Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Hi, I'm Maggie.
[00:00:00] 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.
[00:00:37] Speaker A: Hi, everybody.
Welcome to episode 69 of Dyslexia and Coffee Podcast.
We are going to start our episode like we do every week, with the concept of the week. So the concept of the week is our opportunities as practitioners to kind of pull back that curtain a little bit and let our listeners into an intervention session. So we like to teach about things that we would teach about either directly to our students or to their families. So today's concept of the week is prioritization.
That's a big word and also a really big topic.
Prioritization is the action or the process of deciding the relative importance and or urgency of a thing or a group of things.
So prioritization is the process of deciding, if I have 15 things to do, what needs to come first, either this is the most important thing or this is the most urgent or time sensitive thing, and then organizing our task list according to priorities.
[00:01:56] Speaker B: This is not easy.
[00:01:56] Speaker A: This is not easy.
And requires so much executive functioning.
[00:02:04] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:02:06] Speaker A: So, yeah, I like this one. It ties directly into what we're going to talk about today.
[00:02:11] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:02:12] Speaker A: Which is goals.
This time of year, of course, is like a big time to talk about goals. Right. We're coming up on the new year, new opportunity to clear some things and prioritize, like, okay, what. What was working for me in the last year, what do I want to carry forward, and what is something I want to try this year? So we're going to talk about that today.
[00:02:49] Speaker B: And in different ways, right?
[00:02:51] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:02:52] Speaker B: Because goals. There are many different goals and types of goals, right?
[00:02:56] Speaker A: Absolutely.
[00:02:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
And I'm just gonna say this. When I do a New Year's resolution, I usually don't make it to the end of the year. Do you?
[00:03:05] Speaker A: Who does? Okay, who does? I'm sorry, Is that an expectation?
Because then I quit. I quit right now.
No, no, I.
[00:03:16] Speaker B: No.
[00:03:16] Speaker A: And that's why I usually try to kind of stay away from, like, the formal New Year's resolution. I like to think about these things.
[00:03:25] Speaker B: Right.
[00:03:26] Speaker A: But I have more of a list.
[00:03:29] Speaker B: Of things that I want to accomplish.
[00:03:31] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:03:31] Speaker B: And we'll see where we get. Because we don't know life.
[00:03:34] Speaker A: We'll see what happens. Sometimes I don't do the best job with the prioritization piece.
And then I try to take on way too many things at once.
[00:03:44] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:03:45] Speaker A: And then Maggie will tell you.
[00:03:47] Speaker B: She's always telling me this because I always do that on camera.
[00:03:51] Speaker A: We were just having this conversation right before recording. So funny.
[00:03:57] Speaker B: If I do this, where are we gonna find the time for that?
[00:04:00] Speaker A: Nicole, pare it down.
[00:04:05] Speaker B: Out.
[00:04:06] Speaker A: That's why we're a good team.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: It is, it is.
So we're going to start off with goals for the family.
[00:04:13] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: So I think every family has goals for the family. Whether they write them down, whether they discuss them, or whether they're just stuck in your head.
[00:04:25] Speaker A: Yes, absolutely.
[00:04:28] Speaker B: So, like, we would like our family not to go to the urgent care or the ER during a holiday at least once this year.
[00:04:37] Speaker A: I really hope that for you guys.
[00:04:42] Speaker B: But unfortunately, I mean, I guess this is down with outside of dyslexia, but Catherine has started to cough, so that means we have possibly asthma attack going.
Starting.
And of course, we're into the holiday season, so I'm sure we're gonna be on something.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: No, I hate that for you. I hate that for you. I.
[00:05:10] Speaker B: Sincerely, a running joke between my husband now and I to see which kid or which person is going to end that story there.
You did it for Thanksgiving. We might as well do it for Christmas too.
[00:05:25] Speaker A: I.
I hate that.
[00:05:27] Speaker B: And that's what happens when you have special health care needs in your family.
[00:05:30] Speaker A: Well, and exactly that. It's like add that to the list of things that I think some people just don't quite get right.
[00:05:41] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:05:42] Speaker A: Like. Okay. As if I'm doing this on purpose. Guys.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Believe me, we would prefer not to be there.
