New week, new game for our #WhattheEFSummer fun activity series. Executive Function and Social Emotional Development Games This week we’re seeing how well kids can pay attention and not get caught by a tricky playmate. Boppity Bop Bop Bop is a fun outdoor game meant to help kids concentrate and not get distracted. Reflection Sciences…
Summer Learning, Summer FUN!
The last year in education has been, well, downright crazy and our youngest learners struggled to keep up. Research has shown that many children have actually lost ground and are at risk of entering school next year behind their peers. We know that strong Executive Function (EF) skills are at the heart of getting them…
Give Your Kids an “I CAN DO THIS!” Moment
In a recent Raising Good Humans podcast, Goldilocks Parenting: How to Shape Executive Function Skills Through Caregiving Dr. Carlson explains that kids need to realize they have a choice in how they think, act, or feel. As children make these decisions, they own it and learn to realize each has its own consequence, good or…
EFgoPRO™: An EF/SEL Tool You Can’t Afford NOT to Use
With the diverse methods of teaching and learning in today’s educational world, knowing where the strengths and weaknesses of each student is imperative in order to guarantee students’ needs are being met. Recently, Istation published 10 Assessment Must-Haves as a starting point for measuring student growth and providing teachers with the necessary information as they…
Using a Digital Diet for Screen time Decisions
Should we set a screen time limit What programs can our children watch? Is my child playing too many video games? Children’s technology use is a common topic of discussion echoed in living rooms across the country. A recent piece in the New York Times highlights the struggles faced by pandemic families who express…
There’s More to “Seat-Time” Than We Thought
There has been a lot of discussion about earning credit via “seat time” (aka Carnegie units) versus “proof of mastery.” Where one insists a person attend a minimum number of class periods while the other cares not about attendance, just the ability to demonstrate knowledge however that may be done. When it comes to early…
Promoting Executive Function with STEAM
Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’m just not creative,” or “Gosh, I wish I were better at math”? How about considering yourself to be either left-brained (analytical) or right-brained (creative)? It can be tempting to think of science and art as opposite ends of a spectrum, but evidence from neuroscience shows us that brain…
Just Right Parenting: An Executive Function Strategy for Parents
If your child has ever complained to you about having too little milk in a glass (“But I’m thirsty!”) and then after you added more, complained that it was too much (“I can’t finish it all!”), you know how challenging it can be to find the right balance in parenting. It’s like how Goldilocks wanted…
Supporting Theory of Mind Development in Children
Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to understand that other people have thoughts that are different from our own. Acquiring this understanding of the mind is a crucial developmental milestone for children and allows them to succeed in environments such as school. Using their ToM, children can make predictions about another person’s behavior and…
Mindfulness and Mental Health
As most educators and parents are seeing, this historic pandemic is having a large effect on children and students of all ages. The current pandemic has upended in-person education, disrupted our daily routines, and has isolated many of us from friends and family. A survey of 1000 students between the ages of 16 and 19,…