Parenting
Return to In-Person Learning: How You Can Help Your Child
This fall, parents around the country took a deep breath and cautiously, worriedly, and maybe even gleefully sent their children back to school for a return to in-person learning. As our students return to school, parents may still be filled with anxiety asking themselves questions, such as: Will my child be safe at school? Will…
Read MoreWhy Your Student Needs a Progressive No Grades High School
What if a high school has no grades? No Advanced Placement (AP) classes. No International Baccalaureate (IB) program. To most parents in Northern Virginia, this is profoundly unsettling information. They ask, “How will my child get into college?”. The current model is not working for many students, but parents are afraid of the unknown. What…
Read MoreSummer Break Update
Summer: a time for barbecues, swimming pools, and some much-needed R&R. The weather outside may be slowing everyone down, but here at The Sycamore School (TSS), we’ve hit the ground running. The staff has been hard at work to get set up for the 2021-2022 school year, planning experiences and electives, re-organizing the school, and…
Read MoreTips to Avoid Summer Brain Drain
I recently was asked to give a talk for the FAA on School’s Out: Tips on How to Avoid Summer Brain Drain. Parents wanted to know how they should be engaging their students over the summer, especially in light of COVID and the hopeful relaxing of social guidelines. Parents often worry about regression and wonder…
Read MoreThe New Normal
Are you excited about the prospect of a more relaxed and carefree summer? Or does the thought of parenting and navigating this new world fill you with anxiety? Maybe it’s my psychologist mind, but I think about, how comfortable are we with “getting back to normal” and what does that even look like? Some of…
Read MoreCultivating Empathy
We strive to do our best as parents and teach our children how to grow up to be self-sufficient adults. We also want them to become kind and generous adults. Good people. I recently read an article titled For Families: 5 Tips for Cultivating Empathy which reminded me that raising kind and generous adults is…
Read MoreDon’t Panic! How parents and families can respond to the COVID-19 outbreak
Parents, help mitigate panic and communicate realistic expectations to your children. It feels as if individuals are falling into two camps in response to the Coronavirus outbreak: panicking or dismissive. Neither reaction is helpful. Instead, we need to take preventative measures seriously and think beyond ourselves. Panic: A Selfish Response Panic can bring out the…
Read MoreAre Gifted and Talented Programs Dumbing Down Our Students?
More and more frequently, parents of young students are pushing for their child to be identified as “gifted and talented”. Parents might think they are benefitting their children by advocating for that label and, to be honest, parents like the recognition themselves. We must have done all the right things if our child is identified…
Read MoreDoes Nagging Work for You?
At some point, every parent has nagged their child. It is just in our nature as parents. We nag because we are frustrated and don’t know what else to do. We want to instill some life skills in our kids, but they’re not internalizing them. Nagging puts us in charge of tasks our kids should…
Read MoreUncovering and Addressing Executive Functioning Struggles In Students
Late, Lost or Missing Homework? Uncovering and Addressing Executive Functioning Struggles In Students Another week and another missing assignment in the grade book for your student. It seems like all their peers complete and turn assignments in on time, so why is it so hard for your child? Late, lost or forgotten homework can be…
Read MoreCulture of Kindness
We have all heard the term “Mean Girl.” According to a recent school study, nearly 1 in 4 girls reported being bullied during the year. This is in sharp contrast to only 17 percent of boys report being bullied. A recent AP article reports girls are 3 times as likely to experience cyber or text…
Read MoreSteps to a successful Middle School experience
Recently, the Washington Post featured an article Seven ways parents and educators can improve kids’ middle school experience. This article does a great job describing both actions we as parents can take and highlighting steps schools have successfully taken to improve the middle school experience. As I read the article, it felt as if they…
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