Teaching EQ, Not IQ
Some conversations, you never forget – like the one I once had with my brother-in-law David. “It’s really hard to find and hire good employees,” he said. And it wasn’t finding people with good work experience or smarts that was the problem. At that time, David was the...
We Need Each Other! Tips for Developing Community, Empathy, Mindfulness
One day, a group of children from the behavioral classroom came into my room VERY angry. As a group, they had been bullied on the way to an assembly, and their collective rage had come busting out. A frightened educational assistant brought them into my room and...
Helping High Schoolers with Mindfulness
How do you remember your high school years? If you’re like most, your memories are mixed. Some may be beautiful. Others? Not so good. Accomplishments. Hurt. Fun times. Feeling like an outsider. Pride. Pressure. Even in best cases, teenage years are hard. And today’s...
Creating a Culture of Movement: Fun Activities for Family Fitness
Hear that Americans tend to be physically inactive, and you wouldn’t bat an eye. Yet hearing just how much we’re not moving can be a bit of a shock. Consider the study published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. Measuring...
Loving Care & Community in the Classroom
Think back to your favorite school teacher. Elementary, middle, high school, college…doesn’t matter. Picture them. In your mind’s eye, see them in their classroom again. Remember the sound of their voice. Make the memory as vivid as you possibly can. Those teachers...
Mindfulness for Teachers
Ask a teacher what they think about their work. You’ll likely hear that it’s rewarding – and exhausting. For as a teacher, you’re constantly giving – your time, your knowledge, your care, your attention. You’re constantly doing for others. Add the increasing pressures...
Sharing Yoga Calm in Russia (and Around the Globe!)
Yoga Calm began in 2000 with one counselor in a rural Oregon elementary school – Lynea – striving to meet the needs of increasing numbers of students with extreme behavioral issues. Soon, we were teaching it to others in the Portland Metro area – a program that became...
Kids Need Freedom and Safety – How to Balance These Rivaling Needs?
Recently, I visited a friend’s 120 acre farm with our granddaughter. It was a beautiful day, and it was wonderful to see Anna run around outside with so much freedom and joy. But I have to admit that her freedom stirred some worry for me. The rope swing she was...
Focusing Fun for Summer
Just because school is ending for the year doesn’t mean that learning stops. Silent Ball, included in our Online Certification Bundle, is a fun game kids can play outdoors (or in) to develop executive function skills that are critical for learning and self-control....
Learning How to Handle – and Grow from – Disappointments
Disappointment happens. It’s how life goes. But try telling that to a child. Actually, don’t. It’s dismissive. It says, “Your feelings don’t matter.” And when you’re a kid, those feelings can feel very big. End-of-the-worldish. Challenging. More often, we’re tempted...
Help Your Kids Make the Shift from Sedentary to Active
You’ve probably seen more than one of those social media posts that compares childhood in the 1970s to childhood today – listicles like this one. And this. Most seem to focus on the apparent lack of concern for safety – why kids of the 70s “should all be dead,” as the...
How Do You Manage Screen Time When Media Has Become “Just Another Environment”?
“Five…four…three…” …swipe, tap, tap, swipe, swipe, tap… “…two…one!” The countdown – that old parental standby to garner compliance – was no longer working with our granddaughter Anna, smitten with our iPad and the wonders it can produce. We had set a strict time limit...