Yellow Parachute Blog
Yellow Parachute’s Blog Mission
Our blog mission is to share the research and resources that inform our unique approach to coaching Executive Function Skills, to advocate for neurodiversity, and to uplift students, parents, educators, and leaders.
Our Response to COVID-19
At Yellow Parachute Learning Partners we are closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic. While so much has changed in our everyday lives, what remains the same is Yellow Parachute's dedication to our platform of hope, and our commitment to [...]
Setting Aside Our Experiences to Help our Kids
Cara Thorpe, founder and CEO of Yellow Parachute Learning Partners, is here again with answers about personalized learning. Learn about setting aside our own experiences with school and asking a question that will help students get what they [...]
Personalized Learning in Real Life
Cara Thorpe, founder and CEO of Yellow Parachute Learning Partners, is here with answers about personalized learning – an angst-filled topic for teachers and parents alike, given time constraints all around. How much is "too much" support? Shouldn't [...]
Just give me a routine I can break
Just give me a routine I can break! Perhaps by this time in the school year I’ve repeated, “We will NOT have a morning like this again,” a few too many times. Or I’ve finally realized that I’d [...]
Growing Growth Mindset is Fussy Work
What do kids and cacti have in common? Besides both seriously soft and perfectly prickly sides? I’ll explain, borrowing from an early YP blog post: Once, on my birthday, a friend gave me a pot full of dirt [...]
Recovery from Perfectionism and Shame
As a recovering perfectionist, I am keenly aware of times when shame has clouded my perception, especially when I have felt criticized. My perception of rejection was, in those moments, more powerful than I could manage. More intense [...]
nev·er·the·less
nev·er·the·less /ˌnevərT͟Həˈles/ adverb in spite of that; notwithstanding; all the same. however. An example of nevertheless is continuing on a job search despite dozens of rejections. https://www.yourdictionary.com › nevertheless Funny thing: I instruct my ACT students to choose [...]
The opening of YPA, our learning center for middle schoolers
Opening Yellow Parachute Academy in September has increased my ambition to create school change for our young people. (You’re thinking, “Increased?! You were pretty intense before!”) Here’s why. While convicted to create a smaller, more personal learning environment [...]
Neuroplasticity
Do you ever feel like you’re stuck in negative patterns with your kids? Like there are certain events and behaviors that repeat daily - telling them to unload the dishwasher, end the video game, brush the teeth, register [...]
Surviving? Our kids ought to be thriving in school
Do you argue about the same school-related problems every evening? See tears or anger that you don’t understand? Feel like you have to ride your kids’ coattails to get them to try? Or that you’re always on edge [...]
The Coalescence of Passion in the Pursuit of Purpose
If you would have told me last June that I would be opening the doors of a small private middle school in September, I would have laughed and maybe even cried from anticipated exhaustion. Truth be told, I’ve [...]
How to have faith in the first few steps
I remember when my kids took their first steps. They first learned to stand on two feet, then, slowly, how to put one unsteady foot in front of the other. When they fell, we cheered. We didn’t say, [...]
How “letting go” in the right way can help your kids flourish
“Say it, Mom,” she whisper-coached. “I am good enough.” My daughter pressed her hand into mine, her forehead to my temple. “I am good enough,” I responded. We turned our heads back to the pair in front of [...]
The not-so-secret ways to reset your brain
Yellow Parachute thinks about the whole picture when it comes to succeeding in the classroom. Just like a coach must consider the physical and mental conditioning that helps their athletes, so must we consider the conditions that helps [...]
How to manage expectations about summer learning
To my fellow parents, I’m about to save you from your own expectations about summer learning. At this point in May, summer feels like that land of promise and endless possibility. We plan on learning from every mistake [...]
Why we procrastinate, and how we can change
I’ve been thinking a bit about procrastination. It’s finally spring in Minnesota, and it seems that along with 60-degree weather and sun, we’ve tend to put off whatever needs to get done. Over my time working with students [...]
Coaching Your Conductor: The Learning Coach and Executive Function
Imagine sitting in a concert hall. The crowd falls silent as the conductor takes her place on center stage and cues the orchestra. Moments later, she’s keeping the melody, watching the tempo, and tracking the upcoming key changes. [...]
The Journey Starts Now: How To Discover What Motivates Us
20 years ago, I had a big list of ideas and a whole lot of ambition. I knew that I wanted to help students transform into learners, no matter their barriers. I also knew that I had a [...]
