I don’t know about you but going back to school with new students used to get my tummy turning. Dread hung on my shoulders and motivation was nowhere to be found. How was I to keep control of new students, teens I didn’t know and who were different from me? But my experience as the training coordinator for a youth development organization saved me. I learned to maintain control of kids I didn’t know and that it’s all about classroom management relationship-building.
To keep control of new students when going back to school, classroom management is essential. But setting boundaries and rules upfront at the beginning of the school year, being consistent, having clear expectations and consequences, effective transitions, and intentional classroom layout as well as other strategies are only half — the businessy half — of classroom management.
Get to Know Your Students when Going Back to School
Image from Freepik
The softer strategies of relationship building, the engaging with and understanding of students, is the other half of classroom management that makes the businessy side to maintain control of new students fall into place without much effort. Getting to know your students is one of the highest forms of respect. Everyone desires respect and once gained, young people will rotate to and honor its source — you!
For the upcoming school year, I have put together a bundle of, not only my favorite youth development-based classroom management resources to help maintain control but my students’ favorites! With the “What’s Your Style,” “Circle of Community,” and “Strong Suits” resources in the “Classroom Management Relationship-Building Bundle,” students are not the only ones who will engage, understand, and learn about their classmates ( while building communication skills). Teachers will too. While figuring out what makes students tick —why they do what they do — you’ll also empower and engage them, all at the same time.
Let me know if you have any questions about the aws Studios Back to School Must Have –
If you’ve been following the phearnik!® Campaign, you know it’s about helping fearful children overcome their fears. You’re intrigued by the little plush. You’ve seen the “How To” steps and know how it works. You’d like to introduce phearnik!® to your child. But you’d like to have some help. You want something like a book that helps kids with anxiety.
Phoebe and phearnik!® Fight BIG Fears is just the thing! It’s a children’s book that helps kids with anxiety. In it, a little girl, Phoebe, experiences a lot of irrational fears. In particular, she’s afraid of the dark and going in the water as well as other similar kid fears. These fears keep her from doing things she really wants to do like playing with other kids and having fun.
In the book, Phoebe’s mom tells her,
“It’s okay to have a little fear. It helps you pay attention and keeps you safe. But your fear is too big. It keeps you from doing what you want to do. You need to make your fear small.”
A Toy that Helps with Anxiety
After this, Phoebe takes the reader on an amusing journey. Trying to “make her big fears small,” she finds nothing works. That is until she creates a “phearnik!®,” her “Little Fear.” The toy helps Phoebe reduce her anxiety. She takes phearnik!® with her everywhere to remind her to keep her fears small. In this way, Phoebe shows fearful kids it’s okay to have a little fear. Like her mother says, it helps her to pay attention to being safe. And, when you don’t let it get big, you have more fun playing with others.
An Easy Way to Help Kids with Anxiety
The Phoebe and phearnik!® Fight BIG Fears children’s book provides parents, teachers and counselors with an easy way to help a kid with fear and anxiety. The colorful paper collage illustrations readily engage both boys and girls in Phoebe’s story. Additionally, the even reading pace clearly tells the story of how a kid solves the problem of making their “big” irrational fears small.
At the end of Phoebe and phearnik!® Fight BIG Fears, there’s a letter for adult readers. The letter explains how Phoebe teaches herself a mental health skill. It explains the type of skill Phoebe learns and how it works to reduce a child’s anxiety. Furthermore, the letter says, even though Phoebe’s too young to understand the brain science, she’s learned a way to calm her fear or “keep it small.” This helps her do the things she really wants to do.
