I read some advice the other day offered to parents of children who were newly diagnosed with learning differences. I agreed with most of it. “Always have hope” was advice that I could certainly support. This part, however, didn’t sit well with me: “Channel your emotions towards the fight. The fight for services, quality education, …
Strengths vs Learning Intervention – Which Do We Focus On?
The debate goes on. How do parents and educators best help our struggling learners? Do we focus more on children’s strengths, highlighting all of the good? Or do we focus on their weaknesses, then make every effort to help students develop better learning skills? Before we dive any deeper, let’s clarify a few things …
Learning Ability – Not Just for Other People
Have you ever felt like talent was for, well, other people? For me, it’s singing. I stink at it. I do it anyway, of course. Heaven help the sad soul within earshot of me when I do. Maybe you’ve always wanted to be a virtuoso on the guitar. Too bad those fingers of yours don’t …
Empowerment Poster(s) for Kids – Delight in the Difficult
I’m not against word art per se. I know that positive words like “love” have been scientifically proven to invite an uplifting kind of energy to any home environment. Personally, I don’t happen to adorn my walls with word art or phrases. That’s mostly because, and this is rather silly of me, I don’t want …
The Danger of Nonsense Words
Ever heard of a bap? So… a funny story here. One day I was creating an answer key for the Letter Sounds Made Simple program. Within the program, students come across occasional review pages, some of which include real words and nonsense words. Using their new letter recognition skills, students read the words, then …
Can We Start the New Year Early?
Okay, I admit that I’ve wanted to fast forward through 2020 ever since the lockdown began in March. I’m actually quite familiar with being mostly homebound. Becoming almost entirely homebound as I try to avoid a virus that I’m fairly certain will finish me off, that’s different. The monotony, the lack of occasional …
Distance Learning With Learning Differences – What NOT to Worry About
Parents and educators who’ve been forced into distance learning have A LOT of worries, understandably so. Before I share which common concern NOT to worry about, humor me for a moment as I start with a story. I showed up on my nephew’s doorstep with birthday gift in hand. I also showed up …