Blog
Check out our blog feed for the latest news in Self-Reg, or read articles by a specific author.
Authors
Stuart Shanker
Susan Hopkins
Aviva Dunsiger
John Hoffman
Self-Reg Community
Articles
“Change can only happen when you are at your most uncomfortable”
When I was 17 years old, I made one of those incredibly stupid and life-altering decisions that seventeen-year-olds are so prone to make. I was on track for playing basketball at an American university, torn between a small college where I’d get to be a starter and a...
Coronavirus Conversations: It’s All a Matter of Trust
Early on in my university studies, I decided to dedicate myself fully to a life of toiling away in the service of the Blue Brain, little appreciating at the time that that was what I was doing. But that is what philosophy is: the apotheosis of Blue Brain zeal – and,...
Coronavirus Conversations: A Message that All Teens Need to Hear
My goal in these “Coronavirus Conversations” is to relate Self-Reg ideas to various things that my family and I are going through: partly to share, partly to further my own learning. And the perfect example occurred the other day in a conversation I had with our...
Coronavirus Conversations: Corona Partiers
I wanted to share today the series of emotions that I went through when I read and thought about the corona partiers. First I felt anger. To paraphrase Jean Twenge’s point about the iGen (the “internet generation”), it is tempting to see corona partying as the...
What’s Missing In The Learning Plans? A Self-Reg Look At A Coronavirus Reality
Today we should be going back to school. We should be hearing the exciting stories about March Break vacations, playdates, and adventures. Everyone in kindergarten always has something to share. Many kids will be eager to see their friends again, continue...
Self-Reg Diaries with Susan & Siena Hopkins
The MEHRIT Centre’s Executive Director, Susan Hopkins talks with her daughter Siena about our current situation with COVID-19. They chat about how talking with kids helps, and how we can help them (and they can help us) Self-Regulate. Watch the series below or on our...
Who Are Your Hidden Self-Reg Champions?
Thursday morning. The kids were just entering, unpacking, and getting ready to head out with us to the back field. That’s when a teacher arrived at the classroom door. “Can I speak to you for a minute, Miss Dunsiger?” Oh no! The minute that she told me...
A Missing Flyer Was All It Took: A Self-Reg View Of My Mini-Meltdown
Last week, I had my own mini-adult temper tantrum. It was the end of the day on Thursday, and as part of our current phase of Work-To-Rule, we all need to be out of the building in 15 minutes. Like others, my teaching partner, Paula, and I are working through these...
Making a Judgement Call
By: Brigid Berry Recognizing stressors can be tricky. We are not mind-readers nor can we memorize a list of possible stressors and access them immediately. Time constraints, distractions and expectations can hamper our ability to readily identify and...
From Santa Claus To The Elf On The Shelf: Does “Big Brother” Need To Be Watching Us?
I didn’t grow up celebrating Christmas. As many of my friends and classmates prepared for the holidays with a Christmas tree and stories of Santa Claus, I lit the candles on the menorah. Sometimes Hanukkah overlapped with Christmas. Sometimes it didn’t. I remember...
Reframing My “Meltdown”
By: Lindsay Hayes, Program Assistant Mentor, Pembina Hills School Division I love my job, but this week was hard. Really hard. Like so many people around me, the load is feeling heavy. We have a lot going on right now in our professional and personal lives with budget...
Compliance ~ A Principal’s Perspective
By: Arlene Robinson Rules, rules rules... we expect all to comply to the rules of school. This is for the best of everyone right? Sometimes the rules support, but not all of the time - particularly when the rules are not accessible in the moment. Sometimes they...
My Titanic Connection: An Office Visit That Resulted In Reflections On Building Relationships
Friday. My teaching partner was away for an appointment, and I had duty and period 5 prep. We also wanted to have students help us switch around our building space and begin to create a school in our dramatic play space. In order to get everything done and the...
Finally it Comes Together! Self-Reg helps us understand what we already know
The more I learn about Self-Reg and the brain/body science of stress, the more I have been struck by the same thought over and over. Self-Reg explains things I’ve sort of known for years, but couldn’t articulate very well. So often I’ve watched children, including my...
Why Does Play Elicit A Stress Response?
As many people know, I’m a strong advocate for play-based learning. Real, authentic, student-driven and led play. Free play. I’ve called this play many things over the years, including “free exploration time” and “work time” — for play is a child’s work — but this...
Step Away From the Stickers
By: Lisa Cranston, EdD Jenni and her mother pull up in front of the school. Jenni started kindergarten two weeks ago and every day when her mother drops her off, the separation is marked by tears and screaming. Jenni’s mom reminds her, “Remember – no tears...
Put Those Tears Away: Notes from the first week of kindergarten
By: Heather Bredin I was standing by the fence, holding a child’s hand. He was crying. Loudly. And he’d been crying loudly for the last 3 hours. “I miss my Mommy!” He choked out for the millionth time. “Mommy is coming soon,” I said flatly. ...
“If I Run, Will I Go To Heaven?”: Self-Reg And The Terry Fox Run
This is my 19th year of teaching. I’ve taught at 8 schools in our Board, and worked with hundreds of students. But sometimes, no matter what previous experiences you may have had, a child’s comment stops you. It makes you think differently. This is one of those...