This is a special bonus episode featuring my daughter, Annabelle Collins. In our previous episode, Executive Functioning in Homeschooling: A Teenager's Experience with Organization and Planning, we dove deep into prioritization, planning, and organizing within our homeschool day. We received an abundance of positive feedback, so we decided to follow up on one of your burning questions: How do we decide what activities to participate in?

In this bonus episode, we'll revisit the key points from her previous episode, discuss the important principles of balance in work, play, rest, and sleep, and delve into how these concepts are applied in our family's homeschool journey. Annabelle and I will share our experiences, including her personal transition from swimming to volleyball and the factors we consider when choosing extracurricular activities. We'll also touch on the significance of community and the influence of adult mentors in shaping our children's development. So, whether you're a homeschooling parent, an educator, or just curious about our approach, stay tuned for some insightful and practical advice.

• Executive Functioning in Homeschooling: A Teenager's Experience with Organization and Planning
• The Evolving Landscape of Homeschool Community Support
• The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
• Present Over Perfect: Leaving Behind Frantic for a Simpler, More Soulful Way of Living
• Growing Slow: Lessons on Un-Hurrying Your Heart from an Accidental Farm Girl

Connect with Sarah Collins

• Follow Sarah on Instagram @homeschoolOT
• Join the Facebook Group: Homeschool and Occupational Therapy with Sarah Collins, homeschoolOT
• Visit the Homeschool OT Website

In this episode, I'll be sharing personal insights and examples from my own experience homeschooling my children, shedding light on how interoception develops from infancy through childhood and how it can significantly impact our well-being.

We’ll discuss practical strategies that can be used at home to nurture this vital sense and reflect on the challenges and successes my children have faced in their interoceptive growth journey, including the influence of modern technology like screens.

Join us as we dissect these topics to better understand how we can help our children, and ourselves, fine-tune this internal compass. Stay tuned, subscribe, and dive into the intricacies of human perception with us.

• Definition and importance of interoception
• How interoception affects internal state awareness, such as hunger, thirst, and emotional state
• The early development of interoception in infants and the role of caregivers
• The progression of interoceptive awareness as children grow
• Influence of factors like genetics, environment, and early experiences on interoceptive development
• Use of structured programs like the Zones of Regulation
• Implementation of movement and physical activities in daily homeschooling
• Importance of routine and sensory inputs in developing interoception
• Challenges faced due to screen time and its influence on interoceptive awareness
• Specific observations of behavioral shifts related to screen use
• Observations and insights gained from reducing screen time with interoceptive awareness

• Guiding Questions to ask Your child to build Interoception Awareness
• Reset Your Child's Brain: A Four-Week Plan to End Meltdowns, Raise Grades, and Boost Social Skills by Reversing the Effects of Electronic Screen-Time
• How to Integrate the Zones of Regulation At Home
• The Emerging Science of Interoception: Sensing, Integrating, Interpreting, and Regulating Signals within the Self
• Unveiling the role of OT in Homeschooling
• Understanding Occupational Therapy: Clinic Expectations and Sensory Approaches
• Navigating Vision Challenges in Homeschooling: A Parent’s Story
• Sensory Balanced Homeschool Focus Group

Connect with Sarah Collins

• Follow Sarah on Instagram @homeschoolOT
• Join the Facebook Group: Homeschool and Occupational Therapy with Sarah Collins, homeschoolOT
• Visit the Homeschool OT Website

Navigating the world of homeschooling can be as rewarding as it is challenging, particularly when it comes to incorporating social emotional learning (SEL) into the daily curriculum. In the latest episode of our podcast, "The OT is in," we had the pleasure of speaking with Elizabeth Sautter, an expert in social emotional learning and a speech pathologist who specializes in supporting neurodivergent children. This episode is a resource goldmine for homeschooling parents looking to seamlessly integrate social emotional learning into their daily routines.

• Importance of Social Emotional Learning in everyday activities and routines.
• Elizabeth’s resources are targeted primarily to parents of neurodivergent children.
• Integration of social emotional learning in natural routines.
• The connection between bodily sensations and emotional states.
• The relationship between the interoceptive system and the management of social and personal responses.
• Specific social emotional learning strategies and tools like the PACE acronym.
• Integration of social emotional learning into regular activities such as meals, play, and travel.
• Elizabeth’s book and its structure, focusing on different settings like home, community, holidays, and bridging home with school.
• The use of literature and storytelling to teach emotional identification and empathy.
• Activities and tasks from the book aimed at enhancing social emotional learning.
• Utilizing journals and coloring books to foster mindfulness and gratitude.
• Practical exercises for families to incorporate mindfulness in daily routines.
• Common parental concerns about prioritizing daily tasks and integrating social emotional learning effectively.
• How caregivers can use Elizabeth’s tools to assess and respond to emotional cues in children.

• Fundamentals of Social-Emotional Learning
• Bridges Learning System
• What To Do When Your Child Is Having A Hard Time: Nurturing Neurodiversity, Morning, Noon and Night
• Social and Emotional Learning Resources from Elizabeth Sautter
• Practical Activities to Boost Executive Functioning for Kids and Teens
• Adding Art to your Homeschool
• Adding Literature to Lunchtime

Connect with Sarah Collins

• Follow Sarah on Instagram @homeschoolOT
• Join the Facebook Group: Homeschool and Occupational Therapy with Sarah Collins, homeschoolOT
• Visit the Homeschool OT Website

Elizabeth A. Sautter, MA, CCC, is a speech-language pathologist/social emotional expert, speaker, author, and trainer. She is the author of Make Social and Emotional Learning Stick! Practical activities to help your child manage emotions, navigate social situations & reduce anxiety, along with many other resources, including an online course and community for parents. Elizabeth collaborates with the Zones of Regulation team as a trainer and is a co-author of the Zones children’s books, card decks, and games. She is also part of the EveryDay Regulation team with the focus on providing neurodiversity affirming resources for whole body regulation. She loves to connect on Instagram @elizabeth.sautter , Facebook ElizabethSautterMACCCSLP or via her website: ElizabethSautter.com