At Home
Being Able to See “Finished”
I remember the first time I moved houses in my adult life. We called some older, adultier friends over to help us move. I don’t remember all the specifics, but I know one of them […]
At School
At Home
Juice & Manipulation
My kids got new water bottles and were at the table having a rare treat of red juice. While they can normally carry their water bottles freely around the house, I told them while they […]
At Home
Capable, Connected, Interested
Pretty much the entire public school system in Western society (which is the only school system I have personal experience with, hence my qualifier) is rooted in: Adults decide when kids need to know stuff. […]
Activities
Keyboard Mat, pt 2
As soon as I had a spare moment at my new work (and some spare mats), I made a keyboard mat again like the one I had in England. 😁 I just love so very […]
At School
“Low Frustration Tolerance”
Imagine this scenario: A seven-year-old with “just” fine motor difficulties (i.e. — no formal diagnosis of any medical/social/emotional condition) wakes up in the morning. He struggles to get himself dressed, because the clothes that he […]
At School
Push Them To Breaking…
(All I’m doing in this post is describing adult/child interactions that I observed, but I want to give you a heads up that it’s kind of infuriating. I think that’s important to share and to […]
At School
What is the Assessment Assessing?
The class finishes watching an age-appropriate video about reptiles and mammals. The teacher says, “Okay everybody, let’s take out our science journals and write one sentence to answer this question: What are some differences between […]
At School
504 and IEP
Here is the basic difference between an IEP and a 504 plan in the United States. They are both types of support that children with disabilities or special educational needs can be given in the […]
At Home
Inconvenient Interoception
In adulthood, I am actively working on increasing my own interoception (sense of my inner body)…on listening to my body and what it needs. More often than not, I used to ignore my body telling […]
At Home
“Need” to Learn
We do not need to decide when our kids “need” to learn to count and write. If they see us modeling counting and writing authentically, they will be interested in it and pursue it when […]