Did you ever think of reading for helping to heal trauma? We talk to Jessica Sinarski about her books and reading as a way to help connect with those who have experienced trauma and help them heal.
This week we are joined by Jessica Sinarski, a Licensed Professional Counselor of Mental Health who works with children and has so much knowledge and experience to share with us!
In this episode we talk about:
1. Jessica’s experience and background working with children and people who have experienced significant trauma in their early lives as well as her passion for digging into the effects of early trauma on the brain and the different paths to healing.
2. Why and how stories and reading can play a role in helping and working with kids who have experienced trauma.
“Story is a powerful tool for connecting and healing.”
3. Why it is important to bring the “big” and “scary” parts of ourselves or our experiences to the surface and process them.
4. Why picture books are a good medium for kids to be able to engage with different parts of the story, depending on their situation and needs.
“That is my goal- to start young and often, dealing with the tough stuff in life.”
5. Jessica’s experiences seeing picture books help people of all ages- even adults- recognize, express or process their feelings.
6. The books that Jessica has written and how they came to be.
“There are kids who desperately need these stories, ...but then they are empathy builders for kids who haven’t had a lot of stressors yet so they can be a friend.”
7. How the books can help take the shame out of having these big feelings and help both kids and adults understand where the feelings come from and how to handle them.
8. What types of books can be helpful when trying to connect with kids who have experienced trauma and a few ideas on when and how to use them.
“Humans... have these little windows where we can learn... and where we’re receptive and ready and can soak things up. Sometimes that’s at bedtime during reading, but that’s where we have to be really tuned into the child, because sometimes it’s during play or it’s when we’re out for a walk…”
9. Heaps of book recommendations to help kids with their feelings and experiences!
10. Extra resources for parents and adults trying to parent and work with kids who have gone through trauma.
“We can’t fix everything. Sometimes you just have to sit with it.”
In Reading: Helping to Heal Trauma we mention
We are so grateful to Jessica for taking the time to talk with us! More information about her, her books, and her work can be found in the following places:
Instagram:
@rileythebrave (Jessica Sinarski)
Websites:
Brave Brains
https://bravebrains.com
Riley the Brave
https://www.rileythebrave.org
Common Sense Media Book Reviews
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews
Books we mentioned:
Riley the Brave
by Jessica Sinarski
18 Feb 2021
Episode 36: Helping Kids Take Control of their Reading with Dr. William Stixrud
This week we are joined by Dr. William Stixrud, neuropsychologist, and co-author of the widely known and regarded book, The Self-Driven Child. We talk with Dr. William Stixrud about becoming and helping your child become a self-driven reader.
In this episode we talk about:
1. What is motivation in relation to the issues Dr. Stixrud addresses in The Self-Driven Child.
2.. The connection between some things we have researched and read about in Scholastic’s Kid and Family Reading Report, especially the “Decline by Nine” with the principles of child self-motivation.
“I love you too much to fight with you about reading.”
3. Some words of encouragement for those who are skeptical of handing over more control of their reading and academic habits to their children.
“Making peace with the fact that you really can’t force a kid to do something is really liberating as a parent.”
“I want to support kids in every way to become a good reader, but I also want to pay attention to what we know about the brain. If at the end of the day, at night when a kid is tired and done with school, the idea that making them read is going to make them better, it just doesn’t make any brain sense at all.”
4. How we can help kids who are struggling with reading.
“What I recommend is that they...be allowed to listen. We know that the same brain systems activate if you are listening to a story or if you are reading it yourself- the same brain systems having to do with comprehension.”
5. How we can prioritize our relationship with a child when there are struggles or friction.
6. How the difference in boys’ and girls’ physiology and development can play a role in their reading development and how important it can be to bear this in mind.
7. Some thoughts on rewards and incentives and how we can use them to our and our kids’ advantage.
“It’s not trying to bribe them to do stuff we want to do, it’s...helping them beat their own goals.”
We are so grateful to Dr. Stixrud for taking the time to talk with us! More information about him, his work and what we chatted about can be found in the following places:
Resources we mention in Helping Kids Take Control of their Reading
Instagram:
@simplyonpurpose with Ralphie Jacobs
Websites:
Simply on Purpose
The Stixrud Group
https://stixrud.com
Scholastic’s Kid and Family Reading Report
https://www.scholastic.com/readingreport/home.html
Books
The Self-Driven Child by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson
What Do You Say? by William Stixrud and Ned Johnson
(coming Fall 2021)
Grit by Angela Duckworth
You may also be interested in:
Fighting the Decline by Nine with Lauren Tarshis
You may have missed our last episode with Kai Gomeau...
27 Jan 2021
Episode 35: Read With a Teen with Kai Gomeau
This week we are joined by a very impressive teenager! Earlier in 2020, Kai Gomeau was looking for ways to get involved in some community service, but, as it has for so many of us, Covid threw a wrench into his plans. Kai was determined, however, and decided to start his own virtual reading program- Read With a Teen.
In this episode we talk about:
1. Kai’s reading habits as a busy teenager, how and when he fits time to read in and what he likes to read.
2. How Kai's project, Read With a Teen, went from a memory from Kindergarten to a successful online program with connections all over the country and even world!
“I had to go out and find another way…”
3. What Read WIth a Teen is and how it works.
“He started the program not liking reading, but as a couple weeks went by… when I would offer to read a book he’d be like, ‘no no no, let me read, let me read!’”
4. Some of the sessions and experiences that Kai has had that have made an impact on him.
“Part of that might have been reading with someone else that wasn’t his mom and doing it for fun!”
5. What Kai’s vision of the future of Read With a Teen is and the goals he has for himself and his program.
“I’ve heard from a lot of my high school friends that they don’t like reading and that they never liked reading, so I was like, ‘huh...I should fix that.’”
In Read with a Teen with Kai Gomeau we mention:
We are so grateful to Kai for taking the time to talk with us! More information about him and Read With a Teen can be found in the following places:
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ReadwithaTeen
Books we mentioned:
Pete the Cat (series) by James Dean
Fox in Socks by Dr Seuss
Scooby Doo Storybook Collection edited by Beth Dunfey
The Book with No PIctures by BJ Novak
Don’t the Pigeon Drive the Bus (series) by Mo Willems
Elephant and Piggie (series) by Mo Willems
Mercy Watson (series) by Kate DiCamillo
Shel Silverstein (author)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
William Shakespeare (author)
The Odyssey by Homer
Percy Jackson (series) by Rick Riordan
Harry Potter (series) by J.K. Rowling
Devil in the Grove by Gilbert King
Catch a Fire by Timothy White
If you liked Read with a Teen with Kai Gomeau, be sure to check out our interview with Sarah Wood about what your child's teacher wants you to know about reading.
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