Category Archive:
Children’s basic needs

True Homework: Building A Home Life

creating structure

Many people are astounded when I tell them I didn’t give homework to my elementary students. There are many reasons I didn’t give homework, but the main one is fairly simple. The reason for coming to school is to work and to learn. If students are doing what they are supposed to do in school, […]


Writing A Thank-You Note

writing a thank you note

During a visit with a group of ladies in their late seventies, I discovered that they each had notes tucked away, written by their children and grandchildren. Not every note from every child, but ”treasures” from letters, notes and cards received over the years. I’m imagining that a piece of paper that someone’s held onto […]


The Compliment Game

compliment game

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.Proverbs 25:11 Our daughter, Dana, came home from her freshman year of college and suggested that we play the Dana Game. ”I’ve taught all my friends at school how to play it.” ”How do we play?” I asked. ”We’ll go around in a […]


Multiple Intelligences

multiple intelligences

In the early 1980’s Howard Gardner introduced the concept of multiple intelligences to contrast with the predominant verbal and math skills necessary to do academically well on tests and school grading. When we look at the whole child in a multi-faceted manner, we have a valuable tool that can help us aid a child’s development. […]


An Attitude of Gratitude

attitude of gratitude

“What do you see?” our communications professor asked as he held up a black and white ink drawing. “A beautiful Gibson-style girl with a feather in her hat.” “No, it’s an old hag with a witch’s nose and a scarf tied over her head.” As we discussed this picture, most of the class could shift […]


Take A Snapshot

take a snapshot

During the first six to seven years of our lives, we are in a unique period of learning and development. During this phase of human growth we learn unconsciously from our environment. During the first three years of life, we learn to walk and talk along with a myriad of other skills unaware that we […]


Understanding The Three-Hour Work Cycle

three hour work cycle

Tired and agitated, Sara got ready for bed. What had happened to the day? She had woken up fresh that morning, ready to have a productive day. During breakfast, Sara’s assistant had called to alert Sara that she wouldn’t be in to copy the reports for the next day’s meeting. When Sara went to make […]


Find Three Things That Went Well

find three things that went well

“If I didn’t have bad luck I wouldn’t have any luck at all.” There are times in all of our lives that we can feel this way. Headed down a bumpy stretch of road, it can seem as if the trip is never going to end. A series of unfortunate or stressful events can create […]


Alternatives To Punishment

alternatives to punishment

Six-year old Bobby walks into the kitchen from playing soccer. Bobby’s dad, Tom, had asked Bobby to take off his muddy shoes before entering the house. Red Georgia mud dotted the new hallway and den carpet. When Tom sees the footprints, he is furious about the mess and that Bobby had disobeyed him. ”Bobby,” Tom […]


Five Whys Can Help

five whys can help

”For whatever reasons my eight-year-old, Eric, is critical of everything his younger siblings do. Eric tells his sister that her coloring stinks. He tells his brother that his handwriting is messy. Last night Eric burst into tears because the peas touched his mashed potatoes. Nothing seems to make him happy right now,” Michael told me. […]