Let me begin by saying, congratulations! If you read Part I and Part II then you now have a student that has completed one of their most challenging tasks - writing a story! They have brainstormed an idea, outlined the flow and sequence, and used those tools to guide their writing.

Last week we talked about a few fun ways to relieve stress surrounding writing. If you missed it, you can catch up on that post here.

The next step, once your kiddo is primed to actually do some writing, is to let them create

I worked with a family once whose daughter, let’s call her Lily, I’d been told, had extremely limited expressive language. She spoke very little. This beautiful, quiet, pre-teen girl, with her great big smile seemed to have a lot of words, but didn’t speak. I remember her mom coming in one day and handing me a letter. It was the sweetest thing. About a page and a half in length

Summer time is here, and while you’re planning summer camps and vacations, I wanted to share some resources for helping to keep your kids skills fresh, or even grow in them this summer.

It’s always such a joy of mine to see students “become” young adults.

One of the most challenging aspects of school for my middle and high school students is studying.

I think I was 8 years old when my mother came home with an envelope with my name on it. It was from a publishing company that had created a program to help kids develop a written work (poetry or short stories) to later be printed in an anthology.

I offered grace where it was due, set reasonable goals, and defined clear expectations. “I understand that this is extremely hard, but we will get through this together…”

Remember that making the goal experience-based, rather than level based is key for at home. Keeping them measurable, and easily adjusted is also important.

Goals are great, but without accountability, or an ability to measure them, they’re simply hopes and dreams… this is why resolutions tend to fail. We often set goals without a plan for consistently measuring progress, or developing a plan for accountability.

The best way to ensure a child doesn’t become an adult that lacks proper coping mechanisms, resilience, and fortitude is to help them prepare for, and respond to failure.

In the weeks leading up to the Pre-Christmas, ahem… I mean, Thanksgiving holiday, what’s on many parents mind is the first card marking, and the parent teacher conferences they’re headed into. Measuring success simply by a percentage point or grade is never advisable, but of course

I remember waiting at the edge, trembling. When I finally jumped, I panicked, sank to the bottom, looked around frantically under the water for anything to grab onto, and finally swam to the nearest wall…

My goal for each of them is that their spaces (rooms, desks, lockers), and their tools (backpacks, pouches, and even digital tools like computer files/desktops) work to help them succeed, rather than be a barrier to their success.

Many camps have been canceled, and the plans you might normally make with your kiddos are likely not possible this year. However, one thing you don’t have to stress about is that dreaded summer regression,

It’s a great idea to expose children to writers, characters, and stories that are diverse so they’re better prepared for what is the reality of our world. It’s so much bigger than what any of us see in our immediate circles. I learned so much moving from MI to GA, GA to FL, and now in So. Cal. Every place taught me something new because the cultures, communities, and people were so vastly different. Over the years, my greatest take away has been that you’ll only know what you explore.

My letter to fellow educators in honor of Teacher Appreciation week. Thank you for all you do for the students we love!

Rhyme is impactful as an aide in learning and retaining skills early on, so I thought it would be cool to get you thinking about poetry as another tool for developing writing.

Sometimes, we manage chaos just a couple of moments at a time. These bite-sized mindful minute recommendations, may be the difference between tears, and smiles throughout each day.