So lemme 'splain. (must be spoken in Mandy Patinkin's Spanish accent for full effect)
A day is 24 hours long. A week is 7 days long. Many things are described as being 24/7. As in requiring time and attention for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When I say parenting is a 25/8 job, I mean there never appear to be enough hours in the day to do everything I would like, or even feel I need to get done, and likewise there are never enough days in the week for same.
This is pretty apparent when it comes to things like maintaining a blog. My last post, 6 weeks ago, outlined that having been occupied with sewing over the preceding weeks, I had not had time to blog. Since then, I have had my first born's 9th birthday, a family funeral, first born's first solo visit to his grandparents, with accompanying first solo flight as an unaccompanied Minor with Air New Zealand. I've had a weekend away for just me alone, where I slept all night, most of the day, and another complete night, with intervening soaks in a hot mineral pool, continued to facilitate and extend the boys learning, had two trips to MoTaT, and one to the Auckland Zoo, and worked on completing my HANDLE re-certification paperwork. And the icing on the cake has been learning that I have to get tested for Pompe Disease.
The last month and a half have certainly been full of living, and learning, and loving, and we've even found occasion to enjoy the occasional laugh.
Today I thought I would re-visit blogging, but as I'm still sorting out a lot of feelings regarding recent family events, I'm limiting to sharing a list of podcasts, blogs and articles that constitute some of my professional reading for my HANDLE re-certification.
While all of these links are of interest to me... not all of them fit well with the HANDLE paradigm. A few complement HANDLE, and some are there purely for my own interest / agenda, particularly regarding Attachment Theory / Parenting. The comments that I have included are purely my own, and bear no reflection on the thoughts of HANDLE or of the actual contents or meaning of the content of the links to which I am commenting on. They are really there for personal reference, and to provide those of you who may be interested into a little more insight to the inner workings of the sometimes dark and dank passages that make up the inner working of my mind.
I hope you find some things of interest or use to you... and if you are a facebook friend, or in my Google+ circles, you've probably seen many of these already...
Interesting thoughts
and illumination on the inter-dependant relationship of the gut and
the brain. Importance of cooking. Not sure I agree with the idea of
further changing the foods through cooking to send stronger signals
to the brain, when we can train the brain to listen to the messages
already being sent... parents could encourage demand feeding and
listening to their infants / young children when they do not want to
eat, rather than forcing them, and consequently training them to ignore
their gut's signals...
Movement chauvinist.
Brains purpose is to regulate movement... fits nicely with HANDLE
theory that movement dictates brain connections, as according to this
man, that is what the brain is for.
second half
interesting. Talking about how through specific trsaining one can
overcome learning challenges (which HANDLE already knows of course,
still nice to see others saying the same thing)
Insight to how it is to
have a mental illness, and how others' views of that illness can be
very detrimental and even abusive and disrespectful (again HANDLE
already knows this, nice to have it affirmed and articulated by
someone who has lived it)
Thought provoking.
Using “Crazy” for positive, and how ones attitude to “crazy”
affects the “crazy”
What is
consciousness... in a sense this is similar to Isaac Newtons early
work on the brain, where he was looking for proof of god / the spirit
within the brain... now this gentleman appears to be looking for a
definition or 'proof' of consciousness
Why we need to build a
framework for defining the brain, and some ideas on what that
framework should constitute, according to Jeff Hawkins.
Ken Robinson... I can
not hear his talks enough times. I love that HANDLE is an
'agricultural model' and not a 'manufacturing model'. I am doing my
best to provide an agricultural model of education for my boys too...
and I walk ever so softly over their dreams (and my husbands too,
which is why we are in Auckland so he can pursue his dream job)
I especially love the
story of the fidgeting girl, who the psychiatrist diagnosed as a
dancer. Raises interesting ethical questions... do we have the right
to facilitate change in the brains of those people we see? Are we
depriving them of the possibility of their natural potential? Why
must the individual with the behaviours / habits that we find
uncomfortable change... perhaps the impetus should lie with the
person who has the problem with the behaviour, to change their
perception of that behaviour / habit?
More Ken Robinson and
education models and changing them effectively for a positive educational experience that will be of benefit for the learners, and thus of benefit to society.
why we should let
children engage in and experience danger :)
T(9) prefers the real
life experience of this, in playing with fire, using his bow and
arrows, eeling spear, fishing, taking things apart, and in play. K(6)
prefers to engage in danger through fantasy, such fighting fantasy
games, movies, weaponry (swords, guns, axes, shields armour), and
play.
way too many real brain
images.... bleurch! However just listening was interesting.
Essentially every ones brain structures appear to be very similar.
Note, similar, is not same! Take this into account with what jeff
hawkins was saying about the brain essentially using the brain to
evaluate patterns and use this to predict, and this could well account
for some very different results from essentially similar structures...
didn't understand all
of this. However it was an interesting theory that in order to
understand something, taking a smaller piece and re-creating it, can
lead to greater overall understanding. I think there is a danger in
this however, that you may become so fixated on the isolated focus
that you forget to take it into context, which we see happening in
modern medicine approach of the specialists...
