It takes a village to raise a child… right? With a pandemic that is still going on our village has been curtailed (if it was even there to begin with). Add in non-stop changes to consider; mix in a little isolation, a pinch of decision fatigue and you have a small sense of where parents
-> Continue reading A How To Guide to building your village in a global pandemic.
Really noticing how we are good a something acknowledges strengths and increases the confidence we naturally have in ourselves. When we feel more confident it translates into how we are around our loved ones. Highlighting strengths shows your children how to find and acknowledge their excellence too. We want our children to find what they
-> Continue reading How will increasing my confidence help me be a better parent?
UPDATE ON: Goal setting for six year olds or Gold Trophies and Carol Vorderman. It happened on Friday. He made it. My son’s anticipation was so great he wanted a countdown for when he pushed enter on the final question. Treats were prepared (a very specific Chocolate Rice Krispie loaf cake), songs were played and
-> Continue reading The Final Result
I’m in the kitchen. I’ve just made a fresh cup of coffee. The kids are in the front room about to do three GoNoodle Just Dance videos to wake up their bodies and get them moving. They do this every morning before we start homeschooling. It wakes up their bodies to wake up their minds.
-> Continue reading What does change look like? or putting my oar in
Begin with the end in mind Ahh Carol. Like many parents this past twelve months I have relied on the fabulous Carol Vorderman and Maths Factor to help bridge the gap of learning between my children and Maths. Given free during the first lockdown, we used it to make maths fun and truthfully to get
-> Continue reading Goal Setting for six year olds or Gold Trophies and Carol Vorderman
What happens when we lose the signs that told us we were on the right track? Where can parents find it? Motivation is something we all want more of. It can be a tool that spurs us on to greater heights. It also has the power to completely halt our progress if we look for
-> Continue reading What type of motivation works for you?
All or Nothing thinking is when you evaluate your life in extreme terms: It’s either perfect or a disaster. You can only do it one way or not at all. It’s distorted thinking and I’ve been known to practice it. I love how I feel once I begin moving so it’s weird to think I
-> Continue reading All or Nothing Thinking or the ONLY way to walk
My firstborn turned ten yesterday.
It hit with a wave of emotions. A total tidal wave. The words haven’t fully come in yet but here goes. Joy, sadness, disbelief, trepidation, awe, fear, relief, hope, wonder. Feelings that have filled my whole self to the tips of my fingers down to my toes.
I have a decade under my belt as a parent. Five years anchored as a parent at home, primary point person for our children and household.
Ten years and I’m in constant learning mode.
Ten years have shown me where my blind spots are and if I’m willing to shine a light on them.
Ten years of giving it my best shot, screwing up, looking for the lesson, creating room to change.
Then beginning again. And again. And AGAIN.
[…]
I learned to practice on myself something I already knew.
Tuning in.
As a Mom I’m trained in tuning in to the needs of my family. From knowing what foods they’re eating or not eating to noticing and looking for the signs when they need a hug, a place to run or time with friends.
I have an acute tuning system into understanding when they’re hungry after the intense training of having a newborn (twice) who needed to eat every two hours, and then, once in a while on no apparent schedule, they’d cluster feed for forever. My tuning adapts and changes as they change. I expect it now. Currently, with a nine and a five year old I’ve begun to look forward to what might happen next. How are they going to show up today?
[…]