[00:05:50] Speaker A: Yeah, agree. I mean, I just.
I was just visiting a family member in the hospital and. Yeah, you don't want to go there right now.
[00:06:00] Speaker B: No, it's pretty busy.
[00:06:02] Speaker A: It's extremely busy.
There are no beds available.
[00:06:07] Speaker B: This is the time when we healthcare workers are like, oh, we got the snow, we got the ice, here come the falls. And unfortunately, I think that's ramped up right this time because, yes, it snowed and then it froze.
[00:06:22] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:22] Speaker B: So in Wisconsin, that means ice.
[00:06:24] Speaker A: That means glare ice and thick. Right. I think that's maybe something if you don't live here.
You may not understand. Like, the. Like, no. Like 2 to 3 inches on top of the sidewalk. That.
[00:06:40] Speaker B: You can't.
[00:06:41] Speaker A: You can't chip that away. You can't melt that away with salt. I was just gonna say ice.
[00:06:50] Speaker B: Well, there's ice melts.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: There's ice melts. That's true. That's a thing. That's a real thing.
[00:06:54] Speaker B: That is a real thing.
[00:06:56] Speaker A: But yeah, it is also going to be. In a really weird way, it's gonna be an extra mess because we had this kind of severe cold snap right.
[00:07:08] Speaker B: After, and now it's starting to warm up.
[00:07:10] Speaker A: And now it's gonna warm up.
[00:07:11] Speaker B: So things will start melting and then it'll look like water, but it will still have ice.
[00:07:15] Speaker A: Exactly. Like in a we. That's actually worse for us because then you can't tell. And so people tend to get hurt.
[00:07:24] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:07:25] Speaker A: So we got off topic. We got way off topic.
But that's okay. Obviously, we're recording this in the middle of the winter. Of the winter. And just the craziest time of the year.
Absolutely.
[00:07:41] Speaker B: So some other goals for the family. Right. Is, you know, I guess we're thinking right now they're going to be on break for a little while.
What is our goal for break? We definitely want to keep up our academics. We definitely want to do reading.
We want to do some writing.
Definitely. We're going to be playing a lot of games in our house. Our kids love games. And that's executive functioning. It's memory. It's being able to problem solve and all those things keep the brain active. And that's kind of what we want over break. Right?
[00:08:15] Speaker A: Yeah. I love that. I love that. Our goal for our family is something we have started and is mostly going well.
But establishing a day of the weekend like we arbitrarily were, like, Sunday seems like a good one.
We are kind of. Our house gets a reset. We kind of call it the back to one.
I don't know anybody who's kind of like, has any theater background.
Back to one means, like, you start the scene as if it was the beginning of it. So, like, back to one means. Okay, if we're practicing this scene, all the props have to go where they go and all the characters have to stand where they were. So that's kind of our back to one in the house means things go where they're supposed to go.
[00:09:15] Speaker B: How does that work?
[00:09:17] Speaker A: To the extent that that is actually possible in our crazy house. But I mean, otherwise, if we don't have at least a weekly, like, back to one with a very reasonable expectation. It also just means, like, both bathrooms are clean.
The mirrors are not disgusting with toothpaste.
[00:09:39] Speaker B: How do they get them there?
[00:09:40] Speaker A: Oh, I just don't understand. It's like, I don't. Toothpaste is turned into, like, a confetti thing. Confetti, glitter.
I don't know, like a horror scene out of a movie.
I can't handle it. I can't.
I can't handle it.
[00:09:56] Speaker B: And then it becomes hard.
[00:09:57] Speaker A: It's disgusting. It's disgusting.
So instead of, like, several weeks of buildup, we're trying. It's only a week.
So that's kind of our. Our family goal. And we've already started it, and it is generally going well.
[00:10:17] Speaker B: Good.
[00:10:19] Speaker A: And yeah, that's. It's also kind of our secondary family goal is we have activities after school.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: Right.
[00:10:29] Speaker A: Like most people, you know, and on week nights where we're running around, we are trying really hard to stay out of the Culver's drive thru.
