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How to Foster Resilience in Infants and Toddlers: A Guide for Educators and Caregivers

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The foundation for resilience in infants and toddlers begins through everyday interactions with parents and other caregivers.

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View past webinars related to Social-Emotional learning, Resilience, Mindfulness, Self-Care, Executive Function, Trauma-Informed Care, and more.

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Scroll down to find the recordings, slides, and handouts from each session-
BUT, read this first!

In addition to their slides. presenters often provide additional resources that may include handouts, and links. The slides and handouts are posted by 8 am Eastern Time prior to the session, but only when made available by the presenter in time.
Recordings are posted within 24 to 48 hours after the session concludes.
Read this for information about how to get your Certificate+CEUs from the recording. The resources are listed in reverse order, with the most recent session listed first.

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Recordings, Slides and Handouts - Early Childhood Webinars

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Recordings, slides and handouts from every webinar presented on Early Childhood Investigations Webinars. Certificates are available for recorded webinars.

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Coworking office space, health coaching services, corporate wellness program development and wellness seminars, private and community yoga classes, meditation, and stress management programs. Corporate wellness. Stress management. Public speaker. Training and courses. Well-being. Purpose and joy. Diversity, equity and inclusion training. Bias training.

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gateways i-learning system: log in to the site

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This website is for non-commercial, personal use only. The material on this website (including without limitation the text, computer code, artwork, photographs, images, music, audio material, video material, and audio-visual material) may be subject to copyright law. Every effort has been made to receive copyright permission for articles, quotes, video clips, and translations from third party contributors and cite them correctly.

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This course was written by Karen Cairone, M.Ed., former Special Projects/Trainer for the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative. When those who work with young children begin to understand temperament, and differentiate between typical behaviors expected of children at certain developmental level versus behaviors that may require more focused interventions, the overall program quality is strengthened through this important knowledge and valuable practice.

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Healthy Social and Emotional Development vs. Challenging Behavior in Young Children | CCEI

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This course was written by Karen Cairone, M.Ed., former Special Projects/Trainer for the Devereux Early Childhood Initiative. When those who work with young children begin to understand temperament, and differentiate between typical behaviors expected of children at certain developmental level versus behaviors that may require more focused interventions, the overall program quality is strengthened through this important knowledge and valuable practice.

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Establishing Trauma Informed Practices in Early Learning Environments

Early care and education providers work with diverse groups of students from all walks of life. Statistics show that 26% percent of children living in America will experience some sort of trauma in their life before the age of four. This course introduces the concept of trauma in the lives of young children and focuses on ways to incorporate trauma-informed practices into the environment and interactions with children.

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Child Development & Learning Training Online | CCEI Course Catalog

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Early care and education providers work with diverse groups of students from all walks of life. Statistics show that 26% percent of children living in America will experience some sort of trauma in their life before the age of four.

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This course provides early childhood educators with a deeper understanding of the concept of growth mindset. The course discusses the importance of establishing a growth mindset approach to learning at a young age. Throughout the course, participants are presented with practical strategies they can implement immediately, and over the long term, that will support children as they form growth mindset beliefs and skills.

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Establishing Growth Mindset Practices in Early Learning Environments | CCEI

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This course provides early childhood educators with a deeper understanding of the concept of growth mindset. The course discusses the importance of establishing a growth mindset approach to learning at a young age. Throughout the course, participants are presented with practical strategies they can implement immediately, and over the long term, that will support children as they form growth mindset beliefs and skills.

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This course will explore how children experience grief and loss during the early years. Participants will explore recommended practices for helping children cope with the death of a loved one and other associated losses. Participants will learn how to be more culturally responsive to students and families who are grieving. Participants will discover the potential impact of supporting others in their grief and self-care strategies for teachers will be shared.

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This course will explore how children experience grief and loss during the early years. Participants will explore recommended practices for helping children cope with the death of a loved one and other associated losses. Participants will learn how to be more culturally responsive to students and families who are grieving.

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This course assists early childhood education staff in better understanding the effects of divorce on children. Participants will learn how they can positively impact the lives of children during this difficult time. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to define how both age and developmental stages can determine how children cope with divorce. They should also be able to list ways they can better meet the needs of children and families experiencing divorce and separation while allowing children to maintain positive feelings about themselves.

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This course assists early childhood education staff in better understanding the effects of divorce on children. Participants will learn how they can positively impact the lives of children during this difficult time. Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to define how both age and developmental stages can determine how children cope with divorce.

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In today's rapidly changing world, children face unique social and emotional challenges. Kids are experiencing greater pressures earlier in life, and feel more stress and anxiety than ever before.

What if their school day began with a few moments of quiet and stillness? Numerous studies have shown the many benefits of teaching mindfulness to children. Through mindfulness education, kids can develop a lifelong capacity for greater self-awareness, concentration, patience, and resilience.

Meanwhile, educators face pressures of their own. Many teachers understand the benefits of mindfulness, but they face time and budget constraints, making it challenging to bring mindfulness education to the classroom.

That's why we're launching The Calm Schools Initiative . We are offering every teacher in the world free access to Calm, the mindfulness app that hundreds of thousands of people all over the world use everyday. Our aim is to empower teachers with mindfulness tools and resources they can use to help kids learn this new skill.

Under this initiative, any teacher with a K-12 classroom, anywhere in the world, can get free access to Calm's paid subscription service (available on , and ). Teachers will have unlimited access to our growing library of guided meditations and mindfulness exercises, including , our programs tailored for age groups from pre-K through high school. Over the coming year, we will be steadily adding to our Calm Kids library, equipping teachers with an ever-expanding supply of content crafted for the unique needs of their students.

Our goal is to onboard 100,000 classrooms this year, improving the lives of over 1 million children .

So how to get started?

If you're a , just take 30 seconds to fill out the simple , and you'll be approved for The Calm Schools Initiative within a few days. Once you're approved, we'll send you some on-boarding resources to help you get started. We'll share tips, suggestions, and best practices to introduce mindfulness to your classroom and get your students excited about meditation.

If you're a or , forward this page to your teacher and let them know how important mindfulness education is to you.

If you're a journalist seeking to cover this story, get in touch at press@calm.com. We're eager to share our story.

At Calm, our mission is to make the world a happier and healthier place. We embarked on that mission 4 years ago by developing mindfulness tools and resources for adults. But nothing gets us more passionate than the opportunity to bring mindfulness to teachers and children all over the world. Our goal is to empower kids to thrive, not just survive.

Have a classroom? Tell us about yourself

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In today's rapidly changing world, children face unique social and emotional challenges. Kids are experiencing greater pressures earlier in life, and feel more stress and anxiety than ever before. What if their school day began with a few moments of quiet and stillness? Numerous studies have shown the many benefits of teaching mindfulness to children.

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Promoting Empathy and Other Prosocial Behaviors | CCEI

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This course examines recent social research into empathy and other prosocial behaviors, as well as recommended strategies and practices for guiding young children through the early phases of empathy's long developmental process.

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Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Impact on brain, body and behaviour

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My dad was a brain scientist and we discussed science at the dinner table.

This is why talking about the brain with my three-year-old feels natural for me.

My son, Anton, learned about the major parts of the brain when he was two ...

and it was FUN for him :-)

He was astounded because he understood:

why he got angry,

why it was hard to calm down,

and why he did strange things that he later regretted.

He understood how his brain functions AND what he could do about it.

