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6 Things to Say Instead of "Don't Worry About it" and 5 Playful Strategies for Kids to Understand Anxiety
This post outlines six supportive phrases to say instead of "don’t worry about it" along with five playful strategies to help children understand anxiety. You’ll learn how to validate emotions, offer reassurance, and use creative tools like worry characters, breathing games, and thought reframing. These approaches support kids in building coping skills and calm when worries feel overwhelming.
How to Celebrate and Promote Kindness in Schools
This post provides ideas to celebrate and promote kindness in schools. You’ll find suggestions for kindness chains, scavenger hunts, note stations, appreciation events, and kindness rocks. It includes printable cards, scripts, and staff recognition prompts. These tools support a school wide culture of compassion, inclusion and gratitude that connects students, teachers, and families.
Supporting Children’s Mental Health with CBT: Unpacking the Thoughts, Feelings, and Behaviors of Kids
This post explains how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or CBT supports children’s mental health by unpacking thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. You’ll find simple explanations of the CBT triangle model, examples of intrusive or distorted thoughts, and coping strategies like emotion naming, thought reframing, and behavior change. These tools help adults guide children toward emotional resilience through structured support.
Picture Books about Flexible Thinking and Dealing with Change for Kids
This post recommends picture books that teach flexible thinking, handling change and bouncing back from disappointment. Titles like A Little Spot of Flexible Thinking show how kids can shift perspectives like a palm tree in the wind. Books such as Tilda Tries Again, Not a Box and Flexible Thinking Ninja model adaptability, persistence and creativity to build resilience in children.
Why You’re Probably Thinking of Autism Wrong: The Prism Autism Theory
This post challenges common beliefs about autism and highlights why media often shows only severe cases. It explains how many children go undiagnosed or are misdiagnosed because presentations vary widely. The post explores traits like detail focus, binary thinking, and slow deliberative cognitive style. It encourages viewing autism as a neurotype with strengths and supports rather than a deficit.
Activities and Videos to Teach Flexible Thinking Skills and Dealing with Change
This post offers curated videos and hands-on activities to teach kids flexible thinking and help them adjust to change. You will find read-alouds, stories, songs and engaging prompts that contrast rigid and flexible thinking. The guide also includes printable games, discussion dice, bingo boards and positive note cards to reinforce adaptability and creative problem solving in classrooms or at home.
Trauma-Informed Mindfulness as a Self-Care Tool for Teachers and Students in the Classroom
This post explains trauma informed mindfulness as a self care tool for teachers and students in classroom settings. You’ll find guidance on offering choice based breathing, somatic movement, mindful observation and external focus. The post also includes how staff can model and co create safe routines that support regulation, emotional resilience and prevent burnout in trauma sensitive schools.
Using Mindful Coloring for Emotions and Self-Regulation
Coloring isn’t just fun. It is a powerful tool for helping kids recognize, express, and regulate emotions. This post shows how using mindful coloring and color by code activities helps expand emotional vocabulary, promotes interoception, and supports calming breaks. You will also find strategies for modeling feelings language and a resource to include coloring pages in grief or calm kits.
7 Tips for Caregivers: Supporting Youth and Their Feelings
These seven tips guide caregivers in supporting young people—helping them name emotions, feel seen, and develop healthy coping habits. From open chats and validation to modeling self-expression, seeking professional support, and cultivating resilience, these strategies offer a foundation for emotional connection and growth.
5 Ways to Help Children Boost Their Self-Esteem and Confidence
Discover five practical, research-informed strategies to help kids feel more confident and valuable. From setting realistic goals and embracing mistakes to praising effort, teaching positive self-talk, and celebrating uniqueness, these approaches guide children toward growth, resilience, and lasting self-worth through everyday interactions and support.
How to Teach Expected Behavior to Students in a Fun Way: Using Social Stories and Games
Transform unexpected behaviors into learning opportunities using social stories and games. This post walks through why kids may not know expected behavior and offers how to craft playful, visual stories and group games to teach school rules, transitions, and routines, making behavior learning engaging, clear, and supportive for students and educators.
Everything You Need to Know about Social Emotional Learning (SEL) Directed Drawing
SEL directed drawing engages children by tying social-emotional prompts to each drawing step. Kids answer questions about problem-solving, communication, or self-awareness to unlock the next stage. This method enhances fine motor skills, focus, emotional insight, and offers structure in classrooms or counseling groups.
