Connection Archives - Sound Discipline

Honor Legacies by Teaching Children to Take Action & Make Contributions

Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy is deeper than his famous quotes and speeches. This year, we are honoring his legacy through action. King believed that all people should be able to belong and contribute meaningfully within their communities, and that anti-blackness and oppression prohibit community care.

In our individualistic world, it’s vital to cultivate opportunities for young people to meaningfully contribute to the world around them. As children build and practice self-advocacy skills, they also can tune into what their community needs and how they can support one another.

Step back and allow your child to identify causes …

How Family Meetings Can Help Kids Learn to Use Their Voice

Now that the school year is in full swing, we find ourselves settled into the hectic monotony of rushing kids to school, prepping dinner, and getting ready for bed. How do you connect with your kids and give them a voice in the family amidst the daily chaos? Consider trying out family meetings.

Family meetings are a tangible way for kids to practice exercising their voice and sharing their opinions. Young people benefit so much when they have a say in how their environment is structured. When they can use their voice it also fosters feelings of self-worth and builds …

Five Ways to Encourage Student Voice and Share Power in the Classroom

As educators, we may (often unconsciously) hold on to the power in our classrooms. But we do have the choice to share power with our students. Sharing power and prioritizing student voice strengthens students’ sense of belonging and diffuses power-over dynamics between educators and young people. When we let go of some control, we are able to build authentic relationships with students and find more joy in teaching.

When we value student voice, choice, and agency we build a more cohesive school community. We look for ways to provide ample opportunities for our students to share their gifts, talents, and …

Focusing on Connection and Belonging this New School Year

Take the time to root down in your purpose and ground yourself before students come into your classroom, and you will be set up for a regulated and connected new school year.

We are all feeling a variety of emotions, from anxiety to fear to joy, as we gear up for the start of this new school year. Transitions are always challenging. But we may be feeling it even more given that the last three years were extremely unpredictable for school communities.

We invite educators to focus on connection and belonging as you are getting ready to welcome students back …

7 Ways to Start the New School Year on a Positive Note

To start the new school year on a positive note, focus on connection, routines, and helping your kids make their own choices.

September is approaching, and whether this summer was relaxing or stressful (or a combination of both!), it is slowly coming to an end. It’s normal for kids and their parents and caregivers to feel a mix of anticipation, curiosity, and maybe even dread about what the new school year might bring.

Here are seven creative ideas and activities to do with your kids, to prepare for the transition from summer days to structured school days. To start this …

Developing Firmness Tools for Educators

When we can respond to students in ways that are both connected and firm, both adults and students benefit. But how do we do that?

Children need compassion and boundaries, connection and high expectations – at the same time. But most of us did not grow up with this model or learn it in our teacher training. The good news is that this is something we can learn, practice, and get better at until it’s second nature.

During COVID, we have been refining our course on this topic — our new online workshop Reimagining Resilience 2: Developing Firmness Tools offers …

Developing Firmness Tools for Parents

Kind compassion and grounded firmness are critical to effective parenting. If we can do both, our parenting takes on a strong even keel, so that in stormy times or calm, we know we are getting where we want to go with our children in a way that has direction and purpose. Both parents and kids feel the stability. We call this parenting with connected firmness. How do we do this, when many of us were not brought up with this modeled in our own families?

Ask More Questions: Instead of telling kids what to do all of the …

The Great Reset for Families

Priya Parker, the author of The Art of Gathering, encourages us to enter into 2022 with conscious intention and in community. Recently, she discussed her ideas for a concept called “the great reset” on Brené Brown’s podcast.

Parker calls upon us to recognize the gift of our times: “We are in a moment of creation. And that is something that few generations get at this level…We are entering and building this new world…It is a radical time of makeover, of invention.”

How can we apply this concept of radical reinvention in our own families?

Welcome all …

The Great Reset

Priya Parker, author of The Art of Gathering, encourages us to enter into 2022 with conscious intention and in community. Recently, she discussed what she calls “the great reset” on Brené Brown’s podcast. What is the Great Reset?

Parker describes it this way: “We are in a moment of creation. And that is something that few generations get at this level…We are entering and building this new world…It is a radical time of makeover, of invention.”

What does radical reinvention look like in classrooms?

As overwhelming as that sounds, radical reinvention means small, simple; Like …

13Dec 2021 by Mary Power

Specialists Find Special Time with Students

Connection, Inspiring Stories, Relationships, School Partners, Teachers

Auburn Elementary School Librarian Chris Williams.

Imagine you’re a librarian at an elementary school. You have the unique opportunity of getting to interact with EVERY student in your school community and hopefully instill in them a lifelong love of reading. Cool, right? Here’s the catch: unlike a classroom educator, your time with students is limited and spread out. So, how do you develop those deeper relationships that support students to engage in learning?

The challenge of not enough time

The Specialist staff at Terminal Park Elementary in Auburn, Washington were feeling this struggle of not having enough time to …