Wellspring Children's Center

07/03/2024

This...

05/01/2024

We'd love to see you there!

01/06/2024

I'm working on this hardcore right now with some of my OT kids (and always with my children I'm the mom of, too).

It's children's job to assert as hard as they can, starting at about 2.5-3ish, that they are a Different Person Than You!!! And they have Different Thoughts and Different Opinions!!! And they will assert that as hard as it takes for them to feel "heard" by what their behavior is saying.

Here's a trick you can try. If you find your child becoming wildly more and more demanding about a specific thing or task or part of their day, and it's happening routinely, consider what part of that thing or task or part of their day you can give them more independence over.

Child flipping out about you getting them more water right now? Set up a way (a small pitcher, a faucet extender and stepstool, little Dixie cups by the bathroom sink -- whatever works for you) for them to be able to get their own water.

Child routinely laughing hysterically and kicking when you try to put their pants on? Build an extra 30 minutes into your schedule and let them try it themselves, or their socks or shoes or shirt or jacket or anything they're interested in, or just a step of it -- pulling it up their legs, taking the pajamas off, whatever it is.

[Image description: A picture of a child in the background gazing into the distance. The quote over it says, "The less autonomy a child is given, the more they will try to assert control over every tiny little thing, in an attempt to get it back. And the reverse is also true. The more autonomy a child is given, the more easily they will be willing to give up control when necessary, because it doesn't threaten their sense of autonomy." The quote is by Blimie Heller, and the image was made by Neuro Child.]

10/31/2023

10/16/2023

We want to invite you to the Garden for our annual Pancakes in the Garden fundraiser this Saturday 8 to 11. Hope you can make it, we'd love to see you!

10/13/2023

Young children can make us feel insanely popular. Their relentless requests for our attention begin at birth, and we remain in high demand throughout the toddler, preschool, early grade school years. Our ranking on the Popularity Scale then takes a sharp dive during adolescence, and it tanks miserab...

08/31/2022

Yes!

Interesting perspective! 💕

08/18/2022

“I met a homeschooling family once, the kids were so weird!”

Ever heard someone say that? Ever said it yourself?

I get it - knowing that someone has taken a contrasting path through life can feel confronting, like their choices are directly questioning ours. It’s much more comfortable to have our decisions reinforced by the safety of numbers.

If you believe that home educated children are weird, let me start by saying you’re probably right. Their numbers are growing, but they still have nothing on the volume of their schooled peers. When you meet one, they *will* seem different.

These children are living in a different life paradigm. They are experiencing life at a different pace, and with a different level of autonomy. They have different influences and are developing different standards. They have more freedom to be who they are with less social consequence.

It’s a completely different way of developing as a person, and naturally produces a completely different result.

Think about it. Saying a home educated child is weird is a bit like meeting someone from another country and saying their accent sounds different to yours. Is it really that surprising? Of course not. It's only a problem when we make differences between people a bad thing. We should be embracing them, encouraging our children to do the same, and breaking out of the mould that conditions us into thinking we should all be conforming to one standard.

One accepted version of life.

One right way to be.

One normal.

One of the many colourful dictionary definitions of the word weird is ‘someone with extraordinary character; fantastic’.

In that case...sure, my children are weird. And I couldn’t be prouder.

07/28/2022

So good!! ❤️❤️

06/30/2022

It is critical that we allow for babies to explore their environments at an early age. Outdoor play will challenge their senses, muscles, and cognitive skills in ways indoor play can never compete with. 💚