Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Maggie.
[00:00:01] Speaker B: And I'm Nicole. Welcome to the DAC Dyslexia and Coffee Podcast. We're so happy you could join us. We're both moms and dyslexia interventionists who want to talk about our students and children. What dyslexia is, how it affects our kids, strategies to help and topics related to other learning disabilities will also be covered in this podcast. Parents are not alone, and we want to give a voice to the concerns and struggles we are all having.
This is a safe place to learn more about how to help our children grow and succeed in school, in the world.
Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy the conversation.
[00:00:35] Speaker A: Hi, everybody.
We're gonna start, like we do on every episode, with the concept of the week. So the concept of the week is our opportunity as practitioners to kind of peel back the curtain and let our listeners into an intervention session. So we like to talk about the things that we would actually teach in intervention.
This week's concept of the week is diphthong.
[00:01:01] Speaker B: This is the hardest thing for me to learn.
[00:01:03] Speaker A: It is a difficult one. It's hard.
So a diphthong is a vowel sound that is neither short nor long.
It's an entirely different sound.
Sometimes diphthongs are also called sliding or gliding sounds, because actually your tongue. Tongue has to go to two different places in your mouth to make a diphthong. So they're kind of difficult to teach as well, because we really, when we do teach our sounds explicitly, we talk about the position that our mouth is in, where is our tongue when we make this sound. And when we're talking about a diphthong, we're actually talking about kind of a sliding or a gliding sound.
Sounds like o.
Really, if you say it real slow, it's two different vowel sounds that are kind of smooshed together. We count it as one sound.
Oo or ow or oy.
Especially that one. Oy. Right. We can really hear two sounds if we're slowing down enough.
So, yeah, that's a diphthong.
[00:02:22] Speaker B: So welcome to episode 49, which we decided to make our real life summer debrief.
So in this episode, we're going to revisit our summer plans and give you all the updates and how things went in real life.
[00:02:37] Speaker A: Yes.
Yeah. Because really, this really fits into. Right. We just wrapped up our summer series on executive functioning, and in that series, we talked about a framework. Right. So we talked about that goal.
Why plan do check.
This is kind of our check.
[00:02:58] Speaker B: Yes, our check.
[00:03:00] Speaker A: It's our check.
[00:03:01] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:01] Speaker A: And just like we talked about in that whole summer series.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:06] Speaker A: Some of our plan did not work out.
A lot of our plan did not work out. This is real life, and we do not want any of our listeners to get the impression that Nicole and I somehow have things all figured out.
No, that's not what this podcast is. If you're looking for people who know everything, find a different podcast.
[00:03:32] Speaker B: But don't. Because we like you.
[00:03:33] Speaker A: Right? We like our listeners. Please keep listening. No, but we are real people. We are real practitioners. We are real moms with real families.
[00:03:43] Speaker B: And so real interesting dynamics.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: Yes, we do.
So we really just. We want to really have a real conversation. Kind of. This episode. Most all of this episode is really kind of our outside of dyslexia section.
[00:03:58] Speaker B: Correct? Yes. So we're definitely going outside of it. Yeah.
[00:04:02] Speaker A: This is our actual real life.
How are things going? And I will say, to be fair to ourselves and to this process as we record this, it is the end of July.
So really, my kids still have a whole nother month plus of summer. Summer.
So it comes at a good time to kind of check ourselves and then say, well, okay, maybe part of this plan I could still salvage or kind of, huh. I did say I wanted to do that, but, huh, I guess it didn't happen.
So this is just a lot of real life and a good opportunity for us to modify our plan.
[00:04:48] Speaker B: There we go.
[00:04:48] Speaker A: For the summer. See?
[00:04:49] Speaker B: See how I spun that, Nicole? That's great.
[00:04:52] Speaker A: I love it. I can spend anything.
So I'll go first. I'll talk about what my plan was and then how things went.
[00:05:04] Speaker B: Sounds good.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: So my plan for the summer, both my kids were enrolled in summer school and that was new for us, so we really didn't know how exactly that was going to go.