Two Surprising Ways to Increase Children’s Joy
Joy often grows when we lean into sorrow. This post introduces two surprising ways to expand a child’s joy capacity: by welcoming their disappointments and practicing compassionate listening—without rushing to cheer or solve. When children feel seen in their sadness and still experience held limits, their emotional capacity, and ability to truly feel joy deepens.
Activities for Teaching Kids How to Interpret and Use Tone of Voice
Explore engaging activities to help children recognize and practice tone of voice including volume, rate, pitch, and intonation. From listening games and emotion matching to tone-based role-play and read-aloud practice, these strategies build listening skills, emotional insight, and social awareness. Ideal for classrooms, counseling groups, or at-home learning.
How to Run a Successful Lunch Bunch Social Skills Group for Elementary Students
A Lunch Bunch is a regular, small-group social skills session held during lunch to support peer connection and social-emotional growth. The post covers how to define goals based on student needs, set small groups (4–10 kids), establish structure and routines, select inclusive activities, include role-model peers, and manage logistics for smooth, empathetic delivery.
7 Thoughts on Processing Life’s Challenges Through Storytelling
These seven reflections explore how storytelling helps children and families process challenges, find meaning, and heal. By sharing personal or fictional stories—through play, metaphors, memory work, and narrative revision—kids can express hard emotions, reframe experiences, and discover growth. Stories become tools to bridge past and future, enrich identity, and foster connection.
5 Ways to Deepen Connection with Your Child
Connection is protective. This post offers five simple ways to strengthen your bond with your child—through listening, shared passions, play, meaningful rituals, and love languages. These tips can help rebuild closeness, improve communication, and support emotional growth at any age.
Classroom Benefits of Fidgets and Sensory Tools. How effective are they?
Explore how fidget and sensory tools can help students, especially those with attention or sensory needs, self-regulate, reduce stress, and stay engaged in class. From stress balls, chair bands, and wobble seating to headphones and glitter jars, these tools provide tactile input to support focus and self‑regulation. Guidance includes choosing quiet, non‑distracting options and tailoring tools to individual needs in collaboration with OTs.
9 Ways to Help Kids Improve Their Self-Esteem, Confidence and Self-Worth
Explore nine evidence‑based strategies to help kids build confidence, self-worth, and self-esteem. From recognizing strengths and celebrating effort, to setting achievable goals and encouraging healthy risk‑taking, these tips support growth mindsets and emotional resilience. Learn how consistent encouragement, listening, and empowering choices can help children feel capable, valued, and more secure in themselves.
Free SEL Curriculum, Programs, Training, and Lesson Plans on Social Emotional Learning
This post shares free social emotional learning curriculum, program ideas, training options and lesson plans for educators, counselors and parents. You will find tools like Harmony SEL lesson sets, Choose Love character development units, RULER emotional literacy training, and FRIENDS resilience building programs. These resources support teaching core skills such as emotion recognition, self regulation, empathy, problem solving, and social awareness.
23 Creative Termination Activities for Ending Counseling with Children
End counseling on a positive note with 23 creative activities designed for children. From memory jars and goodbye letters to vision boards and certificate ceremonies, these ideas help young clients reflect on growth, find emotional closure, and feel ready for what’s next—all in ways that are meaningful and child-friendly.
5 Art Therapy-Inspired Activities for Calming Behaviors and Building Resilience by Erica Curtis
Explore five art therapy-inspired activities designed to help children calm big feelings and build emotional resilience. These simple, creative exercises—from scribble maps to strength trees—offer nonverbal ways for kids to express themselves and practice coping skills. No art skill or special supplies needed. Includes tips for guiding reflection and adapting the activities to meet diverse needs for self-regulation and growth.
Activities and Videos to Teach Theory of Mind and Perspective Taking Skills to Children
In this post you'll discover 16 engaging videos and hands‑on activities to support children in building theory of mind and perspective-taking skills. You’ll learn how kids typically develop these abilities around ages 4–5, explore example exercises like joint attention, and get practical ideas—optical illusions, social stories, guessing games—to spark conversation and empathy. Perfect for classrooms, counseling sessions, or at home.
Using Books to Teach Perspective Taking Skills to Children
Using picture books to teach perspective‑taking helps children learn to step into someone else’s shoes. By reading stories with varied characters and viewpoints, you can guide kids to reflect on thoughts, feelings, and motivations. Books can spark discussions and support social‑emotional learning, empathy, and flexible thinking in a supportive, engaging way.
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