Thank you!!

I am often asked why I love my job so much. Yes I love helping others, Yes I like making a difference, Yes I like working with children, but what I love most is knowing the work I do counts in the long run. I recently received an email from a client of mine- she has a non-verbal child on the Autism Spectrum who I started working with when she was around 4 years old. She is now a young lady at the age of 12. She writes....

Hi Cori,
This morning I saw G's close friend's Mom who works at Vaughan public library. This women is aware S. has autism, but not the severity. I told her S. Is non verbal and using a voice output app on iPad to communicate. Next question she asked ( appropriate for a librarian ). Does S. Know how to read ? I said yes and that is because of intensive teaching though her autism treatment centre. School teachers just supported the teaching strategies already implemented by S's Treatment director. Well that person is you! Over the years I have been asked by Friends or people who are aware of S. How she learned to read and I tell them about your commitment to her education. I will always be thankful and grateful for your commitment to teach S. How to read before even entering grade one! Clicker stories on my IPad remind me of those early elementary school years. You should be extremely proud of the work you have done to shape S. Mind before entering school full time. Now S can read , comprehend and type her responses. This is because of your knowledge and commitment to her treatment and care.
Ok, I am tearing up now and have to go and make the dinner pizza which S. Eats at 4:00.

My response to emails like this is "THANK YOU!". Thank you for allowing me to work with your child. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for supporting my approaches along the way. I am extremely grateful for each and every one of my students and clients. They #educate me, #motivate me, and #accelerate me to be the best educator I can be. 

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Keeping Kids Motivated over the Holidays

School’s out for the holidays and the kids are home for two full weeks. This can go one of two ways: you are either the type of parent that counts down the days until school’s out and the kids are home or the type of parent that dreads this time off because you just aren’t sure how to keep your kids busy and motivated over the break. As a Learning Specialist, I always try to find ways to keep kids learning without them really knowing it. The secret here is to give them fun and motivating activities to do that incorporate goals and skills they are working on in school. Go ahead and create a calendar for yourself to plan out different activities, spacing them throughout the holidays. Here are five great activities that you can try out. Each of these activities can be tailored to suit any child’s age and abilities.

1. Baking– Pull out that favourite cookbook of yours or go online with your kids and find a recipe that seems to be a crowd pleaser. Not only is baking a fun activity for the family, it incorporates a bunch of different learning skills across different curriculum areas. Baking integrates math (measuring ingredients), decoding and reading comprehension (reading and understanding the recipe), skills for following directions (following instructions) and health and safety concepts. If you have kids that are not reading yet, you can find many resources that have visual recipes instead of written recipes. The best part about this activity is that you end up with something really yummy in the end!
2. Find A New Hobby– Sit down with your kids and brainstorm a list of hobbies that are not currently a part of your daily life. The holidays are a great time to try something new! These hobbies can range from crafting, playing sports, scrapbooking, cooking, photography, board games, DIY projects, gardening, card games, painting, yoga and the list goes on…. Challenge yourself and your kids to dive into a new hobby that is likely out of your comfort zone. Picking up a new hobby means learning new skills. What better way to keep your kids motivated while learning at the same time?
3. Library Scavenger Hunt- When’s the last time you were at the library? A lot of families might not frequent the library as much as they used to in the past now that reading resources are so easily accessible online. The library is a wonderful place for tactile learning experiences. Why not take advantage of this and send your kiddies off on a scavenger hunt throughout the library? Start off by creating a list of things for them to search for in different books. I would advise creating a list that is broken down by people, places and things. For example, on your people list might be a princess, a dog, a mother and a baby. On your places list might be a farm, a school, a park and a shopping mall. Lastly, on your things list might be a bicycle, a sandbox and a tree. Once again, if your kids are at the stage where they are not reading yet, you can create a visual list for them by finding images online and pasting them into a word processing document. Print it off and you are ready to go! The person that find the most items from the list in a given amount of time wins a prize.
4. Make a Movie or Documentary- Nowadays kids seem to be quite motivated by technology. There is a lot of great value that technology brings to the world of education and learning. The best part about this is that there’s a lot of technology out there that makes it easy for kids to participate. This activity is great because you can stretch it over a few days. Have your kids create a script. You can provide them with guidelines for the script based on the writing skills they are working on in school. If they are too young to be physically writing stories, have them create them orally and jot them down as they share them with you.  Give them the option to exercise their imagination by either writing a non-fiction story or a documentary. Once they have written the story, they can put together their cast and sets and get filming. Filming can be done on any smartphone, tablet or a good old video camcorder. Once they have created their masterpiece, it’s time to call in the troops for the big screening. Pop some popcorn and sit back as your kids present their feature film. You are guaranteed to have very happy and proud kiddos once they complete this project.
5. Be a Tourist- One last activity that I highly recommend trying out is being a tourist in your own city. As parents, our lives are often so busy with day-to-day stuff that we sometimes don’t get much opportunity to burst out of our bubble. Touring your own city can provide a great geography and history lesson for your kids. Do a walking city tour, visit historical sites, get on the ‘hop-on, hop-off bus’ (if your city offers one). Check out a local museum, art gallery or science center. If you live in a multicultural city, you can consider visiting different restaurants or markets that represent those different cultures in your city. Go online and see if your city is hosting any special events for the holiday season that are family friendly. If you live in a very small city or town, you can always consider a road trip to a neighbouring city. Don’t forget to bring your camera!

