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Continue reading →: Dr. Wagner’s Weekly Message: Raising the “I Can” Kid at HomeDuring conferences last week, my oldest was told to cut herself some slack and my middle was told to cut down on the chit chat. That tracks. My oldest has always held herself to an incredibly high standard, which is easier to do when you genuinely love learning. I won’t…
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Continue reading →: Dr. Wagner’s Weekly Message: Halloween Joy, Candy for Breakfast, and the Time ChangeTonight is one of my favorite nights of the year. Costumes, giggles, and the kind of joyful chaos that only happens when children sprint from porch to porch. If your house is anything like mine, there will be a shoe missing, a superhero cape in the kitchen, and a pumpkin…
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Continue reading →: When the “Big Jumps” Feel BumpyI often hear parents talk about the big jumps when children move between grades. The usual suspects are kindergarten to first, third to fourth, and fifth to sixth. Some students cruise over the change with only a few small speed bumps. For others, and for their parents, the transition can…
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Continue reading →: Mistakes Welcome: Raising Growth-Mindset MathematiciansMy dad can work “math rules the world” into almost any moment. Negotiating allowance? Math rules the world. Perfect pancake flip? Math rules the world. Last weekend he said it to each of my three kids… twice… and then to me, because fairness. It’s funny what we carry from our…
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Continue reading →: When Achievement Isn’t the AnswerThis summer I read a book titled Never Enough: When Achievement Culture Becomes Toxic and What We Can Do About It. The inside cover opens with this line: “Today’s children and teens are under increasing pressure to excel in all areas of their young lives—academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities—often at…
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Continue reading →: Raising Human Explanation Points and Impulse ControlTaylor Swift once described Travis Kelce as a human exclamation point. I would use the same description for my middle sister, both as a child and, if I am honest, still today. She was loud, joyful, dramatic with her arm movements, and impulse control was not her strongest skill. I…
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Continue reading →: The Mystery of the Missing Backpack: How Working Memory Shapes Your Child’s DayI know I cannot be the only parent who lives this scene more mornings than I would like to admit: “Alright, we are going to be late. Go get your socks and shoes, coat and backpack… oh, and did you brush your teeth?” Fast forward five minutes and a child…
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Continue reading →: When Kids Can (and can’t) Sort BooksWhen my oldest was four years old, she spent the day with me in my office at the University of Delaware. At one point, she wandered into the office of a colleague who holds a Ph.D. in mathematics. My colleague asked her to arrange the books on the bottom shelf…
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Continue reading →: When the Conductor Takes a Sick Day: Raising Kids with Executive SkillsLast week, one of my children, who shall remain nameless, had a full-on meltdown that ended with him declaring, “I’m going to fail, be held back, and become the oldest person in my grade!” The cause of this tragedy? He had forgotten most of the materials he needed to complete…
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Continue reading →: September Is the Real New Year: Goals and MotivationLast week, Mr. Simmons wrote about how, for students and teachers, the new year doesn’t really begin on January 1. It starts on September 1. That feels true in my house, too. With each new school year, I find myself setting goals, not just for my own time management (“This…
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