This month we’re giving away resources that support kids’ mental health, including Sometimes When I’m Sad, a beautifully gentle book that helps children identify sadness or depression and offers helpful ways to manage it. One lucky reader will win:
- Sometimes When I’m Sad
- Mindfulness In a Jar®
- Sleep Easy
- Stress Can Really Get on Your Nerves
- Fighting Invisible Tigers
- Feeling Scared!
- What to Do When You’re Scared and Worried
To Enter: Leave a comment below describing how you support kids’ mental health.
For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry. Entries must be received by midnight, May 22, 2020.
The winner will be contacted via email on or around May 25, 2020, and will need to respond within 72 hours to claim their prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. Winner must be a US resident, 18 years of age or older.
We welcome your comments and suggestions. Share your comments, stories, and ideas below, or contact us. All comments will be approved before posting, and are subject to our comment and privacy policies.
© 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. The view expressed in this post represent the opinion of the author and not necessarily Free Spirit Publishing.
A son of mine suffered from depression & anxiety, resulting in him taking his life a couple of years ago. My daughter with a colleague, built a community book box in front of our home in her brother’s name & with his picture on it. The goal was & continues to be to have different reading levels represented along with ages with books on mental health/self-esteem/emotions.
Our program support students and parents by investing in Social Emotional books to send home with students.
I am an Elementary Counselor working on developing a SEL curriculum and resources for our district.
I am currently working towards a Children’s Mental Health Certificate . I am an Early childhood educator .
I try to get my girls out on their bicycles everyday. It helps get fresh air, quality time together and lots of fun!
I support kids mental health as a social worker by maintaining updated knowledge in techniques that work best with kids.
I am a School Psychologist and work with students individually and in social skills groups. I focus on helping them emotionally connect to others and how to cope in a variety of situations. I also assist families of our students as well as the staff in our building. I am always looking for additional resources to add to my tool kit.
I am a K-8 School Counselor. These items would definitely help transition back to our building in August. Hopefully!!
Help families find ways to be proactive not reactive to children’s needs.
Active listening.
I am a social worker and work with kids (age 5 and under) in daycare centers. I partnership with the teacher and parents to support children’s social emotional development and mental health.
I am a school social worker for an elementary and middle school. At the elementary level I hold individual and group sessions focused on various mental health topics. I also lead professional development and meet with parents on trauma, behavior interventions, anxiety, suicide/self harm, and depression.
I’m a school psychologist and work with kids from Pre-K to 12th grade with a variety of abilities and needs. I also love sharing resources with the teachers, counselors, and parents I work with too!
I’m a school counselor that works with military and low income students. Many of these students experience trauma due to deployment of families, divorce, and SEL. During these uncertain times, I would like to incorporate your books into my weekly home connections read aloud that I send home to students. I would also use your books to conduct group and classroom lessons. Helping students understand their social-emotional feelings will help them express how they are feeling in a more positive way.
I work with kids in the public school system who have special needs and benefit from support to help them understand their feelings and learn how to express their feelings in healthy ways. I’m always looking for more ways to help support kids mental health, especially during these uncertain times.
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We can learn a lot through play. We also read books that identify to the specific feeling. The most important is teaching our children that it is okay to communicate and talk to someone whenever they need help expressing themselves.
I’m about to graduate as a school counselor and I would love these books to help with my future students!
I am the Social Emotional Learning Manager for an Early Learning Program that includes Early Head Start and Head Start. I support staff, children and families with strategies and resources to encourage and strengthen connection, self-regulation and trauma informed care.
I work a Head Start. We work with our children daily on learning how to show their feelings and express their feelings in the right manner. We also work with families and help them learn to manage their feelings also.
I work with kindergarten children. I would love to have these books to share with my children, to help them deal with their emotional feelings. Great resources that would help support their mental health, which is so important to their learning.
I’m an instructional assistant currently working with small reading/math groups daily. I incorporate many SEL books into my weekly lessons. I feel giving the children an outlet to discuss their feelings through books is very beneficial.
