This is Tori, a former Stowell Learning Center student and currently a sophomore Meteorology student at the University of Oklahoma. At 16, she was the youngest female Hot Air Balloon pilot in the country and this August will represent the U.S. at the Women’s Worlds Hot Air Balloon Championship in Nałęczów, Poland. What an amazing young woman! See more: https://youtu.be/ya11tMx-tcE I have never been in a hot air balloon, but I can just imagine the freedom that you must feel, sailing high above all the hustle and bustle below! If you are the parent of a struggling student, you may be feeling…
My favorite teacher growing up was my 4th grade teacher, Mr. Baird. Mr. Baird had a way of making every student feel like a million bucks and he made things kid-friendly. We did a lot of really interesting hands-on science activities and he turned boring things like memorizing all of the prepositions into fun contests. Parents of struggling students are well-acquainted with how much a teacher can impact the kind of year their child has. Teachers who embrace the energy and creativity of their ADHD students and their out-of-the-box thinkers find ways to channel the challenges and support the strengths. …
The tenacity and resilience of dyslexic children and adults never ceases to amaze me! I was doing a radio interview this morning and the host, Christina Nitschmann said, “If only I’d known you when I was in school!” She went on to say that she was dyslexic and couldn’t read when she entered junior high. Her parents had been told that she was probably retarded, but Christina knew she was smart. She realized that no one was going to teach her to read, so she’d better try to teach herself. She asked her teacher for every book she could find…
Last weekend I saw a mom and her two little boys at the counter of an ice cream shop trying to decide what flavor to choose. And there were so many choices! The little guys were so excited! It made me think about a breakthrough that one of our students had a few years ago. She was 11-years old and had never, ever chosen any kind of ice cream other than vanilla when her family went to Baskin Robbins, which they liked to do. She was on the Autism spectrum and very afraid to branch out and try anything new. …