Descriptions of 2010 sessions:

• Ice Breaker Games – Lisa Betts-LaCroix and Loni Kaplan, PGR Parents
• Team Building – Lisa Betts-LaCroix and Loni Kaplan, PGR Parents
• Capture the Flag – Nico Peck, PGR Teen: An epic strategic running game fun for all ages (including parents) and abilities, played large-scale outdoors on beautiful castle grounds. The object of this family-friendly game is to work together to outwit the opposing team and capture their flag.
  We'll have a mission briefing before the first round. No previous experience required.
  All participants are encouraged to play, however, parents, please guide/assist your younger children.
• Unexpected Consequences of Parenting in the PG Family – Michele Kane: For many parents of PG children the journey of parenting hearkens back to their own developmental journey. Sometimes buried and sometimes celebrated, personal memories may emerge during the parenting process of living and acclimating to a world where differences are often unaccepted. In this session we will share experiences of recognizing and acknowledging the similarities and differences of our own life trajectory and that of our children. Bringing to awareness our fears and anxieties may help in preparing ourselves and our children for an unknown future. Similarly, we will examine our hopes and expectations for our children and the many ways we try to create optimal situations for our families to flourish.
• Living with Intensity: Feminine and Masculine Perspectives of Families with Overexcitabilities - Michele Kane and Dan Tichenor: In these sessions we will explore the intensities and sensitivities that are the essential nature of the members in PG families. Kazimierz Dabrowski recognized five types of overexcitabilities, which are mental functions that contribute to the developmental potential of individuals. In this session we will be looking at the overexcitabilities through the lens of gender by exploring the ideas in a men’s group and women’s group. Each group will discuss the positive and constructive aspects of the overexcitabilities and the ways that they contribute to growth as well as the dynamics of living in an intense family environment. Strategies to modulate the overexcitabilities and strategies for self-care will be shared in a small group format. Dan Tichenor will facilitate the men’s session and Michele Kane will facilitate the women’s session.
• Exploring Big Ideas Michele Kane and Catherine Zakoian (teen session): Huge philosophical issues have piqued the interest and curiosity of mankind from ancient to modern times. Big ideas such as the nature of beauty, the nature of truth, and the nature of aesthetics have confounded the great thinkers of the ages. Additionally, questions of “What is the meaning of life?", "Where did we come from?", and "What is reality?", have given rise to many suppositions and speculation. This session focuses on those universal big ideas and will be guided by the thoughts and interests of the group. Participants are welcome to be actively engaged in the conversation or attend as a participant observer.
• Ooey-Gooey Fun – Dan Tichenor: Discover the world of ooey-gooey gloppy stuff like ooblek, gak, silly putty, salt dough and other sticky stuff. Follow a recipe and measure ounces, cups, teaspoons and table spoons. Roll up you sleeves and wiggle your fingers exploring various textures in basic kitchen chemistry and have some fun making messes with your friends.
• Once Upon a Time – Dan Tichenor: Everyone has a story to tell. Some are funny and some are scary. Some are family stories. Some are fairy tales. Some are adventure stories. Some are folk tales or tall tales. Some are joyful and some are sad.. Search your imagination and get ready to tell your favorite story. Come and listen and share with other storytellers.
• CLOSE TO THE BONE; CHARACTER AND TEMPERAMENT OF THE HIGHLY GIFTED – P. Susan Jackson: In the heroic quest toward full spectrum living, the exceptionally gifted child may experience awe, inexorable perceptions and insights, complex original fantasy and images and deep connections to others and ideals. There is an enlivening, animating quality to these experiences that has the possibility of being transformative and creative. They are normal occurrences needing acknowledgement and healthy expression. Easily pulled into this inner world, however, highly gifted children may become lost in the immense truth of those inner deliberations rendering them inaccessible to the demands of the outer world, seemingly unapproachable, distant or unyielding. Depth psychologist Carl Jung’s original work in temperament offers stunning insights into the atypical, dynamic temperament of highly gifted persons. In Jung’s typology highly gifted persons are most often introverted, intuitive perceivers with either a thinking or feeling judgment preference. While rare in the general population, these temperament types have the capacity to both confound and enchant. A deeper understanding of the temperament of highly gifted children affords insights for teachers, parents and therapists into those who live “close to the bone.”