This can be a huge thing for a kid.

Especially when they understand that it's not their fault that they do crazy things ... and that they can become less reactive-even at times when life pushes their buttons.

Explaining how mindfulness and the brain works can seem a daunting task, yet it can be one of the best ways to show how mindfulness works for us and how it helps our brain to function properly.

Now ... even if it's fun to hear a two-year-old say:

PRE-FRONTAL-CORTEX,

I figured out a simpler way to explain the brain to kids.

I renamed the relevant parts of the human brain like this:

The Amygdala = Amy

The Hippocampus = Hippo

The Pre-Frontal-Cortex = Tex

Sorry dad ;-)

And I made them into fun animal characters.

Hence the hippo, fox and gorilla.

BTW: If you are in a hurry, you can scroll down to the big infographic.
Keep reading and I'll explain:
1. The key players in our brains.
2. What they do for us.
3. How we can help them do a better job for us.

So that we get to decide how to respond in difficult situations ...
... instead of reacting based on emotions alone.

The human brain is pretty amazing :)

This is how I explained mindfulness and the brain to my son and how I often do it on our mindfulness courses.

The Smart Sheriff

The Pre-frontal cortex (or TEX for short) is a newer part of the brain that helps us deal with emotions and make wise decisions. ( 1)

She figures out stuff for you and helps you make good choices. She's there to stop you from doing crazy things, for your own good.

Tex is like a smart sheriff in your brain.

Tex helps us to deal with:
thoughts,
emotions,
and our actions in relation to our goals. ( 2)

She helps us plan and make good decisions. ( 3)

And she helps us with impulse control too, to overcome temptations. ( 4)

She's important and you want to take care of her.

How Tex helps us

When we experience a thought or an emotion, Tex asks:
"Will this help us to reach our goals?"
If the answer is no ... then Tex will stop you from acting. From doing crazy stuff.

If the answer is yes (as in this will help you reach your goals) ... then Tex will allow you to act.

This is how the prefrontal cortex or Tex does her work. Sort of like a sheriff in your brain. ( 5)

Now ... this how it works in real life.
Here's a question to you: Have you ever wanted to say something ... but you realized that saying it would only make things worse?
Has that happened to you?

I'm sure it has. And if you bit your tongue and managed to not escalate the situation ... then Tex was able to help you.

Yay, sheriff!
How about this: Have you ever felt really emotional and said something awful ... something you wished you could take back?
Of course you have. We all have.

Okay so ... at that time Tex was not able to help you.

Yikes!
But ... why not?
This happened most likely because another, older part of your brain called the Amygdala believed that the stress you were experiencing was a real threat to you.

The Amygdala didn't let Tex do her job!

The Jumpy Superhero

The Amygdala (Amy) is like a jumpy superhero who tries to protect you at all costs, but often mistakes stress for real threats ... and effectively stops Tex from doing her job.

Now why do we have something like this going on in our fancy brains?

What is this?

It's called ...

The fight flight freeze response

During a stress response, we disconnect from rational thinking.

We shift gears to an impulsive, reactive "fight, flight, freeze" mode.

We lose connection to some of our higher brain functions like:
self regulation, memory, and mental flexibility. ( 6)

We have a hard time ...
focusing,
remembering instructions (like conflict resolution skills),
controlling impulses,
and making good choices.
This is how evolution has wired our brains.
Our brains have evolved to react to danger and overwhelm this way.
WHY?
A long time ago when wild animals hunted us, our brains helped us survive by reacting automatically and instantly to danger.

This ancient part of our brains (the Amygdala) still sounds the alarm whenever it believes we are in imminent danger ... and when the alarm goes off our bodies prepare to FIGHT, BOLT OR FREEZE.
The alarm goes off when we face overwhelming or strong emotions like fear, anger and sadness.
Like for example:
when someone says something unkind to you, you get all upset and the Amygdala-the ancient part of your brain-believes you are in danger.
ALARM ALARM ALARM. We do crazy things when this happens:
A kid might say something cruel or unkind when they feel upset.

A kid might push another kid or a parent when they get angry.

A kid might freeze at school when overwhelmed.

A parent might yell at his kid.

(I know I have raised my voice ... and I hate it.)
It's really hard to make good choices or speak eloquently when your body forces you to fight, bolt, or freeze.
Right?

Right.

It's no wonder kids and grown-ups do crazy things when this happens.

And in a way it's really not the kids fault when it happens. Or yours!
But, how does all this relate to mindfulness practice?
This is the important part :-) This is how ...

According to several studies we can practice mindfulness to activate Tex ( 7) (the Prefrontal Cortex) and Hippo (the Hippocampus) ( Tang), and reduce activation in Amy (the Amygdala) (8). Research also suggests that mindfulness can help Tex and Hippo grow bigger ( 7) ( Tang).

While most studies on the neuroscience of mindfulness have been done on adults, preliminary research suggests that mindfulness might have similar effects on Tex, Amy and Hippo for children. ( 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)

In fact, some argue that mindfulness training is especially important for children, because the prefrontal cortex (Tex) doesn't reach full maturity until around age 25. Research suggests that Tex's development is strongly influenced by childhood experiences, and that mindfulness training might be an effective way to help Tex mature and do her job.

This way Tex & Hippo can help kids:
control their attention,
manage and respond to emotions and thoughts,
and control impulses.

So that they can better deal with difficult emotions and thoughts and ultimately make better decisions.

Mindfulness also soothes the Amygdala-the part of the brain that gets aroused reacting to emotions. (8) (14) And studies have shown that people who are more mindful have smaller amygdalas.

Research also suggests that mindfulness-based reductions in stress are linked with decreases in amygdala size ( 15).

To sum it all up, mindfulness helps us double-check "bottom-up" emotional reactions that come from Amy with "top-down" attention from Tex so that we can regulate our thoughts and behavior. And Hippo helps us store this information for later use. ( 16)

Pretty cool, right?

When we're mindful, we get to decide how we respond to life's challenges and we can make good choices more easily. ( 17, 18)

People often experience enhanced relaxation states as a result of mindfulness, even over the long-term. ( 19) From my own experience I can say that the more I practice mindfulness, the more I experience calm moments, even if I'm not actively trying to be mindful. Scientists call this experience-dependent neuroplasticity, which means that we can shape our brains by what we do and experience. When we train focusing and calming skills, then we can become more focused and calmer.
Have fun! I hope that you enjoyed this way of explaining mindfulness and the brain. P.S.
I'm super excited about this!! If you'd like to get notified when our "Brain Based Mindfulness Calm Down Kit with Amy, Tex and Hippo" is available then sign up below and I'll email you when it's done. It will help you explain the brain in a playful and engaging way with printable characters and offer activities that can be used immediately with kids to help them self-regulate; focus, feel better and calm down :-)

You can sign up below:
With gratitude and love,
Chris
Here's the infographic:
See also:
Liking the Music Stay Cool Game 5 Mindful Games
If you are new to mindfulness with children OR you want to make practice easy we recommend our online mindfulness courses.

Chris Bergstrom is the co-founder of BlissfulKids.com and a dad who is thrilled to practice mindfulness with his son. He is a certified mindfulness facilitator, and trained to teach mindfulness to students in K-12. He's also an executive consultant, and has taught meditation for more than 10 years.