So we have a secondary family goal of an easy meal on nights that are crazy. Like something that could be thrown in a crock pot, something that can be just stuck in the oven, something, you know, that we prep ahead and have set and ready for nights like that. So those are kind of two family goals. I like them in our house, and the kids are old enough to help with that, so. Yay.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: So whatever goals you set for your family, they're your goals. Right. And if they align with what your family needs and so you don't even need to tell anybody there, but we just thought we would share what our goals are.
Goals that are personal.
[00:11:40] Speaker A: Ooh, personal goals.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: Yay.
[00:11:45] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh.
[00:11:46] Speaker B: I have so many.
And that's where I get in trouble.
[00:11:51] Speaker A: Okay, so pick two.
[00:11:53] Speaker B: Two personal goals.
One.
And I know I've been saying this for, like, months to exercise more.
[00:12:01] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:12:02] Speaker B: I mean, I just really tried.
[00:12:04] Speaker A: You were on such a good roll.
[00:12:05] Speaker B: I was on a good roll.
[00:12:06] Speaker A: Then I broke my arm. And then you broke your arm.
C. Previous family goal. Kept not going to the er.
[00:12:16] Speaker B: I happened. And then they're like, well, you really shouldn't be exercising.
And then you're like, well, that kind of stopped that. Luckily it has healed now. So now I got to just get that motivation going again.
[00:12:30] Speaker A: Yes. That is, like, the hardest.
[00:12:32] Speaker B: It is the hardest part. Yes. It is the second goal.
That's a hard one to just.
[00:12:45] Speaker A: Just pick two. I know this is really hard for you.
[00:12:49] Speaker B: It is very hard for me because my Brain just has so many things going in it.
I think my secondary goal I'm gonna make a short term one is over the holiday, I'm gonna take a little bit of a break.
[00:13:05] Speaker A: Yay.
I fully support that goal and think that is well deserved and well needed. I hope you do. I will do whatever I can to support that goal.
[00:13:21] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:13:21] Speaker A: Because you should absolutely do that. It's so needed.
My personal goal is a lot like your exercise goal. I usually have a daily, like short routine that I exercise mostly. I mostly yoga, some kind of light cardio.
You know, we're not talking like sweated out of the gym, folks. That's not, that's not what I'm into.
But I was on such a good path and then I was able to re establish it a little bit last month and I even set an alarm every single day to get up and do it, which in the past has worked for me really well.
[00:14:18] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:14:20] Speaker A: And I am sleeping well, not sleeping through it. I'm waking up, turning it off, purposely saying no.
So my personal goal is to stop ignoring my get your butt up alarm and actually do it. Because I. I mean, I am a migraine sufferer and truly that is one of the things that I have found over the years that absolutely works for my body. And it also forces me to then drink more water. So it's like two things. It's like accomplishing two things. If I am moving my body right away in the morning on purpose, I'm not getting as many headaches. And I'm also drinking more water, which also prevents headaches. So I really twofer. I really need to do it.
And I don't know, I think I am going to recruit my husband to like a little bit, allow him to like, push it up, get up. Like, you will feel better if you do it.
Just do it.
[00:15:29] Speaker B: Just do it.
[00:15:30] Speaker A: Just do it.
Like Nike.
Just like Nike.
[00:15:36] Speaker B: What's your second one then?
[00:15:37] Speaker A: Oh, okay. Second one.
It's funny that we were talking about this before we were recording today and you had mentioned like, you feel like you're just kind of like off as it relates to reading. And me too. I cannot remember the last time I actually sat down and read, read, read a book, a physical book in my hands that I wanted to read.
Not related to what we do. Like, not a research article, not a dyslexia book, not a book about teaching, not a book about parenting.
I cannot remember the last time I actually sat down with a physical book that I truly just wanted to read. Like a novel.
[00:16:25] Speaker B: Right.
[00:16:25] Speaker A: I can't remember the last time I read an actual novel. I listened to a lot of audiobooks, which I love. And that counts as reading.
[00:16:34] Speaker B: Right.
[00:16:35] Speaker A: But I really miss the like curling up with a physical book.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:16:41] Speaker A: And I mean I'm reading Harry Potter to the kids. I'm reading like.
[00:16:46] Speaker B: Right. But that's not for you.
[00:16:47] Speaker A: That's not for me. And even though I love it like I do genuinely, that still means.
