Strengthening Families
One key to an emotionally healthy life is having the support of a strong, supportive family. The size of the family, indeed the composition of the family, does not matter as much as the feeling of belonging and the sense of sustenance that emerges from living with stable familial support. People seem to do better in life when they have the feeling of belonging to something larger, and stronger, than they are individually. It helps in eliminating uncertainty from the stresses of everyday living.
 
Ten Emotionally Intelligent Ways to Build Trust as a Parent
When our kids are young, emotions (theirs and ours) can loom large. Sometimes, the big emotions can be disruptive and even obstructive. Parents tend to feel stressed about juggling many tasks against the pressure of time. So when children throw tantrums and don't do what we ask of them, we usually don't have time to deal with these emotions, and our inclination is to move past them with bribes, threats and distractions. But in order to help our kids with building trust in themselves, we must teach them about their emotions and how emotions are messages from themselves to themselves. The first step is to increase their emotional literacy.

How to Fight Stress With Empathy
If someone close to you says, "I'm stressed," how do you respond?  In this article Psychologist Arthur Ciaramicoli argues that empathic listening may be the key to reducing stress in our lives.

For Staff...

Slowing Down to Learn: Mindful Pauses That Can Help Student Engagement
Are you looking for ways to increase students engagement?  One way to promote engagement and learning is to consciously create pauses throughout the day. We can create a sense of spaciousness in our classroom by slowing down the pace of our speech and punctuating our lessons with silence. Introduced well, this practice can improve classroom discourse.  

The excerpt above is from the book " Mindfulness for Teachers: Simple Skills for Peace and Productivity in the Classroom," by Patricia A. Jennings. The article is from Jennings' book in the chapter entitled "Orchestrating Classroom Dynamics."

Addressing Mental Health Disorders In The Classroom
Educators are often in the front lines of their students' lives so not only are they sometimes the first to notice symptoms of mental illness, but they strongly influence how students perceive mental health. While teaching, I was always aware of instructional strategies and practices that can help their students meet their full potential. I would like to share these strategies that I have used to address mental health in the classroom. Please keep in mind that every child is different and that with each disorder, there are varying degrees of symptoms and presenting issues.