https://dottedeyepress.com/blog Writing on executive function, adolescent development, and the transition to high school. en-us Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/preparing-for-high-school-over-the-summer https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/preparing-for-high-school-over-the-summer Sat, 20 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT June is the actual window for preparing a rising 9th grader for high school — not because starting early is good, but because habits need time to become automatic and September doesn't give you that time. https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/summer-before-9th-grade https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/summer-before-9th-grade Fri, 12 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Rising 9th grade this fall? Here's what changes in September, why the summer window matters, and three specific skills worth building before school starts. https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/skills-nobody-stopped-teaching https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/skills-nobody-stopped-teaching Mon, 01 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why fine middle schoolers can't study, take notes, or sustain focus. The cause isn't motivation. It's missing infrastructure that used to form by accident. https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/what-high-school-expects https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/what-high-school-expects Sun, 24 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT Why fine middle schoolers fall apart in 9th grade, what 'operating your own academic system' actually requires, and why the skills used to get built by accident in an older environment. https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/executive-function-program-middle-schoolers-home https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/executive-function-program-middle-schoolers-home Sat, 18 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT A map of the four options families use to build executive function, which fits middle school, and what a serious home program has to do to actually work. https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/why-middle-schooler-wont-use-planner https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/why-middle-schooler-wont-use-planner Sat, 04 Apr 2026 00:00:00 GMT The planner is empty because your middle schooler does not yet have the skills the planner assumes. Here is what to stop doing and why. https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/is-it-normal-for-a-12-year-old-to-forget-everything https://dottedeyepress.com/blog/is-it-normal-for-a-12-year-old-to-forget-everything Sat, 21 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT Yes, it is developmentally normal. Here is what is happening in a twelve year old's brain, when forgetting is not just normal, and what actually helps.