Recently, I shared my Self-Reg journey on The MEHRIT Centre Website. As I mentioned in my profile here, I now find myself seeing everything through a Self-Reg lens. I was reminded of this recently, as I worked with the other Summer Curriculum and Site Support teacher...

Aviva Dunsiger
A Self-Reg Look At The Broken Internet: Our Day Without Wifi
Yesterday started as my day often does, beginning to get materials organized for the week and setting up the classroom space prior to the start of Before Care. Soon after I started though, I noticed that some of our butterflies emerged. On Friday, we had two...
Thoughts On Teaching While Angry
I recently read John Hoffman‘s wonderful blog post about Thoughts On Parenting While Angry. I was really taken by this post, as I realized that it’s not just parents that have these moments. Educators can also have them. I remember one of these moments for me last...
Welcome To Wormville: Engaging In Some Springtime Self-Reg
As a child, I loved worms. I remember collecting them off my driveway after a good rain, and digging for them in the mud at other times during the year. There was something so wonderful about holding that wiggling worm on your hand and watching it transform into...
Battling Brunch: How Do You Respond To Negativity?
One of my favourite things to do on the weekend is to go out for brunch, especially with family members or friends. It often becomes the perfect time to connect with people. After my subitizing learning focus over a year ago now, brunch outings also offer new...
My Dysregulated Day … And How I Almost Missed It
The more that you learn about Self-Reg, the more that it seems to govern your views of everything in your life. Sometimes I’m sure that Stuart Shanker‘s questions of, “Why?” and “Why now?” never leave my head. And yet, no matter how much we’ve learned about Self-Reg,...
The Clean Up Conundrum — We Know That Self-Reg Is The Answer, But What Can We Do?
Usually when I contribute a post to The MEHRIT Centre blog, I do so as a way to share reflections, celebrate a success, and discuss some possible next steps. My posts are always about what I know to be true. This doesn’t mean that I don’t make mistakes along the way,...
My Sick Day: Making It Through Thanks To Foundations 1
It’s the start of cold and flu season in Ontario. I often joked that I was “immune to getting sick,” having spent so many years around kids and germs, but this year, it got me. I’ve been balancing more than usual this year between teaching, my work at The MEHRIT...
The Adult Version Of “Can I Play Too?”: My Experience With Social Stressors
I am currently enrolled in a Teacher Leadership course through our Board. This is the second face-to-face course that I’ve taken, and in both cases, I’ve struggled with the same thing: those initial social interactions. If I know you, I’m very social, but I struggle...
Is That Table for THAT? Unexpected Connections in the Prosocial Domain
My teaching partner, Paula, and I have been spending a lot of time in the past few weeks observing how our students use the classroom. Sometimes we just stand back and observe the room, and other times, we record a quick tour of the classroom to capture a moment in...
A Self-Reg Start: What Do You Do?
While school didn’t start for students until today, educators across Ontario have been back in classrooms since on August 27th to get ready. I was lucky enough to meet up with my teaching partner, Paula, at a professional development opportunity a couple weeks ago,...
Making Sense of the Scents: My Dysregulating Self-Reg Experience
Today I went for a pedicure. I love pedicures! There’s something so wonderful about getting your feet massaged, feeling the warm water on your toes, and then leaving with a beautiful new nail colour. When my mom asked me if I wanted to join her for a morning nail...
Does It Take Just a Minute To Make a Difference?
Sometimes I realize how quickly things can change. Everything is going well, until it’s not. Before I took the Foundations 1 Course, I remember having many conversations with educators and administrators about students in my classroom. I often made comments, such...
10, 9, 8, 7… | A Self-Reg Look At Countdowns
Countdowns. As we’re approaching the middle of June, there’s no doubt about it that year-end countdowns will start soon. The warmer weather doesn’t help with this. I often say that the weather puts children into “summer mode,” and maybe it does the same for adults....
When And How Do Perceptions Matter?
My teaching partner, Paula, and I spend a lot of time discussing Self-Reg. We often talk about our students, and what we’re noticing in the classroom. Is their behaviour changing? Why might it be changing?What might be causing problems?How can we support our students...
Here’s To A House With The Most: A Self-Reg Look At Our Dramatic Play Space
As a Kindergarten teacher, I understand the value of dramatic play. I know that students communicate much of their thinking and learning in this way. There are so many opportunities for oral language, including the development of new vocabulary, as part of...
When Not Complying Is The Self-Regulated Choice
Today was a Day 4, which means that I have a prep period at the end of the day: it’s music. Since we don’t have a separate music room at our school, our music teacher comes to our classroom with a large cart of instruments and a traveling stereo to support many...
Can Self-Reg Help Me Brave the Before Care Program?
For the past 1 1/2 years, our Kindergarten classroom has been used for a Kindergarten After Care Program. As somebody that likes organization in the classroom, and the ability to come in early and stay late (if I want), the idea of sharing our classroom terrified me....