Vanessa is an educator and parenting expert who is using Remento to prompt and record family conversations, tell the stories of student experiences, and reflect on loved ones. In her own words, follow along as she documents her experience with the Remento iOS App.
It's the holiday season and everyone is getting ready for big family gatherings! The discussion of what we are grateful for in life always comes up this time of year, especially with children. This is a time of giving back to the community and creating memories with loved ones, and I have been using Remento to do that. This app has amazing options to capture family events in real time and record conversations with video and picture prompts. Storytelling takes on a life of its own with easy-to-use features. For example, if you are sitting down at the dinner table and need a conversation starter, Remento provides fun questions to get things going. This is a very helpful tool if you are feeling shy or you want to keep young kids engaged at meals. Just open the app, choose a set of prompts, hit record and let the storytelling begin. You can even write your own questions or add photos!
"This is a time of giving back to the community and creating memories with loved ones, and I have been using Remento to do that."
As a family interventionist, many of the children I work with have high anxiety, especially before trying something new. The holidays can be difficult for them with all the celebrations, get-togethers and events. Unexpected things happen and the kids shut down. They become nervous before an event, the "chit chat" in the brain takes over, and they freeze - feeling they can’t do something or be part of a big group. Remento has given me the opportunity to record memories of how a child felt before and after they did something that was really scary for them. It helps me capture the nervous energy they are feeling before and contrast that with the elation they feel afterwards, when they were successful. Showing the kids a recording of themselves overcoming their anxiety helps them know they can do it. It is also a great way to bring the family closer together. The child is able to share their experiences with their parents and even their teachers. Remento takes your story and helps turn it into a memory that you won’t forget.
"Showing the kids a recording of themselves overcoming their anxiety helps them know they can do it. It is also a great way to bring the family closer together."
A recent recording I made was focused on one of my older students who came back to my school, KFS School, after he was bullied at the school he just left. We talked about his friendships and how he was feeling. We threw him a party as his birthday coincided with his first week back, and I used the Remento app to interview him about coming back and what that meant for him. He mentioned how it felt to not have friends and be bullied while he was at his last school. Then he talked about coming back to a place where he felt a connection with friends. This was a pivotal moment, and I was able to capture and create this video for him. He will always be able to look back at how he was finally feeling safe in a school setting. There will be hard days and he won't always get along with his friends, but this video is a great reminder for him of how friendships still exist - even when you don't feel connected in the moment. While my initial video with him was about his return to school, I kept adding more clips to the project, like capturing his birthday party. I plan to continue adding snippets of how he is doing, creating an amazing record of the ups and downs of childhood for him to look back on.
The holidays are a perfect time to create memories and establish strong family bonds. Children learn through example and through doing, and Remento makes sure those special moments and stories are recorded for you to share and enjoy later. Get together with your family, open up the app, click on the plus sign and pick a topic such as:
It's said that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but adding your own voice and video to that picture is priceless. When you capture these moments - the big ones and the mundane - you are creating a gift for the future. You can look back and hear your loved ones' voices, see them change over time. Creating these memories is something that can be passed down from one generation to another. If you are like me, and love being with children, you can start individual stories for each of the children to chronicle the progress they’re making as they build their self-esteem, create new bonds and friendships, and try new things. Watch your child as they transition from babbling to speaking in full sentences. Give yourself and your kids that gift.
About Vanessa Kahlon
Vanessa Kahlon is the Founder & Executive Director of KFS SCHOOL and author of “How To Do Parenting With Confidence” and “Shut Up And Parent.” She hosts the "Parenting with Vanessa Kahlon" podcast where she empowers parents with strategies for dealing with their children's daily struggles. Vanessa has also taught for various groups and organizations across California – her specialty is professional development in behavior modification and management.
Vanessa is an educator and parenting expert who is using Remento to prompt and record family conversations, tell the stories of student experiences, and reflect on loved ones. In her own words, follow along as she documents her experience with the Remento iOS App.
It's the holiday season and everyone is getting ready for big family gatherings! The discussion of what we are grateful for in life always comes up this time of year, especially with children. This is a time of giving back to the community and creating memories with loved ones, and I have been using Remento to do that. This app has amazing options to capture family events in real time and record conversations with video and picture prompts. Storytelling takes on a life of its own with easy-to-use features. For example, if you are sitting down at the dinner table and need a conversation starter, Remento provides fun questions to get things going. This is a very helpful tool if you are feeling shy or you want to keep young kids engaged at meals. Just open the app, choose a set of prompts, hit record and let the storytelling begin. You can even write your own questions or add photos!
"This is a time of giving back to the community and creating memories with loved ones, and I have been using Remento to do that."
As a family interventionist, many of the children I work with have high anxiety, especially before trying something new. The holidays can be difficult for them with all the celebrations, get-togethers and events. Unexpected things happen and the kids shut down. They become nervous before an event, the "chit chat" in the brain takes over, and they freeze - feeling they can’t do something or be part of a big group. Remento has given me the opportunity to record memories of how a child felt before and after they did something that was really scary for them. It helps me capture the nervous energy they are feeling before and contrast that with the elation they feel afterwards, when they were successful. Showing the kids a recording of themselves overcoming their anxiety helps them know they can do it. It is also a great way to bring the family closer together. The child is able to share their experiences with their parents and even their teachers. Remento takes your story and helps turn it into a memory that you won’t forget.
"Showing the kids a recording of themselves overcoming their anxiety helps them know they can do it. It is also a great way to bring the family closer together."
A recent recording I made was focused on one of my older students who came back to my school, KFS School, after he was bullied at the school he just left. We talked about his friendships and how he was feeling. We threw him a party as his birthday coincided with his first week back, and I used the Remento app to interview him about coming back and what that meant for him. He mentioned how it felt to not have friends and be bullied while he was at his last school. Then he talked about coming back to a place where he felt a connection with friends. This was a pivotal moment, and I was able to capture and create this video for him. He will always be able to look back at how he was finally feeling safe in a school setting. There will be hard days and he won't always get along with his friends, but this video is a great reminder for him of how friendships still exist - even when you don't feel connected in the moment. While my initial video with him was about his return to school, I kept adding more clips to the project, like capturing his birthday party. I plan to continue adding snippets of how he is doing, creating an amazing record of the ups and downs of childhood for him to look back on.
The holidays are a perfect time to create memories and establish strong family bonds. Children learn through example and through doing, and Remento makes sure those special moments and stories are recorded for you to share and enjoy later. Get together with your family, open up the app, click on the plus sign and pick a topic such as:
It's said that “a picture is worth a thousand words,” but adding your own voice and video to that picture is priceless. When you capture these moments - the big ones and the mundane - you are creating a gift for the future. You can look back and hear your loved ones' voices, see them change over time. Creating these memories is something that can be passed down from one generation to another. If you are like me, and love being with children, you can start individual stories for each of the children to chronicle the progress they’re making as they build their self-esteem, create new bonds and friendships, and try new things. Watch your child as they transition from babbling to speaking in full sentences. Give yourself and your kids that gift.
About Vanessa Kahlon
Vanessa Kahlon is the Founder & Executive Director of KFS SCHOOL and author of “How To Do Parenting With Confidence” and “Shut Up And Parent.” She hosts the "Parenting with Vanessa Kahlon" podcast where she empowers parents with strategies for dealing with their children's daily struggles. Vanessa has also taught for various groups and organizations across California – her specialty is professional development in behavior modification and management.
The story book that writes itself
Preserve family stories.
No writing required.