I teach UPK/Special Education, and we discuss emotions every year but this year is going to extremely emotional with separations, anxiety, fear, new protocols, etc…. These resources would be a great tool to help in easing the children’s fears, feelings, anxieties, etc….It would help all of us, the teaching staff, as we embark in this uncharted territory.
I already follow the Facebook page and “liked” the giveaway post.
I already follow you all from my account @CounselorLanie
I should clarify this one was for Pinterest 🙂
I already follow on Instagram as @CounselorLanie
As a school counselor, I work with students daily who are struggling. I know many are concerned with academic gaps, but it will be a lot harder to help kids through trauma than from gaps in academics from this pandemic. Resources such as these help us meet the mental health needs of our students with relatable examples, stories, and activities.
I already follow on Twitter and I retweeted the book giveaway. <3
I have followed on Instagram 😀
Asking students how they are feeling and what is going on in their world before beginning a lesson.
I’m an elementary school counselor. I work daily to provide social/emotional support to my k-5 students every single day.
I am a SSW serving two districts k-12. This would be very beneficial in helping meet their needs.
I work as an intensive behavior teacher in a middle school. My students are a mix of general education and special education. They are students that typically wouldn’t be in a “regular” school. We use ABA, social skills training, etc. to help them navigate their emotions, academics, etc. Many of the students come from a trauma filled background. This is a new program in our district. Any resources are greatly appreciated!
I am the SSW supporting students in my district from Early Childhood Special Education to Post-Secondary.
We use the Second Step program to support the social-emotion learning of our Head Start students but often augment with books to provide additional SEL support when our children exhibit a need. I am a level two trauma informed educator and realize our children often need more emotional support then provided in our Second Step lessons.
Every student, child, parent or teacher can benefit with any of these recourse available to enhance learning at any given situation that may occur.
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I support K-4th kids at my school as the school counselor. I provide individual, group counseling and classroom guidance.
I have a Critical Child Care Home in WV and my families are under a lot of daily stress because the parents are all essential personnel in the medical field. We talk daily about our feelings and we label what it is we are feeling and why. We then talk about different ways to deal with it. The first being talking it out. We also do constructive things like making cards for the area hospitals. We make inspirational cards for the staff and get well cards for the patients. We also helped to convert our neighborhood library box into a blessings box. The children help check the box daily and suggest things to put in it. (toilet paper, food, cards, bottled drinks, and books of course) I’m trying to show the children how to be proactive with their feelings. We may not like the situation our world is in right now but it’s our job to make it better.
I’m a preschool teacher and I work together with parents . we read together and create literacy back pack so parents and students read their favorite book at home. parents log in a journal so they can write their child emotions and their feelings. once we create a relationship is easy to work in different issues in collaboration . bringing the family together as a team. books are a powerful tools.
I think the emotional well being of children is of the utmost importance. I support my students by sending positive weekly emails as well as posting my thoughts and support via google classroom-
Our Agency is in its forty-second (42nd) year; our Mental Health Consultant observes the children, and meets and works and meets with families and staff to help support the children’s’ mental health.
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We have morning meeting in my class everyday. This time is valuable in building student/teacher and student/student relationships. Also, we use this time to address social emotional goals. Doing this every morning helps us all to get along and treat each other with respect.
I help children in my groups in my elementary school. Each chilld is so important that i try to meet their emotional needs of the day through special books and activities. They are so worth it to my heart.
This is my 13th year of education and being a 5th grade teacher. I have to honestly say that this year has been my first true experience of struggling childhood mental health. Though I have experienced glimpses of struggle, I have been able to manage each situation with open arms, consistent support through limited resources and communication. This year proved I need more. We even had our first emotional support dog within our classroom. I would like to provide any and all students with the resources and support they deserve–they are not alone and truly need coping strategies to thrive in life. This collection of tools can help empower students in need.