• Climbing up a narrow path: guidance on advanced development and the authentic life for the highly gifted person – P. Susan Jackson: Identified by their extraordinary intellect and uncommon talent, highly gifted persons exhibit atypical psycho-social development and idiosyncratic, distinctive patterns of motivation and achievement. Optimal development requires engagement of all aspects of Self including physical, mental, emotional, spiritual and social. Growing up “highly gifted” engenders powerful insights, a heightened drive for learning and experiencing, periods of dissolution and strife and a not- to- be ignored need to discover purpose, meaning and connections in life. The urge to live fully and authentically compels the highly gifted person forward on an often trackless path requiring deep self-awareness and radical courage to navigate. This presentation provides guidance and insight for parents, mental health practitioners, educators and the highly gifted themselves on the core nature and unique developmental demands of this exceptional population. The Integral Practice for the Gifted model presented here is rich in research and anecdotal evidence, clinical expertise and practical strategies.
• Mind-set Over Matter: (adult session) Managing Frustration and Difficult Feelings in Gifted Children – Dr. Dale Stuart: Dr. Stuart will reveal how a child’s motivation and tolerance for challenge and frustration can be dramatically influenced by the ways adults offer praise for a gifted child’s performance. Dr. Stuart will present specific guidance to parents, educators and counselors to help them foster a gifted child’s motivation to learn and to face challenges. She will demonstrate how to enhance gifted children’s ability to tolerate frustration and the many other difficult feelings facing gifted children.
• Multi-Potentiality and Making Difficult Choices – Dr. Dale Stuart:: It’s a common struggle for gifted individuals - you have so many interests in such widely different areas, you can’t decide which one to focus on. You feel like you need a dozen lifetimes to do all the things you want to do in life! Dale Stuart faced this dilemma — with diverse interests in science, aerospace, sports, and flying — almost from the moment she was born. In this seminar, Dale will share what she has learned from her personal journey as a gifted female growing up feeling passionate about many things and making difficult decisions about what to pursue.
• Career Choices – Dr. Dale Stuart: Teen session
• The Sorting Hat – Catherine Zakoian: open to up to six children, ages 8 to 11 years old
  Come gather and explore your inner Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Slytherin with other like-minded kids. Spend time examining how you are like or not like our archetypal friends from the Harry Potter series.
  Be open to what you will discover about yourself and each other as you get a chance to “try-on” your own sorting hat. Knowledge and love of the Harry Potter series highly recommended.
• Animal Magic and You – Catherine Zakoian: open to up to six children, ages, 8 to 11 years old
  Do you love animals? Do you sometimes notice how you have qualities like certain animals you love? Or, qualities of certain animals you do not love as much? Join us as we identify and explore our inner animal sensibilities and how they can help us in the world.
  An understanding and appreciation for animals highly recommended.
• An Introduction to Sudoku – Victor Roberts: Come see what the craze that’s been sweeping the nation is all about – SUDOKU! This class will be for beginners and people who have never done Sudoku before (kids and parents both welcome) – advanced Sudoku-ers will have more fun at the other Sudoku class. In the introductory group, we will go over the basic idea of the game as well as some elementary strategies for solving the easier puzzles. All materials will be provided to you!
• Advanced Sudoku– Victor Roberts: This group is for kids and adults who have mastered the basics of Sudoku and are ready to move on to more advanced strategies to solve the harder puzzles. Those who are interested in Sudoku but have not mastered some of the more basic and intermediate techniques should sign up for the “Introduction to Sudoku” class. In the advanced class, we will focus on some of the more time-consuming puzzles that often require higher-level strategies to overcome, such as locked pairings, x-wing, and swordfish. If you don’t know what those are but like to tackle the harder puzzles, come on by!
• Puzzles for Pleasure! – Victor Roberts: Ever wonder what you would do if you found yourself on an island where some of the people always lie, some always tell the truth, and some do both? OK, maybe not...but if you like logic puzzles, this is the group for you! We'll be exploring some fun brain teasers and will take a look at problem solving strategies that will help you to solve all kinds of mind-bending riddles - from the very basic to the very challenging.
