Emotions Are Valid For All Ages
Yesterday, I was invited to a friend’s house for lunch. Haven’t seen her in a long while so we took this opportunity to catch up – her being a mom and me living and working overseas, our chances of meeting…
Let’s Talk About Something Private
“Ysa, when I pee, my monas hurts.” “I’m sorry, WHAT?!” For everyone’s reference, the word “Monas” is a tall monument in Central Jakarta. How is that related to what the child said? Not at all related. But why did that…
What Teaching Empathy Looks Like
According to Merriam Webster dictionary, empathy is the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings,thoughts, and experience fully communicated in an objectively explicit manner. I remember when I was in my last year…
RAISING AWARENESS: Why Do We Celebrate Women’s Month
By: Karissa Arce “Ysa, you’re a woman, right? So that means it’s your birthday today!” Two things I need to address there. First, my student is not sure if I am a woman that he had to ask to make…
How To Deal With Challenging Behaviors
By: Karissa Arce As an adult, we are expected to “know better” and to “act better” especially when it comes to dealing with unfavorable situations. In an ideal situation, sure. But in reality?! That sounds chaotic. I often get asked…
Let’s practice REDIRECTING!
By: Karissa Arce Are you fond of saying “NO!”, “You can’t do that” and “STOP!” when you are telling your child to avoid whatever they are doing? I used to do that. I used to say those phrases to my…
What We Don’t See From A SHY Child
By: Karissa Arce I had a student before that was quiet…. at first. Everyone in school viewed her as a shy kid. Often, the teachers and even some parents would make it easy for her when they talk to her…
How To Give Feedback To Parents
By: Karissa Arce Writing feedback to the parents can be challenging – the thesaurus is my best friend every report making season, especially when I am running out of words. Writing a feedback or an observation report is one thing,…
Why I put a lot of emphasis on social development
By: Karissa Arce When you think of Early Years class, the first thing that comes in your mind would be this: Children learn how to read and write, naming colors, counting perfectly from 1 to 10 and singing the alphabet…
Learning Consent At An Early Age
By: Karissa Arce What comes to mind when you hear the word consent? What comes to mind when you hear the word consent for children? As I grow older, I fully understand how consent is vital and it’s something…