Category: The Literate Child Podcast

On this episode of The Literate Child, our guest is the lovely Dayna Martin. Dayna is an advocate in the radical unschooling movement, and is an inspiring human being. She has written two books – ‘Radical Unschooling – A Revolution has Begun’, and ‘Sexy Birth’. She is a speaker, thought-provoker, and change maker. In this episode,...

In this episode, Rebecca and Nanci talk about sensory, environmental, and emotional triggers, and how we can meet our children’s specific needs without limiting their experiences in the wider world. As well as playing an impromptu Trigger Game, Nanci and Rebecca explore the following concepts: Safeguarding against meltdowns before they occur. Identifying the triggers behind...

In this episode, Rebecca talks with author, entrepreneur, mother, and fellow dyslexic Tiffany Sunday about learning by trying, throwing mud at walls, finding your community, identifying your ‘workarounds’, her inability to grasp phonics and learning to read by memorising words instead, knowledge-hungry brains, and failing upwards. Tiffany Sunday is the author of Dyslexia’s Competitive Edge and You...

On this episode of The Literate Child, Rebecca Laffar-Smith and Nanci Nott chat with Lorri McCarthy. Lorri began home schooling her eight year old son, Maxx, after becoming unhappy with the way he was treated at school. Maxx has been diagnosed with ADHD, and is on the waiting list for an autism assessment. Since removing...

This episode is unique, in that it was never intended to be a podcast episode. It was a casual, late night, on-line chat between Rebecca and Nanci, which was unknowingly recorded onto the tail end of an actual episode. We decided to share this honest, unguarded conversation with our listeners, as the content may be...

In this episode, Rebecca and Nanci are lucky enough to chat with the lovely (and prolific!) Australian novelist, Traci Harding. Traci Harding has written 20 incredible books (so far). She is a truly beautiful person, who has inspired and entertained countless readers since 1996. She is also dyslexic. Rebecca asks Traci how she went about...

On this episode of The Literate Child Podcast, Rebecca Laffar-Smith and Nanci Nott talk about The Dreaded ‘T’ Word… Talent. Rebecca revisits the blog post she wrote, “Why I Hate The Word “Talented” – The “Gifted”/”Ungifted” Argument“, makes the case that this seemingly sweet word holds the sneaky power to undermine some children’s self-confidence. Nanci...

Welcome back to The Literate Child Podcast! This week’s episode is about protecting our children from the potentially detrimental consequences of judgement. Rebecca Laffar-Smith and Nanci Nott talk about their various strategies for responding to judgement directed toward their children as people, and themselves as parents. It can be uncomfortable to have to remind other...

A few weeks ago we hung out for a fantastic family fun day at the Perth Writer’s Festival. We roamed around, pulled aside some of the fabulous writers and illustrators from the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and also grabbed some rather surprised but wonderfully engaging young families. It was wonderful to hear...

In our funniest episode to date, Rebecca and Nanci speak with Xanthe Turner, the passionate, dedicated, hard-working, 14-year-old illustrator of ‘Zany Circus: Paradox‘. Xanthe and Nanci talk about what inspired the Zany Circus stories, and Rebecca shares her thoughts on why she sees ‘Zany Circus: Paradox’ as a fun and exciting teaching tool. This episode...