Tag Archives: parenting

How to talk to children about Trump!

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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 … Continue reading →

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…

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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 … Continue reading →

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

Helping your teen help a friend…

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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 … Continue reading →

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

Teenagers fighting with their parents

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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! … Continue reading →

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!

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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 … Continue reading →

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

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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 … Continue reading →

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Teaching Traditional Ethics in Japanese Schools?

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

 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 … Continue reading →

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

Posted on February 8, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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 … Continue reading →

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Tomorrow marks the release of a new report…

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

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, … Continue reading →

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

KQED Mind Shift on avoiding or recovering from the Overparenting Trap.

Posted on January 9, 2016 by Kathleen McNamara Head's Up!

5 Steps for Parents to Recover from Overparenting… KQED I am enjoying learning more about the reaction folks are having to this book. This piece is spot on. If we do not avoid overparenting, our children will revolt!

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