Seven Hills Students and the Robot Wars!

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What happens when 5th graders present their robot designs to their first grade buddies? Watch and read and enjoy!

Seven Hills School on Inspiration Lab: The Robot Wars!

 

 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, leadership, leadership in children, robotics, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, STEAM in elementary schools, technology | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Diversifying Children’s Books

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Some great reads in this list for children from ages 2-10 years old. There is nothing like the feel of a great children’s book read aloud, sometimes over and over…

Enjoy!

Diversify Reading Lists for children! MindShift

 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, diversity, leadership in children, literacy, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Mindfulness as a tool to pay attention, listen and express gratitude

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I shared this in our faculty meeting last week. Interesting, for sure…

TEDx Talk: Dr. Kristen Race on Mindfulness

 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, education, gratitude, mindfulness, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

One more time, the proven benefits of mindfulness for children.

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Hard to dispute the obvious benefits…

The Mindful Child…

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, education, mindfulness, new york times, NY Times, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Mom: The Worrier Species

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In honor of Mother’s Day, and because I am a mother and had a worrier mother.

Mom: The Worrier

 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, adult development, gender studies, new york times, NY Times, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning, the science of emotion | Tagged | Leave a comment

How to talk to children about Trump!

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There are children all over this country trying to make sense of what they are hearing from adults about politics and the upcoming general election in November. This tackles the subject head on! (Thanks, Suzy Klein!)

How to talk to children about Donald Trump

 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, childhood development, Dacher Keltner UC Berkeley, education, fear, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning, Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Always make time for a read aloud at home…

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I recently had the chance to share some of Mo Willem’s Elephant & Piggy Books with one of our kindergarten classes. Most of them knew the books and squealed wildly with delight in anticipation of what would come next. Some great artwork. Some silly dialogue. Lots of fun!

Finding time for reading aloud, even just 15 minutes per day! Washington Post Parenting Blog

 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, childhood development, literacy, parenting, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Parent Behavior in the College Athletic Recruiting Process

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I have seen this play out up close and personally with many college athletes in the extended family. The fact that parent behavior is becoming an issue is very concerning.

The positive coaching alliance has great resources here.

Positive Coaching Alliance: Parents of Recruits Matter in the Process, too…

Posted in academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, athletics, College Admissions, college athletic recruitment, parenting, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Helping your teen help a friend…

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Yes, this rings true, both from my own parenting and from listening to students grapple with how to help a friend over my 27 years in education . Some great advice here!

Helping your teen help a friend… NY Times Parenting Blog

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, aggression among girls, childhood development, grit, leadership, leadership in children, motherlode, new york times, NY Times, parenting, social emotional learning, the science of emotion | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The role of Social Emotional Learning in College Placement

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It is interesting to see schools struggle with affective issues: how we relate to each other in schools. Institutions in various sectors: public,  charter and for profit schools try and emulate what has, in fact, been happening in independent school and, Seven Hills in particular, for many years. Our whole child approach has made it possible for students to learn cognitive skills, but they always come in conjunction with social emotional skills and habits of mind that create fertile opportunities for learning. This is great news for the future…

Social Emotional Learning is the key to college success… Atlantic Monthly

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, Challenge Success, childhood development, Dacher Keltner UC Berkeley, Denise Pope, education, Harvard's Caring Schools Initiative, leadership, Making Caring Common at Harvard, mindfulness, social emotional learning, The Atlantic Monthly | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment