to anyway) we really don't need to be doing that as long as we keep everything balanced in a healthy and enriching way. We have so much drive for our children that it's hard to except they don't have the same drive.

The book certainly isn't a "just let your children be as they are" book. It's a book for proactive parents who care about the intellectual development of their kids and want to guide them toward a happy future. I got the book not so much to help direct my child to "color outside of the lines" but how to "color more inside the lines" and I think the book can help no matter which side your child tends to lean more on.