The summer school program my kids are in is a half day program.
They loved it. They loved it.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: Good.
[00:05:28] Speaker A: As we record this, it is their last week of summer school.
[00:05:32] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:05:33] Speaker A: And they each got to try such fun things.
They each had classes that they really, really loved. And they each had one that they were like, that wasn't my favorite. I don't really want to take that one again.
[00:05:46] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:05:47] Speaker A: Which.
[00:05:48] Speaker B: That's good.
[00:05:49] Speaker A: I could not have planned that. But what a great experience for them.
[00:05:53] Speaker B: Right?
[00:05:54] Speaker A: And it is such low stakes. These classes are just.
It's six weeks in total, but it's three sessions, so each class really only goes for two weeks.
[00:06:05] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:06:05] Speaker A: So even if it's not their favorite, that's fine. It's fine. It's only two Weeks.
[00:06:11] Speaker B: Did they have to be flexible?
[00:06:13] Speaker A: They sure did.
[00:06:14] Speaker B: Oh, my goodness.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: They sure did. You know, as did.
Really.
We all did. Because we have. We have just really never done summer school before.
My family, I'm really, really spoiled. Full acknowledgement.
My mom lives close to us and she watches our kids when, you know, my husband and I are both working.
And so they really just had grandma all summer. That's been our plan.
Summers prior to this. But they both really wanted to do summer school, and we would definitely do summer school again. It was awesome, I think.
Again, something I really couldn't have planned.
But I really seen a huge leap with my older.
So my son, who is a rising second grader, for him, he is really talking about all of the friends that he has in his summer school classes and just mentioning people by name and talking about. I'm so glad that this person is in this class. And, you know, I really missed this person from 4K. And now they're in my summer school class, and boy, I hope they're in class with me in second grade.
That's a huge leap for him. And it was a concern going. Not going into summer school, just kind of going into school in general.
He's an amazing kid, and people really do love him, but he does kind of struggle to make those really strong connections to friends. And I feel like that has really happened for him this summer. And I don't think it would have happened if he wasn't in summer school because he wouldn't be seeing his friends.
He would be seeing his sister, and that's it.
And they are some days friends, but some days not, which is normal. Which is totally normal. So, you know, that was, I think, an amazing thing that happened for him this summer.
And, you know, Millie is just loving every second of being at school. I think it was a great way to, you know, they definitely are keeping up his skills. He is doing a writer's workshop, which he loves. He loves writing.
But part of the plan with summer school and kind of things in general was I. I am concerned about his handwriting and his fine motor skills.
And here we can talk about a part of the plan that I really wanted to work on in earnest this summer.
Boy, I had plans that I had bought some workbooks and we were going to try and incorporate actual, like, workbook time into our day.
[00:09:10] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:09:11] Speaker A: And that has happened zero times this summer.
That has happened zero times. We just.
We have not done it.
I still think I do want to, and I'm wondering if when summer school ends, we can transition to some kind of time in the morning when I'm still at home.
Some kind of morning does work pretty well in our house for that stuff. Evening does not.
So that is one thing definitely I've learned about the way our family functions.
Mornings, I think, could be doable, but nighttime, absolutely.
That's not happening.
That's not happening. By the time I get home from work, it's kind of late, and we pretty much immediately have to eat dinner. And my kids really need to go to bed. They need an early bedtime.
Pushing back summer bedtime to later.
No, that is not a thing that happens in my house.
We don't do that.
So another part of our summer plan was our library trucks. Last summer and the summer before, we had been taking weekly trips to the library. We love our library where we live, and we can walk to it from our house.
And we have gone to the library. It has not been weekly, and we have only walked there once.
[00:10:50] Speaker B: This has been a very strange summer for us, though. I mean, honestly, with the rain and the heat.
[00:10:55] Speaker A: The rain and the heat, and then also kind of the cold, like it. It's been really strange.
[00:11:03] Speaker B: So I can see why you wouldn't.