One Of The Best Anxiety Books For Kids
Here’s what people are saying about phearnik!® and the book:
Alis Wintle Sefick has freshly written and illustrated a lovely children’s storybook which highlights strategies to combat anxiety in children. This interesting story, told from the voice of a school-age child, offers a tool to address current emotional stresses, which are affecting kids, in higher numbers these days. I highly recommend this gem of a book. Laura Dolan Jacobsen FNP-BC, Child Development
My now grown daughter could definitely have used a phearnik doll. She was very fearful of new things to the point that it affected her social connections with other kids her age. At the time there was no product like phearnik on the market. We relied on tiny “worry dolls“ to help her manage her fears. I definitely would have invested in phearnik had it been available at the time. I think it would’ve been a big help to her then. Rebecca Passanante, Retired Pre-school Educator
The Phoebe and phearnik!® Fight BIG Fears picture book will be available through the phearnik!® Campaign. Sign up and be the first to know when you can get the book!
I made a doll and it is not like Stella Al Fresco.
Sunday morning in the NYTimes, I saw an article about how Megan, The Dutchess of Sussex, promoted a doll on her new show “With Love, Megan.” Commonly known Stella Al Fresco, Megan’s daughter’s doll is sold with “a little baguette and a little cheese.” The dolls’ creators claim the dolls and their accessories help kids mimic adult behavior. Says Acorn Store owner Heather Hamilton where the dolls are sold, “Kids really like imitating life, and if this is what they’re seeing on their parents’ patio, then they just pretend play.”
The doll commonly known as Stella Al Fresco
The phearnik! plush
Which makes me think that my little phearnik!® has a long, uphill slog to the market. How does my slightly scary looking doll/plush that is not like Stella Al Fresco compete with the sweet, cute and Cabbage Patch-like doll? And how does my aws Studios.art doll stack up against a doll promoted by Megan?
phearnik!® is no Stella Al Fresco
phearnik!® is 180° from Stella. But that’s okay. phearnik!® is not meant to mimic adult/parent behavior. phearnik!® stands for something else.
A Little Scary Looking
Yes, phearnik!® is not a sweet looking doll like Stella. phearnik!® actually looks a little scary. It’s supposed to look scary. I made phearnik!® to look a little scary because the plush represents a “little fear.”
One of the original versions of the phearnik! plush
Sharing the phearnik!® Idea
Initially, I created phearnik!® to help me with my fear of the blank canvas. Then one day my granddaughter spied the doll on my dresser. She wanted one too. (How couldn’t she? With its quirky face and wild hair, I thought!)
The original picture book about phearnik!. Now revised as “Phoebe and phearnik! Fight Big Fears”
While making my granddaughter a phearnik!®, I came up with the idea to tell her its story in a book. Hence, I created the picture book Adventures with phearnik!® and gave her both the book and plush as a birthday present.
Guess who with her phearnik!
The phearnik!® Campaign
Since then, I wanted to share the book and the plush with others. phearnik!® definitely helped me. Every day it’s there to remind me not to be fearful of things that are new to me like a blank canvas. More importantly, it helps me with becoming an entrepreneur to promote the phearnik!® idea to others. I believe phearnik!® can help others who, like me, are held back by irrational and debilitating fears.
phearnik!® has helped me do everything I have needed to do to get to this point of launching the phearnik!® Campaign. The campaign seeks to raise funds to support mental health making the plush available to others, both kids and adults, dealing with irrational fears.
Yes, phearnik!® is no Stella Al Fresco but That’s Okay
Stella and phearnik! as friends
phearnik!® is not like Stella Al Fresco. But I like to think that even Stella would like to have a phearnik!® It would remind her to keep her fears small so she can live a more fearless life. Ah, yes, what a vision. Instead of competing with each other, Stella and phearnik!® could be friends!
Do you agree? What do you think? Have you ever had a doll like Stella? Or phearnik!®? Tell us about it in the Comments.
*In my last post I announced my campaign to make phearnik!® available to kids, scared of everything, manage their fear. In this post, I aim to explain how it works. And, how, for children, their loved ones, and caregivers, life is better with the little plush.
The phearnik!® Journey
phearnik!®, a plush toy, used to prompt a mindfulness skill, helps children manage fear
Even before the pandemic, mental health issues were on the rise for children. Unfortunately, the pandemic increased the number of kids dealing with overwhelming fear and anxiety. This often points to a lack of mental health skills.