[00:16:52] Speaker B: Doesn't mean that you love it, it's just.
[00:16:54] Speaker A: Right. But you're right.
[00:16:55] Speaker B: It's like you're deliver a blanket and.
[00:16:58] Speaker A: It'S like I'm drinking either coffee, tea.
[00:17:01] Speaker B: I don't know, whatever yours is, something.
[00:17:03] Speaker A: Warm in my hands and just like enjoying the smell of a good, you know, like just. I.
I really feel like I have to be reasonable when I set this goal. So like I will do.
[00:17:20] Speaker B: One book.
[00:17:21] Speaker A: By the end of January. I like it. A novel that is, that's a reasonable goal. Like one novel by the end of January.
I like it. Yeah.
[00:17:36] Speaker B: All right, well, let's move on to goals for the business since, you know, we have a business and.
[00:17:43] Speaker A: Pruning it has goals.
[00:17:47] Speaker B: And we did do our strategic planning meeting. So I think if we talk about two of the goals that we can.
I think that would be pretty.
[00:17:54] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:17:54] Speaker B: Fair.
[00:17:55] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:18:00] Speaker B: So many that we.
[00:18:01] Speaker A: I know there's so much, there's so much to share that we're really excited about. I. I can go first.
[00:18:08] Speaker B: Okay.
[00:18:08] Speaker A: I. One of the business goals that I'm really excited about is we are in the process of putting together a math focused curriculum. I'm really excited about it. I can't believe I am excited about writing a math curriculum. Who am I?
I mean, who am I really?
Young me is like so confused by old lady me.
[00:18:39] Speaker B: Right.
[00:18:40] Speaker A: But I think that's good. I think that shows so much personal like growth and change.
[00:18:44] Speaker B: Sure.
[00:18:45] Speaker A: But I'm, I'm really excited about it because I think it's so needed.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: For sure.
[00:18:51] Speaker A: It's going to be, I think, a really cool thing and such a powerful tool for teachers and even homeschool parents. Like, it's going to be a good physical resource about teaching math in a very concrete, systematic, research based, research based way that I think it's going to be a powerful tool and there's really not, there's not something like that out there. We have loved.
[00:19:22] Speaker B: Believe me.
[00:19:22] Speaker A: Believe me.
[00:19:24] Speaker B: I was going to say that was one of my top goals too.
[00:19:26] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: That's going to be so much fun to put together. And.
[00:19:29] Speaker A: Yeah. And so different. It is very outside of anything we have done before.
[00:19:36] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:19:37] Speaker A: So it has that new, exciting feel to it.
I'm really excited about that.
[00:19:45] Speaker B: Yeah, me too.
I think the other thing that I'm really excited, too is about building some of the partnerships that been growing them in the new year.
You know, we have partnerships, but having more partnerships, being able to grow the partnerships we have, being able to offer really good structure and resources to our partners and having them supply us with those things so that we can grow, too. I think that's really important. And I really think that I see some really good potential with the partners we currently have growing. And then some things that I think will continue to.
[00:20:38] Speaker A: Yeah.
[00:20:39] Speaker B: Grow.
[00:20:40] Speaker A: And I totally agree.
It's.
Even though it's December right now, we are already planning for our summer programming.
And it already feels to me like this has very good energy. I've already had a couple practitioners approach me with their ideas for things that they want to do.
[00:21:08] Speaker B: And we've had families actually ask already, which usually they don't ask until spring.
[00:21:14] Speaker A: So we're like, whoa, okay. So we actually have to start planning.
[00:21:17] Speaker B: Early in the spring.
[00:21:18] Speaker A: Right. We're planning a lot earlier. A lot earlier than we usually do.
And I think we're going to be able to offer some very high quality summer programming.
[00:21:31] Speaker B: I think so, too.
[00:21:33] Speaker A: I think this is going to be.
I think it's going to be really cool. And I'm really excited to see we have such a cool team with all these creative thoughts.
[00:21:43] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:21:43] Speaker A: And I think it's going to be even cooler than it has been in the past. And I'm proud of our summer programming of the past.
[00:21:51] Speaker B: Me, too.
