Head's Up, Kathleen McNamara

Sometimes the best thing you can say to your students is NO.

Posted on May 22, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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There are some great reminders in here about parenting for the long haul! This parenting thing is a marathon, not a sprint!

Why saying NO to children sometimes can have benefits in childhood development

Posted in 21st Century Skills, childhood development, education, parenting | Tagged education, parenting, seven hills school walnut creek | Comments Off

The Importance of Interpersonal Skills in the workplace…

Posted on March 24, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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So many schools talk about social emotional learning as a co-curricular activity. We are seeing more and more that these skills are a means to acquiring curriculum. They create the conditions for learning.

Why People Skills are becoming more valuable than technical skills

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adolescent development, childhood development, education | Tagged children, education, students | Comments Off

Busy People NEED quiet time… Harvard Business Review

Posted on March 22, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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The case for slowing down and cultivating a mindfulness practice has never been stronger. In our busy modern lives, we need to find quiet time, for thinking and reflecting and expressing gratitude. I am confident that our students, who are learning social emotional skills much earlier than most of their teachers and parents did, will be better positioned to manage their busy lives and build quiet time into their lives.

The need for quiet… HBR

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adolescent development, adult development, childhood development, education, mindfulness | Tagged human development, mindfulness, technology | Comments Off

The Secret to a Meaningful Life…Study of Introverts vs. Extraverts

Posted on February 7, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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I am intrigued by Little’s notion that a personality trait does not have to dictate what personal projects one takes on. I even think the notion of a personal project is foreign to many of us. This concept of what we do when we are not working, not bring in relationship to others, but just pursuing a personal project. I think many of us have seen personal projects as luxury items, not core to our existence… I know I have often seen my personal projects as self indulgent, not ultimately as the opportunity to exercise another part of my personality.

The Secret to a Meaningful Life…BBC

Posted in 21st Century Skills, education, leadership | Tagged education, educational leadership, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills Walnut Creek, technology | Comments Off

Early Math Education and the role of spatial reasoning

Posted on February 2, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

Understanding space and our place in the world is a key ingredient in childhood development. As our Imagination Playground blocks arrive for our students to design, build, deconstruct and recreate, our children will start to work, informally, through the design process. This article is a great reminder of what we know about the relationship between young children, their brain development, spatial reasoning and math!

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The role of spatial reasoning in early math education: KQED

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education | Tagged math, parenting, Seven Hills Parent Education, Seven Hills Walnut Creek, STEAM | Comments Off

Rudeness at home… parenting blog

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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Some great tips in here for parents at all ages and stages…

Why is my otherwise polite child so rude at home? Washington Post On Parenting Blog

Posted in childhood development, education, parenting, washington post | Comments Off

Raising Caring Kids… Harvard’s “Making Caring Common Initiative

Posted on January 30, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

As we try and model empathy and compassion for our students and children, we are faced with the task of working against a lot of what they are seeing and hearing in the popular culture, and even in the news media. In an increasingly polarized adult world, we need to keep children at the heart of what we are modeling and promoting. Again, I return to Harvard’s initiative Making Caring Common. There is a lot of great information here for parents. Two terrific links:

Harvard: Making Caring Common Infographic

Harvard: Parenting Resources for Raising Ethical Children

Posted in 21st Century Skills, childhood development, education, empathy, Harvard Graduate School of education, Harvard's Caring Schools Initiative | Tagged education, educational leadership, empathy, parenting, Seven Hills Walnut Creek | Comments Off

We are living in strange times

Posted on January 25, 2017 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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These are strange times. No matter your political beliefs or your ability to absorb the twenty-four hour news cycle, these are strange times. I find myself at loose ends much more since the start of the New Year, searching for purpose and making sure I can lay my head on my pillow at night feeling that I am still doing more good than harm. I find that I am actively working on maintaining my belief that life is not a zero sum game. I do not have to win at someone else’s expense. I am able to do well and promote good without needing to put someone else down. Right? I’m checking in with myself more about this lately. And so I get drawn back to empathy. I am convinced that practicing and teaching empathy is our way forward. This has some great pointers for that purpose:

How to Raise Empathetic Kids… Real Simple Magazine