“So,” you ask, “how does a toy help kids build a skill to make them less scared of everything?” I’ll tell you!
What is this phearnik!® you are talking about?!
The phearnik!® [pronounced: fear-nick] toy or “plush” is a prompt. phearnik!® means “Little Fear” and prompts kids to remember to keep their fears “small.” Importantly, having a “little fear” when faced with non-life-threatening anxieties helps keep kids safe. A little fear helps us to pay attention. Whereas, too much or letting it “get “big” stops kids from doing what they want or need to do. This could be things like joining in and having fun with other kids.
A Prompt to Reduce Fear and Anxiety
Used in many disciplines including education, therapy, and Applied Behavioral Analysis, a prompt is a tool or aid. It works to achieve a desired behavioral response. Prompts can be verbal, gestural, physical, or visual. Also, pictures, videos, or toys such as dolls and plush are types of visual prompts.
Yes, A toy as A Prompt!
A little girl holding her phearnik!®
The small phearnik!® or “Little Fear” prompts children dealing with fear and anxiety to keep their fears small. They do this by calming themselves. First they take a breath, let it out, and take the first small “step” of trying a new experience. These can be things like putting a toe into the “scary” water. As well as, stepping just inside the doorway of the dark bedroom holding their stuffie, of course.
By providing a clear signal or reminder about what is expected, prompts guide the teaching of concepts or skill. This helps to increase the chances of a desired behavior.
Some examples of Prompts you might recognize…
Teachers might use verbal prompts to guide students through a challenging math problem. Or they may use visual prompts like pictures to help with learning vocabulary. Therapists use prompts to assist clients with many activities. These include visual prompts to guide them through a sequence of steps in a task. And, in the research-based practice, Applied Behavioral Analysis, prompts help to improve problematic behavior.
Manage Fear and Anxiety with Skills
wait! this isn’t life or death!
Many do not experience overwhelming fear in the face of non-life-threatening situations. They are skilled in transferring these thoughts.
Fearful thoughts begin in the primal limbic area of the brain. Those with the skill transfer these thoughts to the prefrontal cortex. This is where our modern, logical, and practical responses reside.
It’s as though they are saying, “Wait! My brain thinks this is a life-or-death situation but it’s not. I’m safe to give this a try.”
phearnik!® prompts the practice of switching fearful thoughts from its initial primal reaction to modern and logical calm responses. This skill strengthens mental health. It is an intrapersonal communication skill, a type of mindfulness.
How to Use the phearnik!® Prompt
The phearnik!® prompt is easy to use
Here’s how:
Introduce phearnik!®to the child. Tell them its name, how it’s pronounced [fear-nik] and what the name means – “Little Fear.”
In addition, tell them to take the plush with them. It’s small to fit in a backpack or pocket. Wherever they are, when faced with a situation they’re afraid of, phearnik!®is there. Reminding them that a “little fear” is okay. It helps to keep them safe and aware.
Let the child know too much or letting their fear get “big” makes them freeze. This means they can’t do things they would like or need to do.
phearnik!®wants them to first slowly take a breath in and let it out. It’s okay to do this a few times.
Next phearnik!®, not only wants them to think about keeping their fear small but…
phearnik! reminded Phoebe to practice her mindfulness skill to keep her fear of the water “small.” She had fun swimming with the other kids!
The more the toy is used, the more a child, scared of everything, practices the thinking skill. This skill builds their social and emotional health and becomes less fearful. As with all prompts, the more it’s used the less it’s needed. The more a child takes the plush with them, the more they will remember to practice the skill. This includes taking a breath, letting it out, and calming themselves toward taking positive action with new experiences. Moreover, this can be done with or without the plush at their side.
