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ADHD ABC| Y is for Yakking!
Yakety-yak! Don’t talk back! When I was a teenager, I sassed my mom and gave her attitude. Also, if I found a teacher boring, the lesson irrelevant (especially in Godzilla-awful geometry class), or...
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ADHD ABC|Z is for Zeigarnik Effect: Make Distraction Work for You!
What the Heck is the Zeigarnik Effect? Have you ever been interrupted so often that you don’t know what to start first, next or last? You’re about to make some copies for a lesson you’re teaching the...
View ArticleBuh-Bye Bad Buzzwords
There are some buzzwords that are overused ad nauseum that they’ve become like sour milk that begs to be chucked. They’ve lost their original meaning and any spunk or flair has faded, like Christmas...
View ArticleBabysitter Generation
My coworker friend Andrea is almost smack dab in the middle, in terms of age, in between my daughter and me. I’m 42, Andrea is 28, and my daughter is 15. The age difference between each of us is not...
View ArticleA Walk in the Western Woods
On Saturday my daughter M. and I visited Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA. At first she was reluctant, didn’t want to get out of bed early on a Saturday morning (9:30 AM, sheesh), and...
View ArticleNine Things Pneumonia Taught Me
Right before Thanksgiving, pneumonia kicked me flat. I had a 103.7* fever (about 39.83 C) and coughed like an antique steam shovel. It was so bad we had to cancel our trip to California–and we’ve never...
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I Did Not Learn Everything I Needed to Know in Kindergarten.
I did not learn everything I needed to know in kindergarten. I did learn everything I needed to know about the calendar, though. When I was in kindergarten, the teacher gave each of us a 2 x 2 inch...
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Epiphany
Today is Epiphany, a celebration in honor of the arrival of the Magi to honor the infant Christ. When they came to see him, they had traveled from afar, using the high-tech GPS system called the North...
View ArticleTop Ten List: A Few of My Favorite Things…Inventions
In honor of St. Valentine’s Day, I’d like to give a big shout out to ten of my favorite things… favorite inventions. Here you go: 1. Air conditioning. What would life in southern California or Texas be...
View ArticleHelping Parents with the Mysteries of the Teenage Brain
How can schools help parents decode the mysteries of the teenage mind? Educational researchers Robbins and Searby (2013) found four common themes which helped schools in terms of parent...
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Top 3 Reasons for Teachers to Join Twitter
1. Because facebook is a time-sucking frenemy. I deactivated my facebook account about three weeks ago (for about the thirty-seventh time). I’m mega pleased with how much time I have back. 2. Twitter...
View ArticleYou are Good Enough: Be You and Step Forth
When I was little, I wished hard for straight hair and tried to brush it out so I could have flippy Farrah Fawcett hair. When I was in sixth grade, I wanted to be shorter. I was already five seven...
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Fixed vs. Growth Mindset: “Getting” Autism
Today one in sixty-eight children is born with a form of autism. Advancements in treatment, communication strategies, activism to increase awareness and acceptance of autism, and scientific research...
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Hey, Did I Tell You That You’re A Superstar?
When I was about four years old, I returned to preschool after a bout with strep throat. My friends told me on the playground that we were having a tying our shoes test that day. After recess, we all...
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ADHD ABC|A is for ADHD: FAQ about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Have you been wondering, “Do I have ADHD?” or “Does my husband/child/wife have ADHD?” Let’s start with little FAQ about ADHD. It’s especially for those of you adults who are 97.3% sure that you have...
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ADHD ABC|G is for Geography…Why Do More North American Kids Have ADHD?
Geography of ADHD I have this theory that ADHD could be higher in countries with giant groups of immigrants (like the United States, Canada, and Australia) than in the rest of the world. Our hyper,...
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ADHD ABC|I is for Intuition…and the Terrible Tale of My Twenties
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.-Albert Einstein For much of my twenties, I...
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ADHD ABC| L is for Like! You Can’t Please Everyone…
You can’t please everyone, and you can’t make everyone like you. Katie Couric Deep down in the core of every man, woman, and child–is an innate desire to be liked. Of course ADHDers want to be liked...
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ADHD ABC| J is for Jesus..Is God Mad at You?
I thought God hated me. Really. I thought He loved everybody except me. He was mad at me. He wanted to punish me. I believed that Jesus was for the homeschooling minivan mafia and people who had cows...
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ADHD ABC| N is for Normal and O is for Ordinary
Have you ever thought, “Why can’t I just be normal? Why can’t I be like everyone else?” I know I have. Definitions for normal in Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary include: conforming to a type, standard, or...
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