Posts by Lynne Watts
Handle parent-teacher crucial conversations effectively
Four tips for crucial conversations with parents In my years as a school counselor, I coordinated and lead a lot of parent-teacher conferences. Lucky for me, I worked in a school with an amazing dedicated team of teachers who came to those conferences prepared and eager to serve. It’s an important mindset to cultivate. However,…
Read MoreThree surprising things NOT to say to kids
Don’t worry, we’ve all said them… There are a lot of common phrases that we as parents and educators rattle off to kids without thinking much about the meaning that could be interpreted behind it. Some of them are things that we’ve even been told we should say. Here are three things I bet you’ve said…
Read MoreKids and decision making
Kids and decision making In a recent post, Tim Elmore discusses the consequences of removing risk taking from children’s lives. In older times, kids spent their summers and their free time roaming the neighborhood, playing, creating their own games and developing their own network of friends. Parents relayed the rules. Kids knew their boundaries and…
Read MoreLearning from goal setting
Learning from Goal Setting In an earlier post this year, I suggested that students set an intention for the year and review that intention midway through the school year and again at the end of the school year. As the school year comes to a close, it is a good time to determine the success of that…
Read Morefour steps to cope with failure
How to help kids cope with failure I’ve written a lot of posts on how to handle failure. There are several reasons for this. As a kid, I don’t know that anyone ever helped me understand the role that failure plays in growing, improving and becoming your best self. I just figured out on my…
Read MoreBrain Research and the Benefits of Play
Play and the Brain As chilly winter days transition into balmy spring time, children and adults both anticipate spending more time outdoors. Unfortunately, the school environment doesn’t always cooperate with the onset of spring fever as students prepare for and take mandated tests or complete end of year projects. Test anxiety and teacher stress is…
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