Category: Mental Health Skill Building

Posts in this aws Studios.art category include mental health skill building, social emotional learning and the phearnik! plush and picture book.

Managing Fear with Mindfulness is Not Just Sitting and Meditating

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Managing Fear with Mindfullness

With a Mental Health Skill Building Toy

I’m trying to get a toy that helps with managing fear with mindfulness licensed. The toy, or plush – a small stuffed doll – helps kids strengthen mindfulness, a social and emotional skill kids and adults need to be healthy.

This image shows the head and face of the plush toy I am promoting that helps fearful kids and adults better manage their fear and anxiety.
Face of my mindfulness plush

Don’t Let Your Fear Get Big

The doll/plush, designed for kids to take with them where they might experience fear, is a prompt. It reminds its owner that it’s okay to have a little fear – it helps to keep them safe. As well as that the plush reminds kids to not let their fear get big or out of control. Uncontrolled fear holds kids back from doing what they want or need to do.

This image shows a Barbie doll sitting in a yoga or meditation position. It shows the type of mindfulness toys that are on the market today.
Meditating Barbie

Mindfulness vs meditation

Recently, I asked a colleague in the toy industry to review the “sell sheet” I created. Sell sheets are a one page explanation of a product to potential licensees. After receiving their feedback, I realized, the reviewer did not understand mindfulness. I don’t think they’re alone.

I believe it’s safe to say that most people think mindfulness is the same as meditation. They envision it as sitting on the floor and and quietly calming the mind. Furthermore, while mindfulness can take place while meditating, it is not the only way one can experience this skill. I like this definition from Berkeley.edu (paraphrased below):

Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your thoughts, feelings, and reactions in the present moment. Moreover, it involves being fully present and engaged with what you are doing. It includes intention, cultivating awareness, and attention – a focus on the present moment, sensations, and thoughts and can be practiced during everyday activities.

Practiced During Everyday Activities

Henceforth – the “practiced during everyday activities” – the not sitting and meditating is the idea behind my plush. The doll is small and can be carried in a backpack or a pocket and is there to remind a kid (or even an adult) to keep their fear small and not let it take control of what they (the kid/adult) might like to do, take a breath and give the slightly scary task a try.

This image shows a little girl with the mindfulness skill building plush in her backpack. It shows how the plush can be taken anywhere where a child might experience fear.

And It Works

I should know. Indeed, I made the plush initially for myself to remind me to keep my fears in check. These fears included working with the toy industry. In addition, another way to think of it is to keep them “small.” Also, this includes taking a breath, letting it out, and giving whatever I was initially afraid of a try. And here I am. Subsequently, I am networking with people in the toy industry (who would have ever thought!). In addition, I am learning the ropes. I am putting myself out there – raw and vulnerable – my “mindful reminding” plush by my side.

Hopefully, this post will help explain and define “mindfulness” a little more. I hope it will help explain my mindfulness plush toy and how it works to boost social and emotional learning.

What About You?

Do you practice mindfulness and do you even call it that? Do you practice it on the go or by quietly meditating or both? Have ever used anything to remind you to be mindful of something? If so, what did you use?

More about mindfulness and the brain here and here.

Lift up Your Spirits this Thanksgiving!

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During the Thanksgiving holiday season, there’s talk, of course, about giving thanks and gratitude. But this aws Studios freebie gives you the opportunity to “gift” the people in your life “permission” to do things they want but often feel like they shouldn’t or don’t deserve to do, a mental health, social and emotional best practice. This includes things like taking a break or a vacation, pampering themselves, or getting that item that they’ve been wanting that doesn’t break the bank. The “Power of Permission Slip” is great for parents, teachers or just about anyone to “gift” family, friends, or students this Thanksgiving holiday! And don’t forget about yourself. You might need your own permission too!

Get Your Power of Permission easy to use pdf Slip. start Gifting Permission Right Away!

What about you? What permission do you see friends, family, students or yourself needing? Let me know in the Comments below. And Happy Thanksgiving!

Conquer Student Anxiety

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Transform Student Feelings of Overwhelm to Confidence

Do you find your students feeling overwhelmed? Students want to do a lot. Furthermore, they deal with expectations from their relationships with family, school and friends. It can feel like it’s all too much. And, giving up might be right around the corner. Roles and Goals™, a social emotional goal setting and planning activity, helps students prioritize their roles. This reduces feelings of being overwhelmed.

This image is an abstract depicting young people looking harried because of all the expectations they have and limited time to do it all.

Create Calm with Goal Setting and Planning

In particular, Roles and Goals™ focuses planning based on the preservation and enhancement student relationships. This includes family, school, teams, and friends. In addition, this planning exercise uses a schedule of one week. Importantly, this is a better than daily planning. It gives them an easier view of the context of their relationships and balancing their time.  

