by Donna | Sep 11, 2018
“I would be most content if my children grew up to be the kind of people who think decorating consists mostly of building enough bookshelves.” ~Anna Quindlen, “Enough Bookshelves”
During my graduate studies (in Reading Specialist) at Ball State University, I did a master’s thesis about children who learn to read without any reading instruction. That is, the kids just suddenly started reading books without ever having phonics lessons, basal readers, or other “formal instruction.” It was a challenging thesis simply because there is so little data about it because of our “early school attendance age.” Seldom does a child learn to read “naturally” before age six or seven, and with kids going to school at age five (and often beginning reading instruction in kindergarten), the research was sparse concerning these “instruction-less” readers.
(more…)
by Donna | Jul 31, 2015
Recently when my sister, her husband, and her two young teen daughters were here visiting in Indiana from North Carolina, we took as many from our family who could come and my sister’s family to our local YMCA to play a game called “walleyball” (rhymes with volleyball). This game is similar to volleyball in its rules–with the addition of walls as it is played in a racquetball court.
(more…)
by Donna | Jul 30, 2015
Donna Reish, author of four curriculum series (including Character Quality Language Arts, Meaningful Composition, and Really Writing) and co-author/co-presenter of the parenting seminar (Raising Kids With Character) tackles a reader’s question about when to give “chances”/when to take action/allow consequences to fall where they may and when to give grace—or as Donna puts it “mulligans”– to our kids. She takes a look at what some have told her is their take on “grace-based” parenting (it isn’t forgoing training or consequences altogether!) and applies this to character training. Follow Donna as she describes her family’s walleyball game and explains why they gave “mulligans” to the ones they did in that game and why others did not get “mulligans.” And finally, she applies these walleyball “mulligans” to “mulligans” in parenting.
(more…)
by Donna | Jun 21, 2015
One of my husband’s favorite stories to tell/points to make in our “Reaching the Heart of Your Teen” seminar/workshop is also the most fitting way to describe his parenting style. The story comes from the book of II Samuel and the point is found within the story of Absalom standing by the gate of the city:
(more…)
