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SLOW CHAT on Mental Health Awareness for #rethink_learning

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SLOW CHAT on Mental Health Awareness for #rethink_learning

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Add any Positive Thoughts or Resources that Promote Mental Health Awareness - Thank you!

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lots of resources including Seven recommendations for teaching self-regulated learning & metacognition found at https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/tools/guidance-reports/metacognition-and-self-regulated-learning/

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Dr. Dan Seigel shows an effective hand model for parents and children to understand the brain (video)

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Dr Daniel Siegel presenting a Hand Model of the Brain

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In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, www.belouga.org created programming to discuss mental health

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New content added every day throughout May! Join the #SameHere Movement

A mental health awareness initiative bringing together the education community, for the community and by the community when we all need it the most.

Making a #DigCitIMPACT with Inclusive Learning

Moderator: Marialice BFX Curran Presenter: Jordyn Zimmerman, Shireen Hafeez, Joy Schwartz, David Pollard

Presented By The Digital Citizenship Institute

Our friends from The Digital Citizenship Institute are back with a LIVE panel discussion on inclusive learning and how educators worldwide can create learning environments for all student needs. Join this expert panel of educators, industry leaders and students to hear what inclusive learning means to them and how they are using inclusive learning as not a "nice to have" but a "must have" for all schools.

Live in

Imagination Running Wild

Ringbeller

It's time to get intergalactic with Ringbeller's Crumbaker and UNC, along with a few special guests, and dive into our imaginations. What is imagination? Where can it be found? Only one way to find out...
Start Series

Mandala Symmetry

PeaceLoveArt

Join Miss Kate as she discovers mandalas in nature, and how we can use these beautiful patterns to help strengthen our mental health.
Start Series

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Mental Health Month: The #SameHere Movement

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New content added every day throughout May! Join the #SameHere Movement A mental health awareness initiative bringing together the education community, for the community and by the community when we all need it the most.

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A free course starting June 15th to learning more about how trauma effects the brain and how to support students with trauma.

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This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.

Learn how to support students who have experienced complex trauma

Complex trauma affects the physical, emotional and social development of children and adolescents.

In order to minimise harm, teachers and school leaders need to respond appropriately using trauma-informed practices and policies.

In this course, you'll get an introduction to what complex trauma is and how it affects young people's development at school.

You'll understand the neuroscience behind the behaviours presented by students who have experienced complex trauma.

You'll learn how to apply trauma-informed strategies and policies that will minimise the risk to students and school staff.

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What topics will you cover?

Attachment and trauma theories

The neuroscience behind the behaviours presented by students who have experienced complex trauma

The impact on those who support students who have experienced complex trauma

Strategies for minimising the risk to students in classrooms and schools

The importance of applying trauma-informed practice and programs in schools

Who is this accredited by?

The CPD Certification Service:

The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

Describe what complex trauma is and how it affects children's and adolescents' development

Describe the neurobiological impact of complex trauma on children's and adolescents' behaviours at school

Identify trauma-informed practices that could minimise risk to school students who have experienced complex trauma

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for teaching staff and education leaders who want to improve their professional practice. It may also be of interest to health and social care workers.

For Australian educators, this course aligns with the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST):
* 1.1, 1.2, 1.5
* 3.3, 3.5
* 4.1, 4.3, 4.4
* 6

Learning on FutureLearn

Your learning, your rules

Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning

Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities

Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores

Join a global classroom

Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners

Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course

Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others

Map your progress

As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning

Whenever you're ready, mark each step as complete, you're in control

Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate

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Teaching Students with Complex Trauma - Online Course

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Get an introduction to what complex trauma is, how it affects children and adolescents, with this course from Queensland University of Technology.

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Helpful tips on how to support students when we return to school. COVID is having an impact on the mental health of our students and our communities.

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Once COVID-19 is over, we need to consider how to adjust our systems and teams to meet the needs of students, staff and families. This webinar includes system ideas for reintegration.