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I am a mental health coordinator and supervisor for a large Head Start program in Western Pennsylvania.
I am a mental wellness coordinator in a very large county for Head Start. As with many others, we have a very large population of children who are exposed to drug abuse, food insecurities, domestic violence, grandparents raising grandchildren, poverty, overcrowded housing conditions, homelessness, and parents incarcerated; just to name a few. During this pandemic, I feel it is the children that are the heroes, for what they are having to endure. Before any learning can occur, we must first build positive relationships with the families to make them feel safe.Having this library access to families would be a great way to start building that relationship. thank you for a chance at a great opportunity!
I am a librarian doing storytime online for my community & am always trying to find new ways to emphasize how we can take care of ourselves & others. Even before everything went wacky, I would always start off storytime by saying that the number one rule is to “Keep ourselves and our friends safe.” and also mentioning that it is completely ok to take a breather break if you are feeling overwhelmed.
I support the mental health of young children ages birth to five in a side by side approach with the adults who teach and interract with children. I lead a team of early learning coaches in WA state and we service programs and their staff with best practices for supporting young children with whole child development. We also provide supports and resources to the adults that promote social/emotional/physical/mental health from the top down.
I use an emotion chart where the kids can point to how they feel and then choose a coping skill to calm themselves.
Hi! I am a school psychologist. Parents and teachers are always asking for good resources. These look great! I’d love to use them with my students and my own kids. Whenever libraries open up again, I will check them out.
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I’m an RECE at a daycare with wonderful coworkers – currently with junior school-aged kids! I believe I am helping them with their mental health by: educating myself on mental health, and being aware of emotions in myself and others. I aspire to continue to be the listening ear, source of support, mediator, and comfort for my kids when they face a problem, a conflict, or are feeling emotional with all kinds of thoughts. I believe I have, and will continue to help guide my kids through understanding themselves, thoughts and emotions so we can plan next steps :)!
I currently work as a Head Start Area Manager/Mental Health Specialist. I go into the Head Start classrooms and provide support for our teachers in all areas, but especially in the area of mental health and behaviors. This past year, prior to COVID-19, we were really working on “beefing up” or calm down corners in their classrooms. We were providing them with more materials to help children regulate and understand their emotions. I am also currently working on getting my Master’s in School Counseling so having these books in my future office would help tremendously!
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I teach special education and these books would be great to use in my social skills/behavior lessons. My students struggle with understanding their feelings and finding appropriate ways to cope and regulate their emotions.
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I am a child and adolescent mental health counselor as well as a Pk-6 school counselor. I use children’s literature in classroom lesson all the time as I feel it helps children connect to the characters and in their lives. I also use children’s books in counseling sessions for the same reason and I’m so happy to see more and more books for children that deal with, teach and normalize mental and emotional health and challenges!!
I work as a Professional Development Specialist and I coach teachers in Head Start in our community. They often ask me for resources to help their families in their caseloads and for children in their care. This would add to my library of things I can loan out when needed.
I am a licensed social worker who provides counseling services to children on the autism spectrum. These stories would help my kids understand mental well being.
I am the mental health consultant in a Head Start. I work with teachers and families to help support their children’s mental health through teaching them how to stay calm when a child is upset, help the child identify the emotion they are feeling, model but not push a coping skill when a child is upset, and processing difficult events. I help kids learn about their emotions through books, puppet play and role plays as well as giving them the words to work through problems with their friends. I also help families and children get mental health services if needed.
I incorporate Mental Health exercises in my morning circle time by asking “how do you feel today”. I also talk about it when a child becomes emotionally upset…I validate their feelings and we come up with a solution that they can use to become happy again. I have also introduce “Tucker Turtle” and use Conscience Discipline strategies daily. We choose one to do a month (pretzel, drain, star, and balloon). We use these techniques to help children self regulate and focus during times of transitioning, before a story, or when ever there’s a need. We also use it for ourselves. We would love books that talk about and deal with Mental Health…our children love listening to stories.