• How to take over the world (for democracy!) one click at a time! – Jimmy Wales, PGR Parent: In this session, Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, will talk about the possibilities for effective work for social change using the tools and techniques of Web 2.0. The world is changing very quickly, and assumptions about how long it would take to change things are outdated. A fun look at how twitter, facebook, and - yes - Wikipedia - are driving the world to greater peace and democracy worldwide... and some cautionary notes about what might go wrong.
• Entrepreneurship – Joe Betts-LaCroix, PGR Parent
• Can You Handle a Challenge? – Rachel Garner, PGR Teen: Work to untie a human knot, learn to juggle cats and even swing across a field of radioactive goo in these fun, all-inclusive games! For ages 6-11, look forward to being mentally and physically engaged while you work as a team and overcome any obstacle thrown at you!
• Mary Shelley – Susan Marie Frontczak: “I shall give an answer to the question so very frequently asked me - How I, then a young girl of eighteen, came to think of, and to dilate upon, so very hideous an idea as Frankenstein?”
  You are about to enter the mind and imagination of English writer Mary Shelley. Teen-age mother, behind-the-scenes supporter of social reform, romantic, and scholar, English writer Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (1797-1851) may be best known as the author of Frankenstein, but there is much more to be learned about her, both personally and psychologically. Program consists of a 45 minute monologue in-character, followed first by a question and answer period with “Mary Shelley” and then by a question and answer period with the scholar/presenter.
  Please try and read some version of Frankenstein before PGR.
• Improv – Susan Marie Frontczak: Practice tapping into your subconscious and mining the wealth of experience and metaphor that is available to you at all times. Through a series of fun, short theater games everyone gets to try improvising. Different improv games will be played in each workshop, tailored to that age group. Experience success at improvising!
• GPS – Ken Gerson: Come and learn about a GPS! This workshop will cover an introduction to a global positioning system handset including how to use them and how they work. Then you will go outside and use your newfound knowledge to find various hidden tags using the GPS. You will have use of a handset during class; no need to bring your own.
• Been There Done That! PGR Parents: Come and join us for a session of sharing. This workshop will be facilitated by a few of our veteran PG Retreat parents - Karen Chambers (x chlidren, ages x,x), Kathy Payne (x chlidren, ages x, x), Tim Oliver (x kids, ages) and Cindy Houck (1 child, ages). Pick their brains, ask questions, discuss what has and hasn’t worked on their journey and break into smaller groups to discuss issues you may be having. This workshop will be an open dialogue and a great opportunity to gain insight on a variety of family/educational styles.
• TaeKwonDo – Aaron Tuck
• Zometool – Paul Hildebrandt
• High Ropes – Glen Eyrie Staff Ages 12+ only, min. of 12 participants
  The Leap of Faith Element - A single participant (who is safely harnessed and belayed while off the ground) climbs to the top of a 35 ft. pole (it has feet and hand holds) and reaches a round (14") metal plate on top the pole. Once they get to that point, while standing they must leap from there to try to touch the knot on the end of another rope which is hanging down from above them so that the knot is about head high and out away from the participant approximately 6 ft. There are important roles on the part of the other people (on the ground) in the group who are holding two belay ropes and providing the safety to the climber.
  Team of 3 – Climbers ascend a 30 ft. wall while they are belayed by the rest of the participants. The group of climbers rotates so that everyone may have an opportunity to climb.
• Rube Goldberg – Gary and Lisa Choquette, PGR Parents: A Rube Goldberg machine is a device designed to perform a simple task in an unnecessarily complicated way. Why would one want to do such a thing? Well because it is fun of course! Springs, motors, gears, pulleys, chains, and four bar slider crank mechanisms! The group will assemble pieces and parts, tweak and tune to create a fantastic machine.
• Kickball Fun – Todd Kaplan, PGR Parent
• Planning Meeting – All Interested PGR Participants; with PGR Board, Planning Committee, and PGR Participants: Group discussion to provide your feedback and opinions about this year’s PG Retreat to the Planning Committee and the PGR Board. Most importantly, volunteer for next year’s PG Retreat or Board openings. All are encouraged to attend and provide positive feedback or constructive criticism.