4 weeks left?!
That's right...just like that we are just 4 weeks away from the completion of our 2nd full program year. We are getting ready to say goodbye to 3 more graduates and to celebrate not only their accomplishments but also those of our first 3 tutor certification graduates! We are so incredibly proud of everyone and can't wait to celebrate!
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Happy Spring!
It has been quite a month at Sliding Doors! Our biggest event was of course the Dyslexic Edge Conference on March 23rd. We were thrilled to see so many people come together to celebrate the strengths of people with dyslexia and to learn how to help them reach their full potential.
Read MoreThe other day I was thinking about where Sliding Doors was just a year ago. At this point last year, SDSquared was only a little bit more than an idea brewing. I had approached my board and asked them their thoughts and if they would consider leaping aboard this thought train and I spent every spare moment reading articles and doing market research. It was at this time though that we hit a turning point; one fateful afternoon I asked my daughter’s tutor, Joyce Maryanopolis, what she thought of all this and it was her response that put us on our current path. You see, Joyce had always wanted to train tutors and both of us realized that this idea would give her the opportunity to do just that and get her method in front of so many more students. It was then that SDSquared was born.
Read MoreRecently, my daughter came home with a math assignment that she needed a little help with. My husband and I both flinched as we heard the request come from the living room, “Moooom, Daaaaad, I need some help with my math.” We flinched because we knew what was to follow was a tear-filled hour (and by tears I mean mine) over trying to figure out some new-fangled strategy for doing long-division. You guessed it…we are in the throes of common core math.
Read MoreFrom all of us at Sliding Doors, Happy New Year! We hope that your holidays were full of joy, love and fun.
So, new year’s resolutions…we’ve all made them at one time or another and for someone like me who is a big thinker and planner, I revel in sitting with my journal on New Year’s Day, looking at the year ahead and picking my goals and planning just how I will achieve them. I also take some time to reflect on the goals of the past year and cheer for those I achieved and analyze where I fell short on those I didn’t. This year it was particularly fun and poignant as I reflected on the establishment of SDSquared and just where I want it to go in the year ahead.
Read MoreI saw an article this week that reminded me of something I learned through the whole testing process, “Study shows squirming may help some kids with ADHD learn” (https://www.understood.org/en/community-events/blogs/in-the-news/2015/05/28/news-study-suggests-squirming-may-help-some-kids-with-adhd-learn). As you can imagine, going through the whole testing and evaluation process with our daughter was eye-opening. We learned a lot about how she learns and what challenges she faces. We were given tips, strategies and advice on how to help reach her fullest potential. We even had to face those wonderfully intentioned but misguided opinions from evaluators, teachers, and family and friends.
Read MoreLike most avid readers, I have a stack of books that I keep on my nightstand, some pop culture fiction, some non-fiction, some “work” related books on dyslexia. Recently, I was chatting with a good friend and she recommended the book, “fish in a tree” by lynda mullaly hunt. I excitedly told her that it was already on my stack; her response was move it to the top.
Read MoreWithout question, parents want their kids to be happy and confident. However, too often we conflate happiness with material success as evidenced by our obsession with the number of activities our kids are in, how well they do on tests, or how many flashcards and workbooks we did with them when they were younger. In fact, when my first daughter was a toddler, I dreaded telling other moms I was a teacher because inevitably I would get some form of the question, “what flashcards, workbooks, activities, etc. Do you use?” my response was always the same, “none. I let her play.” often times I was met by stunned silence and in some cases even a sneer but every time it was the end of the conversation.
Read MoreI have now seen the attached meme circulated on facebook a number of times and every time I see it I chuckle because of just how accurately it depicts our journey. To say that I am a planner is a bit of an understatement, so, needless to say that when my daughter began kindergarten at a small catholic school, I had hers (and my) path laid out for the next 9 years. Simple really…she would excel in everything she set out to do and I would gleefully follow. In fact, shortly into that first year, I took on the part-time job as development director, completely sure that by the time my younger daughter started kindergarten, I would be full-time and we would blissfully skip through their elementary and middle school years.
Read MoreIt is with great excitement, anticipation and a small bit of fear that I announce the founding of my new non-profit, sliding doors stem & dyslexia learning center.
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