I support my own children by reading books or talking with them about their feelings. I am no longer in the classroom, but I am a coach for directors, teachers, and family child care. I help guide them to see the importance of social emotional development and promote books and different tools in their classrooms. These books would be amazing to give to teachers in the classrooms.
I am the school counselor and I do guidance lessons for our students PK-5th grade.
I am a School Counselor and work with elementary students. Now that students are out of school, it’s difficult to have that contact that you would have if they were in the physical building. These books will be a help, especially when I can get a few of them together on a Google Meet meeting. I can read to them and have a discussion afterwards.
I love books!! Books can help children with emotional struggles. I believe a book can touch so many children with so many issues/struggles they may be facing.
I work with students who have severe social-emotional disabilities at a Collaborative Public Day school. I teach the students self-regulation strategies such as meditation, mindfulness and sound healing. We practice communication skills to improve assertiveness and to reduce receptive processing errors. I work with families to improve communication and to provide additional support and referrals. Many of my students go into crisis and it my job to get them the help they need and to bring them back into learning. Now that we are online, this connection is even more important! I hold daily social skills classes that prepares them for their day with their teachers by reviewing executive functioning skills: schedules, log-ons, reminders, emails. I give them social time so they can share with their friends and create visual slide shows with activities and contests to keep them motivated. Many have asked me to read to them and I think these books would enhance my ability to reach them and to have a calming, consistent connection with them now as I do in the classroom.
WE have family game night a few times a week. This gives us a chance to laugh and play and have some conversations that normally don’t come out. I work for Head Start and I share this technique with my families. Find ways to support your child without putting them on the spot.
I work in an urban school with 800 elementary students. This is a high poverty, high trauma district. I love to conduct classroom lessons as well as groups and whole school initiatives. I also conduct individual sessions and work with families to empower them. These resources will help my school with providing coping skills for both students and parents.
I’m an elementary school counselor. I work everyday to strengthen kids mental health by conducting classroom guidance, small groups, and meeting with students individually. I train and support our teachers in using SEL in their curriculum in their classrooms. I really enjoy using literature in my counseling practise.
In addition to supporting the ECE workforce, I am on a cancer advisory board and these books would be perfect for the patient library.
I support CMH as a School Social worker! I love Free Spirit Press as a resource for me, kids and families!
Working with students who are considered high-risk and have a difficult time expressing themselves, I focus on offering a safe and nurturing environment. Reading with my students about being scared, anxious and/or emotionally dysregulated helps them to realize they are not alone in their journey, other kiddos feel the same way at different times. This encourages group discussions and builds empathy within our classroom family.
I am a preschool special educator of students with severe disabilities. To help students improve self-regulation skills and social interactions, I emphasize social-emotional activities in my classroom. These books would be so helpful
I support student mental health by teaching them positive coping skills.
I support kids mental health by providing a diverse array of books at my library that support and raise awareness of mental health. I also incorporate these books into programs such as story times.
As a school counselor I work to teach students skills to recognise, feel and manage their emotions. I give them a safe space where they can learn to sit with their emotions and then to process them. I help student learn about their decision making process, and to recognise what they have the ability to make decision about and what issues are “Gravity” issues or unmovable truths. I work to help them learn how to recognise their resources and then to use their resources to move forward in the world in a way that supports their personal emotional and physical health and well being. These are mental health life skills.
As a curriculum coordinator, I have partnered with our local community health organization to provide age appropriate programming for our students by licensed counselors and training for our teachers in Mental Health First Aid for Youth.
I am a therapist working overseas with military children. Due to the nature of their parents’ jobs they have additional stressors more so than non-military children. Covid19 has substantially increased those stressors. Both the children and I love bibliotherapy and these resources would be very helpful. Thank you for the opportunity to enter this giveaway!
I support children mental health by reading stories and helping my students solve problems in a positive manner by speaking in calm manner.
