Learning Identity

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Learning Identity Creating whole brain learning and functioning - it’s never too early or too late! We work from Grade 4 to adult.

Learning Identity offers a specialised programme (Learning YourWay) in discovering your natural way of processing information and optimal memory. We believe every individual has innate giftings to offer this world and building relationships and support of the individual as a whole person is paramount to the work we do.

14/09/2026

My dad never cared about my school reports.

I would come home with terrible grades. Teachers saying I was easily distracted. Not academic. Not focused.

He never raised his voice about it. He would just look at the report, put it down, and ask me three questions.

"Are you trying your best? Are you being kind? Are you treating people with respect?"

If the answer was yes, he was happy. He did not care about the awards. He cared about the effort.

I look back on that now as a father of three boys, and I see he was right about so much. The academic stuff matters, but it is not what keeps you alive when the storm hits. Kindness, courage, and a refusal to give up. Those are the things that carry you through.

I feel sad that I never got the chance to thank him properly for that. But I try to tell my boys the same thing every day.

What is the one lesson your parents taught you that you only fully understood years later?

02/09/2026

We have mistaken stillness for readiness.

But movement is not something children must learn to suppress before they can learn. Movement is one of the primary ways the young brain prepares itself to learn.

Every time a child runs, climbs, spins, balances, crawls, pushes, pulls, or hangs, the brain is receiving and organizing enormous amounts of sensory information.

The vestibular system processes balance, motion, and spatial orientation. The proprioceptive system tells the brain where the body is and how much force to use. The cerebellum coordinates movement while also contributing to attention, timing, language, and executive function. Repeated movement strengthens communication across these systems, helping the brain become more organized, efficient, and adaptable.

Active play also builds the very abilities schools claim to want:

• Balance and postural control support sitting comfortably when sitting is actually necessary.
• Bilateral coordination and shoulder stability support handwriting.
• Spatial awareness supports mathematics, geometry, and understanding symbols on a page.
• Motor planning strengthens sequencing, problem-solving, and flexible thinking.
• Physical play requires children to assess risk, manage impulses, persist through difficulty, and adjust their actions.
• Movement supports blood flow, alertness, attention, memory, mood, and nervous-system regulation.

Children do not develop self-regulation by having movement constantly regulated for them. They develop it through repeated opportunities to move, stop, judge, adapt, recover, and try again.

A child balancing across a log is concentrating.
A child planning how to climb is problem-solving.
A child chasing another child is reading social cues and adapting in real time.
A child building the strength to hang, push, and carry is also building the physical foundation required for classroom tasks.

Movement is not time away from school readiness.

For young children, movement is one of its greatest builders.

If we want children who can attend, regulate, write, think, persist, and learn, clipping their developmental wings makes no sense.

Let them move. That is how they prepare to fly!

30/08/2026

We say we want teenagers who can manage their time, take initiative, make decisions, and know what matters to them. But we don’t get there by managing everything for them until they’re 18 and then suddenly expecting them to take over.

They need to practise now, while they have support and the stakes are low. While we’re here to talk things through when they overcommit, procrastinate, change their minds, or realise a plan isn’t working.

That’s one of the reasons my kids plan their own weeks. We sit down together, but the plans belong to them. They decide what they want to make time for, how much they can realistically fit in, and what kind of plan will actually help them.

That doesn’t mean I disappear. I listen, ask questions, help them think things through, and offer support when they want it. Self-direction doesn’t mean doing everything alone.

It might sound wild to let your kids be in control of their own learning, but really it comes with a lot of support and kids learn the skills they need to be capable adults.

Ownership doesn’t suddenly begin at 18. Or it shouldn't. When kids are trusted with real ownership now, by the time they reach adulthood they're pros!

The Self-Directed Life Planner gives kids and teenagers practical tools to plan their time, explore their ideas, make decisions, and discover what works for them.

It’s designed for self-directed learners aged 10+ and is currently 25% off for the first time ever.
The sale ends 31 August. If you’d like the link and discount code, comment PLANNER and I’ll send them to you ❤️

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