Science links:

(1) Euston, D. R., Gruber, A. J., & McNaughton, B. L. (2012). The role of medial prefrontal cortex in memory and decision making. Neuron, 76(6), 1057-1070. LINK: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0896627312011087

(2) Asplund, C. L., Todd, J. J., Snyder, A. P., & Marois, R. (2010). A central role for the lateral prefrontal cortex in goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention. Nature neuroscience, 13(4), 507. LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2847024/

(3) Gläscher, J., Adolphs, R., Damasio, H., Bechara, A., Rudrauf, D., Calamia, M., ... & Tranel, D. (2012). Lesion mapping of cognitive control and value-based decision making in the prefrontal cortex. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 109(36), 14681-14686. LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22908286

(4) Boes, A. D., Bechara, A., Tranel, D., Anderson, S. W., Richman, L., & Nopoulos, P. (2008). Right ventromedial prefrontal cortex: a neuroanatomical correlate of impulse control in boys. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 4(1), 1-9. LINK: https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/4/1/1/1610357

(5) Miller, E. K., & Cohen, J. D. (2001). An integrative theory of prefrontal cortex function. Annual review of neuroscience, 24(1), 167-202. LINK: http://matt.colorado.edu/teaching/highcog/readings/mc1.pdf

(6) Shields, G. S., Sazma, M. A., & Yonelinas, A. P. (2016). The effects of acute stress on core executive functions: A meta-analysis and comparison with cortisol. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 68, 651-668. LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5003767/

(7) Tang, Y. Y., Hölzel, B. K., & Posner, M. I. (2015). The neuroscience of mindfulness meditation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 16(4), 213. LINK: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Britta_Holzel/publication/273774412_The_neuroscience_of_mindfulness_meditation/links/550ca4970cf27526109679f3/The-neuroscience-of-mindfulness-meditation.pdf

(8) Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 10(1), 83.

(9) Kaunhoven, R. J., & Dorjee, D. (2017). How does mindfulness modulate self-regulation in pre-adolescent children? An integrative neurocognitive review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 74, 163-184. LINK: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416304067

(10) Zelazo, P. D., & Lyons, K. E . (2012). The potential benefits of mindfulness training in early childhood: A developmental social cognitive neuroscience perspective. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 154-160. LINK: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kristen_Lyons/publication/263756839_The_Potential_Benefits_of_Mindfulness_Training_in_Early_Childhood_A_Developmental_Social_Cognitive_Neuroscience_Perspective/links/5c5b12f392851c48a9beb2b0/The-Potential-Benefits-of-Mindfulness-Training-in-Early-Childhood-A-Developmental-Social-Cognitive-Neuroscience-Perspective.pdf

(11) Sanger, K. L., & Dorjee, D. (2015). Mindfulness training for adolescents: A neurodevelopmental perspective on investigating modifications in attention and emotion regulation using event-related brain potentials. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 15(3), 696-711. LINK: https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13415-015-0354-7

(12) Friedel, S., Whittle, S. L., Vijayakumar, N., Simmons, J. G., Byrne, M. L., Schwartz, O. S., & Allen, N. B. (2015). Dispositional mindfulness is predicted by structural development of the insula during late adolescence. Developmental cognitive neuroscience, 14, 62-70. LINK: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929315000663

(13) Tang, Y. Y., Yang, L., Leve, L. D., & Harold, G. T. (2012). Improving executive function and its neurobiological mechanisms through a mindfulness‐based intervention: Advances within the field of developmental neuroscience. Child development perspectives, 6(4), 361-366. LINK: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4238887/

(14) Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163-169.

(15) Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Evans, K. C., Hoge, E. A., Dusek, J. A., Morgan, L., ... & Lazar, S. W. (2009). Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 5(1), 11-17. LINK: https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/5/1/11/1728269

(16) Kaunhoven, R. J., & Dorjee, D. (2017). How does mindfulness modulate self-regulation in pre-adolescent children? An integrative neurocognitive review. Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews, 74, 163-184. LINK: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763416304067

(17) Shapiro, S. L., Jazaieri, H., & Goldin, P. R. (2012). Mindfulness-based stress reduction effects on moral reasoning and decision making. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(6), 504-515. LINK: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17439760.2012.723732

(18) Ruedy, N. E., & Schweitzer, M. E. (2010). In the moment: The effect of mindfulness on ethical decision making. Journal of Business Ethics, 95(1), 73-87. LINK: https://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1221&context=oid_papers

1 Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2010). A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations. Psychological Medicine, 40(08), 1239-1252.

2 Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 10(1), 83.

Attention

Baijal, S., Jha, A. P., Kiyonaga, A., Singh, R., & Srinivasan, N. (2011). The influence of concentrative meditation training on the development of attention networks during early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 1-9.

Baijal, S., Jha, A. P., Kiyonaga, A., Singh, R., & Srinivasan, N. (2011). The influence of concentrative meditation training on the development of attention networks during early adolescence. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 1-9.

Napoli, M., Krech, P. R., & Holley, L. C. (2005). Mindfulness Training for Elementary School Students. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 21(1), 99-125.

Semple, R. J., Lee, J., Rosa, D., & Miller, L. F. (2010). A randomized trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children: promoting mindful attention to enhance social-emotional resiliency in children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 218-229.

Emotion regulation

Metz, S. M., Frank, J. L., Reibel, D., Cantrell, T., Sanders, R., & Broderick, P. C. (2013). The effectiveness of the learning to BREATHE program on adolescent emotion regulation. Research in Human Development, 10(3), 252-272.

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., & Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children: A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52-66.

Stress

Barnes, V. A., Davis, H. C., Murzynowski, J. B., & Treiber, F. A. (2004). Impact of meditation on resting and ambulatory blood pressure and heart rate in youth. Psychosomatic Medicine, 66(6), 909-914.

Mendelson, T., Greenberg, M. T., Dariotis, J. K., Gould, L. F., Rhoades, B. L., & Leaf, P. J. (2010). Feasibility and preliminary outcomes of a school-based mindfulness intervention for urban youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 38(7), 985-994.

Schonert-Reichl, K. A., Oberle, E., Lawlor, M. S., Abbott, D., Thomson, K., Oberlander, T. F., & Diamond, A. (2015). Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple-to-administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children: A randomized controlled trial. Developmental Psychology, 51(1), 52-66.

Sibinga, E. M. S., Webb, L., Ghazarian, S. R., & Ellen, J. M. (2016). School-Based Mindfulness Instruction: An RCT. Pediatrics, 137(1), 1-8.

Zenner, C., Herrnleben-Kurz, S., & Walach, H. (2014). Mindfulness-based interventions in schools-a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 5.

Amygdala

Lutz, A., Slagter, H. A., Dunne, J. D., & Davidson, R. J. (2008). Attention regulation and monitoring in meditation. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 12(4), 163-169.

Desbordes, G., Negi, L. T., Pace, T. W., Wallace, B. A., Raison, C. L., & Schwartz, E. L. (2012). Effects of mindful-attention and compassion meditation training on amygdala response to emotional stimuli in an ordinary, non-meditative state. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 6.

Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Evans, K. C., Hoge, E. A., Dusek, J. A., Morgan, L., ... Lazar, S. W. (2010). Stress reduction correlates with structural changes in the amygdala. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 5(1), 11-17.

Hippocampus

Goldin, P. R., & Gross, J. J. (2010). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on emotion regulation in social anxiety disorder. Emotion, 10(1), 83.

