Washington Post Parenting Blog on Connecting with your teen!

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I definitely can trace the history of my own life through a soundtrack of my own choosing. I have always felt connected to music and have firm opinions about “my music” and the periods of my life that this music represents. I have music for sad times and happy times, dance music and thinking deeply music. And with the advent of playlists, I can, and have, literally customized music for various moments in my days and weeks. So, needless to say, I love the possibility of connection here with one’s children, especially teenage children, through music. The exchange of music, like an exchange of ideas, is pivotal. Since my own children connect through music as well, this is a no brainer for me, as a parent. I am learning a lot, about them and about myself! I am learning I can be close minded, think rap. I am learning that music can lift my mood and set the tone. Try it.

Washington Post parenting blog: how parents of the 80s can connect with their kids…

 

 

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Parent Guide: Common Sense Media

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When there is too much information out there, parents can rely on Common Sense Media to help sort out how to look at everything from media consumption to  screen time to important issues in brain development. I have found this as reliable as an old friend, for all ages and stages.

Parent Guide on Common Sense Media

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Atlantic Monthly: How Preschool is crushing children

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Some incredible reminders about the power of childhood, the importance of play and making sure in schools we continue to value childhood with developmentally appropriate curriculum and schedule. This is where we live at Seven Hills.

The New Preschool: Atlantic Monthly

 

 

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Teenagers fighting with their parents

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This link has some terrific reminders about picking your battles, picking your times and not going after everything. For parents, it can be hard on us, but helping them form their identity by NOT interpreting everything is important. Read away!

The Best Way to Fight With a Teenager: NY Times Well Blog

 

 

Posted in education, NY Times, parenting, resilience, Seven Hills School, Seven Hills School Walnut Creek, social emotional learning, the science of emotion | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Washington Post on Play!

There is mounting evidence that allowing children to play and sort out their mini squabbles is great training for problem solving in the short and long terms. The more adults intervene, the more the message implied becomes “You can’t seem to manage on your own.”

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Washington POst on Parenting: Adults should stop trying to control children’s play

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Gratitude:the right recipe? Is there such a thing as too much gratitude?

I think there is no down side in cultivating gratitude in ourselves and in our students. Making them aware of the fact that their families all sacrifice in some way to send them to our school; looking at models of gratitude to emulate in our world and in the larger world and making time to express gratitude? All noble efforts.

https://vimeo.com/149315612

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Teaching Traditional Ethics in Japanese Schools?

 I have recently become a student of all things Japanese, largely thanks to our Seven Hills Japanese Exchange Program. This is an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal about culture clashes (between the generations) in Japan. As we prepare to take many of our 8th graders to Japan this summer, I am intrigued…

Wall Street Journal on Japan

 

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How can we send the messages we want to our children without confusing motives?

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I enjoyed one mother’s sardonic assessment of the situation where children want to play rather than earn a little money or help out a neighbor. Notice, though, that college admissions is still a part of many a threat, even for pretty young children…

Washington Post on chores and “helping others”

 

 

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Tomorrow marks the release of a new report…

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New Report on College Admissions about to be released by Harvard’s GSE and Rick Weissbourd!

Because the Bay Area Heads had the chance to meet with Denise Pope last week, and she will be speaking at Seven Hills in April, I am anxious to read this new report entitled “Turning the Tide.” It should make for some very juicy conversations. In the meantime, I have just begun reading Denise Pope’s Overloaded and Underprepared, Strategies for Stronger Schools and Healthy, Successful Kids. 

Posted in 21st Century Skills, academic excellence in elementary schools, adult development, Challenge Success, childhood development, College Admissions, Denise Pope, Harvard's Caring Schools Initiative, Making Caring Common at Harvard, Rick Weissbourd, Seven Hills School, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Serendipity and its role in Innovation

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I am in the middle of visiting a few other schools to see what they are doing with innovation and how they are BUILDING IT into their curriculum. Making room for opportunity and then embracing it when it arrives, we CAN have students exercise more agency over their own education without sacrificing quality. This I believe.

Cultivating the Art of Serendipity, NY Time Op Ed Jan 3, 2016

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