Solves a Huge Mental Health Issue

This image is a close up of the previous image of a young girl trying to keep the hands of a clock from moving. She's trying to stop time.

Roles and Goals™ solves the problem of how, often, young people feel overwhelmed with all that they are expected to do. The activity helps students assess their relationships, expectations, and time by prioritizing and organizing tasks for one week. This reduces overwhelming feelings of expectations by breaking down responsibilities little by little, bit by bit.

Student Focused with Real-World Application

Roles and Goals™ enhances learning by giving students a real-world problem to solve — their weekly schedule — and provides examples and prompts to guide them.

Find out more, get your Roles and Goals resource today and help your students create calm!

Final Episode™: Resolving Conflicts Through Communication, an Engaging Learning Experience for High School Students

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Bored, Uninterested Teenagers Become Engaged, Empowered, Knowledgeable, and Skilled

The first thing that sparked my bored, mistrusting high school class during “Final Episode™: Resolving Conflicts Through Communication” was showing them a segment from a popular family drama TV series. Heads popped up and eyes engaged with the screen as if to say, “Cool. Are we going to study this?” Well…yes, in a way…

This image shows the cover of the "Final Episode" resource for high school students.

Resolving Conflicts Through Communication Lesson Without Lecture

This image shows an example of what's included in the Final Episode resource. It is a picture of the "Organizing the Final Episode Worksheet."

In the activity, each student assumes the role of a family drama TV series scriptwriter. To prepare for their scriptwriting, instead of a lecture about resolving conflicts through communication, the students tackle a document-based-questionnaire (DBQ).  In small groups, they safely explore conflict and conflict resolution – what it is, why we get into it, and what we can do about it.

When it got to the scriptwriting, with heads down, students diligently worked away on their conflict resolving scenarios and scripts for their “network’s” series finale.

But That Wasn’t the Best Part…

The best was when they read their scripts to their classmates while being videotaped. Complaining and withdrawing at first, once complete, students reveled in seeing their onscreen performances.

And even better for me were their reflections on their Final Episode™ experience. They told me they liked the activity and learned ways to realistically implement what they learned in their relationships. Score!

This image shows another handout included in the Final Episode resource. It is a picture of the "Final Episode Reflection Worksheet."

A DBQ For Mental Health Skill Building?

This image shows the cover of the "Final Episode" resource that helps students learn how to resolve conflicts through communication.

Final Episode™ uses “documents” including artwork, cartoons, letters, book quotes, magazine articles, and posters. Students found that it was a terrific way to, not only learn about conflict and ways to resolve it, but the items illustrated how there’s a myriad of “documents” out there to learn from.

If I Told My Students They Were Going to Perform, They’d Walk Away

The Final Episode™ activity gradually walks students first through the process of developing a scenario and a script. Performance is the last piece of the experience and can be approached at that time. But, like I found, students might initially resist but eventually come around.

I Don’t Have Time To Do All This

The Final Episode™ resource is perfect for chunking. The work can be spread out over a number of days or weeks. And you won’t have to worry. Students will look forward to getting back to their Final Episode™!

Don’t Take my word for it. See for yourself how this resource won top honors from the NYS education department!

Prepare Students to Work in Groups with this Fun Classroom Management Activity

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Hate Working in Groups?

A student I know hated working in groups.  It made them feel uncomfortable and worthless. One group member always took charge, boss others around and no one challenged the domineering leader.  The groups usually got the project done but not without a lot of stress to their mental health with bad feelings and angst about working together— not only for the student but for everyone else except for you know who. What was missing was preparation for classroom management with groups.

Then, in a group activity, the student learned a way to prepare to work in groups and resolve conflicts before they can happen.

Prepare to work in groups to resolve conflicts before they happen

Enter “What’s Your Style?™” – Classroom Management with Groups

What's Your Style? is a fun and engaging classroom management activity

In the What’s Your Style?™ activity, the student discovered the “social styles model.” With this information and social emotional skills, things changed. The student not only learned why bossy members did what they did but also why the student did what they did and why. Since their encounter with What’s Your Style?™, the student – now in the workforce — approaches working in groups with confidence, knowledge, skills, compassion, and tolerance.

A Classroom Management Activity?

Yes, classroom management with groups is best accomplished through activities that engage students (see another here). With minimal lecture, What’s Your Style?™ helps students learn about the model through a fun group performance exercise. In addition, they assess their peers’ presentations and individually reflecting on their learning.

It’s so Hard to Get Students to Work Together These Days

With the What’s Your Style?™ activity, students first practice with like-minded peers. Once they learn the model, students are made aware of their own strengths. Furthermore, they learn the strengths of their peers with differing ideas. This then illustrates how teams or groups of mixed strengths and developing characteristics acquire more problem solving success.

