Book excerpt: When he rushes to get home after a tough evening of baseball, the last thing Braden wants to deal with is his parents on his case about not finishing every little thing on his list. But when his parents and teacher are able to show him it’s a pattern that extends far beyond skipping an occasional step, chore, or math problem, Braden starts to realize that he DOES need some help. With Mom showing Braden four steps to better self-monitoring, he starts to make progress – but of course it takes practice to get these skills down! How will Braden use the four steps to improve his own self-monitoring – and perhaps help others? Award-winning author, father, and school counselor Bryan Smith pens another teaching tale in the very popular Executive FUNction series, written for K-5 students and the adults in their lives.