Teaching algebra with manipulatives
by Kathy Kuhl Teaching parents in Fort Worth last month, I promised to explain bean algebra—a way to solve linear equations using beans. (I learned this when I was a new public school math teacher in 1979, and I cannot remember or find the source. If you know, tell me.) What manipulatives you’ll need Manipulatives are […]
Habits: Building them, breaking them
by Kathy Kuhl How do we help our kids develop good habits? Why are bad habits so hard to break? “Habits emerge, scientists say, because the brain is constantly looking for ways to save effort,” says Pulitzer Prize winner writer Charles Duhigg in his book, The Power of Habit. When you act by habit, your brain is […]
How to read faces: a vital skill for your child
By Kathy Kuhl Some children with learning challenges are highly attuned to emotion and can read faces with ease. For other children (and adults, for that matter), faces speak in a code they cannot break. But almost all of us—adults, teens, and children—can improve our ability to read faces. Teens in particular struggle to read […]
Help distractible, impulsive, or hyperactive kids
By Kathy Kuhl Book review of Is Your Child Hyperactive? Inattentive? Impulsive? Distractible? by Stephen W. Garber, Ph.D., Marianne Daniels Garber, Ph. D., and Robyn Freedman Spizman. Villlard, 221 pages. Five-year-old Evan can’t stand still. Eight-year-old Jessie is a sweet daydreamer who never finishes her work and Calvin is such a terribly impulsive teen that his parents […]
Distractibility, the Christmas tree, and me
By Kathy Kuhl [Note below about last week’s prize winners.] Who isn’t distracted this time of year? Lovely ornaments, music, delicious foods—but more to do, too. It’s an especially tough time for our children and teens who are distractible or who have sensory processing difficulties: the intensity can be overwhelming. When he was small, my […]
Just a minute: Help for distracted parents
By Kathy Kuhl Last weekend as I spoke on helping distractible students succeed (at the Washington Homeschool Organization in Puyallup), a woman said, “I can’t let my sons use fidgets or some other strategies you suggest, because they distract me! What can I do?” asked this highly distractible parent. A father in the room, who […]
Homeschooling a distractible child
By Kathy Kuhl Homeschooling a distractible child can be nerve-wracking. You step away for two minutes and your distractible one has mentally drifted to a far galaxy, physically left the room, put on a favorite costume and started pretending, or all of the above. “I’m sorry!” he says. “I didn’t mean to!” “I forgot!” she […]
Is your child time-blind?
by Kathy Kuhl (Part 2 on helping kids be more punctual. Part 1 is here.) What’s worse: being chronically late—or having a child who is? Either way we feel frustrated and helpless. In my last post, I recommended four ways to train your children to be more aware of how long it takes them to […]
Help your child be more punctual, part 1
by Kathy Kuhl A Wall Street Journal article headline declared, “We know why you’re always late.” I thought, “I’ve been found out!” Though I’ve learned how make myself punctual (usually), I know the looming guilt of being late again and disappointing people who think being punctual is just common courtesy. How can we help our […]
Secrets of Social Success
(Part 3 on finding the right extra-curricular activities) By Kathy Kuhl Last time, I wrote about helping your child with learning challenges get ready for their new group (a club, scouts, choir, or the like.) But for some kids, getting the work done and getting the gear together is the easy part. It’s the social […]