[00:11:04] Speaker A: Have walked a lot, you know, and really, I'm just physically working so many more hours than I have the last two summers.
So it's like, oh, yeah, kind of forgot about that little thing.
But they have. I mean, they have gone to the library.
They do miss going to the library. They like it.
I also talked about how when we would go to the library, we would get at least one book that each of them could read on their own, and we have stuck to that plan.
[00:11:38] Speaker B: Oh, good.
[00:11:38] Speaker A: So even though it's not as frequent, we have gotten some really cool books from the library this summer, and each of them have kept up with independent reading, like reading out books. They can read independently but out loud to mom, dad, or grandma.
So that's good.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: That is good.
[00:12:05] Speaker A: Another part of our summer plan was baking projects and cooking, which is usually a huge part of my family's routine.
And I can only think of two things that we've made this summer that, like, we've baked together, which makes me really sad. However, we just pulled a ginormous zucchini from our garden yesterday, and that has muffins written all over it.
So, yeah, so we will be making that happen because I really miss it. That's something that we do all the time, usually.
[00:12:47] Speaker B: You've had a pretty big summer, though, with outside of your very much immediate family. Very much Would definitely impact your ability to do that though. Yes.
[00:12:57] Speaker A: I mean, we just really have not been home.
[00:13:00] Speaker B: Right.
[00:13:01] Speaker A: You know, our garden, we have a garden. It's not a big deal garden, but we, we don't do much for it. What grows, grows, and we like the things that grow. But as far as like reading or really taking care of the garden in much way, that's just not a thing I care about. I love the vegetables that come out of it, but no, adding something like that to my plate is just not going to happen.
But things are starting to really, like where you have a lot of tomatoes, which is really exciting.
Just that watching my kids plant and grow things, I love that. Yeah, that's been a great part of our summer.
So that is kind of our. My, like what I planned versus what happened.
[00:13:53] Speaker B: Yeah, mine's gonna be a little bit rougher than that, but that's okay.
We plan to go to the library all summer also and to other events and to enjoy them.
We did not go very often, I would have to say.
But on the flip side, we have gotten a lot of books and we've been reading every day and we've gotten more books that are interest based. That's awesome for our kids.
And yeah, we just really didn't make it to the library.
[00:14:35] Speaker A: Yeah, life really, really got busy.
[00:14:39] Speaker B: It did. Yeah, it really did. And honestly, the kids weren't that interested this summer, which is very odd to me. But.
[00:14:46] Speaker A: Yeah, but sometimes that's like, you know, could be a developmental stage. It could just be a response to the fact that there just has really been a lot going on.
[00:14:59] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: And just a lot of change in.
Change in routine is hard.
[00:15:07] Speaker B: It is. And we've been struggling quite a bit with one of our children, Our oldest has dyslexia, but she also has autism and intellectual delay.
[00:15:22] Speaker A: So.
[00:15:23] Speaker B: And she's really struggled this summer with the change in routines and changes in. She doesn't want to leave the house, which makes it difficult for the family to leave the house.
[00:15:33] Speaker A: That's really hard and not expected. Right.
[00:15:35] Speaker B: That was a not. That was a not expected thing.
[00:15:38] Speaker A: So, you know, when you're thrown into that kind of situation of like, this was not something ongoing and like predictable.
[00:15:48] Speaker B: Correct. I mean, last summer we went everywhere. She loved going everywhere. She would go to the restaurants, she'd go to the pool, she'd go, I don't know, just all over the place. And this summer we've gotten to the pool sometimes and sometimes we've had to leave situations, which is really difficult for the Other two, because they don't. They understand why. But it's also a bummer, right?
[00:16:17] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. It's all. It's all that, you know, that practice being flexible, that practice finding a plan B and just that emotional regulation and that balance.
We have, you know, in your case, three kids in the family.
[00:16:33] Speaker B: Right, right.
[00:16:34] Speaker A: And trying to be sensitive to one kid's needs.
