Incredible Parents

Fall classes with be scheduled soon!
Reach out to me directly if you are interested in a fun & supportive group to help with transitions back to school and all of our parenting challenges.

Hello fellow parents. During our quarantine, we are all struggling with our new roles as full-time parents, caregivers, teachers, house cleaners, and full-time employees. These new struggles extremely challenging but there is no reason we need to face them alone. One of the reoccurring themes in every parenting group I have ever run is parents realizing that all of us make the same mistakes. It's not just you who has trouble at bedtime, with homework, doing chores, or playing kindly.
At this moment we are all experiencing more of the same kind of challenges than ever before. So it's only natural that we are able to give each other better advice and new tips uniquely tailored to what we need right now.
Because we can't meet in person, we will be starting online parenting support meetings. To be as flexible as possible, we are going to invite people to take a survey to find the ideal days and times for our meetings.
Please email me directly for more information and to sign up for our next series of classes.
Good luck, and happy parenting.

If you're wondering when the “right" time to begin having honest and open discussions about race with your children, the answer is now.

21 children’s books to spark important discussions about race + tolerance If you're wondering when the "right" time is to begin having these talks—it's now, mama.

-Special Lockdown Message-

I have gotten a lot of messages in various levels of panic about the stresses on families stuck at home for the long term.

Firstly: you are not alone and you can still get help. I am responding to emails and doing phone meetings.

Second: Remember your “special time” with the kids. That’s 5-10 minutes daily which must be different than the rest of the time you spend with them. Read more here.

Third: For kids to feel like things are just “ok,” they need a 5:1 ratio of compliments to criticisms. Notice, and tell your kids when they are doing something right or they will give up on following rules altogether.

Good luck to all the parents out there!

Our family just experienced our first day of self imposed quarantine. I know this time is going to be a great challenge for a lot of families.
Remember, if your children have become accustomed to school routine, this time can be hard for them as well. Some structure is calmining for most children so give them whatever you can.
Our first day of school at home was fairly good but it took a lot of planning and work to make it happen.
If you want ideas or help planning for your kids time at home, contact me through facebook or email and I will do my best to get back to you.
Good luck to everybody.

Movement And Breathing Breaks Help Students Stay Focused On Learning When teachers give students opportunities to move during the day they set up the conditions for better learning.

Somehow our systems of teaching children have forgotten this. The job of growing, learning, and developing takes a lot of work for kids. They learn best through play-based interactions and are quite varied in their levels of attention on different tasks.
If parents find themselves thinking that kids are being "too lazy," it probably means they are not recognizing all the work kids are doing all the time.
There are a lot of best practices to look to if you want to help your kids be successful. When looking at these ideas, make sure to check that they are research based, and scientific.

How Kids Learn Better By Taking Frequent Breaks Throughout The Day American teacher Timothy Walker learned more effective ways to teach when he moved to Finland and pulled back from cramming too much into one day.

A core principle of our classes is that leaders share their mistakes as well as their knowledge. In keeping with that, I messed up this one today guys. My son was just a little bit late getting ready for school and I rushed him out the door rather than taking 30 seconds longer and letting him find the one more thing he wanted for his backpack. So he left very confused and sad because I denied him something that was reasonable, easy to accomplish, and that he even asked for politely. I focused on the wrong thing and now I need my parent community to keep me accountable so I can do better next time.
How do you think I should make it up to him after school?