Fascinating example of
children being able to learn effectively without adult input,
interference, instruction... essentially their only impetus was
curiosity
Interesting closing
Q&A. Would seem to indicate an advocation for attachment
parenting practises, which are endorsed by the likes of Dr Sears, Dr
McKenna, Dr Ainsworth and many others. I firmly believe that my attachment parenting, and not leaving
them on the ground, and carrying them with me everywhere, ensured
that they had a strong social sense. Had I not, and left them there,
ignoring their obvious cries of distress, they would have become a
lot more detached from me and the social world around them, and
consequently have stronger Autistic dispositions than they do. Not to
mention the detrimental affects that leaving them to cry would have
had on their overall neuro-development, as they would have been under
intense stress.
Interesting view of
introvertism. Didn't know about the increased circulation to the
brain... would explain why I find skull tapping so uncomfortable, and why not having a coffee in the morning (which has shown to restrict circulation to the brain) often leads to migraines for me, and that my continual migraine actually receded once I started to drink coffee in my 30s.
Ahh, this brings up
lots of self-reflective misery... the joys of over-thinking ;)
Fascinating, and also
goes some way to explaining why Carl seems comparatively unaffected
by my numerous miscarriages...even years later I get very emotional and weepy at certain times of the year, particularly round the anniversary of my 16week pregnancy miscarriage.
And poor Infant K
would be inconsolable, and get even angrier if I reached out a hand to him, but not take him out, whenever he was stuck in
the car seat, and we couldn't stop because we were on the motorway,
or needed to be somewhere in time... Certainly explains some of his
neuro-behaviours
Affirmation for my
decisions... yay
Self control
(self-regulation) more important than academics in predicting future
success.
so naturally need some
tips on how to go about promoting self control
To play one does not
need toys, and play is the essential element for learning, growth and
development
How many more children
would be free of all these 'distrubing behaviours” if they were
free of the restrictive school environment? Are we really doing them
a service by helping them to stop fidgeting or 'distracting' the
class? Would it not be more beneficial to spend those energies
changing the teacher(societal) practices / expectations, or even the
education system in general??
Interesting read.
Affirms my choice to attachment parent. Essentially supports
mirror-neuron / learning through observation. Children are more likely
to acquire skills and habits they witness and/experience regularly in
their parents and adults around them.
Discussion on methods
of teaching empathy, and the factors that may impact the efficacy of
those techniques
“I'm bored” an
expression that renders fear in some parents... here's an excellent
article / blog entry as to why this is a good thing, and why boredom
should happen. Also enforces my own response to the cry... I offer a
few ideas, and then leave the boy to it... regardless of whether he
choose anything. Inevitably within 10 minutes, he's found something
to occupy himself.
excellent reminder …
also brought tears to my eyes when I read the paragraph about the
implications of an unkindly mother's voice... boy can I empathise
with that.
Naps can facilitate
learning and retention in most, and rests or quiet time is better for
some. Effectively clearing the short-term memory, and transferring
to the long term memory.
I read to the end,
thinking Yep. Yep. Yep... and then spotted the reference being
“What's Going On in There” a recommended reading book for HANDLE,
and one that is sitting on my shelf (half completed... my reading of
it that is, not the writing of it) No wonder the blog sparked so many
“Yeps”
Excellent point here
about fun being subjective. If we are to engage clients, students,
anyone, then we must be aware of people's individual motivators
(fun)...
Affirming what I am
currently doing. Nothing ramps up the internal and external pressure
more for any educator than a child who is not yet reading. Having a
set of strategies in place that support a child's emerging skills and
interests in reading and writing can only be good. Respecting an
individuals own pace along the path is essential for stress free
success (for the learner... adult just has to cope... after all
they've got the theoretically engaged neo-cortex)
An answer against the
traditional education model of school to college to job. This no
longer works as it did 30 or 40 years ago, and to slavishly adhere to
it because it used to work is ludicrous. Interesting ideas, many of
great potential benefit to non-neuro-typical learners.
Helping with meaningful
tasks around the house can also be a way to promote a range of
movements that benefit the development of neuro-connections, a few
adjustments and you have a way of maximising the activity's efficacy
across a wide range of development...
Like the author, the
strong links between music and math not being known seem odd to me.
Interesting read and ideas. Clearly using some local jargon... I assume 'STEM' is used in the USA. Would even go so far as to assume
it stands for Science Technology English Mathematics...
This supports the
assertions made by Ami Klin in the TED Cast regarding the ability
to identify Autism in infancy
of course as HANDLErs
already know there is great power in music for neuro-development,
particularly in language, as music utilises and strengthens
Inter hemispheric integration which also supports communication and
expression.
here's an excellent
argument for late starts at school or for us, homeschooling. Having
an early bird and a night owl, I see what the article describes every
day :)
fortunately, my early
bird is not THIS early. Interesting theories here, disappointed that
there is no mention of the fact that for centuries, the natural sleep
rhythm of people was to sleep four hours, wake for an hour or three
engaged in reflective / contemplative activities and then sleep
another four hours or so. This changed only with the discovery of and
application of electrical lighting. It would be interesting to see
what happens to these people's sleep patterns and rhythms if they
were to be introduced to this traditional (and thus biological need)
sleep rhythm.
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