Yes. You know, obviously that's a value. But there's, you know, there's four other people at that house, you know, five other people in that house that, you know, you know, that all need their needs taken care of and then. Exactly.
[00:16:56] Speaker B: So we've done other things where, you know, obviously all five of us can't go everywhere together this summer, which has been struggle. But we go back and forth between my husband taking the other two out and doing stuff and I doing that.
So, I mean, we've made it work, but it has definitely changed our entire summer planning because we just can't go to the places we normally do, which it's all good.
[00:17:24] Speaker A: But I think that's not always kind of talked about. I think we do a lot of talking about it when our kids are little or when they're experiencing this tantrum or that tantrum, you know, those kinds of things.
But I think there's just so much less conversation about our older kids in general. It's harder to talk about our older kids.
[00:17:46] Speaker B: Right.
[00:17:47] Speaker A: You know, and what is shareable versus not shareable?
[00:17:53] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: You know, at a certain point it's like, well, me as their mom. That's not fully my story alone to correct. Share.
Especially publicly. Right. On something like a podcast. But, you know, it's.
Of course, that is throwing your family into a like, well, what do we do now?
That's.
This is real, actual life.
[00:18:21] Speaker B: Yes, it is.
[00:18:23] Speaker A: You know, our plans don't always work out, and sometimes the plan really is like, we are doing the best we absolutely can. Which changes from day to day.
[00:18:36] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:18:37] Speaker A: You know, what works today is not necessarily going to work, so tomorrow.
[00:18:42] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:18:43] Speaker A: So, I mean, definitely. I think there's a lot of skill building in that. But that doesn't mean it feels good.
[00:18:53] Speaker B: Right?
[00:18:53] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:18:54] Speaker B: Sometimes I kind of wish we didn't have to skill build with the other two on some things because absolutely there's, you know, they're still growing and they still have needs and. But sometimes it is what it is and you kind of have to going with the flow, which is that flexible thing again.
[00:19:10] Speaker A: Yes. So hard.
[00:19:12] Speaker B: It is so hard.
[00:19:13] Speaker A: So hard.
[00:19:14] Speaker B: Which comes to the second thing we were going to do. Which was summer camps, which obviously went down the drain, too. Yeah.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: That did not happen.
[00:19:21] Speaker B: That did not happen. That did not happen anywhere close. But that's okay. It's all good. We do read every day as family and individually with each other, so I think that's been really good. And we found some really good books on iPads and stuff for the kids.
[00:19:39] Speaker A: That's awesome.
[00:19:40] Speaker B: And that's really been helpful. And they're reading as they're listening, which is really good for them.
And then we also read together, so that has been really nice.
And it's been initiated by our kids a lot this summer, which has been a new thing for us, too.
[00:19:59] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:59] Speaker B: So we felt that that is a win this summer.
[00:20:02] Speaker A: Definitely. Definitely. Yeah. Those, like, little developmental leaps that you're like.
Good.
[00:20:08] Speaker B: Yes. Good.
[00:20:09] Speaker A: Yay. Good.
[00:20:12] Speaker B: So, yeah. And then our oldest and youngest come to our center for intervention, and they've been doing pretty decent job coming.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:22] Speaker B: To other sessions and working really hard. And even though.
I don't know, they just. They love coming here. Honestly, I think it's their second home. I'm not really sure.
[00:20:35] Speaker A: Yeah, I think it's funny. I mean, I'm kind of giggling a little bit because my kids are actually in the office right now, as we speak. Right now. They are here in the office. And my kids absolutely love coming.
[00:20:48] Speaker B: Yeah, it's in the office.
[00:20:51] Speaker A: Even my son, who I think maybe is starting to, like, outgrow that, like, yeah, I definitely want to go to work with mommy. He's like, no, I love it. It's fine.
[00:21:00] Speaker B: Like, it's fine.
[00:21:02] Speaker A: It's fine.
[00:21:02] Speaker B: It's fine.