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Tutor vs. Academic Coach

You are one step in the right direction when you decide that you are going to find support for your child, to help them at home with their school work. The next step is figuring out what that support is going to look like. Does your child need help understanding curriculum content? Does your child need help completing homework and assignments? Does your child just need a cheerleader in their corner to help build self-confidence and esteem? Understanding your child's needs is really important before you start shopping around so you can make sure you are getting the best support possible. Knowing what's available out there is really important. Based on my 10+ years of experience, I have found that now more than ever, there is such a great need for more than just the traditional type of tutoring. This is especially true for students who have Executive Functioning challenges, Attention Deficit Disorders, Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities, and other learning deficits we are seeing through assessment outcomes.  With need comes support, and the inception of our Academic Coaching service. We have come to differentiate Tutoring & Academic Coaching to ensure we are meeting the growing needs of all our clients. They are offered as separate services but often merge quite seamlessly. The feedback has been tremendous and a lot of families are seeing such positive results. Here's the difference between the two. 

Tutoring

• Helps students understand curriculum content in any or all subject areas

• Helps students complete homework

• Helps students study for upcoming tests and exams (having a study buddy can be quite beneficial)

• Helps students when it comes time to edit final assignments

• Helps boost confidence and self esteem when going through homework, assignments and test prep at home. Reassurance always feels so good!

• DOES NOT mean that someone is showing up to your house to complete your child’s homework or assignments for them

• Offers remediation and enrichment to catch up or move ahead in the curriculum

• Helps parents out when time is limited after school to help their child with homework, etc.

• The focus here in on the product

Academic Coaching

• Helps students who need support with organizational management and time management

• Helps students take larger tasks and break them down into smaller ones

• Helps students organize and manage their schedules and agendas

• Helps students set up systems at home for homework and assignment completion and test prep

• Involves communicating with teachers to align goals and learning strategies

• Teaches students study skills that target both their strength and weaknesses

• Primarily focuses on processes and then product

• Provides a solid foundation to allow students to learn effectively

• Boost confidence and self esteem when going through homework, assignments and test prep at home. Reassurance always feels so good!

• Reduces the needs for parents to play the role of 'teacher' at home- which often compromises the parent-child relationship

How to Hire the Right Tutor.

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When hiring a tutor you want to take the time to make sure you are finding the right person for your child. Investing in a tutor can have many beneficial outcomes for your child, given you find someone who is a perfect fit. So, how do you make this happen? How do you find that perfect fit? There are many things to consider when you are shopping around for a tutor. Make sure to have a list of questions or a checklist prepared as you conduct your search. This will help you know if you are on the right track. Here are the 5 most important things to consider when you are in the process of hiring/interviewing tutors.

#1. Before you start interviewing different tutors make sure you have a good grasp on your child’s academic needs. Ask yourself why your child needs a tutor. Does your child have a learning disability and needs extra support? Is it a motivation boost they need? Is your child unorganized and need help staying on top of their work? Study skills support? Homework completion? Behavioural challenges? Narrow it down before you make any calls.

#2. What are the tutor’s qualifications/certifications and teaching experiences? Since you are looking for professional academic support, the tutor should be a registered Teacher with the Ontario College of Teachers (or equivalent). If they are not registered, they should at the very least have Education training and a post-secondary degree in the field of Education. Depending on the needs of your child, you should ask if they have any ‘additional qualifications’ (AQs)- which means specialized training obtained at the University level in specific areas (ie; special education, reading, math, french, etc.). Have they ever tutored or taught kids the same age as yours? Do they have experience with the curriculum content your child is working on at school? Have they worked with kids who have similar needs to yours? Dig in and find out! An added bonus would be if they were qualified and experienced in more than one area and grade level. Once you find that perfect tutor you don’t want to have to give them up when your child moves on to the next grade. 

