Posts by Lynne Watts
Creating better communication with kids
Improve communication skills and resolve conflicts He’s making fun of me. She said she wasn’t my friend any more. She invited everyone to be in her club except me. He said I was weird. It hurt my feelings. Helping kids get along with each other can be quite a challenge. Some days it feels like…
Read MoreTeach Kids Teamwork
Teach Kids Teamwork One of the key characteristics that employers look for today is the ability to work with a team. It is also a quality that will enhance family and classroom dynamics. Sometimes we think that it is something that a child is just born with, but in actuality we can teach skills that…
Read MoreHandle 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 MoreReflection and Goal Setting
At the start of the school year, goal setting is a great idea, especially for older students who have had practice setting goals in the past. So what do you do mid-year with all the focus on developing resolutions and setting goals? Midway through the school year is a good time to measure progress while…
Read More