Bright Kids is there for smart people and children. We think together to find solutions, possibilities, advise in education and give personal advice for home and school. We specialize in working with gifted individuals.
Bright Kids, let the genius shine in you!
It is nice to be gifted!
But unfortunately, many gifted people still get stuck in difficult situations sometimes during their education, at home, at work and their social life. The mission for Bright Kids is to solve these problems at school, at home, at work and in social interactions.
We specialize in working with gifted individuals. We work with passion, enthusiasm and enjoy working closely with children, young adults, parents and teachers.
My motivation to work with the gifted comes from my own experiences.
In education, I was not seen with my talents in my younger years. Through trial and error, I learned to develop my talents and this has brought me to where I am now.
With my experiences and knowledge, I help gifted children/young adults, parents/carers and schools.
Years ago I obtained my teaching certificate, working with smart children has always been a challenge for me. In various communities I have supervised and started Plus classes and Enrichment classes.
To realise my vision, I give lectures and training on giftedness at home and abroad. In cooperation with colleagues, we organise information meetings for parents of gifted children. In Leiden, together with a colleague, I train expert smart toddlers and smart preschoolers.
I always say to the children: "Learning is a life-long process! That is why I am still busy developing myself. From my ECHA specialist giftedness (at the Radboud University Nijmegen in 2004) I continued with all kinds of training, such as: coach/counsellor, but also family frameworks, MatriXcoach and trainer Learning fast=Learning fun.
I wrote Talentenlijn in cooperation with Martine Creemers and Gert Bekius.
My book "Dealing with gifted children in primary school and setting up an enrichment class" that I wrote in 2005 is due for a reprint.
The second book, "Challenging preschoolers", I wrote in cooperation with Marijne Sammels. “Uitdagende peuters en kleuters uitdagen”.
After a mishmash of partial studies (Higher Technical School, Higher School of Agriculture and Biology), I got my PA degree and started working in education. I was a teacher for more than 27 years in primary technical education and VMBO. Education became increasingly large-scale while I felt the need for a small-scale approach.
When I found out around 1995 that my two children were highly gifted, I discovered this about myself as well (although I had suspected this for a long time). The activities of the parents' association HINT fitted in well with me and soon I found myself working there as a supervisor of various activities and as a board member.
When I was offered the opportunity to stop my teaching work at the ROC of Amsterdam, I took my chance and grabbed it. This coincided with changes in my private life, which meant that I needed more time for my family. I automatically got more time for increasing my own knowledge and followed the ECHA training in Nijmegen.
In 2008 I joined Willeke Rol in the Leids Onderwijs Project and I supervise the "afternoon group" there. Since 2014 I also work in the plus class of primary school De Terp in Weesp and the Upper School Enrichment Class Weesp.
From a young age, I have been interested in the movement of people in the broadest sense of the word. I was always busy with the question where someone came from, what made him who he was. Studying Pedagogy, I felt like a fish in water: which building blocks makes someone into who they are? Eventually, in addition to Pedagogy, I also did the training for Career Counselor: the so-called Hogendijk Method. The Hogendijk Method works with assignments to ultimately arrive at your most vital career perspective.
The combination of working as a counsellor for children who can be challenged extra and as a Career Counselor, I couldn't wish for a better interpretation. The importance of really being able to see (little) people was confirmed when I found out that both my children are highly gifted. Giving proper opportunities, contact with peers, being able to offer both depth and guidance, creativity (with capital letters) make my heart beat faster.
I have just completed my training as a children's coach and I want to focus specifically on highly sensitive children. I have a lot of affinity with these children, based on my own rich world of experience. And this school year I will be starting with International Training on High Ability (RITHA), formerly known as ECHA, in Nijmegen. You understand that I am already immersing myself in all the offerings and theories about giftedness. I can also put this knowledge to good use in my profession as a Career Counsellor. Gifted adults also encounter problems of a different nature than coaches with an average IQ. This is what I like to put on the map as a Career Counsellor at the City of Amsterdam.
Allow me to introduce myself... My name is Noa van Strien and I am 23 years old. I've been working for Bright Kids since 2017 and next to that I have my own company Jij doet ertoe, in which I guide children individually or in groups on social-emotional issues.
Besides my work, I am also working on a study to develop myself even more and to keep growing within my job. I am therefore studying Pedagogical and Educational Sciences at the University of Amsterdam.
Working with gifted children is an enormous passion for me, because I believe that these children deserve to be constantly challenged at school, but also deserve guidance on a social-emotional level. I also love the pure thinking and unfiltered way of communicating that these children have.
As a coach, I am very clear, but I leave the children very free in their thinking and in the interpretation of the assignments. In my opinion, this enriches them. I once received feedback from a Bright Kids pupil: "you are pleasant and fun at the right moments, but strict when necessary", I think this describes me very well.
Children deserve to be seen, they matter.
Bright Kids has been working in the field of giftedness for over 20 years and has worked closely with all kinds of agencies during this time.
All specialists, affiliated with the association, have completed the ECHA training. The ECHA training is an internationally recognized training of the European Council for High Ability (ECHA), a European organization that works together from science, educational practice and politics to improve the education of (highly) gifted students.
In the Netherlands, the training is provided by the Centre for Gifted Research (CBO) part of the Radboud University in Nijmegen. Qualified ECHA specialists hold the 'European Advanced Diploma in Educating the Gifted' and may therefore call themselves 'ECHA Specialist in Gifted Education / ECHA Specialist in Giftedness'.
Willeke Rol completed this training in 2004.
Het ECHA netwerk
The Association ECHA Netherlands, is a national association of specialists in the field of advice, guidance and coaching of (highly) gifted students and their parents and schools and (highly) gifted adults.
On the website you will find information about this network of specialists. In the member register you can see which specialists are affiliated with the association and where they work. There is a great diversity in expertise, so the individual offerings may differ.
Talents line, enrichment materials and manual for groups 1 to 4 in primary education, developed with Bekius.
Bright Kids, in collaboration with the Leiden Approach, ( link) provides training to pedagogical staff and teachers, for children with developmental disabilities. The training was developed with Marijne Sammels of Coach in the Picture. Among others, Plusklassen/enrichment classes have been set up in different places: Plusklas de Terp in Weesp, enrichment class Florente in Diemen, Plusklas de Sterrenberen of de Grote Beer in Duivendrecht and the Enrichment Class Weesp, which brings together students from many different school boards.
