Why does your tongue stick out when you are trying to thread a needle? For most of us, when we are doing a job with our hands that requires fine motor control, such as threading a needle, our tongues will stick out involuntarily as we concentrate on the task at hand. It is as if […]
Category Archive:
Brain development
How Singing Helps Reading
My earliest memory of reading is singing from the Baptist hymnal. I remember being four-and-a-half, standing next to my mother, moving my finger under each hyphenated syllable as we sang. This was a new honor, as my mother had always done that job. Now I could do it! I know that singing with the hymnal […]
Solving The Read Aloud Blues
Kitchen Scene: Mom and Dad are getting dinner ready after a busy day. Soccer practice is in 45 minutes. Enter six-year-old with book. “Mom! Dad! I have to read ten pages out loud to you tonight for homework!” Mom and Dad look at each other and sigh. Perhaps you have sat painfully listening to your […]
Preparing The Hand To Write
Six-year-old Michael had his head down on his writing paper, shoulders heaving with sobs. “I can’t do it. It’s too hard.” I knew he was right. It was too hard for him. As a teacher, I know and believe the more children write, the higher their reading level becomes. What would help him start to […]
Obstacles To Reading
“My child is 7 years old and is not reading.”“Help! My child is ten years old and is reading on a second grade level”.“My 7th grader is making D’s and F’s. What can I do?” Over the years, many parents have asked for my help with their children’s academic progress. Time after time, the children […]
On The Road To Reading
Car seat manufacturers announced changing their installation instructions because the reading level was too difficult for over half of their customers in the United States. How high was that reading level? A fifth grade level. As a young mother, I had a knot in my stomach when reading this kind of article, along with a […]
My Amygdala Made Me Do It!
Learning to control impulses is an important task for our children, and all of us, to learn. Until our children learn to control urges to hit, kick, punch, pinch, bite, spit, name call and more, we’ll see all those behaviors emerge when life becomes overwhelming. How is self-control established? Let’s look at the young child’s […]
Preventing Tantrums
Benjamin Franklin coined the phrase, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” in regards to fire prevention. If you’ve ever experienced a full fledged tantrum, you see how this advice might apply to tantrums. What we need is preventative parenting, the art of being able to say “yes” more often while gaining […]
Understanding Core Emotions
In her book, Animals Make Us Human, Temple Grandin asks the question: What does an animal need to be happy? Grandin lists five freedoms animals should have when in an intensive animal production situation: Freedom from hunger and thirst Freedom from discomfort Freedom from pain, injury or disease Freedom to express normal behavior Freedom from fear […]
Do What You Say And Say What You Do
“Throw rocks into the pool one more time and we’re leaving the party,” Jonathan’s parents told him. It was a surprise party for his grandparents’ anniversary. When Jonathan threw in the next handful of pebbles, nothing happened. Empty threats. It is an easy trap to fall into. We think if we mention the possible consequences […]