So excited to see reviews like this one on Amazon. All of the books (which you can find on this website and also here www.tinyurl.com/DrShawBooks) are designed to HELP PARENTS AND EDUCATORS with issues of social and emotional learning.
Third Episode Summary
On the third podcast in my series titled “TEACHING HUMANITY REMOTELY,” we go into detail about strategies for parenting with the theme of FOLLOW THROUGH and CONSISTENCY.
For adults, being consistent when responding to children when they make certain requests or behave a certain way is essential, and that’s something I experienced in my many years in the classroom with children ages 4 to 8. My teaching assistant and I worked hard to remain unified in our responses whenever a child presented us with a challenging situation. The same is true for parental interaction outside of school. If the adults who are guiding our children and modeling for them do not remain unified in their points of view, a child will learn to manipulate the adults. How many times have we seen a child get one response from one parent and then try to get a different response from the other parent?
The children that I taught in Kindergarten and First Grade saw me as the most playful adult they ever encountered, but I also balanced that by being the most serious adult they ever dealt with. My students would describe me as silly, funny and friendly, but they would also describe me as smart, serious and strict. That combination always led to respect, and the respectful relationship I had with my students was also a two-way street.
I know that parents want to be friends with their children. I had my first child at the age of 22, so I completely understand that concept. I also believe strongly in the BALANCE of being a child’s friend and being their parent.
Children need AND WANT boundaries. For that reason, it is appropriate and necessary to be firm at the right time. Everything is a learning lesson, and we all learn from each other. When a child misbehaves, that child needs to be given the appropriate consequence in order to learn the lesson. It is also critical, as it is said, that “the punishment fit the crime.” When that phrase is really true, it isn’t a punishment but rather a natural consequence of the child’s “mis-take,” and therein lies the learning lesson.
Please subscribe for future podcasts in this series.
https://learnwithmeremotely.podbean.com/e/teaching-humanity-remotely-with-dr-mindy-shaw/
Second Episode Summary
On the second podcast in my series titled “TEACHING HUMANITY REMOTELY,” I reviewed the mission statement for this current phase of my career in education which is to assist parents during this unique time of remote and hybrid learning. I want to ensure that parents everywhere gain the skills and the language needed to help their children learn and practice daily living skills in the area of social and emotional learning. This is essential so that our children will have the skills to practice their humanity daily.
When children are learning in a school setting, they are given opportunities to practice and learn such skills as patience, taking turns, sharing, making friends and telling the truth. They are also learning how to express their feelings in healthy ways.
Due to the fact that so many children are now learning in some variation of remote schooling, they are having fewer and fewer opportunities to develop their socials skills. That is why I’ve written over 40 non-fiction, child-friendly picture books dealing with feelings, life events and life lessons. Some children will be at a reading level where they can read these books themselves, but the real gift will come as parents and educators read AND DISCUSS the books with their children. To encourage that discussion, each book ends with talking points that will help both parents and educators. Together, parents, educators and children can use these tools to hone the skills needed in order to practice their humanity daily and grow socially.
One clear message we hoped to deliver in our second podcast episode is that young children have concerns about the world around them, and their concerns need to be voiced and heard. The adults who are caring for them need to have the words and skills to validate children’s concerns and to comfort them. On the podcast, a pre-school teacher named Christina DeGrote read the book titled A KID’S CONCERN: THE CORONAVIRUS. After sharing the book, we discussed how she would utilize the text with her preschoolers. We hope that in doing so, it will give caregivers support for what they and their children are going through right now.
I also want parents, families, educators and caregivers to know that I truly have a desire to help them by providing them with the skills and strategies that can help ease their burdens and stresses during this time. We hope you enjoy (or have already enjoyed) the podcast and that it fulfills a need that you and your family have right now.
Please subscribe for future podcasts in this series.
https://learnwithmeremotely.podbean.com/e/teaching-humanity-remotely-with-dr-mindy-shaw/
Summary of the First Episode of Dr. Mindy Shaw’s Podcast
In the first episode of my podcast series titled TEACHING HUMANITY REMOTELY, there is a discussion about what that title means and what it means to teach humanity. The starting point of the conversation is a discussion of my lifelong philosophy about educating young children throughout the decades that I spent educating and mentoring children in the 4 to 8 year old age range.
As you can see in the biography and other sections of my website, it was always important to me to create a safe and inclusive environment where all students and faculty members were treated as equals, and that’s where practicing humanity daily begins. The podcast then talks about what teaching or practicing humanity really is… is it having good manners, is it the expression of feelings, is it the development of social skills? As you’ll hear, it’s all of those things and more.
Next, I have a chance to explain how I started my schoolyear every Fall and how having a multi-age class set up a system of children mentoring other children. I share the benefits of having a pre-school picnic where the quality relationships that were so important in the classroom were born. We talk about the attitude learned from “The Little Engine that Could” and then the conversation leads to a chat about the more than forty single-chapter e-books that I have been fortunate enough to create recently. These e-books were created to deliver a curriculum of social and emotional learning (SEL) as well as to truly help parents who currently have the extra pressure of remote or hybrid education on their plates along with all of the other responsibilities of parenting.
Children are missing a huge piece of their socialization right now due to remote and hybrid learning, and the book series can help. They are simple but profound picture books and they explore positive and negative feelings, life events and life lessons. They are also available in multi-story paperbacks, all o Amazon, and there are links to everything as well as a free sample book called LEARNING REMOTELY all on this website under the BOOKS tab.
I am all about being of service and sharing my years of experience with children, and I’m thrilled to have the medium of podcasting to share it all.