Then there was the time that I was SO HAPPY to have bronchitis…. Who is happy about getting super sick? Over-stressed people, that’s who. Bronchitis provided me the gift of some days off to rest which I needed for my own mental health more than even my...

Susan Hopkins
Helping Our Kids Get Ready for Standardized Tests
Many students across the grades are being assessed at this time of year in the areas of reading, writing, and math. Assessment takes place in the classroom throughout the year, but there are other kinds of assessments that take place, including standardized tests such...
Wayne’s Yorkshire Pudding: An Unexpected Lesson in Love (& Self-Reg)
As you can tell from my vlog series here on the TMC blog, some of my very best Self-Reg lessons come from everyday encounters. This one was inspired by a gentleman I met at the grocery store the other day just before Easter. From his wheelchair, Wayne took the time to...
A Skinned Knee and a Room Full of Frantic Adults
My daughter’s biking accident led to this reflection on how we respond when children get hurt and the relationship between a Self-Reg approach, self-control and our own stress response as adults. Watch the vlog below or on our Youtube channel here....
Understanding the Triune Brain and the Limbic System
In this video, I speak with TMC teaching assistant and research assistant Travis Francis about Dr. Stuart Shanker’s latest article for Psychology Today: “Help, I Don’t Speak Limbic.” Stuart’s presentations and writing, along with some of the tools we have...
Is this Self-Reg? 5 Misconceptions about Self-Reg in Schools
We are seeing the most extraordinary results when educators and parents practice Self-Reg. There are also MANY Self-Reg misconceptions out there, even from those advocating for self-regulation as a foundation of education. In this video blog, I explore 5...
Reframing Trump and The “Limbic Election”
Donald Trump. President. This happened. Truth really is stranger (and sometimes scarier) than fiction. As a Canadian affected by whatever is happening in the United States, I dreaded this possibility for months now. I traveled the election roller coaster with the...
Three Signs My 8 Year Old is Learning Self-Reg
I hear a child shriek outside my front window and run outside, Siena right behind me. A little boy has fallen off his bike. His sister is helping him get up and he’s wailing. He’s seven she is maybe 11. I’ve never seen them before. I see that he’s got bleeding scrapes...
3 Things I Was So Grateful For On My Daughter’s First Day of School
The first day of school for a parent is supposed to get easier each year, right? Well…not always. Yesterday was the first day of Grade 3 for my daughter Siena. It ended up being an unexpectedly emotional experience dropping her, though not for the reasons...
I Know a Haven When I Find One
I’ve been thinking a lot about Self-Reg Havens these days as we get ready for the new school year. One big question that is not so easy to answer is: what makes a home, an early childhood centre, a school, or a community a haven? Stuart Shanker says he knows when he...
Hurtful & Cold: Embracing the Moment My Self-Reg Went Poof
“Sarah”, I called out again while following the sound of faint kitty cries barely audible through the fence to my neighbour’s yard. The temperature was 370C and with the humidity it was well into the 40’s. I was worried when Sarah hadn’t come home all day in the heat...
6 Unexpected Gifts of Becoming a Self-Reg Parent
I was first introduced to Self-Reg and Dr. Stuart Shanker in 2011 while working on a play-based kindergarten curriculum for the Northwest Territories of Canada. Self-Reg was a natural fit with my beliefs about nurturing healthy, happy and safe children,...
The Journey of Learning Self-Reg
Learning Self-Reg has been a journey full of surprises (and gifts). Stuart’s work resonated with me from the moment I first discovered his writings in 2011. But one of the unexpected surprises was that somewhere along the line I realized that I was actually studying...
Self-Reg RADAR: A Tool to Help With the “How” of Becoming a Self-Reg Haven
A Self-Reg Haven is a school where everyone feels physically and emotionally safe, where students and staff alike feel connected to the school and to each other. But the big question is the “How?” Invariably, when a school is starting out on its journey to becoming a...