[00:21:52] Speaker A: But I think this is just going to be better.
[00:21:55] Speaker B: Our summer program really supplements what we do with our students.
[00:21:59] Speaker A: Yep.
[00:22:00] Speaker B: And I think we're just growing that.
[00:22:03] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:04] Speaker B: Into more.
[00:22:05] Speaker A: Into just different ways of thinking. And I love it. Yeah.
[00:22:10] Speaker B: All right. Some goals for our students.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: This is where I get, like, emotional. I think, like, this is where, like, the, you know, the true. The true heart of the teacher. I think here's where it is. Right.
I think I'm thinking of a couple specific students.
This one is a little bit interesting for me, too, because I'm at a time in the business and just where I am in general, where I am starting to see fewer students overall. Yes. And so it's a very hard transition.
[00:22:56] Speaker B: For us, by the way.
[00:22:57] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:22:57] Speaker B: It's not as easy as you would think.
[00:23:01] Speaker A: Yeah. Because that's.
Why did I become a teacher.
[00:23:06] Speaker B: Right.
[00:23:06] Speaker A: Like, exactly. It's for them. It's absolutely.
It's for them.
But I have a couple students in general, I've been gonna.
Obviously not share their personal information, but I'm just gonna kind of think of some specific kids for this one.
I have a student who is off to college in the fall, and she's so excited about it, and she's a special kid.
[00:23:37] Speaker B: She's cool.
[00:23:38] Speaker A: She's just a real cool, special kid.
She got into a very prestigious university, and she's very excited about it.
[00:23:45] Speaker B: Nice.
[00:23:46] Speaker A: And I'm so proud of her because we have been working together to make a plan for accessing the Students with Disabilities office on campus and setting up a meeting. We've been working on writing an outline of the things that she needs.
And that's just the stuff that gives me all that is. To me, she's going to be so successful because she has embraced those advocacy skills.
[00:24:17] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:18] Speaker A: And I think that is, you know, my goal as it relates to her is to give her all those tools.
[00:24:26] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:24:27] Speaker A: And then she's.
[00:24:28] Speaker B: She's ready for that.
[00:24:29] Speaker A: Exactly. Yeah. I mean, ultimately, that's my goal for all of my students. Right. Whatever.
When they leave me, because they all do, because they're supposed to. That's my job.
[00:24:43] Speaker B: Right.
[00:24:45] Speaker A: So when they leave me, they have the tools they need to be successful, whatever comes next for them.
So, yeah. Special effects. Yeah.
[00:24:56] Speaker B: My goal for our students is actually more broad.
We are in talks with the counselor.
Oh, my gosh.
Silver drinks. We're going to add that to our center.
And being able to offer students the ability to see them if they need them on the spot, or being able to have their services at the same time as ours, or just having their input in doing things in our center in ways to support our students is going to be a big change. And it's also going to be so amazing, I think.
[00:25:37] Speaker A: Totally agree. I can't.
I can't wait. This is going to be a fantastic year. I feel like it's got good energy.
[00:25:46] Speaker B: It does.
[00:25:49] Speaker A: 2025 was a little rough. I'm not going to lie to anybody out there.
[00:25:54] Speaker B: I mean, we did a lot.
[00:25:55] Speaker A: Some great things were happening and some really, really hard things were happening, which, of course, is every year.
[00:26:03] Speaker B: Exactly. Right.
[00:26:05] Speaker A: But I feel excited about what's next here.
[00:26:10] Speaker B: Me too.
I'm not really sure we need beyond dyslexia.
[00:26:15] Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, I think this whole episode was really about what's going on.
Beyond dyslexia, which I think that section is a little tongue in cheek anyway, right? Yeah, it is. Dyslexia is kind of our whole. Our whole life, guys.
[00:26:30] Speaker B: It's in our name.
[00:26:31] Speaker A: It's in our name. It is.
But thank you, everybody, for listening.
Please follow us on social media and reach out if you have any questions or you would like us to discuss a topic. If you do like our show, be sure to follow and rate us on your favorite podcast player.
Those ratings, that's really how we get pushed up in those algorithms. That's how we reach more listeners and get to help our families. Thank you, everybody.
[00:26:57] Speaker B: Thank you.
