Tools and ideas about moving from guided homework to independent homework with school-age kids. Homework demands change. As kids get older, there are new skills to master with homework. Examples like time management on a project, using software and overcoming problems during the process of work. If our kids dine out on their natural talent only, eventually they will hit… View Post
Our guest today Dr Michele Borba talks about how to help our kids tap into empathy. We talk about social and emotional learning and its value both now in school and as adults, the empathy advantage, how to talk about empathy with school age kids and what’s the most important thing to know about empathy. Growing Nimble Families… View Post
Welcome to the up and down world of parenting tweens and teens. It’s the time when so many things are changing. Gone are the days when you’re talking about the colour of poop and here are the days when you’re talking about when to start using deodorant and help my child just watched porn! Podcasts are a quick and easy way… View Post
How about a different run-up to the start of back to school time? With a little planning and a little sharing, there’s a better way to have a successful back to school season. As the school age kids are getting older, there’s a possibility that they can share in the back to school systems and get started on learning… View Post
Middle and secondary school kids have a lot of new things to handle. We’ve talked about managing projects and how to study in previous episodes. Today we’re talking with Jessica Lahey, author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed. We’re talking about some… View Post
Jobs are disappearing and lots of new types of jobs appear all the time. The path towards school age kids future career and job ideas doesn’t have to be random. With the student ratio of students to career counselor in many schools being 491:1 it is really important that parents are involved in supporting the whole process. Our guest today is… View Post
Everyone had a hobby when I was growing up! Some of it had to do with belonging to Guides or Brownies. How else did you earn your badges? We had tropical fish and I wrote my share of projects and essays where they were the main feature. Then there was the coin collection. The Stamp collection. Or the active hobbies… View Post
Anyone else experiencing a new normal with the kids? Things are different. There’s more of things happening that didn’t use to happen like arguments or talking back. You know it’s part of growing up but this doesn’t seem like the kids you know. Where has my child gone? This episode is all about how to be comfortable in this transition. Honor… View Post
I was a middle school teacher when I started having kids. I knew tweens and teens. I was terrified of what to do with this totally dependent bundle of joy! What my husband and I did from the start was to focus on what each child needed and learn as much as we could to support them. We developed the… View Post
As school age kids mature they bump up against a few truths. They are not perfect or the best. There are others who are better. They have to work harder at some things than others and it doesn’t seem fair that others find it easier. Feelings are hurt. They question themselves. They wonder, ‘I used to be good- great- amazing…. View Post
Much of Early childhood was spent entertaining our children so they would be ‘happy’. At some point, we recognised that they needed independent play and unstructured play. Now they are school age there’s a shift again in how they are playing and experiencing life. When they were younger we introduced Lego, Puzzles, Soft play, imaginative play items, we even played… View Post
Life skills naturally pop up all year round and don’t stop for holidays. Traditionally there’s a focus on life skills during the summer months as there is lots of time but the holiday season is a good time to plug in school age kids into reworking life skills and learning some new ones. Being an active part of the household… View Post
