Making Investments and Staying with the Challenge
“I sure am glad I made that investment!” said the Monopoly master. Learning through play helped transform explosive behavior and school work refusal into executive functioning and math skills!
His mother, a pediatrician, shared “I am a pediatrician with 20 years experience and Rebecca A. Weiner, M. Ed. is by far one of the most impressive child advocates I have ever met. Rebecca helped my family in a way I will never forget - within months of meeting Rebecca my 7 year old son went from being afraid of school and not functioning in the classroom to finding and loving a new school which fit his unique learning needs...I honestly cannot thank Rebecca enough for caring for us and believing in my child. I will always be in awe of and grateful for her help.“
Before we started learning through play together, assignments were met with scribbled answers without thinking, running away and hiding, or tearing up papers. Play was our tool for launching into learning, promoting positive behavior, and supporting social skills.
Our “playroom” was a safe place to take learning risks including trying new things, thinking flexibly, and asking for help. Monopoly was our favorite game for learning through play. The rules, roles, and routines of Monopoly provided structure, and modeling thought processes, how to fail, and how to try again provided support. Over the course of several sessions, this brilliant learner said, ““I’m staying with the challenge, Ms. Rebecca! I’m not giving up!” Competence and confidence grow together, and seeing these moments of growth is priceless!
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