[00:21:03] Speaker A: Which, you know, I had luck in an eye that this is the job I have. And this. This is fine. You know, this is fine. This is. This is pretty great.
But, yeah, I am giggling because, yes, my kids, too, think they really.
[00:21:21] Speaker B: Yeah, it's amazing.
[00:21:22] Speaker A: Office, specifically.
[00:21:24] Speaker B: But something that wasn't on our list is our middle Carolyn. She went through the babysitting class.
[00:21:31] Speaker A: Yes, she did.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: February.
And she's actually started babysitting this summer, which is very happy and very sad.
[00:21:37] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:21:38] Speaker B: Lots of emotions there.
[00:21:39] Speaker A: But it's happy for me, listeners, and.
[00:21:44] Speaker B: It'S actually happy for me. But it's also.
My baby's getting older kind of a thing. But it's really good for her. She's been doing an amazing job at. She's just maturing so much over this summer that it's been kind of amazing. And she's almost as tall as me, which is really scary. But other than that. Yeah. Yeah, it's been good.
[00:22:04] Speaker A: Yeah, it's been great. I mean, that was, I mean, a developmentally for our family too. I mean, we really haven't needed. Because of the way we operate.
You know, we really haven't had like a teenage babysitter. My kids have never really had that before.
So this is kind of new for us too. We went out to dinner and had Nicole Smittel watch our two kids one night. And it was like, oh, oh, we can just go.
Oh, okay, we can just go to dinner now. That's a thing that we could do.
Who knew? Who knew?
[00:22:47] Speaker B: Who knew that it was gonna be like that? Yeah.
[00:22:49] Speaker A: You know, and then it was really. It was really nice to know, like, yeah, this is a new thing for everybody. And it's been, you know, that part has been really great.
Um, yeah, I definitely. Summer is a time where I think I notice some of those, like, developmental leaps.
[00:23:11] Speaker B: I agree.
[00:23:11] Speaker A: Yeah. And my kids, even more than during the school year.
[00:23:15] Speaker B: I agree. Yeah.
[00:23:17] Speaker A: Kind of even at summer school drop off today. That's been a little bit happening here and there.
But Aiden kind of was like, gave me the brush off, like, gave me the like. And it really. I mean, he is. He is a sweet, sweet kid, but it was a little bit like, yaki, Bye, mom.
[00:23:40] Speaker B: Developmentally appropriate, unfortunately.
[00:23:42] Speaker A: Totally that. Totally that. And actually as much as my mom heart was a little bit like, okay.
[00:23:51] Speaker B: It was also really cool.
[00:23:52] Speaker A: It was also like, that is what should be happening. And he is so excited to see his. His friends.
[00:23:58] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:23:59] Speaker A: Okay, good. That. That is what he should be doing. That is the appropriate interaction between a boy and his mom.
I guess.
[00:24:11] Speaker B: It really has to happen.
[00:24:12] Speaker A: If it really has to happen. Oh, I guess that is the point. I do say all the time I want my kids to be independent and well, this is what it feels like.
[00:24:20] Speaker B: That's what happens when you actually get your wish.
[00:24:23] Speaker A: Yeah. Yep. But no, it is. It's been.
[00:24:27] Speaker B: I know it's hard.
[00:24:28] Speaker A: It's been hard. You know, And I think I'm glad we did this episode because honestly, it's like, well, some things did not go according to plan.
[00:24:36] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:24:37] Speaker A: But some things did. And some things were unforeseen.
[00:24:40] Speaker B: Yeah. New things happened that we weren't aware of. So that's awesome.
[00:24:44] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:45] Speaker B: And then we thought just to tell you a little bit what happened at our center this summer, because that's been wild.
[00:24:52] Speaker A: Bump it.
[00:24:54] Speaker B: Yes. It's been like hopping, hoppin, hoppin'.
[00:24:57] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:24:58] Speaker B: We're doing a Training this summer because we have some school contracts coming up in this.
The fall that. Yeah, I was, like, gonna say spring.
