When You Begin to Wonder if Your Child Needs More From School: A calm guide for parents navigating unmet learning needs. The Moment Parents Begin to Wonder The phone rings in the middle of the afternoon. The teacher explains that your child was using a ruler like a sword during class. Another day they come home with holes in their shirt because they decided to experiment with scissors while waiting for others to finish their work. At home, the same child who spends hours exploring ideas...

Raising Self-Driven, Purposeful Learners By: Danielle Sullivan, Ed.D. When Bright Kids Ask, “Why Bother?” One evening a child sits at the kitchen table working on homework. Suddenly the frustration spills out. “The teacher lied to us.” The parent pauses. “What do you mean?” “They said we would have fewer worksheets this year. But we have more . And they’re all the same.” The child pushes the paper away. “Why do I have to do this?”“I already know this.”“It’s easy for me.” Sometimes those...

Raising Creative Thinkers in a Rule-Bound World By Danielle Sullivan, Ed.D. “Curiouser and Curiouser” In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland , Alice tumbles into a world where the rules shift constantly. Nothing behaves quite the way she expects. At one point she looks around and declares that everything is becoming “curiouser and curiouser.” Many creative thinkers experience the world in a similar way. They notice patterns others overlook.They connect ideas that seem unrelated.They ask...