I recognized the tone of voice right away. My friend Mara* was on the line. (*names changed at family’s request) “How are you doing?” I asked. “I’ve been better,” she replied. Mara’s voice caught a bit on the word better, the clear sign of someone trying to hold it together. [...]
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 [...]
Parents are forever asking us: “Can Self-Reg help me with my child’s challenging behaviours? Nothing I say or do seems to help.” Self-Reg will indeed make a difference—a huge one—in dealing with problems like explosive behaviour, aggression, defiance, tantrums, persistent crying, bouts of frenzy and constant arguing. But to address [...]
In this series of short videos Susan Hopkins looks at six role areas in education, and offers six signs that practitioners in each of those roles are practicing Self-Reg. Watch the series below or on our YouTube channel here. Introduction Susan introduces the series by explaining how the name of [...]
By: Nancy Niessen As I was pondering writing a post about Step 4 of Shanker Self-Reg, I began to reflect on stressors in the different domains for both my mother and I on the days she goes to medical appointments, when there are many stressors for both of us. This [...]
In this personal vlog, Susan talks about neurodiversity, “weirdness” and individuality. She explains how her thinking about "normal" has changed and broadened over the years, and also relates an anecdote about a situation where her daughter was quite comfortable with making a choice that worked for her, even though it [...]
Well, it was yet another amazing Self-Reg Summer Symposium this year! My head is still spinning with some of the things I saw and heard, and the people I met. I wanted to share my thoughts about a couple of ideas that jumped out at me from Stuart’s “Luminary Sessions” [...]
By: Lisa Cranston, Ed.D. When I first began teaching kindergarten many years ago, my teaching partner and I spent the summer setting up the classroom with a wide variety of learning centres – block play, dramatic play, water table, book centre, playdough table, and so on. Once the classroom was [...]
By: Susan Plummer Over the years I have tried to meditate many times using various techniques, including listening to tapes and soothing music, looking at a flickering candle, using alternate nostril breathing and many more. I always found that I felt more anxious and stressed once I'd finished than I had [...]
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 as, "I never saw that response coming." "He/she changed [...]