Said one grandmother of a phearnik!® owner,
“After a while, all we had to do when she was afraid of doing something that didn’t warrant a lot of fear, like getting in the water, was to tell her to “remember” phearnik!®. And she got it! You could see her thinking about it. And, with a smile, she jumped in the pool with the rest of us!”
Support Kids’ Mental Health
The phearnik!® plush is an easy and fun way to help kids who need it. Building a social and emotional skill, the toy can be life changing.
Make skill building fun! Join the phearnik!® Campaign!
By joining the campaign, you will get:
Get more information about phearnik!® like
How the quirky plush came to be
Receive campaign updates (like how it will be made available),
Get more info mental health skill building and
Support the larger mission of boosting children’s mental health!
Do you have a prompt you use to help you build a skill? Is there anything you don’t understand or are confused about with the phearnik!® plush? Let me know in the Comments or email me: alis@awsstudios.art
If you think someone you know should know about phearnik!®, feel free to share this post.
Next post: The best way to introduce kids to phearnik!® what it is and how it works!
Parents, homeschoolers, and preschool teachers often struggle to find picture books about rural agricultural areas where their students live. Because of this, educators must change what is available or go without. This causes extra work and leaves children missing out on important information about their home.
Parents and teachers want books for kids living in non-urban areas. They seek books related to local happenings. These educators want resources that speak specifically to the farming happening around their community. For example, kids living in rural areas see apple farming happening all around them. Their parents and teachers want picture books that cover life about orchards.
A New Picture Book with an Ag Theme
picture books about rural agricultural areas
To tackle this issue, my picture book, Apples for Cider, is an agricultural resource for parents and teachers. It helps them bring their rural agriculture community into their homes. They can also integrate it into their classrooms. Apples… is one of many needed picture books about rural agricultural areas. Plus, the book is now part of the National Agriculture in the Classroom Curriculum Matrix. The Apples for Cider picture book is now a Companion Resource attached to three Matrix apple lessons:
The Apples for Cider Parent/Teacher Reading Guide will also be available for download. The Guide is another way to help educators when using a picture book to extend learning. The Reading Guide includes various prompts for discussion and activities including a:
For teachers, this can feel like adding more to an already overloaded plate of dealing with classrooms, getting through their annual curricula, and assisting individual students. And, if teachers do nothing, guilt could add to their own stress.
A Desire to Help Stressed Parents
Teachers know they have good access to students’ parents and would like to help. Plus, supporting students’ parents builds stronger relationships, not only with the parents but also with students and the broader community. To support stressed parents, teachers need something easy to implement, as well as worthwhile.
A Simple and Supportive Parent Resource
The Five Basics Pamphlet is a downloadable PDF that helps stressed parents of teenagers. The “…Pamphlet” contains the five actions parents can take to reduce the stress often felt when living with teens. It is based on evidence MIT researchers found that helps with parenting adolescents.
The Five Basics have compressed parenting strategies into five areas – connecting, observing, modeling, guiding, and advocating – while offering many doable “how-to” examples for each.
Do Your Duty…Check!
The Five Basics is a way for teachers and others to step up, heed the Surgeon General’s call, and support stressed parents. By either emailing the user-friendly PDF to parents or downloading it and handing it out, the pamphlet does the work for teachers making it easy to help. And, even if, parents don’t ‘read and heed’, teachers can practice the Five Basics on their own, using them in their classrooms and giving teen students the adult direction and support they need to succeed.
As a teacher or homeschooler, I would love to hear more about what your needs are. Let me know in the Comments section or email me at alis@awsstudios.art
I don’t know about you but a new school year with new students used to get my tummy turning. Dread hung on my shoulders and motivation was nowhere to be found. How was I to keep control of new students, teens I didn’t know and who were different from me? But my experience as the training coordinator for a youth development organization saved me. I learned to maintain control of kids I didn’t know and that it’s all about classroom management relationship-building.
To keep control of new students, classroom management is essential. But setting boundaries and rules upfront at the beginning of the school year, being consistent, having clear expectations and consequences, effective transitions, and intentional classroom layout as well as other strategies are only half — the businessy half — of classroom management.
