by Rich Patterson | Jul 3, 2018 | Character, Encouragement, Personal Improvement
About Those Critical Voices . . . Recently I was traveling and met a friend who was with his granddaughter. I asked her what her plans were for after high school, to which she replied with a detailed plan including some “Plan B” type options. I was... by Rich Patterson | Jun 29, 2018 | Family & Relationships, Parenting, Resilience
Helicopter Parents’ Concerns Helicopter parents are very protective or have an obsessive interest in their child’s life. As a retired high school administrator, I could recognize these parents quickly when I asked the child a question. Right away, the... by Rich Patterson | Jun 27, 2018 | Communication, Parenting, Teenagers
Raising Defiant Kids As a school administrator, I watched many teachers at some time during their career get into a tangle with kids over something the kids refused to do. Working with defiant kids is much like working with contrary adults, and here are a few... by Rich Patterson | Jun 25, 2018 | Communication, Encouragement, Family & Relationships
Patience & Gratitude = Latitude Today I want to write to you about teaching our kids patience and gratitude. So often, we come to expect certain conventions, certain things to happen because they always have or because we want them to happen. But what happens... by Rich Patterson | Jun 22, 2018 | Communication, Encouragement, Parenting
Balance–Seasons & Kids For years I have struggled with Balance in my life. As I spoke with friends and colleagues, I found that so does nearly everyone. It seems that we’re never quite in Balance and always striving to keep everything going in the... by Rich Patterson | Jun 20, 2018 | Encouragement, Family & Relationships, Parenting
Deciduous Forest & Kids The deciduous forest is another component of the mature forest and often has dark and light timber. Dark and light timber means some Aspen, Birch, Poplar, and Red Maple trees scattered among other dark evergreen trees. The Aspen has a... by Rich Patterson | Jun 18, 2018 | Encouragement, Personal Improvement, Resilience, Teenagers
Feeling Like You’re in the Lowland? Nature Leadership The lowland coniferous forest has dense trees, unlike the upland forest. Because the tall trees almost completely shade the forest floor, it had little other vegetation. It is generally excellent and may... by Rich Patterson | Jun 15, 2018 | Character, Encouragement, Personal Improvement
Upland Coniferous Forest Forests tend to populate themselves with species common to that particular area. Healthy forests have multiple tree types, like Ponderosa Pine and Green Spruce; another site may have a single species like Jack Pine. In most cases, flourishes... by Rich Patterson | Jun 13, 2018 | Character, Communication, Family & Relationships
Kids & A Spruce Bog A Spruce Bog in a forest are open areas where the trees are a big scraggly, the bushes and trees stunted, and they can be enormous with open grass areas. They are the result of irregular water drainage and highly acidic water. Ironically some... by Rich Patterson | Jun 11, 2018 | Achievement, Character, Encouragement, Parenting
Woodland Pond As you look at this photo, what do you see? It is a woodland pond in a forest, and depending on the habitat, it could be anywhere. Their size can vary greatly depending on the amount of open water they contain. They are very rich in birdlife and...
Let’s Connect!