As soon as the first leaf floats gently to the ground it sets in motion a frantic scramble to get ready for “the holidays.” It’s like the almost non-existent physical impact of that leaf touching the ground is as powerful as a meteor landing. That light, swirling, twirling little leaf lands with a cosmic “thud” and alerts everybody (the children first) that “the holidays” are coming! Although we can’t see it happening, the ground has begun to violently shake beneath us. The seismic rumble unsettles inventory in just about every store, and somehow Halloween merchandise lands on shelves by mid-…

I spend my entire life with children. After I drop everybody off at his or her respective childcares and schools, I am in my car for a five-minute commute to work. Then, I have about 20 minutes before the kids start coming into the building. I will leave my class occasionally when they have something special like music or library, and I grab 20 minutes to eat some lunch, but I pretty much have them within my sight for the entire day.  After the kids leave, I have a bit of time before I go and pick up my own children. After I collect my kids, we shuffle around to all of their playdates and …

To yell or not to yell. An age-old parenting (and teaching) dilemma.Generations ago, there was no question. If a child was “misbehaving,” the adults yelled. If a child did not understand something, the adults yelled. If a child’s presence was being “requested," the adults yelled.There was little concern given to “feelings” or “explaining.” A yell of “Knock it off!” to a group of noisy children could easily and commonly be followed by “Because I said so!”Along the way, parents, and teachers, and other adult caretakers began to think more about what causes children’s behaviors, and subsequently…