Hölzel, B. K., Carmody, J., Vangel, M., Congleton, C., Yerramsetti, S. M., Gard, T., & Lazar, S. W. (2011). Mindfulness practice leads to increases in regional brain gray matter density. Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging, 191(1), 36-43.

Prefrontal Cortex

Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2010). A systematic review of neurobiological and clinical features of mindfulness meditations. Psychological Medicine, 40(08), 1239-1252.

More sources:

Mindful Schools - http://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research/
Mindup Curriculum - https://mindup.org/
https://goamra.org/tag/executive-function/
http://www.calstat.org/publications/article_detail.php?a_id=146&nl_id=25
Healing the Angry Brain - http://www.academia.edu/5660269/Healing_the_Angry_Brain
Neurobiology Essentials for Clinicians: What Every Therapist Needs to Know - Montgomery, A. (2013).
The Whole Brain Child, Dan Siegel - http://www.amazon.com/Whole-Brain-Child-Revolutionary-Strategies-Developing/dp/0553386697/

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Mindfulness And The Brain Made Easy - Blissful Kids

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See how mindfulness works and how it helps our brains to do a better job. Check the fun infographic and explain mindfulness and the brain to kids.

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Character Education in the School-Age Child Care Environment | CCEI

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This course explores the importance of character education in schools and out-of-school programs, focusing on environments for school-age children and adolescents.

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How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime | Nadine Burke Harris | TED

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This course provides participants with an understanding of their role in supporting mindfulness practices in the early childhood environment. The course explores the need for these calming and reflective approaches when working with young children. Participants will discover ways to plan for mindfulness throughout each day and arrange the early childhood classroom to support this approach.

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The Value of Mindfulness in Early Childhood Settings | CCEI

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This course provides participants with an understanding of their role in supporting mindfulness practices in the early childhood environment. The course explores the need for these calming and reflective approaches when working with young children. Participants will discover ways to plan for mindfulness throughout each day and arrange the early childhood classroom to support this approach.

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This course explores the developmental impacts of different types of family trauma, from parent incarceration, family separation and military deployment, to domestic violence, addiction, and loss of a loved one. Participants will learn ways, based on current brain research, to structure support for children and families who have experienced trauma. Specific classroom strategies and parent resources are also provided.

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Supporting Children and Families Who Have Experienced Trauma | CCEI

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This course explores the developmental impacts of different types of family trauma, from parent incarceration, family separation and military deployment, to domestic violence, addiction, and loss of a loved one. Participants will learn ways, based on current brain research, to structure support for children and families who have experienced trauma.

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Southern Illinois Coalition for Children and Families

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Southern Illinois Coalition for Children & Families

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Engaging Families & Communities for Stronger Beginnings

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Join the web's most supportive community of creators and get high-quality tools for hosting, sharing, and streaming videos in gorgeous HD and 4K with no ads.

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As an educator, you're constantly navigating changes and challenges. From dealing with sudden schedule shifts to managing student behavior, you have a lot to juggle each day. On top of it all, you're trying to keep up with the needs of your students and your own life.

It's understandable if you feel overwhelmed. You may be looking for ideas on how to practice self-care - or how to find time to practice self-care. To help with this, we asked our Understood Teacher Fellows to share ways they take care of themselves.

Here are five ideas for practicing self-care as a teacher.

1. Set and maintain boundaries.

From planning lessons to calling families, teachers often take their work home with them. But it's important to schedule your day to include an actual end time, as well as time for breaks and self-care practices.

Students often use graphic organizers and visual schedules to organize information. Those same tools can help you process your thoughts and prioritize tasks - whether in the classroom or at home.

For example, when-then sentences can help you set and maintain boundaries. You might write, " When I finish writing the class newsletter, then I take a short walk." Post your when-then sentences near your work station as a visual reminder of your self-care commitments.

Shira Moskovitz, a fifth-grade special education inclusion teacher in Sunnyside, New York, has a suggestion for setting boundaries: "Schedule time for meals, and actually turn off the computer during that time."

2. Acknowledge moments of gratitude or joy.

Look for moments of joy and connection and hold on to them. Try writing down humorous moments, something that made you smile, or something you're thankful for.

You can write these moments in a journal or jot them down on a note on your desk. You can also share these moments with your students and ask them to share their own.

3. Reflect on your feelings and needs.

It's important to recognize and name your emotions. When you're aware of a new feeling, take a moment to reflect:

Name the feeling and why you may be feeling that way.

Think about what you might need at that moment and in the future.

For example, you might say, "I'm feeling overwhelmed because there's a lot of information about new technology my school is using. I need a five-minute break. Then, I need to write down my questions and identify a person on my team to problem-solve with."

You also may want to schedule a time in your day to reflect on your emotions and needs. Journaling, art, music, and other creative outlets can help you process how you're feeling.

"Take time for yourself each day to do something that is not technology-related," says Stephanie Doyle, a third-grade language arts teacher in Roanoke, Virginia. "Take a walk, sit outside, read your favorite book, go on a hike, exercise, or just hang out with your family doing something enjoyable."

4. Recognize what is and isn't in your control.

With a rapidly changing world, it can seem like there are more questions than answers. This can cause worry and anxiety. One way to gain perspective is to recognize what is within your control and what isn't.

For example, you might worry about how being exposed to stressful or bad news affects your students' learning. Consider making a simple T-Chart to write down what is and isn't in your control: One thing in your control is the ability to provide your students with a sense of security through classroom routines. One thing outside of your control is how much news kids are exposed to outside of school.

5. Use self-care routines throughout your day.

Starting and ending your day with self-care practices can be very helpful. Consider starting your day with a guided meditation and ending your day with gentle stretches.

And throughout the day, aim for small moments of self-care: Stop to reflect on your feelings when you're upset. Pay attention to self-talk. Can you talk to yourself the way you would talk to a friend? Remind yourself what is in your control when you're anxious.

Looking for more self-care strategies to get started?

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Practicing self-care: 5 tips for teachers

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Learn five self-care routines for teachers. Get tips for how to practice self-care during busy teaching days.

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Building Social and Emotional Competence | CCEI

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This course explores how social and emotional skills develop over time and ways that ECE professionals can use their understanding of this development to create an environment that supports children's individual needs.

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John A. Logan College Child Care Resource and Referral

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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InBrief: Executive Function: Skills for Life and Learning

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These would be great to share with staff or families.

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This course helps participants understand what resilience is and how it helps children work through difficult and traumatic events in their lives. The course focuses on the role of the early care and education professional in developing a program that promotes resilience. The course explores a wide range of activities and practices suited for infants through school age children.

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Building Resilience in Young Children | CCEI

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This course helps participants understand what resilience is and how it helps children work through difficult and traumatic events in their lives. The course focuses on the role of the early care and education professional in developing a program that promotes resilience.

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Getting to All Means All: Helping Students in Poverty Succeed in School

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What’s Executive Function—and Why Does It Matter?

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The skills that make up executive function are better predictors of success than test scores, IQ, or socioeconomic status.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Science tells us that the foundations of sound mental health are built early in life. Early experiences-including children's relationships with parents, caregivers, relatives, teachers, and peers-interact with genes to shape the architecture of the developing brain. Disruptions in this developmental process can impair a child's capacities for learning and relating to others, with lifelong implications.

This edition of the InBrief series explains how improving children's environments of relationships and experiences early in life can prevent initial difficulties from destabilizing later development and mental health. The 5-minute video provides an overview of Establishing a Level Foundation for Life: Mental Health Begins in Early Childhood, a working paper by the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child.