I am an instructional leader that is tasked with providing all students emotional, mental, and all support that can be given. I work in a high-poverty, at-risk, and sadly transient district. Simply put, our kids need every support they can receive to be successful. We would appreciate anything you could donate to us. Thank you!
As an elementary librarian on a fixed schedule with a curriculum, I have little spare time, so I “sneak in” SEL through reading picture books, and through the “Think About It” videos on GoNoodle.
I am an elementary principal and my passion is supporting students at a young age with their mental health and regulating their emotions. We recently implemented the Choose To Be Nice curriculum for our entire student body and these books would supplement nicely with that!
I am a special educator of students with severe disabilities. To help students improve self-regulation skills and social interactions, I emphasize social-emotional activities in my classroom. These books would be another way to explain and improve understanding of feelings and emotions. I also liked you on Facebook and follow you on the other 3 social media outlets.
We use a daily morning feelings chart, sing and dance with joy, have a solution box for ideas to help solve problems between students, talk about kindness, and say a social/emotional motto each morning after our school pledge. Our motto: Kind friends help and care. Students are 3 years old.
I am a professor on the collegiate level but have many students and athletes in the education field. Also, I have a 9 year old daughter who suffers from anxiety who reads constantly about how to help herself in situations. These would be beneficial to all I am involved.
I support children’s mental health be validating feelings, listening for the story behind the behavior and making sure that children have a voice in their world.
My son has Autism and he was recently in a mental health hospital it was a super scary because his just 8 years. Sometimes I don’t even know where to help him. I think this would help us.
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I support childrens mental health by using social stories, social emotional teaching, providing a safe environment, and engaging in mindfulness practices
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Following you on instagram.
I liked you on facebook.
I support mental health for children ages 2-6 years old and their families in the 5th ward of Houston,TX. We are a non-profit preschool for low income families, and COVID-19 has brought many new challenges and big feelings to our students, of course including school closure. These resources would be a great tool to use with both children and parents to help facilitate conversations about all of the feelings we are experiencing during this unprecedented time.
I work with students with low incidence disabilities in middle school. We have a wide range of abilities and diagnoses from AU to ODD. We support our students’ mental health through social skills instruction, social stories, and teaching coping and managment strategies. We help them to know it is okay to have feelings and to express them in healthy ways. We also look for different resources and visuals to help them connect to their feelings and to healthy strategies. Thanks!
We use Mindspace each night
I support children by providing a safe environment for them to express themselves
I completed Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest.
I am a pre-K teacher and in our classroom; I teach mindfulness, yoga, we read books on feelings and have in depth conversations about them. We are also using PAX training that was introduced to our school staff back in the summer to implement this school year. I am always looking for books that reflect all that we do to teach coping skills and mindfulness.
I am an elementary school counselor. I am always looking for engaging and innovative ways to serve and meet students and families academic, social and emotional needs. Thank you for providing this opportunity to win some resources.
I support student mental health during the year by teaching classroom guidance, small groups,and meeting with students discussing ( and practicing) mindfulness, yoga, social skills, personal goal setting and positive mindset skills.
During this pandemic I have been meeting with students via Zoom to support healthy emotional living, and doing research on resiliency, trauma and grief, and self compassion for staff and parents.
I use growth mindset in the classroom, as well as mindfulness techniques. I am an interventionist so I have created a room that is a “safe harbor” with cool down areas and books that help kids express what they are feeling or going through. I also reach out to parents of the students who struggle and check for needs beyond the academics: food bank, clothing, scholarship opportunities to the local rec department.
I think all children and families need support during this scary and uncertain time. While my preschool is closed, I am creating weekly activity bags (with porch side pick-up) for each child, making phone calls, reaching out to families with weekly emails including local resources (food, business loans, on-line activities) as well as reading stories to the children that can be accessed through email. I think books with a social/emotional theme are essential resources to have on hand and are also an opportunity to connect with parents who are struggling to support their child.