#3. Where does collaboration fit on the tutor’s agenda? Any good tutor will be more than willing to communicate and collaborate with your child’s classroom teacher(s). This is super important for the sake of consistency between home and school. It’s always beneficial for the child to be using consistent learning strategies across different environments. Tutors and teachers should be communicating to share what strategies work and don’t work. It’s also important for the tutor to understand the teacher’s expectations so the tutoring sessions can be geared in that direction. There should always be a bridge between school and home. Open lines of communication work wonders!

#4. When choosing a tutor, you have to find someone who fits into your family’s lifestyle. If you are busy juggling multiple kids’ schedules, you might benefit from a tutor who will come to you vs. you going to them. A tutor with scheduling flexibility is also beneficial, should you want to add in or move around sessions based on test and assignment dates. Standing appointments are important for consistency, however sometimes a little wiggle room is needed. Weekend availability is a bonus if you are the type of family that is scheduled with extra-curricular activities after school, during the week.

#5. Approach is everything! Ask the tutor how they approach their sessions. Two key words to listen for in this responses are; rapport and motivation.  A good tutor will always focus on building a positive relationship with your child before diving into anything too intense. Your child has to feel comfortable with the tutor in order to be productive throughout their sessions. There also needs to be a feeling of trust that comes from building good rapport. On the same note, understanding motivation is key. All learners perform based on some type of motivation- for some it’s getting a good mark, for other’s it’s task completion, for some it’s a simple external reward that has nothing to do with school (for example; getting an extra special dessert for finishing homework). Understanding motivation is a critical part of learning. It’s super important that your tutor is going to use your child’s strengths to boost their weaknesses. We all need to feel success to stay motivated! 

Finding that perfect tutor might take time, don’t rush the processes. Take the opportunity to speak to more than one tutor so you have an idea of how different tutors operate. When I hirenew tutors to join my team of Learning Specialists at Cori Stern & Associates, I always consider the first impression they make during their interview. Tutors inadvertently act as mentors for their students. So you should get the impression that they are confident, personable, friendly, outgoing, warm, and well spoken. Go with your gut feeling! If you walk away feeling good about it, your child will likely have the same impression.

The Kindergarten --> Grade 1 Transition

In about 5 weeks time, thousands of kids around the city are going to be making the transition from Kindergarten to Grade 1. WHOA! This is a BIG deal! The days of roaming the classroom like a free bird are over. Up there with graduating from High School, this is one of the biggest jumps in a child's academic career. Things are about to get more formal, more structured, and a lot more demanding. For some learners, this transition will be seamless. For others, it might cause a lot of fluttery butterflies in the tummy. Each learner will handle the transition on their own terms. For those extra-special learners, this transition might be extremely challenging because of all the change that is going to take place. We all know what the first-day-of-school jitters feels like.  Been there! Done that! Now magnify that x10 for a child who doesn't fare well with the unknown and needs the predictability to maintain a state of calmness.

What does one do to avoid total transition catastrophe?? How do you settle those butterflies in the tummy for all those extra special learners?? There are various factors to consider when preparing for this transition. As you gear up for the first few weeks of school consider the following 5 factors when you are in prep mode. These factors are not exclusive to the SK--> Grade 1 Transition. They can be considered by any teacher who has students who struggle with transitions.

Best of luck preparing for a seemless transition!

- Cori 

New Environment

Welcome to your Grade 1 classroom! For the most part the Grade 1 classroom is in a different room than Kindergarten was, perhaps a different hallways and even more so a different level/floor of the school. Things can look different in Grade 1. The room is set up differently, the cubbies are in different places, and there's no washroom in the classroom anymore. Boo! If you know you have an extra special learner in your classroom, consider taking pictures of the classroom for the student so the student has access to them at home. Providing a visual of the classroom will help reduce anxiety around entering the new learning environment because you will be exposing them to the classroom before they even step in it. increasing the predictability is the name of the game!

