Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — Many important things occur at the end of the school year. Papers are written, content is studied, finals are taken, grades are figured, and report cards are distributed. Desks and lockers are emptied. Bulletin boards are taken down. Whole rooms are closed, not to be opened until sometime in August. What if I suggested that one of the most important things that must occur at the end of the year is something said, not something done? That’s right. Children must hear they are smart so they go into the summer with a positive view of themselves. Last memories of this year will definitely affect next … [Read more...]
Play More! Kids At Play Can Awaken Their Strengths and Smarts
May 9, 2012 by · 3 Comments
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — My nephew, Andy, played with Duplo® blocks, Legos®, and his Thomas the Train for hours and hours at a time. I imagine every family member can testify that our favorite memories of Andy growing up include either watching him play with them or participating with him. Andy’s imagination was significant. I think he really saw castles, fire stations, and bridges over raging rivers when he built ordinary-looking structures. His trains were carrying important products and many families to their destinations many miles away. His picture-smart strengths were obvious from the very beginning. He found new … [Read more...]
How Do We Grieve? Using Multiple Intelligences to Grieve Well and Completely
May 2, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — My book about multiple intelligences is titled How Am I Smart? A Parent’s Guide to Multiple Intelligences, but many other titles would have worked. That’s because our intelligences are relevant to so many areas of life. As you know, if you read last week’s blog posts (here and here), grief has been on my mind lately. Would it surprise you to know that understanding how we are smart can help us grieve well? It’s true. And, it’s important because grief isn’t well understood. Too often, people can be made to feel they’re not grieving right. Really? Disappointing. How Do We Grieve? Using … [Read more...]
A Beautiful Tribute Video to Charity Hope Black Hadick
April 25, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Intelligences never work alone. They work in pairs, triplets, and even four or more will work together to enhance our work and life. (Creating a great meal and gathering for friends requires the use of all eight. Maybe I’ll blog about that next week.) Children and adults can choose to support a weaker intelligence by using a stronger one at the same time. For example, if someone isn’t very logic smart, picturing math problems may help. Even using two weaker smarts is better than using one alone. Two strengths used together can be very powerful. An example of this principle of smart integration is the embedded video below. It was created to honor the life of Charity Hope Black Hadick, the daughter of the friend I posted about on … [Read more...]
Learning a Child’s “Smarts” Brings Liberation Out of Confusion
April 18, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — She was standing off to my right, patiently waiting for me to finish other conversations. As I walked toward her, her smile broadened to fill her face. “I came to this homeschool convention to go to all the seminars about learning disabilities because I was sure our son had at least one. Now I know he’s picture smart, body smart, and nature smart. He’s not disabled! He’s smart!” That might be when the tears began to flow. I’m not sure. I am sure that I was with a greatly relieved and deeply encouraged mom. I was humbled to be God’s messenger of hope. Children with word-smart and … [Read more...]
People Smart + Self Smart = Influential Combination
April 11, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — All adults and children have the capacity to develop each of the eight smarts. Some will be stronger than others. Some may remain weak. But, we can and should use them in combinations so even weak intelligences don’t have to hold us back. One of the most interesting combinations occurs when someone has both people-smart and self-smart strengths. As I wrote in last Wednesday’s post, life can be challenging for these people and apparent inconsistencies can confuse people. Those who have people-smart strengths think best with other people. Confidence in their ideas grows when they verbalize them and … [Read more...]
How Can We Help Children and Teens Use Their Smarts? (Part 3)
April 4, 2012 by · 2 Comments
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — As I explained in the last two posts (full list of links at the bottom of this post), we can teach children how they are smart and encourage them to be smart with their smarts by specifically affirming them when we notice them using one of their intelligences. These simple compliments – when using strategic language – have tremendous power. Let’s use them well. Compliments for our remaining two intelligences might sound like this: People smart: “You three girls work really well together because you’re people smart. That’s why you’re able to bounce ideas back and forth and play off of … [Read more...]
How Can We Help Children and Teens Use Their Smarts? (Part 2)
March 28, 2012 by · 2 Comments
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — Last week, I was privileged to teach about multiple intelligences at the Great Homeschool Convention in Greenville, SC. Hundreds of parents were encouraged to look at their children differently. I loved watching their reactions to this refreshing truth. One mom shared with me that she arrived at the convention the day before assuming her son had a learning disability. She thanked me several times for helping her develop a healthier perspective about her son. What a privilege for me! This week, this mom and hundreds of other parents are charged with the task of helping their children believe they’re … [Read more...]
How Can We Help Children and Teens Use Their Smarts? (Part 1)
March 14, 2012 by · 2 Comments
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — Word smart. Logic smart. Picture smart. Music smart. Body smart. Nature smart. People smart. Self smart. All adults and all children have all eight smarts. Having a smart and using the smart are two different things. How can we help children and teens use their smarts? Affirm children when they do use them. Children may not even know they’re doing well because they used one of their smarts. Complimenting their specific use encourages and empowers children. It can change their identity from “I can’t do this” to “I’m music smart and I can do this!” Compliments for some of the intelligences … [Read more...]
Self-Smart People = Confidence in Their Own Opinions
March 7, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Every Wednesday, I’ll post about multiple intelligences so we can better understand children and why they do what they do. — Each of our eight intelligences has value in life and in school. The self-smart intelligence has unique value. Those with this strength are comfortable and confident with their own opinions. They think deeply inside of themselves and reflect on their ideas and what they hear and see around them. They may not highly value other people’s opinions so it’s extremely important that they remain teachable. Do you want and even need quiet, peace, privacy, and space? This would mean you’re self smart. It also might explain a portion of the stress you feel. We live in a loud, hurried, crowded culture … [Read more...]
Follow Kathy!
You can also sign up for our helpful bi-weekly (on Tuesday) Celebrate Kids newsletter.