by Lynea Gillen | Feb 28, 2016 | ADHD, Behavior
When I first began working as a school counselor, I sometimes got frustrated with children who didn’t seem to apply the social/emotional lessons I taught them. “Why don’t they get it?” I asked my colleague Anne Bagwell, a counselor and an amazing mentor. “I explain... 
by Lynea Gillen | Feb 20, 2016 | Anxiety, Stress, Tips
Another year, another testing season…though now with some welcome (if long-overdue) gestures toward “right-sizing” testing, most notably the Every Student Succeeds Act. This legislation, wrote Laura Moser earlier this month on Slate, seriously dialed back the emphasis... 
by Lynea Gillen | Feb 13, 2016 | Mindfulness
There’s a simple reason you keep seeing more schools establishing mindfulness programs: They work. As Kim Rempel summed up in her 2012 review of the literature, The potential benefits of integrating mindfulness-based training into school settings are significant in... 
by Lynea Gillen | Feb 6, 2016 | Families
One day when our granddaughter Anna was feeling sick with a cold, she sang a little song that went like this. “When you’re sick, rest is best, rest is best.” She told us that if she rested, she would get well faster. Then came other songs – one about being a big help... 
by Lynea Gillen | Jan 30, 2016 | Breath work, Class Stories
We love hearing from people about how they’re using Yoga Calm with kids and the difference is makes! Most recently, we heard from Cynthia Wilson, a counselor at Fair Oaks Elementary in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, north of the Twin Cities. Last fall, the whole school did...