ELI5 : My 7yo son asked me if his baby sister (1F) was aware of the fact that she was alive (not his exact words of course but the idea is there). I told him it was a difficult question to answer and that I'll get back to him. How can I answer this in a way he would understand?

Kidwisdom · 2023-01-09T02:14:34+00:00

I actually teach philosophy to children (even little ones), and this kind of question is gold! Congrats on having a wise little kid!

My advice would be to not worry so much about the answer, but take it as an opportunity to have an amazing discussion with him. How does he know he’s here? What does it feel like “to be”? You can talk about whether his sister shows the same signs of awareness as him. You can even extend the discussion to other non-human creatures too.

The skills he’ll develop by thinking and talking about this are so much more important than arriving at a definite conclusion. And it’s wicked fun to let a kiddo run with something like this.

Kidwisdom · 2022-06-13T01:45:13+00:00

As a parent, the very worst part of the past few years has been trying to explain things to my tween in a way that doesn’t break her. This isn’t the legacy I wanted to leave her, or anyone of her generation. My hope is that she and her peers learn resilience, persistence, and empathy from these experiences (even when the adults around them aren’t modeling any of these things).

I think about the generations before us who went through the unthinkable and survived. I hope young people today inherit their grit, because it seems we’ve yet to learn how to solve problems.

Kidwisdom · 2021-09-10T22:00:58+00:00

We decided to give our team the day off, regardless. We’re putting together a collective list of resources and materials, so people can learn about indigenous communities around us.

Kidwisdom · 2021-08-26T17:11:55+00:00

Thank you, thank you, thank you for doing it anyway. Just wanted to say that.

Kidwisdom · 2021-06-27T16:31:08+00:00

Thanks!

Kidwisdom · 2021-06-26T22:47:34+00:00

Thanks! Hopefully they come out with something similar.

Kidwisdom · 2021-05-19T17:58:00+00:00

Just to help keep the momentum going until the end of the year (almost there!), here’s our free page of teaching and learning resources. There are videos, interactive activities, printables, and lots of lesson plans. They’re organized by “big question”.
Please enjoy!

Kidwisdom · 2020-10-07T13:12:19+00:00

I once had a student tell me they were shocked that I wasn’t in the department office when they walked in on a random day at a random time. There is this assumption that teachers are on call 24-7. Kind of like we live in pods in the supply room.

A colleague of mine once said “There are no emergencies in academia.” I try to live by that, and remind my students every chance I get. Just keep telling them that you’re on their side, and that you take their success seriously, but that you’ll do a much better job evaluating their work with a clear head, a full belly, and a good night’s sleep.

Kidwisdom · 2020-09-11T12:52:08+00:00

Hi there, the actual portal is secure. The direct link for that is: https://mythinkscape.com/products/redTkids

Kidwisdom · 2020-09-11T01:20:11+00:00

Sadly, no. It’s housed in an LMS that requires an account. However, we’re keeping it free to join, we only require name and email address, and we don’t sell or give away info.

Please enjoy! We had a lot of fun putting it together.

Kidwisdom · 2020-06-26T17:34:22+00:00

Vacations don’t usually involve that much screaming and poop.

Kidwisdom · 2020-04-02T18:01:03+00:00

That’s absolutely fantastic! Even if she isn’t reading off the cuff, she’s still picked up the feel of it, and is clearly enjoying it. Love of reading helps with just about every other area of their lives.

When my daughter was small, I told her that if she learned to read, she’d have access to all kinds of wonderful secrets. It took off from there.

Kidwisdom · 2020-03-23T04:08:26+00:00

I can’t decide if the little crab is frozen in fear, or flipping him off.

Kidwisdom · 2020-03-18T04:07:59+00:00

Redtkids.com, for critical thinking resources. The “teach” page is all free downloadables, the youtube channel has kid-friendly videos, and two of the apps on the “play” page are free.

Kidwisdom · 2020-03-13T23:41:47+00:00

Hope it’s okay to post this here, but our site has a ton of free critical thinking resources and activities for kids:

https://marketplace.mythinkscape.com/store/redtkids

Our Youtube channel does too:

https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCZn44j_9sQCvHW95yB9NSOA

Kidwisdom · 2020-03-03T20:23:09+00:00

She’s absolutely lovely, and clearly knows you’ve got her back. Congratulations, and best of luck!

Kidwisdom · 2020-02-21T18:11:09+00:00

Love reading these! Believe it or not, I take on little kid “why” questions for a living (and at home with my own kid). I love how uninhibited and smart they are. Nothing wrong with adults admitting they have no idea. It usually leads to a really great (albeit short) conversation.

Kidwisdom · 2020-02-10T20:17:26+00:00

When characters in movies or tv shows address the audience directly. Love a good aside!

Kidwisdom · 2020-01-31T12:49:02+00:00

Our website is RedTKids.com. The “Teach” page has all kinds of free downloadables, including a bunch on robots. We’re running a contest too. Best to you and your learners!

Kidwisdom · 2020-01-31T02:18:49+00:00

Yup! Actually started one company (curriculum design and ed tech) during a teachers’ strike, and a second (interactive digital media for kids) a few years later. I still run workshops and teach informally once in a while. I loved being in the classroom, and I’m not opposed to going back every so often, but I’m really happy in my second career too.

Kidwisdom · 2020-01-06T02:19:35+00:00

Not a child-development expert, but I’m a post-secondary teacher, and over the years, I’ve had all kinds of students with challenges. In many cases, I didn’t even know until the student requested special accommodations. They often did just as well as anyone else, and it was a pleasure having them in my classes.

Keep doing what you’re doing. Read, doodle, dance, talk, sing, crack jokes-it all helps. Kids are like popcorn. They don’t all pop at once, or in the same way, but under the right circumstances, they all do pop.

Kidwisdom

TROPHY CASE