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 asked us if we were totally packed and ready, and I confirmed that yeah, we just needed help grabbing stuff … Read more
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. Adults tell the kids the stuff. Adults test to see if the kids retained the stuff. Adults try to enforce/motivate … Read more
Do you understand the difference between wishes, limits, and boundaries? If you find yourself saying the word “want” or “need”, a lot of times you are expressing a value, a wish, or a feeling. Same with the word “let”, as in “they won’t let me…” Limits are a decision that you are enforcing about the … Read more
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 much all the possibilities it has. Human bodies learn from big, to small. When children are first learning to form … Read more
There have been quite a lot of times in my adult life when I’ve needed to talk to my husband about something but been unable to speak about it. Some of those times, the words have just lived inside of me. I think about them over and over, or maybe even make plans to say … Read more
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 reptiles and mammals?” What the curriculum hopes to assess is: Does the student understand the difference between reptiles and mammals? … Read more
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 United States. They both are legal documents, drafted with a public school, that tell the school what support the child … Read more
DOCTOR’S REPORT PATIENT: Kelsie Olds DOB: XX/XX/XXXX CONCERNS: Patient’s family report that the patient is continually making annoying noises with their nose, mouth, and throat. These include: sneezing frequently, blowing nose frequently, making a scratching noise with throat and mouth. There are other behavioral concerns as well. The patient uses their hands to excessively rub … Read more
Immediate obedience is a fear response. There isn’t immediate obedience when you’re committed to parenting your children without making them afraid of you. Sometimes your kid just needs a second to process what you asked them. They’re not afraid of you, so they don’t fearfully freeze while they process, or override their logic brain that … Read more
When adults ask me for advice, sometimes they’ll ask about a child who’s going through something that’s legitimately difficult. A big life transition (new baby is a common one), a grief or loss, something traumatic having happened, etc. They might ask me something like, “How am I supposed to help them process this happening? I … Read more