activities

Under Pressure: Child Burnout

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Our kids can only handle so much.

As parents, we want to give as many opportunities as possible to succeed. We place them in structured activities, enroll them in after school classes and extracurriculars, and take them to new places to gain new experiences. Despite our good intentions, we can go overboard and it’s only a matter of time until our kids finally reach a breaking point.

Similar to adults having burnout, child burnout is the product of continuous, unmanaged stress. They may be overscheduled with too many activities and not enough rest in between. Or they just might be overloaded from people, directions, and physical exertion. Burnout affects their ability to process and reflect on their day, that then snowballs into anxiety and overwhelm. Their motivation and interest in even their favorite things can drop.

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Executive Function: Parent Homework

| Patti Webb

We’ve been talking about executive function heavily for the past couple weeks, so by now you should have a grasp on how it all works. But, what does this mean for us as parents?

Executive functions aren’t concrete, fast skills to learn, but they do need to be pointed out intentionally as you go along. We’re not asking you to put something entirely new on your plate, but instead become more intentional with the activities and experiences you do with your kids.

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Laying the Foundation: School Readiness

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

So this isn’t quite a Course Notes post, but I absolutely loved this Continuing Ed seminar I took a couple weeks ago on core foundational skills essential for learning. It especially informs our thoughts on school readiness and I want to share it with you all. So here we go!

Ready or not, your little one will soon attend school and you will most likely have concerns if they’re prepared or not. School readiness refers to the range of proficiencies — language and literacy, cognition, social and emotional skills — needed for your child to easily transition into school.  But to be successful in these skills, certain foundations need to be in place.

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Coffee Chat: Encanto

| Patti Webb
Image: Disney

Encanto was released on Disney+ on December 24th.
My girls watched it for the first time in mid-January.
By February, it had reached Threat Level Frozen.

They request the soundtrack every day in the car, and ask to watch it as soon as they get back from school. And according to Instagram, my house isn’t the only one deep in the Encanto phase.

Since all the songs were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Troy may or may not be in deep as well. So, we’re leaning into it.

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The Legit List of Fidgets

| Mary Stoffel, MOT, OTR/L

Fidgets are designed to allow us to self-regulate during times of stress or boredom, but no one fidget is created equal. Because our sensory needs are unique to us, what may work for you may not work for a friend, co-worker, or kid. So how do you know what works for your child? Rather than strolling down the toy section or browsing the endless lists of fidgets online, we broke it down to help you and your kiddo find that “just-right” fidget.

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