New Routines

Sample visual schedule- good for new routines and transitions

New classroom! New teacher! New routines! This includes but is not limited to; an entrance routine in the morning, an exit routine for recess and home-time, a lunch-time routine, a snack-time routine and a washroom routine (to name a few). These are all things that are taught in the first few weeks of school. This can be information overload for some learners, which can lead to some negative behaviours. Consider creating visual schedules that breaks down each routine into it's component steps. This will give the student the opportunity to learn the routines step-by-step and have something to refer to if they get stuck or confused along the way. Visual schedules are great for keeping students on track when doing a multistep task.

New Transitions

Sample visual timer

With a new classroom comes a new set of rules, guidelines and transitions. Going to back to unpredictable situations- transitions can cause those butterflies to flutter because sometimes there is an unknown at the end of the transition. This can include transitions from recess back to class, activity to activity, classroom to gymnasium, and the list goes on. Students are transitioning all day, every day between different activities, rooms, and people. To help make the daily transitions concrete for your learners, use countdowns so they know when the transitions are coming and use visual schedules so they know what they are transitioning to. Some students will benefit from a visual timer so they exactly how much time they have left with a certain activity.

Change in Structure

The learning environment is about to get a lot more structured and formal. Kindergarten supports a very play based learning environment. Kids are familiar with bins of toys to explore, an open space on the carpet used as a canvas for exploration, and learning centres set up for them to roam to and from. Grade 1 comes along and we are all of sudden sitting at desks for extended periods of time, doing a lot more paper and pencil work, and a lot less moving around the classroom. For some learners this change might feel like going from 0-10 in 30 seconds (especially when coming back to school from summer vacation). This can be a recipe for disaster. When in prep mode, you should be asking yourself how you can incorporate some K-structure into your class at the beginning of the year and slowly up the ante as time goes on. Can you incorporate a fun and cozy book nook for free reading time? Still use activity centres for certain subjects? Allow room for exploration with learning manipulatives?

Developmental Trajectory

At this point we know all kids grow and learn at their own pace. We also know that typically developing kids usually follow a similar trajectory with their growth and development. The same is not true for kids with exceptionalities. Whether they are gifted, have a learning disability, or a developmental disability, they will all present differently. This means you have to play detective from to the get go and figure out where each of your students are in their development. Once you have this under your belt-you will be able to better develop your curriculum and programs to ensure success! A lot of natural maturation takes place over the summer, so just because you know a student from the previous year, doesn't mean they are going to be starting off where they left off. Lastly, there are always those kids that go through physical growth spurts over the summer- be sure to take into consideration that outer and inner development might not happen simultaneously. Kids might come into class the first week of school looking a lot older, however still be very early in their emotional and cognitive development.

Crunch Time

Today the Calendar reads May 25th. Depending on the school, we are anywhere from 2-4 weeks away from summer break. I'm sure most of you have started your countdown. Some teachers and parents who I've recently spoken to are as close as 10 school days away until summer vacation. This is super exciting stuff. Another year past of so many accomplishments, successes, and milestones. The light at the end of the tunnel is shining so bright (for some). For others, the next fews weeks are the most intense days of the school year. Exams are on the horizon, expectations are at their highest, and everyone's cortisol levels are off the charts. It's basically a full moon for the next month. Watch out for those crazy students! Till this day, my own loving mother will vouch that through all those hundreds of years I was in school, she went out of her way during exam time to avoid eye contact, conversation, and interactions with me. She basically warned anyone who crossed my path to move over quick! Smart lady! It didn't take her long to figure out that exam brought out a side of me that wasn't my usual self. Over the years I developed my own coping strategies for managing exam stress. Some students develop their coping strategies early on in their academic career, while other never figure it out. Given how overwhelming exams can be-It's easier for some students to just give up and avoid exam prep all together than to persist through the stress and figure it out. This is especially true for students who have learning disabilities, deal with executive functioning challenges, as well as attention deficit disorders. Over the years, many teachers and parents have asked how to best support the overwhelmed student who prefers to avoid than tackle. Here it is.... the top 5 ways to support a struggling learning through crunch time. I hope this helps reduce stress all around. Best of luck!

- Cori

PROVIDE A TUTOR OR STUDY COACH

Being a parent and being a teacher are 2 extremely different roles. They each come with their own set of parameters and relationship dynamics. One of the most common pieces of feedback I hear from my clients are "I tried to tutor my child but we just ended up fighting or arguing". Students need emotional support from their parents during exam time. Emotional distress around studying shouldn't be caused by interactions with their parents. To avoid this clash, find a suitable tutor or study coach for your child. Some schools offer wonderful peer-tutoring programs, take advantage of this! Some teachers offer after-school hours support, take advantage of this! Hiring a private tutor or study coach to work 1:1 with your child will help reduce stress on both the parent and student end. You will know when a tutor is suitable if they can understand your child's needs and set a goal plan to meet those needs. Students should be involved in developing the goal plan so they feel a sense of responsibility. You don't want someone showing up to your house for the sake of just showing up. 