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Caring for Children's Mental Health: Why It's Crucial to Start Early

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Science tells us that the foundations of sound mental health are built early in life. Early experiences-including children's relationships with parents, caregivers, relatives, teachers, and peers-interact with genes to shape the architecture of the developing brain. Disruptions in this developmental process can impair a child's capacities for learning and relating to others, with lifelong implications.

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Finding ways to process the challenges of this year will be critical for teachers.

Educators this year are faced with a multitude of decisions and reflexive reactions as schools and communities try to create the safest plans for the return to school, and the chronic unpredictability of this situation wears on our nervous systems.

Why is this? Our brains and bodies are being flooded with millions of bits of sensory information every day, but with an increase of anxiety and worry, these sensations can trigger our stress response systems, causing our bodies and brains to move into a survival state where we find ourselves feeling chronically unsafe, dysregulated, and stressed.

These feelings can show up in the body as tightness, tense muscles, headaches, nausea, rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, or a variety of other sensations. If we do not metabolize and process how we are experiencing these sensations and emotions, our immune systems can become compromised and we find ourselves living day after day in a fight, flight, or freeze response. Unprocessed negative emotions can be expressed in our bodies, and we can feel a knot in our stomach or a lump in our throat, or we may become choked up and teary. We may feel hot and sweaty, or experience a pounding in our ears or heads.

When we're aware of these sensations and feelings, we can begin to address our mental and physical well-being. Below are practices and strategies that address nervous system regulation and can be implemented in just a minute or two each day.

A calm brain can calm another brain. When we find our inner balance and feel grounded, we're able to share this with our students and colleagues. Emotions, negative or positive, are contagious, and when we prioritize the health of our nervous systems, we can share that health and well-being with all those around us.

5 Simple Ways to Find Calm

1. Take some belly breaths: A few long, deep belly breaths coupled with calming sounds provide rhythmic healing to a worn-out nervous system. Before you go to sleep or first thing when you awaken, step outside and just listen to the night or morning sounds. Sit comfortably, and for two or three minutes take a few deep breaths, exhaling a few seconds longer than you inhale. Listen to the rhythm of the crickets, katydids, or morning birds.

2. Try a yoga pose: There is growing research on the benefits of certain yoga poses to relieve anxiety and calm the nervous system. One of the most powerful ways to feel immediate relief from the overwhelming sensations of the day is to lie on your back with your legs straight up at a 90-degree angle against a wall. You can place a pillow under your head, but with your legs elevated, take a few minutes and breathe all the way down to your belly, feeling it rise and fall with each inhale and exhale. This pose produces a release of anxiety in the body.

3. Talk to yourself: Talking out loud to yourself, especially in the third person, can be extremely helpful in stressful moments. If you're by yourself, say what you need to say about a problem and then talk about options or outcomes. Validate and soothe yourself. If you're not alone, take a minute to write down your concerns and challenges until you can speak them aloud later. Try adding soothing and comforting words you need to hear, and say those out loud whenever you need them.

4. Control what you can control: When we're feeling anxious, overwhelmed, and worried, we can lose perspective on what is realistic and in our control, so it can be helpful to create a short list of the experiences, events, or situations that we can control and those we cannot. Sometimes when we're feeling dysregulated, we forget to pause, step back, and try to find a deeper perspective. As educators, we tend to want to fix problems, soothe troubled student feelings, and quickly find a solution. Often, we need to let go and observe, allowing the experience to unfold. Follow the quiet. Allow the quiet of contemplation to enter, and to leave when its work is completed.

5. Hum or sing: Humming and singing activate the vagus nerve, a critical nerve that flows from the brain stem throughout most of our body. It is associated with functions of the body that are automatic, like swallowing, digesting, and the heart's beating, and it relays signals to the brain that all is well or not. Activating this nerve basically tells your brain that you are calm and relaxed, while stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system to slow your heart rate and respiration and lower your blood pressure.

Our voice box is connected to the vagus nerve, so when we hum or sing, we activate this nerve and initiate a calm nervous system response in the brain and body. The music choices below are ones that I associate with a calm, pleasant emotional experience as I hum or sing along:

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5 Simple Ways to Manage Stress This Year

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Finding ways to process the challenges of this year will be critical for teachers. Educators this year are faced with a multitude of decisions and reflexive reactions as schools and communities try to create the safest plans for the return to school, and the chronic unpredictability of this situation wears on our nervous systems. Why is this?

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Many early childhood educators are likely to encounter young children who have experienced trauma on a daily basis.

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Are you struggling with Children with big emotions. . . Overwhelmed administrators. . . Teachers burning out. . . Students feeling unsafe. . . Teachers

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This course provides an examination of what it means to reflect on daily teaching practices and why it is an important practice. The course offers several models of reflection and reflective thinking strategies to help ECE professionals establish a reflective practice. Participants will also discover ways to plan for reflection when working with colleagues, children, and families.

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Reflective Practices in Early Childhood Education | CCEI

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This course provides an examination of what it means to reflect on daily teaching practices and why it is an important practice. The course offers several models of reflection and reflective thinking strategies to help ECE professionals establish a reflective practice. Participants will also discover ways to plan for reflection when working with colleagues, children, and families.

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SPRINGFIELD - Today, Gov. JB Pritzker held a news conference in Chicago in which he announced a proposal he will introduce to the state legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to give local law enforcement and public health departments more options when trying to enforce mandates on face coverings...

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SPRINGFIELD - Today, Gov. JB Pritzker held a news conference in Chicago in which he announced a proposal he will introduce to the state legislature's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules to give local law enforcement and public health departments more options when trying to enforce mandates on face coverings...

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Dr Daniel Siegel presenting a Hand Model of the Brain

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Recognize the signs of child traumatic stress with the informative infographic developed by SAMHSA's National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCSTI).

Download the Understanding Child Trauma infographics:

Understanding Child Trauma

Child trauma occurs more than you think.

More than two thirds of children reported at least 1 traumatic event by age 16. Potentially traumatic events include:

Psychological, physical, or sexual abuse

Community or school violence

Witnessing or experiencing domestic violence

National disasters or terrorism

Commercial sexual exploitation

Sudden or violent loss of a loved one

Refugee or war experiences

Military family-related stressors (e.g., deployment, parental loss or injury)

Physical or sexual assault

Neglect

Serious accidents or life-threatening illness

The national average of child abuse and neglect victims in 2015 was 683,000, or 9.2 victims per 1,000 children.

Each year, the number of youth requiring hospital treatment for physical assault-related injuries would fill every seat in 9 stadiums.

1 in 4 high school students was in at least 1 physical fight.

1 in 5 high school students was bullied at school; 1 in 6 experienced cyberbullying.

19% of injured and 12% of physically ill youth have post-traumatic stress disorder.

More than half of U.S. families have been affected by some type of disaster (54%).
It's important to recognize the signs of traumatic stress and its short- and long-term impact.
The signs of traumatic stress may be different in each child. Young children may react differently than older children.

Preschool Children

Fear being separated from their parent/caregiver

Cry or scream a lot

Eat poorly or lose weight

Have nightmares

Elementary School Children

Become anxious or fearful

Feel guilt or shame

Have a hard time concentrating

Have difficulty sleeping

Middle and High School Children

Feel depressed or alone

Develop eating disorders or self-harming behaviors

Begin abusing alcohol or drugs

Become involved in risky sexual behavior

The Body's Alarm System

Everyone has an alarm system in their body that is designed to keep them safe from harm. When activated, this tool prepares the body to fight or run away. The alarm can be activated at any perceived sign of trouble and leave kids feeling scared, angry, irritable, or even withdrawn.

