Parenting Resources

Okay, this one is less-kid focused and more intended to keep myself sane. I was influenced online and it has been incredible. YourTMJ is designed to undo knots by using pressure, heat, and vibration together. 

If you saw me around town, you'd see me digging it into my jaw, neck, feet, etc. It has been such a pain reliever for me and that has allowed me to show up better as a teacher and as a mom. 

I love ST Math, an online math program, because it's all about the visual-spatial understanding of mathematics. There's no reading, so kids can access it at any age. And it takes the tricky, abstract concepts like fractions, and creates a picture that helps make the ideas really stick in your brain! It's gamified and there's no penalty for trying and failing! Your child's school might already pay for a membership!

Many teachers spend their Sunday evenings finishing up lesson plans for the week, and one resource that is ubiquitous is Teachers Pay Teachers. Have you heard of it?

Clearly, from the name, it's a platform for teachers to sell their templates, worksheets, or lesson plans online to other teachers. However, there is a newsletter that includes weekly highlighted resources that are absolutely free. Take what you might want to use and leave the rest!

Care and Feeding is a Slate podcast that I listen to every week. In addition to interviews with experts, there are conversations about everything that parents grapple with. It helps me feel more connected to other parents, find resources, and gain new perspectives. I even wrote in once and my question was selected and discussed in depth! There's also a very active (and kind) parent facebook group that I use all the time.

Thisis a program that helps with emotional regulation, called Zones of Regulation. There's a simple color coded system: red zone (angry, frustrated - high energy and out of control), yellow zone (frustrated, worried - high energy and loss of control), blue zone (sad, sick, tired - low energy) and green zone (happy, calm - ready to learn). Just having a framework to name your state of being helps kids and adults alike concretize their emotions and get back to the green zone meet their goals!

Have you heard of GoNoodle? Now that the days will soon make it too cold to go outside, it's an awesome YouTube channel with great videos to get your kid moving in a safe way. It was my go-to when we couldn't have recess outdoors. It's hard to pick a favorite because there are so many gems, but I'll suggest starting with Banana, Banana, Meatball because I have as much fun dancing to it as the kids!