Help in Your Pocket for Your Anxious, Gifted, & Quirky Kids: an Interview with Colleen Kessler
The year was 2008 and I was starting to think about how I could help my oldest son - my first baby - get ready for preschool. I didn’t know anything about gifted, quirky, or anxious kids back then, but I knew I wanted my son to keep his unique personality, have fun, and keep learning. I also knew getting him ready to do that in a classroom would be a long road.
Three-year-old Elijah was a wild child. His brain moved faster than his words (meaning I was the only person who could understand his speech), and his energy level was a 10 from early morning all the way until midnight most nights. Naps were a distant memory and bedtime routines lasted hour after hour each night with more books and songs and backrubs than I knew it was possible to give.
He was beyond ready to learn, bored almost immediately with every new concept or learning toy I introduced. And yet, the thought of him sitting still in a desk hour after hour was laughable to anyone who met him.
It was quite the workout for this mama (especially with trying to raise his little brother and work, too), but so extremely rewarding. I’ve since met many mothers with similar stories. Some of us tried homeschooling from the start and others fell into it when school didn’t work. Most of us moved forward slowly and cautiously, not sure which step to take next.
I didn’t know it at the time, but I was doing everything right.
(Well, most of the big things, at least.)
Now Elijah is a teenager, and I can see his giftedness, his unique abilities, and his quirky talents shine through desire-led homeschooling. I wish I could go back and tell myself how well it was all going to turn out.
And yet, we still have tough days. There are anxieties that come along with giftedness - for kids and parents alike - and there are times when I’m still not sure about what exactly I’m doing on the road of out-of-the-box homeschooling we’re on.
That’s why I’m so excited to share this week’s podcast interview with you - an interview with Colleen Kessler from Raising Lifelong Learners.
Colleen is an author, a homeschool mama, and a helper of countless families who have kids in the anxious, gifted, and quirky kids category. She has a master’s degree in Gifted Education, and she uses it to design resources for families all over the world.
In the podcast, we talk about helping our kiddos through all sorts of things (especially anxiety, sleeplessness, and active imaginations), how to take care of ourselves as moms of these beautiful people, and even how to go after big mama dreams too (because that’s what I do every time I get a chance to chat with mamas who write in the wild!).
A few links from our discussion:
Colleen’s website Raising Lifelong Learners
A sweet Instagram photo of Colleen’s daughter packing up the Anxiety Tookit orders
That post where Colleen shares help for kids who can’t sleep
The Learner’s Lab (Colleen’s membership community)
Colleen’s books: 100 Backyard Activities That Are the Dirtiest, Coolest, Creepy-Crawliest Ever and Raising Resilient Sons
How to find your local independent bookstore where you can purchase Colleen’s book
A resource for connecting to Telehealth for anxiety and mental health issues
Hop over to the videocast here ⤵
Here are a few of my favorite moments from the interview:
“The quickest way to burn out as a mom of any kind is to forget about yourself and who you are.”
“The time you take to perfect your craft is just as important as meal planning or anything else you do.”
“We don’t want our kids to think motherhood is the absence of self.”
Want to connect with Colleen?
Want to find more support for your quirky kiddos and your own creative self?
Come over to our free email group and introduce yourself. Talk about your questions and get some inspiration from our togetherness tips every Friday morning.
I’ll see you there!