GET YOUR LEARNER ORGANIZED

If you are a parent or teacher dealing with a struggling learner, the first step is to help the learner get organized. What does this entail you ask? Here it is... most teachers will hand out an exam summary study outline- make sure your learner has this. If they don't, make sure they get it. Once they have this, make sure they have all the notes to support the exam review. If they don't have them, make sure they get them. There are a few options for this; ask a friend in their class who is good at taking notes, check the school or class online structure (if applicable)- some teachers will post notes online, and lastly ask the teacher for the notes. Once the exam study outline and notes have been collected- create a system to house all of this. Some students like making an exam study binder-where they divide it up per subject, others find keeping subjects separate in their respective binders is effective. Once everything is organized.... get studying!

CREATE A STUDY SCHEDULE

Study schedules are effective because they provide students with structure in a such an overwhelming time. If capable, students can create study schedules on their own or with the support from a teacher, tutor/study coach, or parent. I always like to print out a blank calendar and write out my schedule- using a different colour pen or marker for each subject. I always start by inputting the exams on the calendar and then by inputting study blocks starting from the last exam moving backwards. Make sure your schedule is realistic and not just pretty on paper. Allow for some downtime here and there. The brain needs opportunity to relax in such a stressful time. How much study time you allot to each subject is relative to how big the exam is and how much of the content is already mastered. Each study block should include breaks. Those breaks should include some form of physical activity. A short walk will do- it's nice outside so take advantage! Lastly, there should be accountability for the schedule. Parents should check in to see if their learner is on track, teachers should check in to see how studying is going at home and tutors/study coaches should be helping students revise their study schedules as they go. The most important thing here is that a study schedule is a working document and can be altered and revised as the student goes.

EAT. EXERCISE. SLEEP (REPEAT)!

During exams you want to focus on nurturing the brain. Try to think of the brain independent of the learner. There is tons of research out there that has proven the brain functions at optimal levels when it gets sufficient nutrients, adequate rest, and exercise. These 3 factors will help to reduce cortisol levels (stress hormone), which will aid is studying and overall wellness. Breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day- try to kick in some potassium (it's good brain food). Eat lots of high protein snacks throughout the day (one of my all time favourites is a sliced apple with almond butter...mmmm...). I would also try to avoid eating high sugary foods as they have been proven to create that burn-out feeling quicker than other foods.  8 hours of sleep is ideal and a minimum of 30-minutes of exercise a day is enough to keep things in check. The moral of the story here is your learner should be eating. exercising. sleeping. then repeating it all over again! Cramming all night on a stomach full of gummy bears and a bag of chips is a major no no (guilty!). 

CELEBRATE

Students should have something really good to look forward to after the exam period. Plan an exciting outing, activity, celebration, or vacation once that last exam is complete. Having something really good to look forward to always helps a student through a stressful time. It's always helpful to know the light shines bright at the end of the tunnel. Most students will be happy just knowing school is over but might be a little more motivated to get some effective studying in if there's an alternative MO. My MO to get the studying done was always knowing that a fews days after that last exam was handed in, I could go splurge at Walmart in preparation for a summer away at overnight camp with all my friends. I always loved buying the most unnecessary stuff for camp. I probably ended up spending more than I ever made during the summer :)

I would love to hear feedback on how you are supporting your learner through the exam stress. Be in touch!!

Motivating the Unmotivated

One of the best parts about being an educator is that you also get to be a student. Student learns from Teacher and Teacher learns from Student. It's a wonderful symbiotic relationship. I find myself learning from my students and clients all the time. This is not limited to all the typical learners out there. The same holds true for all my students and clients with learning disabilities, attention deficit disorders, executive functioning challenges, poor self regulation skills, motor planning issues, and the list goes on....

