With kids, I like to turn things into a game and a favourite in the classroom is verbal tennis. This classic back-and-forth can bring out some absolutely cracking ideas. I love throwing out the topic and seeing what happens. If they come up with ridiculous answers, that’s good. Laugh with them. Laughing with you will keep them engaged in what they are doing and give them a sense of achievement. An example of a topic could be “What meals could we have this week?” or “How many superpowers can you name?” or “How could we get to school tomorrow?” answers like driving a car is equal to riding a horse or taking the family pogo sticks in this situation.

I use mantras in my life and have seen them work in class. Something as simple as “I am a good learner” 5 times at the start of the day has changed the way kids in my class think about themselves. 

…When you understand that your external voice becomes their internal voice, you can see how this may make him feel like a failure who will never be as good as his brother. Heartbreak.

Really, what I am saying is on behalf of parents everywhere, thank you for making the difference. Thanks for playing with the kids even though your knees and back probably hurt. Thanks for baking sugar-free baking because your daughter is trying to limit sugar.

“By constantly pushing books upon our kids who don’t already want to read, we achieve the opposite effect. You have to play it cool… I try really hard to never force kids to do something when I know they are unsure about it. An example of this is …”

Setting goals for kids is easy. Especially with this sneaky tip!

You have to find somewhere in between Uncle Joey from Full House and Vladimir Putin.