How do we teach our children social and emotional awareness in a fun and play filled way? Eventually our children will become adults so when they walk out into the world, we want them to step into their lives as aware and in control of their emotions as possible.
In this episode we discuss:
The transition to preschool to elementary school can be such an anxious time for both parents and for the children. There’s a lot of unknowns to get them ready for and sometimes we think there’s lots we have to do to prepare them for starting. Today we discuss what you can do to help reduce anxiety for your little one with nursery practitioner, Caroline Allen.
In this episode they discuss:
Sexual assault and harassment, sadly happens in schools on a too regular basis, whether that’s happening peer to peer or even between teacher to student. We hope our children never have to experience this. Knowing how to parent our children to take ownership of their bodies, so they know how to say no is key. We discuss how to navigate through abuse, bullying, harassment so they can get help is just as vital.
In this episode, I speak with Meghan Joyce Tozer, author of the critically acclaimed novel Night, Forgotten and her annotated middle school diary, UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir, which she wrote under the pen name Emily Lindin.
The topics we cover in this episode are:
Have you ever considered a different educational style for your children besides the conventional method? If so, perhaps you have heard of the Montessori method. It is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the highly trained teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. In this episode, I spoke to Montessori Home Consultant, Jeanne-Marie Paynel about the benefits of this education style.
The topics we cover in this episode are:
“Mommy, you be a cop and we’ll be the robbers! We’re running away and taking your money!”
Lately, my kids have been playing cops and robbers. They’re always looking for new items to “steal”, and then they run to their robber’s fort (aka under our dining room table). My husband and I are the cops. We look for clues to track the robbers, and then we usually have a little exchange ---
Children (and people in general) have to take turns all the time. Children take turns when they play games like checkers or four square, while they participate in a class discussion, or during a conversation. Adults have to wait and take turns too - in meetings, in stores and when driving. Taking turns, and in particular, waiting for the time when it’s your turn, can be frustrating. It’s good to practice turn taking, because it happens all the time.
Do you know how my 5th grade teacher taught us the planets? She sang it to us. When her former students would come back and visit, she would always ask if they remembered the order of the planets. And they’d all end up singing it back to her. Imagine these big high school juniors and seniors singing in the middle of a 5th grade class?!
The bell rings for lunch time. Five 9 year olds bound into my office, smiles on their faces and giving me cheerful greetings as they come through the door. They pick a seat, place their lunches on the table, then immediately ask about the question box. They can’t wait to see what the questions are this week. One little girl reaches over, picks a question out of the box and reads it to the group. “If you could have any superhero power, what would it be and why?” The rest of them jump right in and start answering immediately.
“You lost your phone again?!! Seriously?” He smiles and chortles while dialing on his own cell phone so I can find mine. Fingers crossed it’s not on silent or do not disturb.
I misplace my cell phone at least twice a day. It’s out of control. I know I should create some sort of system, a place where it always goes, but I haven’t done that yet. Instead I lose it, then spend a few minutes searching, and inevitably, my husband sees me or I ask him to help me. He teases me about it all the time. But it’s kind of our thing we do. I lose my phone and ask for help, he teases me and helps me find it. Rinse and repeat daily :-)
You’re on the phone with the school counselor, talking about the concerns you have about your son’s social skills. You hear the words you’ve been dreading - “Mrs. Jackson, one of the best ways to work on these skills is on a play date with one other child. Maybe it makes sense to try to set up a few playdates for him”. But how do you do that? Where do you even begin?
Setting up and prepping for a playdate doesn’t need to be super complicated or take a lot of time. Check out these tips to help you set up and host a successful playdate for your child!
Kindness is key in making good human beings. When I think about how I want my children to be as adults, the one value that I always come back to is that I want them to be kind. I want them to be kind to each other, and to other people. I want them to have compassion for others. I want them to treat others as they would want to be treated. I want them to do this not because they expect something in return or want praise but rather because it’s the right thing to do.
Do you all remember THE dress from earlier this year that blew up on the internet? I actually thought it was quite an interesting social commentary. It was fascinating to me that some people couldn’t understand that someone else could really see the dress as a different color. And were adamant in insisting they were right, while the other people were wrong.
(By the way - I saw white and gold, what did you see?)
You’ve taken the time to set up a playdate. You found a potential friend, you invited them to play at your house or at a playground and things are going really well. Then, something unexpected happens. Maybe it’s an argument, yelling, or even hitting (eek!!). What do you do?
You Are a Social Detective is a great introduction to Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking, written especially for kids who struggle in social situations. The book is divided into 3 different sections. Whenever I use this book as a teaching tool, I read one section at a time.
The first section focuses on having different kinds of smarts, including school smarts and social smarts. It discusses how we use social smarts all the time, whenever we are around others. This is so important for kids to understand. You need to be using your social smarts anytime you’re around others. This section also focuses on expected behaviors and the consequences of those actions. If we do things that are expected, other people feel good and want to be around us more.
As a school counselor, I often had kids come into my office in a heightened state, and it was my job to be able to help them calm down and get back to work in class. I had lots of items in my room to help achieve that. It’s always easier for kids to talk about what’s bothering them when they’re doing another activity or playing a game. As a mom, I know that there are lots of things that can help my kids reset when they are having a hard time, or getting into arguments or just have on their cranky pants. Here are some of my favorite items to help kids calm down and get back to the green zone.
The Zones of Regulation were created by Leah Kuypers; it’s another great tool to help kids learn self-regulation skills. This framework is designed to help kids notice what they are thinking and feeling, how their thoughts and feelings affect their behavior and learn to self-regulate. I absolutely love teaching the Zones of Regulation to kids. It’s such a great visual for them to see what zone their feelings are in and learn ways to get back to the green zone.