One of the biggest challenges as an educator who works with students with different exceptionalities, is trying to find ways to motivate the student to learn. There is no doubt that motivation is the key to successful teaching and learning. So... how do you do this with with a student who is labelled as "gifted" but has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), an anxiety disorder, extremely poor fine motor skills and very weak coping skills- all at the same time??? Sounds like a recipe for disaster (especially when his History assignment is due in 2 days). My approach to this is to identify the student's strengths and use them to boost the weaknesses. In this case- this particular student is very intelligent, has strong verbal skills, and loves technology. It just so happens his teacher has the class using Google Docs to produce and organize assignments. BINGO! Smart smart Teacher! He followed the classroom structure of doing his work on the computer in Google Docs- however had the brilliant idea to open his Google Drive app on his iPhone and use the microphone to dictate his thoughts, which we watched get automatically typed on the computer screen in front of us. By the end of our one hour session- his assignment was just about complete and he felt accomplished! I found ways to motivate him by tapping into his interests (technology), reduced the fine motor demand (no handwriting or typing), maximized his verbal skills (dictating), and kept him on task (because he was motivated). What a success! Here's the strategy we used- I hope it's useful to help you #educate #motivate and #accelerate your students!

-Cori

Once signed into your student's Google account on the computer- open up the Google Drive and create a new Google Doc (give it a good title). Once this is done open up your Google Drive app on your mobile device and find the new doc. you just created-open it up!

On your mobile device, pull up your keyboard and press the microphone button- start dictating those awesome thoughts and ideas. Make sure your student talks sloooow and clear. You should see those brilliant words appear on your mobile screen. After each sentence or 2- hit 'done' and they will appear on your computer screen.

The beauty of this is you don't have to remember to 'save' your document because Google does this for you automatically every few seconds. Tada! You did it!

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If you want any further information on the strategies mentioned above, please don't hesitate to be in touch. I love sharing the goods! Looking forward to hearing from you.

Tantrum 101

ok... so who here has been in a situation where your child or student has a full blown tantrum? to the point of no return? I have! Or the classic episode when you tell a child not to do something and they insist on doing it regardless of how many times you say NO? Which at that point you think to yourself... "Why in the world do they keep doing this if I'm telling them not to?!?!" What isn't registering???  Why doesn't NO mean NO?!?! AHHHHH!!! My favourite case of this is when my 2 year old Godson (who is now Mr. Independent) decides he no longer wants to be pushed in his stroller and wants to walk on the street curb. Dad says to him- "if you are going to walk on the curb you need to hold my hand"- well Mr. Independent translates this to "now that I'm not strapped down in my stroller I'm going to run up and down people's lawn as fast as I can while laughing my face off". Well of course, Dad gets nervous because his son's safety is at risk and has to keep repeating himself over and over to reinforce hand holding- Mr. Independent's reaction to Dad's words is; a faster run, a louder laugh, and the every 3-second glance at Dad to make sure he sees what he is doing. So how do you think this one ends? That's right.... Dad tells Mr. Independent he has to go back into his stroller- at which point we have now entered Tantrum Territory- and the. rest. is. history.

It's always a better day when you don't have to step into Tantrum Territory. Agreed?  If you are willing to think before you act you can make it happen. Hear me out.... Every negative or unwanted behaviour has a function to it (that's a fact! Science says so)- if you can figure out what the function of the behaviour is, you have a good chance at not only understanding what's going on but being able to avoid it from happening again. You might also feel more confident in dealing with a tantrum on the spot so it doesn't escalate to the point of no return. There's nothing worse than standing in line at the grocery store while your child is having a full melt down. Same hold true for when you try to get a student to transition from recess into class and they throw it down in the hallway. Ugh!

Here's some info to help you stay far away from Tantrum Territory. Here it goes... there are 4 functions that dictate all behaviours (positive and negative). These 4 functions of behaviour apply to me, you, your child, your grandmother, your uncle's cousin, and your neighbour.

I hope this helps to get you thinking before (re)acting! Good luck! 

-Cori

Attention

This is a very common function with children. They often engage in undesirable behaviour to gain someone's attention. It's important to understand that attention doesn't necessarily have to be positive attention (ie; "good job!" or "nice try"). Children love reactions, they love to be recognized-especially when they are still in the egocentric phase of their development. If you can pick up on certain cues that hint they are doing things for attention, then make sure you aren't giving them the reaction they are looking for (this doesn't necessarily mean ignore them). Mr Independent has mastered this one across the board! He kept running those freshly trimmed lawns while looking back at Dad every 3 seconds, which was followed by Dad's reaction, which eventually led to a tantrum. Dad could have avoided the tantrum had he not given Mr. Independent that reaction he was craving.