[00:25:07] Speaker A: Whatever season we're entering, I gotta go.
[00:25:09] Speaker B: Into fall before I go into spring.
So we've been working on that all summer.
So everybody's ready to go. We had a community health intern who's been amazing and has helped us kind of figure out what our data collection for the centers and for the schools, which I think is a really great thing for us to have.
We've had an occupational therapy student who has been amazing and is able to.
She's going. She's right where she needs to be.
[00:25:42] Speaker A: And talk about a person who is flexible.
[00:25:45] Speaker B: Right.
[00:25:45] Speaker A: Because this was not the place she thought she was coming.
And she's done wonderful and she's been amazing. We will miss her.
[00:25:53] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:25:53] Speaker A: Really a lot when she. When she moves on to her next fieldwork.
[00:25:59] Speaker B: Yes.
And then our groups have been just expansion and reading group. We have an executive functioning group. We have two handwriting groups.
And we have a math group this year, which has been really well received.
[00:26:17] Speaker A: It has really been well received. That's been a great one.
[00:26:20] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:26:21] Speaker A: And it's been fun to see our groups do well this year. Yeah.
[00:26:25] Speaker B: And it's been really fun because the students that we've had this summer have really brought some great ideas.
[00:26:30] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:26:31] Speaker B: And really great activities, which I'm sure will when they leave.
The students will be very, very, very sad.
[00:26:40] Speaker A: The students are so much more fun than us.
[00:26:42] Speaker B: Yeah. I don't know how that happens.
[00:26:46] Speaker A: It's just true. It's just.
[00:26:48] Speaker B: It's just true.
[00:26:50] Speaker A: I once inherited some kids from a different practitioner who does work here, actually, and he is fun, but the kids that, you know, they moved, so they just moved centers. And so I took them instead of him. Him. And the one just looked me right in my eyeballs like the first time, and he goes, you know, you are not as fun as Tommy.
I was like, well, you're probably correct.
[00:27:18] Speaker B: We all have our different styles.
[00:27:20] Speaker A: All have our different styles. And he was like, I mean, you're nice.
Oh, well, that was. I'm glad I'm nice. I'm glad I'm nice.
[00:27:29] Speaker B: The honesty of children.
[00:27:30] Speaker A: Yeah. I. I am not as fun as Tommy. And. Yeah. Yeah. He's probably not wrong. My own children, I'm sure, would concur.
[00:27:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:27:41] Speaker A: Oh, my goodness.
Yeah. It's been.
It's been an interesting time.
[00:27:48] Speaker B: It has been.
[00:27:49] Speaker A: You know, I am glad we did this episode. I think it's a good opportunity for me to Say, lots of things have been really difficult about the summer, and a lot of things have kind of taken us off track.
But, you know, here we are. We. There's time to kind of still adjust and have a little perspective.
[00:28:11] Speaker B: Correct.
[00:28:11] Speaker A: You know, and it's hard because. It is hard.
[00:28:14] Speaker B: It is hard.
[00:28:14] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:28:15] Speaker B: Yes, it is. But it's always fun to be able to go outside. And just sometimes it's just good to sitting up there because, you know, we live in Wisconsin, and sometimes in the winter, going outside is not a thing.
[00:28:29] Speaker A: Yeah. You know, and even on days where it's, like, too hot to be outside, at least it's like, okay, the sun is out and the clouds look nice and the blue sky, you know, it's just. It's a way prettier view than the depressing brown bad.
So, yeah, it's been. It's been an interesting summer, but I think, you know, that's life.
That's life. And that's.
I hope that everybody appreciated our kind of real talk, real summer. This is how things.
[00:29:05] Speaker B: This is how.
Yes. This is how it went in real life.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: Yeah.
So in closing, if you like our show, please follow us on social media. Reach out if you have any questions or would like us to discuss a topic.
Please, though if you do like our show, follow us and rate us on your favorite podcast player. That's how we reach more listeners and get to help more families. Thanks, everybody.
[00:29:33] Speaker B: Thank you.
