Grit: the Power of Passion & Perseverance

In every article I have read about the secret to success, it always comes down to this – to truly be successful, we need more than just brainpower. To be more specific, we need some brains – Malcolm Gladwell puts that figure somewhere around an IQ of 120 – and then we need something extra.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Alongside Carol Dweck, Michael Merzenich, and Barbara Arrowsmith is another brilliantly inspiring researcher I have been following since her TED Talk on Grit – Angela Duckworth. She has devoted much of her work researching grit – the common link between individuals who succeed in all walks of life – and it has been most enlightening. Unfortunately, there

Resources for Social Skills: Get Your Angries Out

It’s been said over and over again: if we want to raise children who will grow up to be successful in life, we need to focus on more than just academic success. Here are some of the qualities and traits that we have covered in the past: Emotional intelligence, specifically empathy To be conscientious and

Change Your Words, Change Your Mindset

I believe there is a lot of power in our words. If we say something enough times – even if we don’t believe it to begin with – it eventually becomes our truth. Anthony Robbins highlights the power of words in an article – Transform your vocabulary, transform your life: Transformational Vocabulary is about how you can

Experiential Learning: Ski School

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more specifically defined as “learning through reflection on doing”. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role. – Wikipedia I’m a huge believer in the value of experiential learning because one of the most effective ways to learn

The Dark Side of Smart Devices

I love technology, I love my smart phone, and I love my computer. In fact, I’m probably more addicted to them than my boys are. And while I love all my smart devices and think they are the best inventions since sliced bread, I do agree that we need to find an optimal balance in the use

Apps: Brainventures

Remember Kizoom? Just in case you missed them, they were the team that brought us Brain Jump and Ned the Neuron. We really enjoyed their previous apps so we were excited to hear that they recently launched a new app – Brainventures! We have heard over and over again about the importance of developing growth mindsets and how we

A Lesson in Perspective Taking

In her book Mind in the Making, Ellen Gallinsky highlights the importance of “perspective taking” one of the seven essential life skills that all children need to be taught. I read a story recently that highlighted this important lesson… A Man Pushed His Wife to Save Himself from a Sinking Ship A cruise ship met with an accident

Emotional Intelligence: Children Need Empathy to be Successful

We have always believed that education should not only be about filling a child’s head with information but to develop the whole child – heart, mind and body. The more we pursue this aspiration, the more evident it becomes that everything is interconnected. Empathy, for instance, may seem to be merely a moral skill that is nice for

How to Raise Gritty Kids

Ever since Angela Lee Duckworth’s talk on TED about Grit being the key to success, I’ve been seeing more and more articles on the need to raise gritty kids. While the idea is great, putting it into practice is not quite that simple. Duckworth herself is not entirely certain if grit can be taught, though there are some who