I have been teaching children how to put their feelings in color categories and writing a book to read to them at the end of the year. I think it’s important to make it simple for them in order to express it to others. I have been talking about how we support one another even though we see each other virtually and I have begun to do individual lessons to support their learning and take the opportunity during the lesson to talk about how they are feeling. I make them laugh, sing songs and read to them. I have been doing donations to the parents to help them with grocery items and on Friday I deliver dinner to the family donated from a local restaurant and the added benefit is I get to see the kiddos smile through the window and give them virutal hugs. Thanks for the opportunity to participate in a giveaway that benefits a whole classroom of preschoolers.
I have prepare activity calendars for the months of May, June and July. We have partner with First 5 to give out backpacks with learning materials, hands-on-materials, watercolors, crayons, and books. This is one less thing parents need to worry about during these difficult times.
I’ve been posting weekly newsletters for students and parents with helpful SEL ideas for the “learning from home” setting.
I work with parents and caregivers to be more engaged with their children
I work with adult learners, helping them to support social & emotional learning in their children.
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I work as a school social worker and created the position at my school, which means buying all things out of my own pocket. This would be such an amazing asset to our school.
I am an education coordinator for an Early Head Start program.
I love this opportunity you have created for us all. I would use this with my students as we begin our day either now or in the fallZ or when I notice they aren’t themselves. These tools are great resources for all. I’m new to teaching so having this would be great for my kiddos. Thank you and well deserve to whom ever you choose.
During this pandemic I am helping my emotional struggling children by making sure I zoom with my students twice a week. I am giving families support and resources. I would love this set to help my students through any hard time they may have. I would also use these items with the foster and adoptive families that I support.
As a former School Counselor, I used many of your products and my replacement is still using them. Now I work for a Drug Prevention Coalition. This is Prevention Week. Mental Health is a big part of what we do! Love Free Spirit!
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I work in a preschool room with a lot of different needs for children and also parents . I support this by using a variety of different books and resources and doing free workshops online to help with dealing with different situations within my preschool room and centres. I love reading and mentioning resources where children and parents can read and understand the different mental health challenges.
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I work with ADHD and LD students in a college preparatory school. My students deal with stress on many levels – academic, family, personal and now pandemic. I have built up many resources to meet their needs. Having a variety of resources helps me to better meet their needs
I am a mental health clinician for the Child Development Department with our school district. I provide support to children in the classroom related to social-emotional and mental health challenges. Helping parents access therapy for their children, classroom support, peer support, supporting teachers to promote the social-emotional development for the children in their classroom.
I work in a school specializing in mental health. The unique part of my job is that I work with the general education students. I help students learn ways to improve their mental health. With school being out, I’ve turned to online methods of teaching!
I’m a co-teacher at Oak Crest Elementary. I am always concerned with the mental health of my students with needs. There are more struggles for these babies. I’m always in search of new ways to help them. Most of them are at least 3 years behind. Any help for these babies, the parents, and myself would be great!
Such a great company. Appreciate the intentionality of looking out for your fans.
First off let me say Thank you for this wonderful opportunity. I am a EHS/HS Health & Family advocate. I live in a very rural place. Our resources for families and the children are very limited. This would be a great tool to be able to win and share with them. We work with all types of families high risk, single parents, grandparents raising kids, homelessness, and foster kids. We have them all and I would love to be able to win this to help them out.
I like on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest. May God bless you all.
I support my students’ mental health at a K-6 school as a student support teacher. Our primary goal is to improve student performance, and mental health is integrally tied to student performance and achievement.
I champion the champion in order to ensure they are healthy mentally and emotionally so that children and their families can receive the high level of support we aim to deliver within our programs across Colorado. Our families and professional are made up of very similar fabric, they experience similar struggles, and have similar challenges in life- sustaining their families health and well-being. So by supporting the professional educator I am supporting the child, their family, and the community they are raised within. Head, Heart, and Hand!
