Teach Them the Way They Learn

06/14/2026

We have all heard of time outs. But how do we feel about a time-in?

06/13/2026

Awesome task box resource!

06/11/2026

This. 💯
Stalen’s Way

We often talk about inclusion as something that happens in the classroom, but the reality is that inclusion starts long before a child walks through the classroom door.

It starts with leadership.

When school and district leaders truly believe that every child belongs, that belief shapes policies, staffing decisions, training opportunities, resource allocation, and school culture. It sets the expectation that inclusion is not optional and that every student is a valued member of the school community.

But inclusion cannot exist without accessibility.

Students cannot fully participate if the environment, programs, communication, or supports are not accessible to them. Accessibility is the foundation that makes inclusion possible. When leaders prioritize accessibility, they remove barriers and create opportunities for all students to learn, participate, build relationships, and succeed alongside their peers.

Teachers and support staff can do incredible things, but meaningful inclusion is much easier to achieve when they are supported by leaders who prioritize both inclusion and accessibility and provide the tools, resources, and encouragement needed to make them successful.

Inclusion should not depend on which teacher a child gets or whether a particular staff member is willing to go the extra mile. It should be embedded in the culture of every school and reflected in every decision that is made.

When leadership embraces inclusion and accessibility, schools become places where all students are welcomed, supported, and given the opportunity to thrive.

Because every child deserves more than a seat in the classroom. They deserve to belong, participate, and be valued.

06/10/2026

06/07/2026

This was three years ago. We have never looked back. It was the best decision for him. Trust your gut friends….

With only a few weeks left to finish second grade in his public school, I decided to pull my autistic son Finn (again) and educate him at home.

That’s how bad it was. I knew that keeping him there for even another day would just add to the stress and trauma he was enduring.

He was already starting to show signs of school refusal.

A little boy who always loved school, if he was in the right place, surrounded by the right people who waited by the door to leave, didn’t want to go.

And that’s just it. Sometimes it’s just not right.

He’s been home for a month now.

And I’ve seen such a change in our boy.

Good changes.

He used to just come home from a long day of school noticeably irritable and exhausted.

He was prone to multiple meltdowns and more aggressive episodes.

He would just zone out on his iPad or a video game.

He seemed sad and withdrawn.

Anxious. Worried. Looping on hard moments he had experienced throughout his days. A place that wasn’t supporting his needs. Or others.

And he had no interest in playing with his toys.

A couple weeks ago, he pulled out some of his trains. He knew some of the bigger sets were still in the garage.

He asked us if we could pull them out.

What started out as a day of him rediscovering all of them turned into weeks, day after day of actually playing with them. Cleaning them up at night and rebuilding new designs over and over.

Then the hot wheels.

A child who used to be so rigid that he would never mix the two, was now using his imagination and putting cars on train tracks and trains on car ramps.

He was building “big cities” that had both.

He does this every day now.

Just plays.

I leave some social/emotional learning books on the couch and he just reads them.

I leave the pencils, pens and crayons out and he writes and draws in his own time.

I leave workbooks and task boxes on the table and when he shows interest, we do them.

He has educational apps on his iPad and he does them on his own.

He gets to move his body when he needs to.

He swims regularly with his siblings.

He cooks and bakes and wants to try new recipes. So we make the messes.

He helps me clean and do laundry. He loves to mop.

He shops with me and we practice life skills and he learns more about money.

And there is a calm that has come over him.

And I see my happy boy resurfacing.

Someone asked me what our homeschool schedule looks like.

My answer right now…

The only schedule we are on is when my son tells me it’s time for the trains to leave the station.