No Time? Little Funds?

See for yourself!
prepare to work in groups and resolve conflicts with What’s Your Style?™
YOUR students will thank you for And what could be better than that?!

Mental, Emotional, and Social Health with Toys? Yes, with MESH!

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MESH + Toy Industry + aws Studios

While perusing an issue of “The Toy Book,” a toy industry trade magazine, I came across a mention by Editor in Chief James Zahn in his editorial about “MESH,” a new acronym for “mental, emotional, and social health.” For me, this was a ‘needle in the haystack’ discovery. To find a link from the toy industry to me — a mental health educator, picture book author/illustrator, and toy designer — was a jump for joy moment.

Where did this MESH acronym come from?

I needed more info. After a little searching, I found a podcast about “MESH” by The Toy Coach, Azhelle Wade. In this podcast, Azhelle interviews Rachele Harmuth of ThinkFun and co-originator of the MESH acronym. In short, seeing how mental health issues were increasing worldwide in children and teens, Harmuth, with years of experience in the toy industry, wanted to know if there was a way to help families — kids and parents — build their resiliency to mental illness with play and toys.

Combining Mental Health Education and Social Emotional Learning (SEL)

Harmuth then partnered with resiliency expert Dr. Deborah Gilboa and the two came up with the MESH term combining both the fields of mental health and social emotional learning. Genius! And it’s about time. For the past few decades, the fields of mental health education and social emotional learning (SEL) operated separately and siloed. Harmuth and Gilboa have combined the two fields — the skills of mental health and the “Pillars” of SEL— into the following eight skills:

  • Problem solving
  • Perseverance
  • Adaptation
  • Conflict resolution
  • Self-regulation
  • Self-advocacy
  • Cognitive skills
  • Communication strategies

Then they identified four areas where toys and games can build these skills:

  • A focus on problem solving and perseverance
  • Encouraging storytelling
  • Presenting new or increasing challenges over the duration of play and
  • Drawing children and their adults together in play.

[Find out more here at MESHhelps.org]

What’s all this got to do with aws Studios?

I was initially perusing “The Toy Book” because I have been trying to learn more about the toy industry. And I was doing this because I created a toy, specifically a plush (a stuffed fabric toy), designed to help kids build their MESH skills. Currently, I am trying to license the toy to a licensing manufacturer, aka a licensee.

Mental, Emotional, and Social Health Skill Building Through Toys and Play

I am thrilled to see a connection between mental health skill building and the toy industry. Like what the industry has done by connecting toys and games to STEAM, the interdisciplinary approach to learning that combines science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics, the MESH movement is doing the same. It’s making connections to current toys and games on the market that build one or more of the mental, emotional, and social health identified skills.

There’s no better way to build mental, emotional, and social health — MESH — skills than through toys and play!

How have toys helped your kids build their mesh Skills? Tell us in Comments
check out my MESH skill building activites here

Master Your Mountain™ — Empower Student Success and Get Student Engagement with Goal Setting

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I Want to be a Doctor but I Don’t Think That Will Ever Happen!

One day, I asked two of my students who were buddies what they wanted to do when they were older. “Doctors — pediatricians,” they excitedly responded. They wanted to help little kids. But immediately after, they said they didn’t think it would happen. If kids don’t see a way, then we need to empower student success with goal setting…

Master Your Mountain™ For Student Success

Often young people haven’t had the opportunity to explore their future with guidance and information and opportunities to practice their goal setting and planning skills. That’s why I created Master Your Mountain™. It’s a fun activity that empowers middle school thru high school student success with goal setting.

Well Maybe I Can…

Master Your Mountain™ is an easy-to-use lesson plan for teachers, homeschoolers, or parents. The creative and colorful activity walks students through the process of planning for their future. First, students identify their dreams or goals. Then, the things they need to do to get there. In Master Your Mountain™, kids see how goals can be accomplished. By breaking down what seems overwhelming and impossible, they see the value of a step-by-step plan.

With Master Your Mountain™, you will see the lightbulbs go on and the wheels start turning! When the unattainable fog lifts, clear possibilities shine 1

A Great Classroom Management Tool

Master Your Mountain™ settles students into their own world and space. The resource also provides community building with peer to peer and group tasks. The activity can be accomplished in 1-3 classroom periods. All required materials are provided — just three fun worksheets— and scripts for teachers/parents, if needed.

Additionally, Master Your Mountain™ can be used in any classroom and with any subject.

This Won’t Work with my Students

And it won’t if you don’t follow up. But follow-up is easy. Once a month (though the more the better) check-in with your student or have them journal an update.

Boost your middle school, junior high, and high school students’ confidence and engagement with  Master Your Mountain™!
Click here to Find out more!