Parenting

Mary’s School Update: New School, Who’s This?

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Last school year, it was shared that our local public elementary school was shortlisted for possible closure. After five grueling months of parent advocacy and formal meetings with the school board, a final decision was made: our cherished elementary school would close its doors due to fiscal responsibility. The outcome was deeply disheartening.

I served on the research team tasked with compiling data and proposing innovative, cost-saving alternatives that could give us a chance for this upcoming school year. But despite our efforts, the board’s majority leaned toward shuttering aging facilities and reallocating resources.

This feels deeply personal to me right now, but this trend has been widely documented across the country. School systems increasingly forced to make difficult decisions in response to shrinking budgets and changing demographics. As public school enrollment declines (due to a range of factors), closures and consolidations have become part of the cost-cutting strategy.

So where does this leave our community?

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The Sheep, the Wolf, and the Sheepdog: Kids and Peers

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

There are three types of people in this world: sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. – Wayne Kyle, American Sniper

My husband has used this analogy to explain certain types of people to our son ever since he was little. Granted, it is an oversimplified explanation of human nature, but it gets the point across. In our version of the metaphor, sheep are those who cannot defend themselves when harm comes their way, wolves take advantage of their vulnerability, and the sheepdog stands up and protects the sheep. It’s a visual way to tell him to be a decent human and not be a d*ck.

 While our son has long understood this concept, it’s becoming harder for him to follow. In fact, it feels like he’s exhibiting more wolf-like behavior these days. Turns out the shift between sheepdog and wolf mirrors the growing complexity of his social circle and how kids his age are dealing with the next level of social skills and challenges.

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Child(ish) Review: Win Or Lose

| Patti Webb

Leave it to Pixar to effortlessly explain complex situations to kids. In the new long-form animated series Win or Lose, their animation team delivers the concept of “Everyone is going through something you have no idea about”.

The show centers around The Pickles, a middle school co-ed softball team in the week leading up to their big championship game. Each episode focuses on an individual character’s point of view and how their personal lives shape their perception of the team, school, and home. Laurie, the coach’s daughter, stresses over how to contribute to the team and make her father proud. Kai, the star player, pushes herself to the limits to avoid her dad’s criticism. Rochelle does whatever to make money so she can play next season. The series explores how different characters grapple with pressure and insecurity – whether it’s to seek approval, perfection, or stability.

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Stars, Stripes, and Self-Regulation: Strategies for the 4th of July

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

The Fourth of July is one of my family’s favorite holidays. It’s an all-day event full of festivities, fireworks, and our favorite people. But don’t get it twisted, it can be the ultimate endurance test for kids and that all has to do with their sensory threshold.

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Summer To-Do List: 2025

| Patti Webb

Happy Last Day of School (for us, at least)!

Since I loved our Summer To-Do List lessons from last year, we’re doing it again. Each summer as our kids get older, they become more and more capable. I also feel more and more determined as a parent to stretch their comfort zones. Both Mary and I have something new up our sleeves for our kids this summer.

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