You’ve Got to Get to Know Your Students
Image from Freepik
The softer strategies of relationship building, the engaging with and understanding of students, is the other half of classroom management that makes the businessy side to maintain control of new students fall into place without much effort. Getting to know your students is one of the highest forms of respect. Everyone desires respect and once gained, young people will rotate to and honor its source — you!
Classroom Management Relationship Building Bundle
For the upcoming school year, I have put together a bundle of, not only my favorite youth development-based classroom management resources to help maintain control but my students’ favorites! With the “What’s Your Style,” “Circle of Community,” and “Strong Suits” resources in the “Classroom Management Relationship-Building Bundle,” students are not the only ones who will engage, understand, and learn about their classmates ( while building communication skills). Teachers will too. While figuring out what makes students tick —why they do what they do — you’ll also empower and engage them, all at the same time.
This new tagline I created from a Wendy MacNaughton quote should help readers (and Google!) better understand aws Studios. In her “Pencil Skills Part 1” post about drawing with healthcare professionals, MacNaughton declares, “Art and health. No. Brainer.” (Which I understand to mean how ones’ involvement in art or the arts strengthens an individual’s health.) Writer Austin Kleon’s recommendation from Steal Like an Artist, I was inspired to adapt her quote. It best communicates my aws Studios mission – “art and mental health.”
Click on Mr, Onion to get one of your own!
Yes, art is beneficial for social and emotional health. These include helping to manage stress and relieve anxiety, strengthen social skills, promote positive behaviors, increase cognitive abilities, practice mindfulness, etc.
Click pic to view aws Studios mental health resources
Teen Social Emotional Skills: A Comprehensive List
As a mental health educator, I knew the skills to help teens build their mental health or social emotional learning. These include communication, goal setting and planning, decision making, problem solving, and stress and personal management.
Furthermore, as a Training Specialist for the NYS Adolescent Services and Resource Network, I used a different list of social emotional learning skills. This list included “life skills,” the abilities teens need to gain their independence such as getting an education, budgeting, shopping, cooking, home management, etc.
Specific Teen Social Emotional Skills
In addition to the life skills, the resource included a list of “Invisible Skills” for “emotional issues.” These included: establishing identity, dealing with separation and loss; making peace with the past; and resolving survivor guilt. The resource, originally created to guide foster care parents and Youth Workers, can be used with any teen dealing with trauma, isolation, and bullying, etc.
With this free pdf, I hope to make it easier for any adult – parent, grandparent, relative, teacher, homeschooler, etc., – who is living or working with a teenager – to know and assess teen mental health skills. Let’s all help young people build these essential social and emotional skills!
Do you have a favorite list of mental health skills? Let us know about it in the Comments section.
I have always liked making Christmas gifts. Not only that, I have made my own Christmas cards to send to family and friends almost every year for over the past 40 years! When I worked as a mental health educator, I would use my handmade cards to give to staff at Christmas. Then, I came up with a way to give them a gift of mental health.
The Gift of Giving Mental Health
One Christmas, instead of a handmade card, I gave everyone a “permission slip.” The slip entitles its recipient the opportunity to give themselves “permission” to do something they should do for their mental health but don’t, like taking a mental health day, or getting a massage or pedicure, etc. Or as a supervisor, teacher, parent, etc., you can fill in a “permission” you know your staff, family member or students need! The possibilities are endless.
(Image blurred on purpose. Your pdf will not be blurred.)
Staff Will Thank You
And the result? Staff loved it! I never received so many “thanks” from staff as I did when I gave them their Christmas permission slip!
A Gift for You!
Now you too can give one of the best Christmas gifts to help the people in your life build their mental, social, and emotional health. And it’s free! Click below and write “gift” in the Comments and I will send you a pdf of four printable and colorful Christmas permission slips. Your staff, friends and family will thank you for it!
