The I AM Journal

Insights, reflections and real talk from Jason Alexander - here to help you show up for children, for your practice and for yourself.

 

The I AM Journal: Dinosaur Protocol

Jul 17, 2025

 

Let’s be honest, you can have the most carefully crafted strategies in the world, but if a child doesn’t feel seen, safe or understood, it’s like trying to build a house without a foundation.

 At I AM Education, we believe behaviour support doesn’t start with correction, it starts with connection. Sometimes, that connection begins with a dinosaur.

 

It might sound strange, but hear me out.

 

There was a child I worked with years ago who was completely obsessed with dinosaurs. Knew every name, every fact, every fossil. You could feel their whole body light up when they talked about them. And in a classroom where they often felt like the odd one out, that interest was their anchor. It was the one place they felt seen, strong and certain. So I met them there. Not with a chart. Not with a “calm down” script. I met them with dinosaurs.

 

And that’s where the Dinosaur Protocol was born.

 

It’s not a behaviour plan. It’s not a gimmick. It’s a way of saying to a child, I see you. Not just for your challenges, but for what lights you up. For the parts of you that are curious, joyful, passionate. When we meet a child in that space, on their terms, something powerful starts to happen. Trust begins to form.

The Dinosaur Protocol is simple. It’s about weaving connection into the everyday through the things that matter most to a child. It’s saying, “I’m paying attention to you, not just your behaviour.” Because that interest, that spark, is a bridge and when we cross it, we start to see the child behind the storm.

 

Sometimes that means talking triceratops before circle time. Sometimes it’s reminding a child mid-escalation that even T-Rex had to learn to self-regulate. And sometimes it’s just holding space for a moment that has nothing to do with lessons and everything to do with relationship.

The child who feels safe enough to share their world with you is the child who will eventually let you guide them through the hardest parts of it.

That’s the real work.

It doesn’t have to be dinosaurs. It can be trains, bugs, space, fairies, garbage trucks. The content doesn’t matter, the connection does.

 

But let me be real with you: this isn’t always easy. When things are escalating, when the noise is loud, when our own nervous system is frayed, it takes intention to lean in with curiosity instead of control. It takes practice to make connection the first move, not the fallback. It takes courage to keep choosing relationship when behaviour is begging us to react.

 

But every time we do? We teach the child something vital: You are worth knowing. You are more than your behaviour. You matter.

 

This is what makes the Dinosaur Protocol more than a fun tool. It’s a mindset shift. A commitment to seeing the whole child. A daily invitation to meet them in the story they’re living not the one we want to write for them.

 

Because when a child feels truly known, they’re more likely to walk with you, even through the hard parts.

 

Keep showing up.

Keep choosing connection.

Start with what they love.

And always remember:

 

May your stories hold your power.

Jason

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