Just yesterday, my granddaughter Anna came to me and said, “Let’s go for a bike ride.” While this is an activity that she always enjoys for its own sake, I could see that the suggestion was coming from a place of stress. Some bullying had been happening in her...
Even though Thanksgiving has passed, the importance of gratitude goes on. One thing we can be thankful for this holiday season is a COVID vaccine on the near horizon. While it won’t bring an instant return to normalcy – Dr. Fauci has said it may be mid-2021 at...
“Knowing just burdens my heart,” said my longtime friend, an elementary school teacher in eastern Oregon. “I have 26 other babies to take care of!” Over the years, I’ve heard many other teachers express the same sense of overwhelm. With all the demands placed on them...
When you’re an adult who’s stressed, you can articulate it. You have the language and experience to do so. For kids, it often gets expressed only with behavior. Sometimes that looks like defiance, acting out, causing trouble; other times, as withdrawal or even...
With the promise of summer break is in sight, you may find yourself already thinking of ways you can rejuvenate yourself, while also developing new skills and strategies for managing your stress once the next academic year begins. It’s one reason we often hear people...
Safety drills have long been a part of education here in the US – from the fire drills we’re all familiar with to those particular to a region, such as earthquake drills in California or tornado drills in Nebraska. And these days – for better and worse – we have...