Escape/Avoidance

This is another common function of negative or unwanted behaviour. Kids will often do things to avoid or escape an undesirable situation. Mamas and Papas- you know your children best, so this is one of the easier functions to cue in to. Children will often try to escape or avoid a situation for various reasons. Here are a few;

• they've had a previous experience that was negative for them that is associated with the present context
• they are in a situation that involves skills that are too challenging for them. Kids like to feel successful.
• transitioning away from something very positive (like playing at the park) to something neutral or not-so positive (like going home for a bath), might cause a tantrum or a run in the opposite direction (I mean who actually likes leaving the park).
• if they are in a situation that is unpredictable, they might 'have a tantrum to avoid or escape the unpredictability. Unpredictable situations can cause some anxiety (every child has a their own coping mechanism- this might be one of them).

If you are under the impression you are in an escape/avoidance situation, you have to stand FIRM, follow through, and not allow your child escape or avoid the situation. If you grant them immunity, you weaken your control for the next time you find yourself in a similar situation. Kids are sponges- they learn what works and what doesn't work very quickly. Beware.

Access To Something Tangible

Kids like immediacy. It takes them time to learn how to wait for things. This is especially true for children who need a little more support with their self regulation and self control. If they ask for something, they want it NOW! If they don't get it quick enough- KABOOM! As well, depending where kids are on their developmental path- they might not yet have the cognition to understand something is not available to them at this point in time. "Sharing is caring"- right? Well try to explain that to an extremely active 3 year old. Goodluck! If your kid or student drops their gloves, kicks off the shoes, and screams at the top of their lungs-you probably shouldn't give them access to that special something. It might be a bandaid fix in the moment, it might calm them down in the moment- but guess what you just taught them?!? Screaming + kicking shoes off = access to what I want. Not so functional.

Sensory Stimulation

This is the least common function of Tantrum behaviour, but does exist, so you should be aware of it. We all live our lives by what feels good, looks good, tastes good, sounds good and smells good. The same holds true for your child, your grandmother, your uncle's cousin, and your neighbour. Kids might do weird, awkward, undesirable things because it appeals to their senses. Each of us have certain senses that are more heightened than others- I can smell certain things a mile away (some smells, not to-be-mentioned, even further than a mile). Little kids love to move- My little Mr. Independent is a very active kid who loves to be in motion. The kid probably burns more calories per minute than an Olympic athlete. Not surprisingly, he has mastered the art of jumping off the couch on to the floor to land on his cute little tush. Not so safe, right?? But so much fun because of what his senses experience as he is pulled down by gravity. No Tantrum involved here but if this couch surfing behaviour also has an attention function- it could lead into Tantrum Territory. The best way to manage these sensory seeking behaviours is try to be proactive and provide you child or student with functional and safe ways to get the sensory fix. If you know they like to put every little thing in their mouth because the pressure feels good on their teething gums- then that's when you bust out the over-priced Parisian giraffe to save the day. Love all things Sophie!

**one last important point that is a MUST to understand- the function of Tantrum behaviour is NOT always the same. The function will change depending on the context of the situation. A tantrum on Monday might be controlled by attention, while a Tantrum on Thursday might be controlled by escape/avoidance. There is where you have to be a bit of a detective and figure out what's going on.** Best of luck with it!

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We know your child is perfect in every way- despite that, I would love to hear from you. Please share what you are currently experiencing with your child (or student). I'm happy to connect at any time. Be in touch! 

Where it all begins

We all have our FIRSTS. 1st birthday, 1st day of school, 1st job, 1st love, and the list continues..... Welcome to my 1st blog post! I define myself as a Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister and Friend by nature and as a Teacher, Behaviour Analyst, and Entrepreneur by nurture. With never enough hours in a day to conquer the world, I feel blessed that these roles don't exist independent of one another. As a "new-ish" mother to a daughter of a 1 year-old, I recently took my 1st step down the path to setting her up for a enriched education. I SIGNED HER UP FOR DAYCARE!!! OMG!! I feel sick about it, but nonetheless, I know it's what's best for her (at least that's what I tell myself 5 times a day). Being so immersed in the world of education, I have always been asked where I would send my kids to school. Public? Private? Religious? Home School? always followed by the $1,000,000 question- What's the best school out there? Now having taken my first step to planning my daughter's education- I still have the same answer I did before being a mom- "There is not 1 best school out there. My child will attend the school that has the best suited learning environment for her developmental and learning needs". This does require a little leg work because you have to take the time to understand exactly what your child's needs are and then do your research on what's out there to suit those needs. By doing research I don't mean hanging out on Google searching to see what daycare is closest to home and/or work- I mean setting up appointments with different daycares for a visit (during operating hours) to see if they actually practice what they preach in their online-ads and brochures.  When choosing your child's first formal learning environment you want to feel confident that you have made the best possible decision.  As I went through the process of visiting different learning environments for my daughter I walked in with list of 10 things that were are MUST for me. Here (in no particular order) is my list. I hope this helps ease the process for you :)

Goodluck!

