Just wanted to remind everyone to mark your calendars for the next “Lights Up, Sound Down” Sensory Friendly movie  - “Megamind” – on November 6th.

(The “Lights Up, Sound Down” offering of Megamind will NOT be in 3D)

Click here for more details

You Missed A Show?

Missed a show?  How could you?

Okay, besides you have a family and the show is on early Sunday mornings.

Then here’s your chance to catch up.  I’ll be posting full breakouts of all the shows we did in 2009 but in the meantime check out any of the shows that you might have missed below:

1. Dr. James Gregg – Is Chiropractic Right For Your Family?
2. The Swine Flu & The Vaccine – What’s The Story & Is It Safe?
3. David Kirby – Vaccine Safety & The Impact Of Factory Farming On Our Diets
4. Peter Wright From Wrightslaw.com – Special Ed & Special Ed Law
5. Twitter – Why, How, Should We Care w/ Leslie Poston Co-Author Of “Twitter For Dummies”
6. John Gatto – The American Education System
7. Dr. Arthur Benjamin – Math Magic & Improving Math Education
8. Barbara Coloroso – Fighting Back Against Bullying
9. David Allen – Author Of NY Time Bestseller “Getting Things Done”
10. Dave Farrow – Guinness Book Memory Master Record Holder
11. Kim Stewart – Eating Between The Lines (Coming Soon)
12. Marianne Syzmanski – Toy Tips For Children
13. Carol Kranowitz – The Out of Sync Child & Sensory Integration

Many (and soon) all off these shows can also be downloaded at Itunes in the Podcast section under “My Great Kid”.

Thank you for listening to the show and following this blog and please let us know if there are any topics, or guests, you would like us to speak to in the future.

Getting organized – your life, your kids, your house, your car, your office, your closet – it shouldn’t really be that hard, should it? Afterall, it’s one of the very first things they start trying to teach us, the very first time we walk into school (coats on your hook, bags and shoes in the cubby, etc.). But oy, for some of us getting organized is like trying to run away from your shadow on a sunny day – you can try but it’s going to end with you laying on the grounding, exhausted and conquered by your unseen adversary every time.

So who do you call if you need to get your stuff straight? “Getting Things Done” guru David Allen, of course!

Listen to the interview here

“One of the world’s most influential thinkers on productivity.” – Fast Company

A blurb like this can be intimidating before an interview!

Now it’s important to realize at this point in time in the conversation that I am a life long organization striver.   By that I mean I’ve been striving to get organized since I first learned of the concept and realized it could have some useful purpose in my life.  However, by nature I am a “chaos clutter rider” which means that my organizational life setpoint seem to be set at a level that leaves me most comfortable when surrounded by a variety of my things (in no particular order).

When I was younger I fondly remember the excitement of the first days of school.   For years I would start with my Trapper Keeper (remember those?) squared away and organized.  Folders coded and organized by class.  Paper and pens sometimes even stowed away in their proper spots.  Regardless of the preparation though ……. by the second day of school (no seriously, this isn’t a joke) my system(s) would begin to buckle and by day three, forget about it.

I believe my all time record for sort of holding on to some semblance of order was 5-6 days (semblance of order being defined VERY broadly here).

Which is why I like David Allen and his advice because while he does lay out specific systems …. his overall approach is more assimilating what works for you within in some broad guidelines.  Therefore, if you are a Type A personality (a very close relative comes to mind here but if I say my sister’s name she’ll kill me) his approach works well.  However, if you’re somewhere south of the Type A personality his approaches can also work.

How can you not like an organizational / productivity guru who explains that the reason he came up with his approach wasn’t because he was organized but because he was lazy!

Great conversation, great guy (have to admit I was a bit nervous that he’d be kind of the stern librarian/disciplinarian type), great approach … hope you enjoy.

What organizational approach do you use?

Anything unorthodox that works well for you?

How do you teach your kids this stuff?

David Allen Resources, Tips, Tools

• FREE Articles To Get You Started (really free & real tips and usable advice – you do have to give basic and pretend you’re placing an order)
• Tips and Tool
• David Allen Podcasts
• The Getting Things Done Blog
• Twitter – David Allen
• Who Is David Allen – BNET
• YouTube – How David Allen Gets Things Done (3:23)
• YouTube – Getting Things Done (presentation @ Google) (45:52)

Animal, Beaker and the Swedish Chef (along with all of the others) are back! Watch them for a good laugh and share them with your kids.

This one’s gone viral and racked up huge views all over the net already.

We spoke with Barabara Coloroso about her book “The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander”.

We first came across her in the Costco Connection magazine, believe it or not, and thought she had some good information and good approaches.  Coincidentally enough in the last couple of months we’d had a couple of parents talk to us about bullying problems that their children were having and figured it would be a great topic to dive into a bit.

I have to admit that this is an interview that was a little frustrating for me.  Ms. Coloroso was great and her information is definitely worthwhile but some of her approaches and thinking just conflicts with mine.  Staci on the other hand loved her!

Which is the point of the show and this blog .. to explore new and different thinking and approaches and share information.

I’d be curious as to your feedback on the interview.

• Bully Handout – This handout is great!  I really like the idea of the Bullying Circle and how bullying can be adressed through it.
• Bully Handout For Teens – Similar to above … but for teens.
• The Net Neighborhood – Bullying, it’s not just for the playground any more.
• Extraordinary Evil – Bullying to Hate Crimes To Genocide – Okay, here’s where we started to part ways a bit.  I think our primary difference of opinion comes in the somewhat broader definition and motivation for bullying that Ms. Coloroso uses.  Still, an interesting read though.
• Three Characters and A Tragedy – Interesting
• Teaching Caring & Human Relationships

Bullying is a very serious issue for everyone and perhaps even more so (if that’s possible) for children with special needs.  What are your thoughts? ideas? success stories? approaches?

Any ideas for other resources concerning how to handle bullies?

An Interview with Laura Johnson from the University Of Toledo.

I really don’t like the way that she phrases and refers to some of the topics in this interview HOWEVER, I do think that some of the strategies and insight that she brings to the topic are not only interesting but VERY RELEVANT as a way to educate children.  This is a beautiful example of a teacher that uses visual teaching cues to E-D-U-C-A-T-E a person.

Most importantly it shows that visual thinking is not just a way for “special education” kids to learn but rather a very relevant way of thinking that is present throughout society.  Imagine how much different schools could look if “visual learners” and “visual thinking” were widely recognized as a valid way to learn instead of just a backup method for the “special kids” and “dumb jocks”.

Visual Teaching – Autism and Football?