Elementary
You’re Not Listening (part 1)
Once you start paying attention to how often adults say “listen” to euphemistically mean “obey”, it’s hard to get it out of your head. I think many of the adults I know are trying very […]
Preschoolers
Elementary
At School
Prepare Them For The Future
Someone recently told me, “Ugh, I know that the 3yos in my preschool class are supposed to be wiggly and playful and loud and silly. But I know that they’ll have higher expectations in the […]
Elementary
Power & Safety
Exerting power over a child just for the sake of exerting it is a threat to the child’s feelings of safety, and they know it. They’ve been living in this world for however many years, […]
Activities
Homemade Bubble Wands
I was going to take a selfie showing off my homemade bubble wands and it turns out that I’m incapable of blowing bubbles, keeping my eyes open, AND not looking mean or worried. Pipe cleaners/chenille […]
At Home
Helping vs Revenge
This quote sums up everything I’ve ever tried to say about “behavior” and does it so perfectly succinctly in four sentences. What’s the best-case scenario? That instead of wanting to get revenge on children for […]
At Home
They’re Not Playing Dangerously
“They’re actually not playing dangerously.” I tell this to my own body. My own nervous system. My own fight-or-flight response. Because of the way the noise feels. It pounds against my ears. It sends jolts […]
At Home
Playground in the House
We have an outdoor toddler climbing frame/play set in our house. It was outdoors for the first 6 months or so of us living here. Then it became apparent that the extended period of cold […]
At Home
“Not Letting” Them Whine
This post has an audio and video recorded version for those who prefer to learn by hearing rather than by reading. Scroll to the bottom for the video of me reading it. Someone recently asked […]
Elementary
It’s “Not Okay”
If my partner and I were chatting and he said “Ughhh, I’m so stressed out by writing this dissertation, I could just throw my computer out the window!” I wouldn’t say, “Well, you aren’t allowed […]