Healthy Steps Kids Can Take to Respond to the Alarm

Recognize what activates the alarm and how their body reacts

Decide whether there is real trouble and seek help from a trusted adult

Practice deep breathing and other relaxation methods

Impact of Trauma

The impact of child traumatic stress can last well beyond childhood. In fact, research has shown that child trauma survivors may experience:

Learning problems, including lower grades and more suspensions and expulsions

Increased use of health and mental health services

Increase involvement with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems

Long-term health problems (e.g., diabetes and heart disease)

Trauma is a risk factor for nearly all behavioral health and substance use disorders.
There is hope. Children can and do recover from traumatic events, and you can play an important role in their recovery.
A critical part of children's recovery is having a supportive caregiving system, access to effective treatments, and service systems that are trauma informed.

Get Help Now
SAMHSA Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator The National Child Traumatic Stress Network: Get Help Now Healthcare Toolbox: Basics of Trauma-Informed Care
Not all children experience child traumatic stress after experiencing a traumatic event. With support, many children are able to recover and thrive.

As a caring adult and/or family member, you play an important role.

Remember To:

Assure the child that he or she is safe.

Explain that he or she is not responsible. Children often blame themselves for events that are completely out of their control.

Be patient. Some children will recover quickly while others recover more slowly. Reassure them that they do not need to feel guilty or bad about any feelings or thoughts.

Seek the help of a trained professional. When needed, a mental health professional trained in evidence-based trauma treatment can help children and families cope and move toward recovery. Ask your pediatrician, family physician, school counselor, or clergy member for a referral.

Visit the following websites for more information:

SAMHSA's mission is to reduce the impact of substance abuse and mental illness on America's communities.

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Recognize the signs of child traumatic stress with the informative infographic developed by SAMHSA's National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative (NCSTI). Download the Understanding Child Trauma infographics: Child trauma occurs more than you think. More than two thirds of children reported at least 1 traumatic event by age 16.

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Integrating education, health, and community to support the whole child.

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Practicing Resilience for Self-Care & Healing

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Please Cite as: Cook-Cottone, C. P., & Guyker, W. M. (2018). The development and validation of the Mindful Self-Care Scale (MSCS): An assessment of practices that support positive embodiment. Mindfulness, 9(1) 161-175.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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5 Steps for Brain-Building Serve and Return

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Promoting Play. Defending Childhood. Empowering Caregivers.

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We work to slow the rush through childhood.

In addition to the loss of play in their daily lives, children are over-scheduled, pushed towards formal academics before they are developmentally ready, and generally hurried through their childhoods. It's as if the job of two-year-olds is to zip to being three, and the jobs of three-year-olds is to rush on to being four. It's developmentally inappropriate, unethical, and immoral. The trainings offered on this site and our collection of early learning resources at Playvolution HQ are intended to help slow that rush.

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Explorations Early Learning is dedicated to educating and supporting early learning professionals. You'll find a growing selection of both live and on-demand on-line sessions as well as information on booking live trainings. While this site focuses on trainings, much of our work is done on our Playvolution HQ site where we create and curate early learning information and resources for parents, caregivers, and advocates.

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Exclusionary discipline refers to common practices in early childhood education, such as removing children from their classrooms, sending them home from school early, suspension, and expulsion. This course will explore the harmful nature of these practices and explore how exclusionary discipline impacts different populations of students. The course will also identify strategies early childhood professionals can take to reduce the incidence of exclusionary discipline within early learning environments.

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Reducing Exclusionary Discipline in Early Childhood Education | CCEI

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Exclusionary discipline refers to common practices in early childhood education, such as removing children from their classrooms, sending them home from school early, suspension, and expulsion. This course will explore the harmful nature of these practices and explore how exclusionary discipline impacts different populations of students.

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Consortium for Educational Change - transforms schools and districts by building collaborative relationships between unions, school administrators, and school boards, and through full-service consulting that builds capacity for long-term change at every level of the school system.

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transforms schools and districts by building collaborative relationships between unions, school administrators, and school boards, and through full-service consulting that builds capacity for long-term change at every level of the school system.

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Executive Function, ADHD & 2e with Seth Perler

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What is EXECUTIVE FUNCTION, in Plain English, (a quick version)

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Today 10/10 is World Mental Health Day! If we want to change the world we have to change how it works! Now more than ever is the time for connection, kindness, and action. We are all in this together and together #WeHealUS ! #menatlhealth #mentalhealthawareness #bekind #connectedworld #changetheworld Film Directed by Laurent Witz (director & producer of Mr Hublot Short movie) Read More...

Hello Friends, I am wondering if any of you can direct me to curriculum for trauma-infomred parenting classes. I have received a number of requests and I cannot find anything online. I know in my home state of Wisconsin that type of training was going on via the Wisconsin Trauma Project, but the fuding for that ended along with the classes. Thanks in advance for any assistance you can provide. Scott Webb Read More...

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Today 10/10 is World Mental Health Day! If we want to change the world we have to change how it works! Now more than ever is the time for connection, kindness, and action. We are all in this together and together #WeHealUS !

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Southland Education and Health Initiative - Part One: An Introduction

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"Just Breathe" by Julie Bayer Salzman & Josh Salzman (Wavecrest Films)

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Understanding Trauma: Learning Brain vs Survival Brain

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University

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Hear stories of the good work happening all over the country and sign up for their newsletter.

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Insomnia is relatively common in several individuals within the United States of America. The disorder is known to cause individuals lack of quality sleep practices, resulting in paramount health concerns. According to Colombo (2023), the average individual should receive approximately 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night. An individual with insomnia receives approximately one-third of the average amount of sleep per night (Colombo, 2023). There are several factors that contribute to deficiences...

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Insomnia is relatively common in several individuals within the United States of America. The disorder is known to cause individuals lack of quality sleep practices, resulting in paramount health concerns. According to Colombo (2023), the average individual should receive approximately 7 to 8 hours of sleep per night.

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Emergencies and natural disasters can happen suddenly with little or no warning. This course provides essential information on recommended practices and strategies and other important resources to help guide the process of planning to survive and recover from disasters, emergencies, and other types of potentially traumatic events.

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Coping With Crises and Traumatic Events | CCEI

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Emergencies and natural disasters can happen suddenly with little or no warning. This course provides essential information on recommended practices and strategies and other important resources to help guide the process of planning to survive and recover from disasters, emergencies, and other types of potentially traumatic events.

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The Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools

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Welcome to the AIRSS (Association of Illinois Rural and Small Schools) web page.

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What is Early Childhood Development? A Guide to Brain Development

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Healthy development in the early years (particularly birth to three) provides the building blocks for educational achievement, economic productivity, responsible citizenship, lifelong health, strong communities, and successful parenting of the next generation. What can we do during this incredibly important period to ensure that children have a strong foundation for future development?

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Betsy Andersen

"I could see him trailing off and then he started crying," says Andersen, who lives in Mundelein, Illinois. But before she swooped in, she heard Miss Eileen talking to him: "She was saying 'Hey, I see you're having some big emotions." Speaking through the puppet, Miss Eileen then led Ezra through some breathing exercises that helped him calm down and focus.