I work with Headstart and I am a mother. This package will help my child in the home and also is school family based to use with a school family as a shared resource for all children. I use conscious discipline with children at school and at home. Teaching is a constant flow of learning and educating. It is a relationship between children and adults and the first person to learn the information on how to help children self-regulate is through the adult knowing how to self-regulation in and of themselves. These resources will be used along with our calm down area and in our daily school schedule. We use techniques such as the S.T.A.R. which stands for Stop take A deep breath and Relax. We do calm downs and have resources for calming down children based on self-regulation. Parents, teachers, guardians can use this to help children.
During this time of school closure, I’ve been posting daily coping skills strategies for students to learn and practice to help them get through this difficult situation.
I support children’s mental health by supporting safe, stable and nurturing environments, which allow their primary caregivers to be present and responsive in order to address their needs appropriately.
I have worked as a paraprofessional and taught and reinforced SEL skills, I taught Character Ed in middle school, and now I am a classroom teacher, where SEL is an important part of each day, to ensure they can focus on academics.
I teach at a residential hospital for kids with psychiatric, emotional, and behavioral diagnoses. Between school and therapy, we could really use these resources. Our students often feel that no one understands because no one else is like them. It’s important to help them feel they are not alone, and resources like these can help.
I am teacher working for head start. I support children with disabilities by collaborating with the families and specialist at my site. My teaching team assist the children with building everlasting relationships that are modeled through social emotional content. We provide a safe space for learning and growing. The materials that are provided in this resource kit will be an added tool to develop and enhance their mindset dealing with mental health issues and currently remote learning.
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Have Fun! During remote teaching you have to be like a Magician. I work with preschoolers and some have special needs. I have puppet shows,dancing, play I Spy with them,they love running around the house to find the items and running back to show, have a show and Tell, Lets Make Pizza! a simple cooking activity.
I’m an elementary school counselor. I support SEL through classroom lessons, individual and group counseling.
Liked on Facebook.
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I followed on Twitter.
I followed on Instagram.
Following on Instagram! We work with the children and their feelings on a daily basis. It’s okay for them to have feelings whether it’s sad, mad, happy, or even if they are not sure what they are feeling. Books are a great way to enhance these feelings all the kids love stories.
I like using mindfulness techniques such as breathing to help children. It teaches children to be in the present and recognize their emotions. I think it’s a good technique to learn as at a young age so you can carry those skills into adulthood.
I am an elementary school counselor overseeing schoolwide SEL curriculum implementation and offering Tier 2 and Tier 3 SEL support.
Children struggle to access the frontal lobe control tower if they struggle with strong emotions they can’t control.
I work in an elementary school building and a middle school building and am always looking for resources to help children coping in these difficult situations. Young children love the stories, the picture books capture their attention and are helpful. Thank you.
Mental health is so important for all children! I wish people took it more seriously. Regular doctor appt’s, regular conversations…talk to your kids people!!
I teach yoga to children using imaginative stories. I help them to become more aware of their internal states and needs and teach tools for self regulation so they are better able to navigate life’s challenges.
Like Free Spirit on FB! Use your resources frequently as an Elementary School Counselor. Thank you for all you do!
I support students’ mental health by listening to them. As Special Education Paraeducator I’ve learned that if I ask the right questions, students are capable of helping me understand how to best support their needs.
Books are my favorite way to support the kids. They normalize their feelings and lend themselves to great discussion.
I support children with group time talks about ways to calm themselves. We practice breathing, blowing bubbles, and the words to describe how they feel.
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SEL Lessons, individual and group counseling!
I work with preschool children and one key skill that we try to teach them is social and emotional skills. Books are a great way to make these concepts concrete for them to learn great strategies when they have big emotions.
I’ve been posting several at home lessons to try at home as a parent during this time. I know some of my friends are struggling, so I want to share if I find something easy, or fun, or that they had not thought of yet. I’ve also been pretty vocal that people are doing a good job, because they need to hear it. I think people need some extra praise in these times.