Available: Monday, May 11th

Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott & Dr. Jennifer Betters-Bubon

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Once COVID-19 is over, we need to consider how to adjust our systems and teams to meet the needs of students, staff and families. This webinar includes system ideas for reintegration. Available: Monday, May 11th Dr. Emily Goodman-Scott & Dr. Jennifer Betters-Bubon

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A resource round-up for promoting mental wellbeing.

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It's World Mental Health Day 2019;

imagine if every day were mental health day,

a day in which we breathe hope, speak hope, live hope?

At my new school, we've started Wellness Wednesday,

a weekly wellbeing check-in for our fifth-grade students.

It's based on an idea I saw in April from a high school teacher

who started it to get an emotional barometer on her students.

And it quickly became viral ... and a little controversial.

At question? The worry about whether we really want our

mental health status displayed so publicly.

One could argue that it's private because the names are on the back

(and I've seen some teachers use a numbering system),

but the kids will be able to watch whose PostIt is where.

All of that is true. But isn't that the point?

It's a way to get kids to talk about their wellbeing.

It's an accountability system,

so we can lift one another up,

get intentional about kindness.

Give one another permission to not be okay.

Because it's okay to not be at the top of our game every day.

In fact, it shows that we're human.

And I think it'll promote mental we alth.

At least I hope so.

For our younger learners, inspire mental wealth

by reading aloud titles like these and using them

as a springboard to validate feelings and help

our kids practice emotional regulation.

Kids also love emoting with puppets; during this brain break,

a second-grade friend is hosting a conversation about feelings

between Junior, the giraffe, and Lulu, the llama.

Need some self-care ideas for your family?

Check out this Facebook find;

if you know the source, please comment below

so that we can cite it and thank them!

Taking care of ourselves isn't a mental health guarantee,

but it's a really good start on our journey down

Need a few Mental Health resources for your character building?

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This blog is designed to showcase people and experiences that corner the market on character and make the world a better place. I hope that my stories will positively influence and inspire you to seek out similar elevating experiences that you can share with others.

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Picture Books Dealing with Mental Health Awareness

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Picture Books Dealing with Mental Health Awareness

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I have been working with Magination Press, Books for Kids From the American Psychological Association, to find appropriate picture books for read alouds and follow-up work. I am pleased with their selection and the quality of the books. (You can contact Jason H. Wells) for further information.

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Activities to teach kids about the brain

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Activities to teach kids about the brain

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how to talk to littles about their brain and metal health? here are some ideas

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by Karen Young

Knowledge is power. When children understand what's happening in the brain, it can be the first step to having the power to make choices. Knowledge can be equally powerful to parents too. Knowing how the brain works means we can also understand how to respond when our children need our help.

Sometimes our brains can become overwhelmed with feelings of fear, sadness or anger, and when this happens, it's confusing - especially to children. So giving children ways to make sense of what's happening in their brain is important. It's also helpful for children to have a vocabulary for their emotional experiences that others can understand. Think of it like a foreign language; if the other people in your family speak that language too, then it's easier to communicate with them.

So how do you start these conversations with your children, make it playful enough to keep them engaged, and simple enough for them to understand?

Here is how I teach children (and parents) how to understand the brain.

Introducing the brain house: the upstairs and the downstairs

I tell children that their brains are like a house, with an upstairs and a downstairs. This idea comes from Dr Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson's book 'The Whole Brain Child', and it's a really simple way to help kids to think about what's going on inside their head. I've taken this analogy one step further by talking about who lives in the house. I tell them stories about the characters who live upstairs, and the ones who live downstairs. Really, what I'm talking about are the functions of the neocortex (our thinking brain - the upstairs), and the limbic system (our feeling brain - the downstairs).

Who lives upstairs and who lives downstairs.

Typically, the upstairs characters are thinkers, problem solvers, planners, emotion regulators, creatives, flexible and empathic types. I give them names like Calming Carl, Problem Solving Pete, Creative Craig and Flexible Felix

The downstairs folk are the feelers. They are very focused on keeping us safe and making sure our needs are met. Our instinct for survival originates here. These characters look out for danger, sound the alarm and make sure we are ready to fight, run or hide when we are faced with a threat. Downstairs we've got characters like Alerting Allie, Frightened Fred, and Big Boss Bootsy.

