A HIGHLIGHTED SUPER-POWER THIS WEEK!

This week, as is usual, I had the pleasure of teaching children to learn. I love my day job, working with children who need support to grow and develop their skills. It’s so rewarding! Obviously, I always loved my class teaching positions, but this is different because you can really see the tiniest steps every week.

I work one-to-one with children now. It’s special and gives me opportunity to teach out of the box!

Also this week, I struggled to get one child engaged. It wasn’t normal and I was concerned. I contacted mum and finally it emerged that the child was struggling with their dyslexia. They didn’t want to be dyslexic anymore and were even secretly googling for a cure…

My initial reaction was of sadness. Not for the fact that there isn’t a “cure” and the child would have dyslexia for life, but a sadness that dyslexia was seen as something so dreadful that it had to be cured.

Yes, many dyslexics need support to get through our academic systems that were set up and haven’t changed much (If you’ve read my previous posts, you know my feelings on that!), but they also have so much to offer! The bonus is that many of them have the skills to see things differently.

Photo credit: Nadine Shaabana on Unsplash

Just google “famous dyslexics” and you have a load of fantastic role models that I would be happy to have round my table! Steven Speilberg, Richard Branson, Albert Einstein and space scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock would top my list, but there are plenty of other amazing people out there to prove that dyslexia doesn’t hold you back!

If you have a dyslexic child, be proud and be creative! As I have said before, helping them find their talents and explore their world to find their passion is one of the best things we can do with any child, but you may find something extra special with a dyslexic child.

Do you or your child have dyslexia? Has it held you/them back? I’d love to hear your stories and develop this post by sharing some to highlight the successes that dyslexics have; to prove that it doesn’t hold you back and can have a positive impact. Yes, sometimes it’s tricky when you struggle to read and write, but there are more creative ways to learn to allow all children to flourish in a way that suits them.

I am often asked for ways to teach something at home that a child is struggling with at school, even pre-pandemic. It's a great excuse for me to bring out my creativity 'guns' and fire off ideas that wouldn't be (maybe couldn't be) available at school for the child. Luckily, I find it easy to think out things and my mind races at 100mph!

Sometimes the children have dyslexia, sometimes they just have gaps or find it hard to learn a specific way. Hands on children love to be active and move around, so sitting them at a desk and expecting them to sit still and learn is really not in their best interests. Some of the brightest sparks I know preferred active learning!

Need some ideas? Grab my FREE cheat sheet here! Creative Parenting – 10 fun and easy ideas to help with core learning at home is just what you need to do some catch up activities if your child is struggling with the basics because of the pandemic, or just to help with all types of homework!

Enjoy creatively learning alongside your child and see you again soon! Any questions, just drop me a comment :)

Debbie x