By Guest Author, Jenny Woo “What are the most life-defining pieces of wisdom and memories that I could leave with my children and be in peace knowing that I have prepared them for life?” I’ve been pondering over this question nonstop. With the sudden passing of yet another friend, I felt the looming urgency to …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: "52 Essential Conversations" card game, embracing failure, embracing mistakes, Jenny Woo, Parents' Choice Award, Relationship skills, Self awareness, Self-management, skill building with kids, social and emotional games, Social and Emotional Learning, Social and Emotional Skills, Social awareness
Here’s are Two Simple Tools to Help You Get to Know Your Teachers or Parents! Maybe your children have started back-to-school and if they have not yet, it’s likely you are in the process of getting ready. Either way, over the coming weeks, families and schools will be focused on relationships. Introductions will be made. …
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names. – Chinese Proverb It’s been said that the sound of our own name can be magical. It’s often true and particularly so for a child. I remember the principal saying “Hello Jenny.” to me in the school hallway. And I was in awe. …
For Promoting Social and Emotional Skills in the Home or Classroom Mandy is having a tough day because each friend or relative she meets can’t play. But the narrator of this story asks good questions of Mandy to learn more. It turns out her friend got in trouble and wasn’t allowed to play. Another friend …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: "The Grit Up Series", Abbie Kelley, Care to repair, Empathy, negative self-talk, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-management, Social and Emotional Learning, Social and emotional skill building, Social awareness
“It is high time the ideal of success should be replaced by the ideal of service.” – Albert Einstein Most leaders acquire their power from the choice of their social group to elevate individuals to that level. However, parents, by the very nature of our roles, serve in a leadership position while we raise our …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: "The Power Paradox", Awareness, Communication skills, Empathy, Foresight, Listening for understanding, Listening skills, Parent reflection, parenting and leadership, Parents as servant leaders, power, Power and parenting, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Robert Greenleaf, Servant leaders, Servant leadership, Service
Check out this exceptional example of the use of social and emotional learning in high school from Edutopia (the George Lucas Educational Foundation). Though often early childhood and elementary school ages and stages are times we tend to focus on social and emotional learning, middle school, high school, and college-age students also require skill …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Edutopia, family connection, family mindfulness, High school social and emotional learning, mindfulness and teens, parenting high school students, parenting teenagers, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-management, Social and Emotional Learning, Social awareness
By Guest Writer, Ann Douglas Imagine how tough it must be to be a kid, trying to crack the code that is human emotion. Just when you think you’ve got everything all figured out, someone tosses you a curveball by reacting in a puzzling or unexpected way. Your mom is angry rather than happy about …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment, Modeling Social and Emotional Skills, Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: "Parenting through the Storm", Ann Douglas, Emotional awareness, Kids and emotions, Learning about emotions, learning about feelings, Parents helping kids with emotions, Relationship skills, Self awareness, surprising facts about emotions
The Universe is made of stories, not of atoms. – Muriel Rukeyser Rabbits and owls happen to be two of E’s favorite animals so when we read a story about a friendship between them, we were both eager for the tale. The good friends built their homes next door to one another but Owl couldn’t …
Category: Practicing Social and Emotional Skills Tags: Books with social and emotional themes, Children, Children's Literature and social and emotional learning, Discussion, Emotions, Friends, Making meaning, Mama Raccoon, Owl, Picture books, Rabbit, Reading with children, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-identity, Self-management, Social awareness, Story books
Check out this brand new (45 second) video introduction to Confident Parents, Confident Kids! I hope you will share it and help introduce others to this dialogue for parents on promoting kids’ social and emotional development. Together we can become confident parents raising confident kids!
: a union between people, groups or countries: a relationship in which people agree to work together.1 There will be numerous opportunities throughout a child’s academic years to practice engaging in an alliance. Individuals need not agree on interests or even like each other to form one. Alliances are often temporary and formed with a …
Category: Building a Positive Family Environment Tags: Alliance building, Collaboration, Collaborative problem solving, Parent coaching, Relationship skills, Responsible decision-making, Self awareness, Self-management, Social and emotional intelligence, Social awareness, Successful collaboration
