“Wow, this is stunning,” my oldest said facetiously, staring into a wall of dense gray clouds. After a couple of hours of hiking in the dense forest, we had finally made it to the big, dramatic view. Except that instead of a sweeping green vista, there were clouds. And we were inside them. “Isn’t it… Read More →
“Hm hmmm?” I said, vaguely attending to my youngest child’s in-depth description of what features he would add to a Minecraft realm if given full coding control. My attention was split between his description (which could go on without end) and scrolling through a headline a friend had texted me. Actually I hadn’t made a… Read More →
“How’s your summer going?” I recently asked another parent at our neighborhood park. “Good!” he quickly responded. I waited a bit because his face looked less certain than his immediate response. “No, I mean, good. Everything is good! Kids are good. I’m good.” He went on, clearly second guessing his answer in real time. We… Read More →
During a short stint of online learning this winter I paused behind my oldest who was perched at the table with his Chromebook open. As he haphazardly clicked around the screen, it didn’t take long for me to remember what a heavy lift it is for a growing brain to focus attention amidst a sea… Read More →
This week marked the first official week of learning at home in the wake of school closures designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Our family started social distancing efforts last week so I had a little time to mentally prepare for the new reality of juggling working, parenting, and teaching. I knew better than… Read More →
The other day I found myself thinking, “What a time to be alive!” as I watched my oldest child make a series of online slideshows for some of his teachers. He couldn’t have been happier to be writing, creating hilarious art, and even adding poetry to his creations. Outside of school time! Just for fun!… Read More →
“I am going to be screen free tonight!” I say to myself with conviction. I am already looking forward to a calm and focused evening. “Anything I need to see on my phone can wait until tomorrow,” I think with confidence. I place my phone on the counter and open the back door to greet… Read More →
As more and more homework goes online, students are tasked with a daunting task: How do I focus on the assignment and resist the allure of unrelated YouTube videos, social media posts, and other digital distractions? (I emphasize unrelated because some assignments ask students to draw on YouTube and other digital resources for learning). Your… Read More →
“My kids constantly move from one activity to the next – except when it comes to toddlers and TV. Should I be worried when my 5 year old just sits and stares at the screen?” When TV was still a fairly new pastime for kids, researchers coined the term “zombie effect” to describe the glassy-eyed,… Read More →
I just wrote a blog post about self-regulation, technology, and the importance of managing the environment to set our kids (and ourselves) up for success. Here are 8 ways to decrease digital distractions and increase productivity: Cut out background media and discourage multitasking (the exception to this might be calm music for some kids) when… Read More →
