Since winter break, something familiar has been showing up across classrooms, therapy rooms, and learning spaces. Things that felt shaky in the fall are working better now. Routines are sticking. Transitions feel smoother. Students are settling more quickly into expectations that once required constant prompting. That didn't happen by accident. The Foundation of Steady Progress From August until now, there's been steady work happening—often invisible, sometimes slow, but cons

After a long break, it’s easy to focus on what feels off. Routines might feel rusty. Emotions might run high. Things might not click immediately the way you hoped. But this is also one of the best times to notice what's actually working after winter break. Since August, a lot has been built in your home. Expectations have been taught. Boundaries have been tested and reinforced. You’ve adjusted, reset, and tried again more times than you probably realize. When kids return from

Walk into most elementary classrooms and you'll see them: sticker charts, behavior clip charts, treasure boxes, class economy systems, digital point trackers. We've built entire ecosystems around the idea that students need prizes to behave and rewards to learn. And look, I get it. Rewards work. In the short term, they absolutely work. Kids will jump through hoops for a piece of candy or five extra minutes of recess. But here's the problem: they're jumping through hoops. They

Think about the last time a child succeeded at something. Made the team, got an A, won the game. There was probably celebration, right? Of course. Wins deserve recognition. But here's the question: what about all the times they tried hard and didn't win? The test they studied for but still failed. The team they didn't make despite practicing for months. The recital where they froze up even though they'd practiced perfectly at home. If we only celebrate the wins, we're acciden

Every January, every new semester, every fresh quarter, the same thing happens: goal-setting becomes the main event. Teachers are asked to set professional development goals. Students are asked to set academic or behavioral goals. Everyone writes something down, files it away, and then... mostly forgets about it. By mid-year, those goals are buried under lesson plans, grading, and the daily chaos of just keeping everything afloat. And when someone asks, "Hey, how's that goal

Let's talk about something that sounds productive but can actually backfire: tracking a child's progress. We're not saying we shouldn't pay attention to whether kids are learning and growing. Of course we should. But somewhere along the way, progress tracking became this whole production. Charts on the wall. Apps that send daily reminders. Sticker systems that require a PhD to understand. And here's what happens: the tracking becomes more stressful than the actual goal. A chi

If you've ever looked at the clock and wondered where 15 minutes of your class period just disappeared, chances are it got swallowed by a transition. Moving from one activity to another shouldn't take that long. But in many classrooms, it does. Students wander. Materials get lost. The noise level creeps up. And before you know it, you've spent more time managing the transition than you did teaching the actual lesson. The frustrating part? Most teachers know their transitions

If you've spent any time in parenting circles or school meetings lately, you've heard about growth mindset. It's the idea that abilities can be developed through effort and learning, as opposed to being fixed traits you're born with. Sounds great, right? And it is. Except here's where it gets tricky: somewhere along the way, growth mindset became a script. Add "yet" to the end of sentences. Praise effort over results. Tell kids their brains are like muscles. But if you're fin

Let's start with the truth: most of us don't get the fresh start we're promised at the beginning of the school year. By October, routines have already started to slip. By December, you're in survival mode. And by March, you're just trying to make it to June without completely losing your mind. But here's what nobody tells you—new beginnings in the classroom don't have to wait for August. You can create a reset moment any time you need one. And honestly? Sometimes you need one

Let's start with a scene you might recognize: It's January, a child announces they're going to read 100 books this year, practice piano every single day, and make straight A's. Two weeks later? The books are gathering dust, the piano is silent, and everyone feels a bit defeated. Sound familiar? Here's the thing, goal-setting with kids is tricky because we're often working against two extremes. Either the goals are so vague they're meaningless ("I want to do better in school")

Why Most Goals Fail (And What to Do Instead) Every January, we do the same thing. We set ambitious goals. We feel motivated and hopeful. We tell ourselves this year will be different. Then February arrives, and most of those goals have quietly disappeared. The students who promised to turn in homework on time are back to old patterns. The reading goal you set for yourself gets buried under lesson planning. The intention to incorporate more movement into your classroom falls a

Why Resolutions Don't Work (Especially for Kids) Every January, we do this thing where we declare what we're going to change about ourselves. We're going to exercise more. Eat healthier. Be more organized. Read more books. And then by February, most of us have given up. Now imagine that cycle for your child. They declare they're going to "get better at math" or "make more friends" and then... nothing really changes. Because declarations without plans are just wishes. And fail

Why Winter Break Transitions Hit Different Let me paint a picture you probably recognize: It's the week before winter break. Your carefully established routines have dissolved. Students are bouncing off the walls. Half your class is already mentally on vacation, and the other half is stressed about changes in their home routines. Meanwhile, you're trying to finish assessments, close out the semester, and somehow maintain instructional momentum when everyone—including you—is r

Why Your Child Needs Structure (Even on Break) There's a reason why kids start to get a little... extra... a few days into winter break. It's not that they're being difficult. It's that human beings (especially young ones) thrive with some level of structure and predictability. When winter break routines completely disappear, kids often struggle. They don't know what to expect. They have too many choices and not enough direction. They stay in pajamas until 2pm and then feel w

Why Some Celebrations Miss the Mark I used to think celebration was simple. Praise the A students, applaud the test scores, hand out the awards at the end of the year. Done. Then I started paying attention to student reactions. The kid who shrank when I called attention to their perfect score. The student who worked incredibly hard to move from an F to a C but got no recognition because a C isn't "award-worthy." The ones who achieved amazing social growth but never heard abou

The Achievement Trap We're All Caught In We live in a culture obsessed with measurable success. GPA. Test scores. Competition results. College acceptance rates. And look, I'm not saying those things don't matter. But when they become the only things we celebrate, we send a dangerous message to our kids. We tell them that their value is tied to performance. That being a good person counts less than being a high achiever. That effort only matters if it results in visible succes

The Real Story Behind This Semester's Growth Let's be honest—when December rolls around, most of us are running on fumes. We're thinking about winter break, planning for next semester, and maybe counting down the days until we can sleep past 6 AM. But before we close the books on this semester, there's something worth doing: helping students reflect on where they've been and how far they've come. And I'm not just talking about academic progress, though that matters too. I'm t

Why Reflection Actually Matters (And Not Just as a Feel-Good Exercise) Look, I get it. Adding one more thing to your parenting to-do list probably sounds about as appealing as volunteering for cafeteria duty. But here's why helping your child reflect on growth is worth the effort. When kids take time to look back on what they've learned and how they've changed, something shifts. They start to see themselves as capable. They begin to connect effort with outcomes. They develop

You've tried everything. You've set up a homework routine. You've talked to teachers. You've tried rewards and consequences. You've helped with organization. You've been patient and supportive. And your child is still struggling. Here's what's probably happening: you're addressing the wrong problem. Not because you're doing anything wrong, but because it's really hard to see what's actually getting in the way. When a child struggles academically, we tend to jump straight to s

From Understanding to Action You've learned to recognize executive function and SEL skill gaps. You've observed patterns in your students. You understand that academic struggles often stem from these foundational skills, not content knowledge. Now what? Because noticing the problem is only half the battle. The real question is: what do you actually do when a student is struggling? That's what we're tackling today. Practical, targeted strategies that address the most common ac