I was at a book fair and overheard a kindergartner ask the librarian, “What’s that?” She replied, “That’s a penny.” Then he asked, “What’s a penny.” The question was shocking at first, but made sense because this child never handled a penny. He only knew that the dollar bills in his hand were what he
Labeling children can often be more destructive than helpful, and can prevent us from discovering the real reason behind the behaviors being manifested. I recently heard a fourth grader I am homeschooling in math and language referred to as being ADD. His supervising teacher said, “I’m sure you already have noticed signs of ADD.” I
Working with procrastinators for over 48 years has been very telling. Some procrastinators are simply over scheduled and lack time-management strategies. A good number of procrastinators put off hard things. They will avoid those tasks that take more mental energy, while others hold deeply rooted secrets that interfere with the ability to complete tasks on
I recently met with a fifth grader. HIs mother thought I would be the best person to catch her son up so he could be in the top math group. Her son was very disturbed because he was not placed in the highest math class. When asked why that was important to him, he replied,
Kids say the darnedest things. My friend’s granddaughter was excited about her first day in first grade. We’ll call her Suzy for story telling purposes. The teacher was sweet and Suzy loved her immediately. That’s a good thing for a parent who is leaving her child in the care of someone for the first time.
Working with children who have been on-line for a year and watching them transition into the regular classroom, I have witnessed some new challenges for parents. During Covid on-line instruction, parents were pulled into the learning environment more than ever before. Children who were somewhat independent prior to on-line are now demonstrating increased dependence on
If asked, will your child say they are terrible at math or good at math? Would they say they are a good student or a bad student? Do the words artistic, athletic, or creative show up on their list of descriptives about themselves? Or are meth challenged, poor reader, or is clumsy on their list?
At the ripe age of one month or even before, children begin forming ideas about who they are and how they will survive in this world. By the time they enter school, they have already formed opinions about their strengths and weaknesses. They learn this from all their interactions with family, friends, strangers, and all
Believe it or not, your children are not behind anyone or anything. They are right where they should be. Parents everywhere are anxious about being assured that their children are going to be okay. They are going to be okay for several reasons: The children have discovered a very valuable lesson. They can survive a
If you are a parent dreading the start of school you’ll understand this poem that my mom andI wrote about 26 years ago. I sit at this paper and I stare and I think, That homework and those projects Had me right on the brink! The next year’s project-what will it be? A model? A
Victoria is an educational consultant, nationally recognized speaker. Her over 50 years in education has been focused on developing resilient self-reliant self-advocates who know how to tap into their innate ability to independently solve challenges.