Andersen, like parents all over the country during the pandemic, has been looking for ways to fill the void left for her son and his sister while they're shuttered inside, isolated and dealing with all kinds of feelings they don't understand.

"I'm not taking my kids to the store or anywhere. They're really lonely," says Andersen, who is trying to keep them active and engaged while doing contract work as a graphic designer. The lack of a fixed schedule is also tough for her son, who gets additional help online for various emotional and developmental issues, though not as much as he received in person at school.

In fact, the facilitators on the Zoom call are particularly adept at working with children and families around times of profound traumatic stress. They're trained in a specialty known as Child Life, which works with families on the grief, fear, and anxiety that children often experience while receiving medical care for serious illnesses or injuries. While Child Life specialists typically work in hospitals, some are pivoting into other areas and are now applying their skills to the fallout from the pandemic. Some have also been coming up with suggestions for ways to help children process feelings about frightful events captured in the news, such as the killing of George Floyd.

Among those who have branched out is Miss Eileen, aka Eileen Esposito, a Child Life specialist in Tampa, Florida, who helped develop the group sessions that Andersen's children attended, called Coping through Connection. Esposito and her colleagues are part of an organization that had already stepped outside traditional medical settings, the Child Life Disaster Relief organization (CLDR), which operates virtually and includes 18 contract Child life specialists around the country.

The group was formed in 2016 to help mitigate trauma in children who have experienced disasters and crises. It also partners with organizations who are deployed to disasters, such as Children's Disaster Services. It worked with children who lived through the devastating massacre at a country-and-western concert in Las Vegas in 2017, and with children and families who survived Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas in 2019 and Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017.

Much of their work involves child-led play, says Katie Nees, one of CLDR's founders who lives in Cincinnati, Ohio. She recalls an experience working with children in a homeless shelter in Moore, Oklahoma, in 2013, which predates CLDR, but is instructive. Using cardboard boxes, magic markers, crayons and tape, the kids in Oklahoma built their own houses and networked with each other.

Katie Nees

"They'd say things like, 'You're my neighbor, you're my neighbor, if anything happens, we'll stick together,'" says Nees. "After a couple days, they had a moment of high energy and ran around making lots of noise. They ended up ripping the houses to shreds," she says, adding that the scene mirrored the reality of what was visible just outside.

After the demolition, the kids asked for time to sit and be calm, and Nees brought them snacks and drinks.

"We all sat together and [absorbed this feeling] of safety of the moment," she recalls. "Watching them play out that entire situation the way they did it as a collaborative effort and then at the end just making time for safety and calm, was incredible. I've never seen anything like it." (Here are some resources from CLDR.)

A turning point for Nees, who has worked in hospitals as a Child Life specialist since 2010, was when she came to understand how clearly the work of Child Life specialists was grounded in ACEs science.

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"I could see him trailing off and then he started crying," says Andersen, who lives in Mundelein, Illinois. But before she swooped in, she heard Miss Eileen talking to him: "She was saying 'Hey, I see you're having some big emotions."

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Part Two: A Journey Towards Trauma-Informed Schools

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To develop your self-care plan, you will identify what you value and need as part of your day-to-day life ( maintenance self-care) and the strategies you can employ when or if you face a crisis along the way ( emergency self-care).

There is no "one-size-fits-all" self-care plan, but there is a common thread to all self-care plans: making a commitment to attend to all the domains of your life, including your physical and psychological health, emotional and spiritual needs, and relationships.

Steps to guide you...

Don't be overwhelmed by the steps in this process! They are simple and straightforward and will help to guide you on your path.

1. How do you cope now?

Identify what you do now to manage the stress in your life. The Lifestyle Behaviors (pdf) ( Transcript of Lifestyle Behaviors) ("Is your life causing you stress?") assessment can help you to identify the coping strategies you currently use and whether they are likely to be good (or not so good) for your well-being.

Decreasing or eliminating at least one "negative" coping strategy can be one of the goals of your maintenance self-care; employing more "positive" strategies can be another.

2. What do you do for self-care now?

The Self-Care Assessment (pdf) will help you highlight the good things you are already doing for yourself and whether there is an imbalance in the areas in which you practice self-care.

The items in this assessment can also give you some ideas for additional things you may want to do in the future to help prevent stress and burnout and to maintain and enhance your well-being. Make a note of the items that you would like to add (or add more of) to your self-care practice. In considering this, try to be sure that each domain of self-care is well represented. If you think of things that are not included in this list, just add them at the end.

3. Maintenance self-care: Adding self-care practices and eliminating obstacles

"Maintenance self-care" refers to the activities that you have identified as important to your well-being and that you have committed to engage in on a regular basis to take care of yourself.

My Maintenance Self-Care Worksheet (pdf) ( Transcript of My Maintenance Self-Care Worksheet) provides an opportunity for you to identify the activities you would like to add to your self-care practice in each self-care domain ("new practice").

It is also useful to identify possible barriers or obstacles that could get in the way of implementing and/or maintaining these new activities. Think about what you anticipate these barriers/obstacles to be (try to list at least 3 or 4 in the spaces provided), how you can address them, and how you can remind yourself to follow your plan. Write these solutions on the last page of the My Maintenance Self-Care Worksheet. If you have chosen to limit or eliminate a negative coping strategy that you currently use, note this as well.

You can revisit this topic and revise your list as the demands of your personal and professional life change.

4. Emergency self-care: Be prepared

So far we have focused on maintenance self-care: the kinds of things one does regularly to reduce stress and maintain and enhance well-being. But planning out what you would do under extremely trying circumstances, even though they are rare, is also important. To do this, develop a framework using your Emergency Self-Care worksheet (pdf) before you are faced with a crisis or feel overwhelmed. This is not to suggest that you will invariably face such a situation; the idea is to be prepared just in case.

Think of developing your emergency self-care plan in the way you would think about preparing for other possible emergency situations: it is important to figure out your plan in advance when you have the time, wherewithal, and concentration to do so effectively!

5. Make a commitment to yourself

Remember: Just like the flight attendant says, you need to put on your own oxygen mask first before you can be of help to others. So, take a moment, think it over, and then make your personal commitment to your own self-care. You deserve it!

If you find making a commitment to be a challenge, then take some time to explore your reservations. Do you have a tendency to put the needs of others first? The truth is that your self-care is not only essential to your well-being, but it is also a necessary element for you to be effective and successful in honoring your professional and personal commitments.

Preparing a plan is important; it identifies your goals and the strategies to achieve them. However your success in implementing your plan is ultimately based on the level of commitment you make to your self-care.

6. Share your plan

Once you have developed your plan and made your commitment, remember that friends, family, peers, and/or colleagues may be good additional resources for exchanging new self-care ideas/strategies and to provide support and encouragement.

Consider taking your commitment a step further by joining or starting a support or discussion group (see Tips for Starting a Support or Discussion Group).

7. Follow your plan

Now that you have completed the assessments and worksheets described above, you have identified the core elements of your personal Self-Care Plan. The final step is to implement your plan and keep track of how you are doing. Keeping track of your progress will help you recognize your successes and identify and address any difficulties you may not have anticipated. Don't forget that you can revise your plan as needed. Remember, also, to employ your emergency plan should emotionally difficult circumstances arise.

Remember that self-care is always a work in progress!

