Desa Rae > Recent Status Updates

It’s been an interesting read, but one I have to be in the mood to read. Might come back to it later

There ain't no way you can hold on to something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.

Other people’s tragedies should not be the subject of idle conversation

In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.

You can’t understand most things from a distance. You have to get close

There’s truth in wine and children

Research shows that even when children reach primary grades, repeated picture book reading of the same book (at least 3 times) increases vocabulary acquisition by 15 to 40%

10 Questions to Strike up Convos about Books
1. What does the character want and why can’t he/she have it?
2. Should he/she have done that?
3. How is X like/different from Y?
4. Who is the most __ in this story?
5. What does this story or character remind you of?
6. What is the character most afraid of?
7. What would you change about the setting or main character if you were writing the book?

The 5 keys of conversation
1. Don’t talk about every book
2. There are no right answers
3. Compelling questions > compelling answers
4. Plant seeds and step aside
5. Use reading journals

What is a good book? A good book appeals to all ages and fills the reader with hope

5 myths about sharing books with our kids
1. If you want reading aloud to make a difference, do a lot of it
2. It only counts if you do the reading yourself
3. Light books don’t count
4. My kids should sit still while I read
5. If it doesn’t look like I imagined, something is wrong

Food is comfort, and comfort is a wonderful thing to associate with read-aloud time.

3 benefits of reading aloud to kids:
1. Increased vocabulary and highly sophisticated language patterns
2. The ability to make connections (reading comprehension)
3. A love for reading

The 6 ways of attaching: senses, sameness, belonging and loyalty, significance, feeling, being known

Free play is one of the irreducible needs of childhood, and it’s being sacrificed to both consumerism and the digital vortex our kids are caught up in

Children’s sense of security, trust in the world, and, above all, connection to their authentic emotions, hinge on the consistent availability of attuned and emotionally reliable caregivers with whom the child maintains the primary attachment

Many of us have skills and hobbies that our children could benefit from. Too many of us are outsourcing these to others. We should be rather possessive of these opportunists to invite our children to depend on us.

Neil Postman argues that childhood itself is endangered when adults no longer have any secrets from children. What our child most need to be informed about is not their world but themselves. We are the buffer.

Boredom is the sign of a child being empty of the emergent internal processes and content required to take in the world

Body safety rule: never put anything you find that looks like candy into your mouth.

Body safety rule: no touching parts covered by swimsuits

Body safety rule: no kissing on the mouth b/c viruses and bacteria spread through saliva

Boundaries, structure and limits

Children need emergency play (creative solitude), not social play. If there’s a social aspect to the emergent play, they’re better off spending that time with an adult whom they’ve formed an attachment to.

The best analogies

7 principles of natural discipline continued…
6. When dealing with an impulsive child, try scripting the desired behavior instead of demanding maturity
7. When unable to change the child, try changing the child’s world