Cori

Security

Safety and security is always my #1 priority with my little one. When I went to visit daycares I looked for answers to the following questions; Do the doors that lead outside automatically lock behind you? If a non-regular person is picking up my child, does the daycare require to see identification? Are the grounds monitored by any surveillance? What does the drop off and pick up process look like? 

Nurturing Staff

When visiting daycares, I try to make myself as invisible as possible to get a true picture of how the staff interact with the children. I find extreme comfort in knowing my child will be under the care of nurturing people. Here are things I look for; Do the staff bend down to the children's eye levels when communicating with them. What tone of voice do the staff use when communicating with the kids? Do the staff offer the kids choice with activities, toys, and snacks throughout the day? 

Registered and Regulated

Before making any appointments to visit daycares my first question was "are you registered with the Ministry of Education?" When a daycare is registered with the Ministry- they are required to meet specific Provincial standards that are in place to support the health, safety, and developmental needs of all children. For more information click here

Accessible Curriculum

What will my child be learning all day? Great question, right?!? During my visits I made a point to look around the classrooms to see if the staff's lesson plans, weekly goals, and objectives were posted anywhere. If they weren't, then I made sure to ask for a sample copy so I can get an idea of what a day in the life of a daycare child looks like. I needed to know that my child was being put in a goal oriented- structured environment, despite how unstructured a daycare classroom can look at times. 

Proactive or Reactive

This is where the Behaviour Analyst in me kicks into high gear! While observing the different classrooms, I tried to get a sense of whether the staff in the room took a proactive or reactive approach to negative behaviours. I always crossed my fingers for bad behaviour from the kids during my visits- this way I could see how the staff dealt with them. I personally do not believe in punishment at such a young age and wanted to make sure that I am not putting my child in an environment where punishment is used as a consequence strategy.

The Learning Environment

... and the Behaviour Analyst in me stays in high gear. Science tells us that we all learn from our environment. This is my exact reason for booking visits to check out what can potentially be my daughter's day-time digs for the next few years. Is the place clean? Is there natural light in the classrooms? Is the furniture in the classrooms and bathrooms kiddie height? What kind of visual stimulation is on the walls? Are the classroom toys and cubbies organized? How much space do the kids have to play outside? Is this a place where I would want to spend my day time hours? HECK YA!

Drop Ins

Any good daycare will welcome parents to drop in early before pick up to observe what's happening in the class. A good daycare will usually advise you that it's not wise to drop in mid-day unless you plan on taking your child home with you when you leave- no kid that young wants to stay at school once they see mama or dada. If the daycare is ok with the parent dropping in unannounced early before pick up- than you know they have nothing to hide. 

Daily Physical Activity

For me, Daily Physical Activity (DPA) is a MUST! It promotes good health, it teaches motor skills and helps develop social skills. It also allows kids to be kids- young kiddies have itsy bitsy attention spans. What better way to break up focused activities, than with DPA. Whether it's through a structured gym or sports program, cooperative games, or outdoor time- I need to know my daughter is getting the optimal amount of exercise her brain needs for  her overall growth and development. 

Health & Safety

If you are visiting a daycare that is registered with the Ministry of Education, than likely you are visiting a daycare that makes health and safety their #1 priority. But... just to make sure, here are some important things to observe. Make note of the staff:child ratio in the class-does it follow Provincial standards. How many kids are in the class, total- does it follow Provincial standards. What is the daycare's policy for sickness and injury- how strictly is this enforced? Will my child get sick at daycare- 100% YES! Will it be because the daycare isn't healthy and safe- 100% NO! (if it's a registered daycare that passes it's yearly inspections).

Staff Training

Who are these people that will be taking care of my child? I can't help but wonder! Towards the end of my visits, I made a point to ask about the staff's education and training backgrounds. Are any of them parents themselves? Are they certified Early Childhood Educators? Ontario Registered Teachers? How recent is their CPR training? How many years have they been working at this daycare? I need to know that I am leaving my child in the hands of someone who is educated on child development and has experience working with young children.