It doesn't really matter what you call them, as long as you and your child know who (and what) you are talking about. You could have a go at coming up with your own names: try boys/girls names, animal names, cartoon names or completely make-up names. You might like to find characters from films or books they love, to find your unique shared language for these brain functions.

Flipping our lids: When 'downstairs' takes over.

Our brains work best when the upstairs and the downstairs work together. Imagine that the stairs connecting upstairs and downstairs are very busy with characters carrying messages up and down to each other. This is what helps us make good choices, make friends and get along with other people, come up with exciting games to play, calm ourselves down and get ourselves out of sticky situations.

Sometimes, in the downstairs brain, Alerting Allie spots some danger, Frightened Fred panics and before we know where we are, Big Boss Bootsy has sounded the alarm telling your body to be prepared for danger. Big Boss Bootsy is a bossy fellow, and he shouts 'the downstairs brain is taking over now. Upstairs gang can work properly again when we are out of danger'. The downstairs brain "flips the lid" (to borrow Dan Siegel's phrase) on the upstairs brain. This means that the stairs that normally allow the upstairs and downstairs to work together are no longer connected.

Sometimes, flipping our lids is the safest thing to do.

When everybody in the brain house is making noise, it's hard for anyone to be heard. Bootsy is keeping the upstairs brain quiet so the downstairs folk can get our body ready for the danger. Boots can signal other parts of our body that need to switch on (or off). He can make our heart beat faster so we are ready to run very fast, or our muscles ready to fight as hard as we can. He can also tell parts of our body to stay very very still so we can hide from the danger. Bootsy is doing this to keep us safe.

Try asking your child to imagine when these reactions would be safest. I often try to use examples that wouldn't actually happen (again so that children can imagine these ideas in a playful way without becoming too frightened by them). For example, what would your downstairs brain do if you met a dinosaur in the playground?

Everyone flips their lids.

Think of some examples to share with your child about how we can all flip our lids. Choose examples that aren't too stressful because if you make your kids feel too anxious they may flip their lids then and there!

Here's an example I might use: Remember when Mummy couldn't find the car keys and we were already late for school. Remember how I kept looking in the same place over and over again. That's because the downstairs brain had taken over, I had flipped my lid and the upstairs, thinking part of my brain, wasn't working properly.

When the downstairs brain gets it wrong.

There might be times when we flips our lids but really we still need the upstairs gang like Problem Solving Pete, and Calming Carl to help us.

We all flip our lids, but often children flip their lids more than adults. In children's brains, Big Boss Bootsy can get a bit over excited and press the panic button to trigger meltdowns and tantrums over very small things and that's because the upstairs part of your child's brain is still being built. In fact, it won't be finished being built until the mid twenties. Sometimes, when I want to emphasise this point, I ask kids this question:

Have you ever seen your Dad or Mum lay on the floor in the supermarket screaming that they want chocolate buttons?

They often giggle, and giggling is good because it means it's still playful, so they are still engaged and learning. I tell them parents actually like chocolate just as much as children, but adults have practiced getting Calming Carl and Problem Solving Pete to work with Big Boss Bootsy and can (sometimes) stop him from sounding the danger alarm when he doesn't need to. It does take practice and I remind children that their brains are still building and learning from experience.

From a shared language to emotional regulation

Once you've got all the characters in the brain house, you have a shared language that you can use to help your child learn how to regulate (manage) their emotions. For example, 'it looks like Big Boss Bootsy might be getting ready to sound the alarm, how about seeing if Calming Carl can send a message saying 'take some deep breaths' '' .

The language of the brain house also allows kids to talk more freely about their own mistakes, it's non judgemental, playful and can be talked about as being separate (psychologists also call this 'externalised') from them. Imagine how hard it might be to say 'I hit Jenny today at school' versus 'Big Boss Bootsy really flipped the lid today'. When I say this to parents, some worry that I'm giving children a 'get out clause' - 'can't they just blame Bootsy for their misbehaviour?'. Ultimately what this is about is enabling children to learn functional ways to manage big feelings, and some of that will happen from conversations about the things that went wrong. If children feel able to talk about their mistakes with you, then you have an opportunity to join your upstairs brain folk with theirs, and problem solve together. It doesn't mean they escape consequences or shirk responsibility. It means you can ask questions like 'do you think there is anything you could do to help Bootsy keep the lid on?'.

