Talking About Kids

Send us a textMatt Sandoval is in the business of transforming kids’ trauma. To accomplish this, he and Free Arts, the organization he leads, employ a simple formula: art + mentors = resilience. Matt and I discuss how this equation works, as well as his tips for using art to build resilience in your home, in your classroom, or in your program. More information about Matt and Free Arts is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us a textAditya Nagrath believes that math anxiety is real and that one of its chief instigators is memorization. This is why his book, Treating Mathematics Anxiety, and the system he created at Elephant Learning focus on fostering an understanding of math concepts. He believes in it so much that he guarantees that students learn one year of mathematics in three months using his system. Aditya and I discuss his approach and steps you can take to help the kids in your life overcome math anxiety. More information about Aditya, Elephant Learning, and Aditya’s book is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us a textLeah Ellis says that she created The Society of Child Entrepreneurs to help kids develop capacities like resilience and problem solving. The society currently offers workshops and coaching and is piloting a full curriculum with lessons on topics such as turning a passion into a plan. From what I have seen, Leah is doing great things, and the curriculum aligns with evidence-based practices and encourages individual reflection and positive peer-to-peer and child-adult interactions. I do not know enough about encouraging entrepreneurship to comment on that aspect. The little time that I have spent in the entrepreneurship literature suggests a field of wildly diverging theories. However, as you listen to Leah, you may get the sense, as I did, that the experiential learning that The Society of Child Entrepreneurs provides makes learning come alive in ways that benefit participants even if they never start their own businesses. More information about Leah and The Society of Child Entrepreneurs is at talkingaboutkids.com.

Send us a textIn this mini Thanksgiving episode, I investigate what James Baldwin and the other James Baldwin have to say about the holiday. More information is at talkingaboutkids.com. Full-length Talking About Kids episodes return next week (December 1, 2025).

Send us a textMaria Gallucci is a CODA, which stands for a Child of Deaf Adults. As she chronicles in her new book, Raised in Silence: Lessons on Listening, Love, and Loud Family Dinners from a Child of Deaf Adults, being raised by two deaf parents, learning American Sign Language (ASL) as her primary language, and, while still a child, helping her parents navigate the hearing world was often challenging for Maria. However, as she and I discuss, being a CODA also increased Maria’s capacity to empathize and to communicate and truly connect with others, skills she uses as a parent and as a professional and skills she hopes to foster in others through her work and this book. More information about Maria and Raised in Silence: Lessons on Listening, Love, and Loud Family Dinners from a Child of Deaf Adults is at talkingaboutkids.com.