Partnering With Teachers

As a new school year begins and parents and caregivers are beginning to meet teachers, let’s ask, “What does effective partnering with teachers look like?” On my first day as a caregiver to a school-age child, I had no idea how to answer that question. I was a new foster mom and I was pretty …

How Fostering Challenged My Relationships

There are many relationships that happen through being a foster parent. If I had to name them all, it would probably take up most of this blog. Then there are relationships with friends and family that were there before we became foster parents. When I became a foster parent in 2016, I heard about all …

Over Perceiving Threat, Under Perceiving Safety 

I walked through the grocery store jumping around from side to side sure that something was about to happen. When I turned the corner, I put my arms up ready to fight, as an 80-year-old woman who was no threat turned the corner and almost collided with me. Having just returned home from Afghanistan it …

ACEs and Resiliency in Kids

Ever wonder what ACEs stands for and why it is important to understand? According to the Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, ACEs stands for Adverse Childhood Experiences and was one of the largest studies done on the impact of childhood abuse and neglect on health and well-being later in life. The original ACE study …

Managing My Child’s Behaviors Started with Me

In the fall of 2016, my husband and I became licensed foster parents. Everyone told us we would get a nice “honeymoon phase,” before behaviors escalated with the kids who came into our home. I was caught off guard when we did not experience the “honeymoon phase.” I felt unprepared and overwhelmed. I began to …