Tag: family

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!

My Future Story Documentary, a fun and inspiring goal setting and planning activity

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A Favorite Goal Setting Activity

A picture of the My Future Story Documentary goal setting worksheet

One of my favorite mental health/social-emotional learning activities I developed is “My Future Story Documentary.” It teaches a goal setting and planning skill I wish I had learned when I was in grade school.

My Future Story

Back then, my future story was to sing, dance and act on stage. My mother pointed out New York City was probably the best place to pursue these goals but she didn’t think I should go. In her mind, NYC was a scary place and that was enough to stop me from moving forward with my idea.

In the “My Future Story Documentary” goal setting resource, one crucial step is for the “filmmaker” to identify their “Supporting Film Crew.” These are friends, family members, teachers, coaches, and clergy, etc. who support the maker’s future story, an important part for turning dreams into reality. And, like in my case, they may not always be a friend or a family member.

An aws Studios.art illustration of a adolescent ballerina - if only they had a goal setting activity like My Future Story.

Goal Setting and Support

My mother (whom I love dearly) may not have embraced my dream, but Marion, her best friend, did. Marion, who herself dreamed of performing and later became an award-winning ballroom dancer, noticed my talent. Though, I never shared my dancing and acting dreams with her. The “My Future Story Documentary” activity prompts students to identify supportive adults and share their dream with them.

It’s tough when immediate family are unable to be supportive. Nevertheless, there are many success stories where dreamers found support elsewhere.

Get the “My future story documentary” activity here!

Now as a picture book author/illustrator and mental health curricula supplier (with no regrets!), my supports are everywhere —family, friends, and colleagues — and it’s great!

What about you? What is your success story and who was your supportive “crew?”  

Give them a shout out in the “Comments” below!

Social and Emotional Health Education Teaching Strategies Engage Students with Art

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A Writer and an Artist

I am a Gemini.  Born between May 21 and June 21. I have always thought the Gemini symbol of The Twins defined me well. The two distinct personalities or personas speak clearly to my being an artist and a writer.  Most of my posts to this point have been about my art.  It’s time for me to blog about my writing, in particular, my social and emotional health teaching strategies.

Parenting Education

Two little girls hugging

I started developing educational curricula and teaching strategies as a Parenting Educator.  For many years, I provided programming for parents including single moms and single parents and other caregivers.  As a new mom, I participated in the  “Systematic Training for Effective Parenting (STEP)” program presented by my health care provider and a series on conflict resolution presented by the New Justice Conflict Resolution Services in Syracuse, NY. 

Then, I became a trainer. This was for the “Every Person Influences Children (EPIC)” parenting education program.  Taking parts from all three of these programs, I created and taught a parenting education program. I then taught it for the NYS Board of Cooperative Education Services’ (BOCES) Adult program. 

I loved parenting education, sharing what I had learned and helping other parents.  This work extended into programming I did for in-home day care providers enrolled in the Onondaga County Day Care “Magic Bus” program.    Implementing literary and culinary arts into this curriculum provided fun and engaging activities for both the children and the care providers.

Mental Health Education

After receiving a Masters in Health Education, my curriculum development continued to focus on mental health, providing social and emotional learning (SEL) teaching strategies for K-12 teachers, parents, youth workers, foster care caseworkers and foster parents. 

A illustration of an old woman and the shoe with lots of kids living in the shoe.
A picture of the cover of Final Episode a communication skills resource for high school students.

Award Winning Curriculum

After receiving a Masters in Health Education, my curriculum development continued to focus on mental health, providing social and emotional learning (SEL) teaching strategies for K-12 teachers, parents, youth workers, foster care caseworkers and foster parents. 

During this time,  the NYS Department of Education hired me as an External Consultant to assist in  developing a high school/”commencement level” parenting education curriculum guide.  For the guide, I created, “Final Episode™: Resolving family conflicts with communication,” a commencement level learning experience.

I was thrilled when this curriculum met the State’s ‘Academy for Teaching and Learning” requuirements. With an intense peer-review process, the Academy seeks to award well designed K-12 curricula.

“Final Episode™” incorporated many different art disciplines. These include theatre/drama arts and a “Document Based Questionnaire.” A DBQ engages student learning using paintings, comics and other graphic artwork. This leads students on an entertaining, self-directed journey to learn about how to communicate in safe and healthy ways. 

“Final Episode™” and my other curricula illustrate how my art connects with my mental health curriculum.  Perfect examples of my “gemininess!”  

If you would like to receive an outline of the Final episode curriculum, click here for a free pdf!

Engaging teaching strategies