(Prepared by Lisa D. Butler, PhD, based in part on materials provided by Sandra A. Lopez, LCSW, ACSW, University of Houston, Graduate School of Social Work)

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Trauma-informed care is one of the most discussed topics in early childhood education, and for good reason: You're sure to have children in your classroom or program right now who have experienced trauma.

As defined by author Jen Alexander in the new book Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, trauma is "a distressing experience or set of experiences that threatens a person's actual safety or perceived sense of felt safety to such a degree that it exceeds an individual's capacity to cope in healthy ways." According to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Schools Committee, at least one in four students have suffered trauma severe enough to affect their performance in school. When a young child experiences trauma-whether due to neglect, abuse, witnessing violence, or other factors-they may:

Become anxious and hyper-vigilant, exhibiting severe reactions to mild stressors

Have sensory, motor, executive function, communication, and language difficulties

Struggle with healthy emotional regulation, social skills, boundaries, and empathy-building

Because the overwhelming stress caused by trauma inflicts the most damage on the developing brains and bodies of the youngest children, trauma sensitivity is an especially critical area of focus for early childhood professionals. Read on to learn about the signs of trauma in young children-and nine things you can do to help.

What are the potential signs a child has experienced trauma?

Trauma-sensitive educators learn to decode signals sent by children who have experienced (or may still be experiencing) trauma or chronic stress. Adapted from the Trauma-Informed Care and the Pyramid Model emodule developed by the Pyramid Model Consortium, these potential signs and symptoms of trauma are something to be conscious of in the children under your care:

What can you do to help?

The effects of trauma can harm the academic and social-emotional development of young children, but the good news is, you can help. These nine practical steps, adapted from Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools, will help you establish a trauma-responsive classroom where children feel safer, more connected to their peers, better equipped to deal with their emotions, and ready to learn.

Be aware of potential trauma triggers
A typical early childhood learning environment is composed of a symphony of sensory stimuli that is benign for most children, but may trigger fight, flight, or freeze responses in a child who has experienced trauma. Be aware of children who exhibit these responses to stimuli such as loud or sudden sounds, bright colors, a crying classmate, or certain activities-and be sensitive to more subtle trauma triggers, too (for instance, dimming the lights during rest time might remind a child of past sexual abuse). To comfort a child after a triggering event, here are a few examples (from the Trauma-Informed Care and the Pyramid Model emodule) of things you might say:

"I'm here to help you. I'm not angry with you and you're not in trouble."

"That really scared you, didn't it?"

"I can see how hard this is for you."

"I see that you're really upset. I'll stay here with you to keep you safe."

"I want to understand better. If I know how you feel, I'll be able to help you better. Use your voice and words to tell me."

Clearly communicate safety expectations
Building a trauma-sensitive learning environment starts with establishing rules, expectations, and predictable routines that help children feel safe to explore and connect with their peers. For preschool and kindergarten students, communicate safety expectations using highly specific, positive language that stresses what you want them to do instead of what you don't want them to do. Try replacing "No running in the halls" with "Walk, please." Instead of saying, "Don't talk to him that way," to a student putting down a fellow classmate, try saying, "Tell us how you feel so everyone can feel safe." Rule posters, step-by-step procedural charts, and videos of older kids modeling positive behavior are all effective ways to reinforce behavioral and safety expectations.

Establish healthy boundaries
To develop healthy peer relationships, young children require an understanding of healthy boundaries. As long as they don't feel shamed, children will eventually understand that the limits you set are reasonable and in place to help everyone feel safe. Here are a few things a trauma-sensitive educator might say to frame respectful boundaries and limitations in a positive way:

"In our school, we don't ____ because that bothers others."

"I bet it would upset you if someone did that to you. I'm not going to let you do that to others. Can I help you find another way?"

"I know it's hard to accept me saying no about that. I'm here to help you through it."

"This time didn't work out so well. Think about how you could try again later."

Coach children on relationship skills
With a little bit of planning, you can weave instruction that reinforces healthy interpersonal skills into daily activities like storytime. Swimmy, Stick and Stone, and Chopsticks are three examples of engaging picture books that help support the development of self-awareness, empathy, and relationship-building skills. Whenever possible, encourage young children to imagine themselves in the shoes of different characters so they develop an appreciation for other perspectives.

Embed mindfulness practices
Embedding mindfulness and self-regulation strategies into daily routines is a good way to help young children gain agency over their stress response systems. Daily meditation or yoga (look for books like You Are a Lion! that teach simple animal poses for children) can help calm children and get them ready to learn. (Bear in mind that some students who have experienced trauma may need permission to keep their eyes open during mindfulness activities.) You can also show your class this Sesame Street video, a cute introduction to the mindfulness practice of belly breathing. Another calming activity is to urge children to make horse sounds with their lips as they breathe out, which often leads to fits of giggles. Laughter is contagious, and a natural antidote to stress and anxiety!

Teach them to identify and express emotions
Most young children don't possess the natural ability to identify and appropriately express their emotions; these are learned skills that form a key link in the chain of successful self-regulation. Teach young children the differences between passive, aggressive, and assertive communication, and explain why being assertive is the most reliable way to get their needs met without alienating others. Suggest assertive statements for them to use like "I feel ____; I need ___." It's also important to work with children on how to listen and respond respectfully when their peers are communicating their emotions and needs.

Foster belonging
Trauma-sensitive learning environments highlight the importance of belonging while encouraging children to respect and value the differences between themselves and others. You might explain that while each one of them is a special and unique individual, people accomplish more when they come together and combine their diverse strengths, talents, and perspectives. In the picture book Everybody Needs a Rock, kids are tasked with finding their very own perfect rock, which involves looking in a variety of different locations. Read your young students the book, and then encourage children to bring in their own special rocks to share with the class.
Are you looking for more inclusive, diversity-focused resources and materials? Check out this list of 14 places you can find resources and materials to help you reflect diversity within your classroom!
Provide executive function instruction and support
Executive function skills are among the best indicators of future success, but traumatized children may struggle with them-particularly in areas such as impulse control, decision-making, and sustained attention. Try incorporating popular games for young children that incorporate skills related to executive function and self-regulation. Freeze Tag, Duck Duck Goose, Simon Says, memory games, handclapping games and songs, and storytelling activities where each child adds a detail to a story, are just some of the activities that strengthen the interlocking network of mental processes associated with executive function.

Collaborate to meet each family's needs
A child's feeling of safety begins at home. Think of your classroom or program as not just a place where young children begin to learn the skills they'll need to achieve future success, but as a community hub where families can get assistance to meet their needs and establish a safe and nurturing home. Be proactive in providing on-site health services or referrals to health and social services resources. Partner with local agencies to offer after-school and summer programs. Consider organizing food, clothing, and toy drives, and coordinate with local food banks so students can take home meals when they need them.

Trauma and chronic stress can have a major impact on a young child's life, both in and outside the classroom. But with your help, students can feel safe, supported, and ready to succeed both socially and academically.

If you found the strategies outlined in this article helpful, check out Jen Alexander's Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools for comprehensive guidance on supporting students who experience trauma.

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9 Ways to Support Trauma-Sensitive Classrooms

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Children who have experienced trauma or are under chronic stress can have trouble identifying and appropriately expressing emotions, concentrating on lessons and activities, and forming healthy peer relationships. Use the nine strategies outlined in this brand-new feature article to help all children feel safer, more emotionally regulated, and ready to learn.

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Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University