Knowing about the brain house also helps parents to think about how to respond when their child is flooded with fear, anger or sadness. Have you ever told you child to 'calm down' when they have flipped their lid? I have. Yet what we know about the brain house is Calming Carl lives upstairs and when Bootsy's flipped the lid, Calming Carl can't do much to help until the lid is back on. Your child may have gone beyond the point where they can help themselves to calm down. Sometimes, parents (teachers or carers) have to help kids to get their lids back on, and we can do this with empathy, patience and often taking a great deal of deep breaths ourselves!

Where to go from here?

Don't expect to move all the characters into the brain house and unpack on the same day; moving house takes time, and so does learning about brains. Start the conversation and revisit it. You might want to find creative ways to explore the brain house with your child. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

1. draw the brain house and all the characters

2. draw a picture of what it looks like in the house when the downstairs flips their lid

3. find a comic, cut out and stick characters into the downstairs and the upstairs

4. write stories about the adventures of the characters in the brain house

5. use a doll's house (or if you don't have a dolls house, two shoe boxes, one on top of the other works just as well) and fill it with the downstairs and upstairs characters.

If you find other creative ways to explore the brain house, I would love to hear about them. Make it fun, make it lively and kids won't even realise they are learning the foundations of emotional intelligence.

About the Author: Dr Hazel Harrison

Dr Hazel Harrison works as a clinical psychologist in the United Kingdom. She founded ThinkAvellana to bring psychology out of the clinic and into everyday life. Her website is www.thinkavellana.com and you can also follow her on Twitter at @thinkavellana and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/thinkavellana

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How to Teach Kids About the Brain: Laying Strong Foundations for Emotional Intelligence (by Dr Hazel Harrison) - Hey Sigmund

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When children understand what's happening in the brain, it can be the first step to having the power to make choices and build their emotional intelligence.

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child-led learning activities to promote mental wellbeing

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Addressing Race and Traumain the Classroom:A Resource for Educators

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Addressing Race and Traumain the Classroom:A Resource for Educators

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https://www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/addressing_race_and_trauma_in_the_classroom_educators.pdf

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amazing resources from Lindsay Braman, a mental health artist
https://www.instagram.com/lindsaybraman/

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19 Must-Read Books to Help Kids Understand Their Emotional and Mental Health

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19 Must-Read Books to Help Kids Understand Their Emotional and Mental Health

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https://thriveglobal.com/stories/19-must-read-books-to-help-kids-understand-their-emotional-and-mental-health/

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Help Guide for Emotional and Psychological Trauma

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Help Guide for Emotional and Psychological Trauma

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https://www.helpguide.org/articles/ptsd-trauma/coping-with-emotional-and-psychological-trauma.htm

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Curriculum for Primary, Intermediate and Secondary

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My Guide Inside ® MGI Comprehensive Curriculum

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My Guide Inside ® MGI Comprehensive Curriculum

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Office

Sebastopol, California 95472
U.S.A.

Email

info@toolboxproject.com

Phone

707-200-3617

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The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

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Months of the Year Song | Song for Kids | The Singing Walrus

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"kati morton" "borderline personality disorder" depression anxiety borderline wellbeing "coping skills" advice "mental health" "mental illness" "life hacks" "personal care" psychology therapist burnout "relationship advice" dbt cbt "dialectical behavior therapy" "cognitive behavioral therapy" healthcare bpd "highly sensitive person" self-help depressed

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I'm Kati Morton, a licensed therapist making Mental Health videos! JOURNALING CLUB Every Tuesday & Friday I post a journal prompt to help keep you motivated ...

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https://metiza.com/self-love/retrain-your-brain-the-art-of-neuroplasticity/

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The Singing Walrus - English Songs For Kids

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Days of the Week Song | The Singing Walrus