Giftedness requires challenging curriculum and the diligence necessary to acquire and execute many learned skills in order to produce academic success. Giftedness includes intellectual, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, and emotional intelligence as well as artistic or creative giftedness.
According to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gifted intellectual giftedness is different from a skill. Skills are learned or acquired behaviors while intellectual giftedness is usually believed to be an innate, personal aptitude for intellectual activities that cannot be acquired through personal effort.
Therefore, gifted children need a WIDE variety of stimulating activities repeatedly in order to gain various skills. These activities should stimulate:
- body awareness
- motor skills
- emotional development
- social skills
For a 9 month old, this will include exploration of their environment through physical manipulation, trial and error, and problem solving. As a parent, view every day events and surroundings with fresh eyes. Provide opportunities for self exploration in every part of the child's world. Encourage manipulation of objects in unique ways to develop a sense of mass, weight, texture, patterns, structure, sound, construct, balance, taste, reflection...the list is endless.
This is the true joy of parenthood: getting to discover the world all over again through the eyes of a toddler.