Change in our lives, whether intentional or beyond our control, can be full of emotions. Whether it is a move to a new city, a new member of the family, the loss of a loved one, a divorce, a new school, all of these life changes can be challenging, especially for children. We don’t wake up on a Monday and plan for our lives to drastically change on a Tuesday. When these changes do occur, we have to take the time to address the emotions we feel about them.  Change isn’t easy. When I moved to Chicago I had to adapt to living on my own, in a big new city, all the while starting a new job and ..read more

Have you ever turned one of your ideas into a reality? For example, perhaps you imagined a new way your kitchen could be organized and you took the time to bring that vision to life. Children do this as well. They might build a structure with blocks and describe for you the castle they have imagined and brought to life. This is our creativity at work! Dr. Ross D. Anderson shared the following with the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning, “According to researcher Dr. Zorana Ivcevic, our creativity in both work and school settings is closely connected to our emotional int ..read more

A challenge that stands out to me from when I first started teaching is when I would patiently wait for my students to finish talking so I could read to them. We would all be sitting in a circle on the floor, criss-cross style, and I would have a book in my hands. Just as I would be able to hold up the cover for everyone to see, someone would start a conversation and just like a ball of yarn unraveling before my eyes, everyone would join in the chatter one-by-one. I had two options: the first was I could raise my voice to a level just above theirs to get their attention or second, I could sit ..read more

This time of year is a season full of abundant joy and busy preparation. It is important that we take time to be present with those we care about both at home and at school. We can create memories together that will last a lifetime, adventures we’ll cherish forever, and love that will always have a place in our hearts. Here are 5 activities that you can do with your students or family to celebrate the holidays: 1. Meals that bring us together No matter what holiday you are celebrating, there is always something special about the food prepared specifically for the day. This year, you can teac ..read more

Social emotional learning (SEL) encompasses five competencies: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, positive relationships, and responsible decision making. One way we can help kids develop these through social emotional skills is through books! Through relatable storytelling and illustrations, kids can begin to recognize their emotions, understand how to build positive relationships, and more. You can use these books to inspire SEL conversation. Kids will be more receptive to the conversation when they are calm rather than when they are feeling overwhelmed by their feelings. The ..read more

One of my favorite movies is A League of Their Own, the story of an American women’s baseball league formed during WWII. When the best player in the league decides to leave the team and tells the manager that baseball “got too hard,” he replies, “It’s supposed to be hard. If it was easy everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great.” When I think about resilience I think about that quote because resilience is what keeps us moving forward, climbing the mountain, and reaching for the stars when anything and everything else in life pushes back. Resilience is similar to perseverance but ..read more

What is responsible decision making? According to the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), responsible decision making is “the abilities to make caring and constructive choices about personal behavior and social interactions across diverse situations” (CASEL). The other four competencies of social emotional learning (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship skills) all help one’s ability to make responsible decisions such as with safety concerns and understanding the consequences of certain actions on oneself and others. Responsible dec ..read more

The positive relationships in our lives didn’t happen by accident. We developed relationship skills such as communication and teamwork, that have helped us to then build relationships with people who love us, inspire us, and help us to be better versions of ourselves. These relationships continue to grow by being nurtured with gratitude and empathy. What are relationship skills? The people we walk through life with, whether it be for a few moments or a lifetime, play a significant role in how we learn to build positive relationships. Relationships skills, as one of the core competencies of so ..read more

The holiday season is here and whether you are still enjoying falling leaves or are looking forward to falling snowflakes, it is a perfect time of year to model for our kids and students how to share more kindness with each other. Here are a few acts of kindness for both at home and the classroom that can be used during the holiday season and all year round! 1. Gratitude cards This time of year I find myself especially thankful for my family and friends who have loved, supported, and encouraged me throughout the year. When we sit down and reflect together, we’ll discover all the big things an ..read more

By exploring how our bodies communicate through poses and movements, we learn how emotions affect the body and vice versa. Body language can be defined as the conscious and unconscious movements and postures by which attitudes and feelings are communicated. For example, we know that we experience physiological reactions when we are angry and these reactions are often expressed through our body language. For our students, becoming aware of their body language is an essential step to learning self-management, and being aware of other people’s non verbal social cues will enhance their social-awar ..read more