I am embracing the rest and ease my body and mind demand during this season.

Low light and energy are nature's signals to go within to seek inspiration for our future creative ideas.

Sending sincere wishes that you will find the space and time to honor your intrinsic desire (very human need) to hibernate, take a few breaths in the cold silence of deep winter, and gain strength to explore all the possibilities for your next adventure - as the light returns.

And my very best wishes for peace and joy for your celebrations and observations during this Holiday Season.

Karen (and Kris R.) got plenty of photos of DRC-Massena's last days of 2023, and I (as usual) got caught up and forgot to capture any of the fun - thankfully, Kris and Chris were there to get a few of the DRC-Canton Peeps.

The word childish is most often used as a slur. When invoked, it has nothing to do with the many beautiful attributes of childhood and everything to do with overtly dreadful adult behavior.

Bad behavior is just that - it is not even remotely related to the pure and wondrously wild curiosity, innocence, imagination, exploration, discovery, and immense growth --- physical, emotional, and cognitive of childhood.

Something to think about the next time you witness irresponsibility, disrespect, thoughtlessness, dishonesty, untrustworthiness, and plain old rudeness from an adult. Don't be afraid to call it out for what it is.

Both Centers were hopping this past week. Thanks to Kris R. for joining the DRC-Massena Crew to decorate cookies last week. Here are a few scenes:

There is no such thing - it is impossible. And, sorry to burst all you've been taught within the current systemic educational paradigm in one swoop, but the summer slide is also a myth and does not exist either!

There are three separate points here that are inextricably linked:

1. When you understand that every individual is a brilliant natural learner with their very own strengths, challenges, interests, and internal timeline, the artificial developmental schedule based on age and grade level makes zero sense. 
   
2. Once you really learn something, you can't lose it. Yes, if you don't use a particular piece of knowledge for a time, you may have to dig for a few seconds to find it - but if you really learned it, it will always be there in the depths. 
   
3. Even though the world is constantly changing, the knowledge considered vital 100, 50, 25, 10, or even 5 years ago is still taught - through memorization and dissemination from teacher to student, and deemed valid and current! We know that following interests and aspirations and working collaboratively in a diverse multi-age group with a trusted mentor - instead of competitively in a coercive setting is much more conducive to learning what we truly need as a society. 
   

But why are these myths so firmly ingrained and perpetuated if they don't exist?

In one word, FEAR. The establishment knows most parents will do anything to help their child and prevent them from being labeled incapable, incompetent, slow (dumb), a failure, or (heaven forbid) BEHIND!

Therefore, they buy into the "treatments" - more coercive, compulsory, rote, and remedial  interventions with little value or effectiveness toward authentic learning.

Simply stated, by definition, there is no room for the individual in standardization. Therefore, the traditional age and grade level developmental schedules can't be used to determine anything actually useful about an individual child (teen or adult). Except, as previously mentioned, to instill fear.

Neurodivergent folks are usually the biggest losers in this game. We will always appear to "be behind" in some skills - but "above" standard in others. And most professionals do not (will not) take the time to comprehend how we intentionally use our strengths (create hacks) to compensate for the things we "suck" at. And that, at our very core, we are on the leading edge of innovation precisely because of how our brains work. We are the questioners, the problem-solvers, the deep thinkers, the creators. We are who you want, leading the way in our constantly changing world.

If we all believed the stories we were told about being behind, we would still be forced to stay on task, learn things that make no sense to us, look at people when they speak, and assimilate to become "normal," all while being shoved into those tiny, predetermined, uncomfortable, and utterly predictable, unimaginative, yawn-inspiring boxes.

If you follow us on FB or Instagram or have tried to call - you know we have had some phone issues over the past few days. We apologize if you have been trying to reach us. DRC now has a temporary phone number: 315-323-1435. We will post on our social media and on the website when the issue is resolved and we get our phone number back. In the meantime, please use the temporary number. Our email, and other methods of contact have not been impacted.

Photos from this past week. Thank you to Artist Kris R. of Kris A Lis Design for coming in to make holiday cookies and sing karaoke with the Canton Peeps.

More than a few times this week, various folks have mentioned how comfortable and contented the kids seem while at Deep Root Center. I honestly take it for granted that they are relaxed and happy. And that they automatically feel ownership of this space and their individual needs. It is by design, after all. Nevertheless, I often forget how utterly extraordinary that really is.

We know that play, interest, and enjoyment boost authentic learning, not pressure (coercion), fear, and rote memorization. When kids (and teens) are free to navigate their environment by playing and following their curiosities, exploring and discovering the things that resonate with each of them personally, they are not only intimately connected to their learning as natural scientists, they keenly understand the world around them, and they are happy. (see Neil deGrasse Tyson's take on this idea here and here.)

Yet, somehow, we are still attached to archaic control-based methodologies as our default educational system  - which makes so many children (especially those of us who are neurodivergent) feel uncomfortable, out of sync, stuck, and ultimately unhappy.  

Enjoy these few highlights from both Centers this past week.