I work with gifted students K-12 in a school district, and provide social/emotional support to our 4th-6th grade students who are receiving gifted services. This would be a great resource to share with my gifted teachers! Thanks!!!
I am a School Media Specialist and I am always looking for books and resources that will help with student’s SEL (Social and Emotional Learning). The majority of our students are struggling both at home and in school with their emotions and the affect it has on their education. These would help them a lot.
I work as an after school site coordinator. We do SEL everyday in our program as well during the day. Right now we are doing virtual channels and we have a hangout for the kids to discuss what is going on in their lives right now. Earlier this year we had a Student that died a tragic death and I was on the front line consoling the students and helping them to get through this tragedy. I could use this book for my program and I would share it with the other 23 schools that we are in
My program is a night care program with a family grouping of children. There are a variety of mental health needs within the group. Books are a great tool to engage them – to open up dialogue about issues they may be facing at home – or within the group.
I am an instructional assistant at our elementary school. Instructional teacher assistants are often the extra helping hands in the classroom when children are in need. Lately there have been many occasions for social emotional guidance. These young students are exposed to trauma. If they trust you to let you in, extra social emotional strategies may help that student succeed in not only academics but in life.
As a children’s mental health curriculum developer, I do research to learn more about children’s needs and the best way to address those needs. I work with the parents to prevent mental health related situations and apply a variety of resources, activities and creative plans not only to work directly with children’s mental health, but to provide them with strategies to affront future situations and be able to identify and relate with others.
I support student’s mental health *usually* by pushing into classrooms and teaching social emotional lessons, along with supporting individual counseling. During this long term closure, I have been continuing that work remotely, as well as sharing more resources with families to support mental health at home.
Hello, My name is Kelly Brown and I am an elementary counselor in Texas. We are a small district with 60% low income. I have been a counselor for 9 years to first and second grade students. These students come to us from very diverse backgrounds and needs. I work with students in small groups to help with anger, anxiety, loss, and bullying. I have used your books to help with these lessons and have had proven success. During this pandemic to I have worried about my kids daily and wonder if they are using the tools we learned to be happy and safe.
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I work with infant/toddlers and preschoolers supporting teaching staff in the classroom in managing behaviors and age appropriate expectations. I focus a lot on hands on activities and socialization groups like yoga or music and movement to work on self-regulation! Right now this really includes supporting parents and finding new ways to gain access to supportive materials for them.
As an Aboriginal therapist, it is naturally within our ways to use the gift of story to share with your little ones how to be in this world in a good way. i often use animals from story books and puppets to share imprtnant teachings around feeling all our emotions and how we can handle them in a healthy way,. i love using ypga poses and mindulness as tools to help our children create soace to feel this big emtions all while feeling empowered.
I work in Headstart and we are always working on social emotional skills with our kids. We use the 3 B’s, be respectful, be responsible, and be safe, to help teach them. WE also teach self-regulation skills and how to calm down when angry.
I work with special needs students and I work to help them improve their mental health in a few different ways. My favorite is when I will work students individually to create a tool box of ideas/activities to do when they are stressed. Students learn to identify when they are getting stressed, they choose an appropriate tool from the box, set a timer and use their tool to help calm down. When the timer is over they put their box away and get back to work or ask an adult for help.
I am a Head Start Teacher in Arizona. I develop relationships and trust with my students by providing nurturing, responsive care. My classroom is a safe and inviting environment. I use social emotional books as tools that children can relate to and to teach children skills. I assist children in understanding their own emotions and identifying the emotions of others. Myself and my co-workers practice trauma informed care and have been trained on the Nuerosequential Model in Education.
I am an elementary Special Education teacher in a cross-categorical classroom servicing EI and OHI students. I support their mental health with daily SEL lessons and connecting with GE teachers to determine student needs. I have a sensory room in addition to an academic room which are attached. The sensory room serves as a daily respite for those students who need a quiet place, a place to use sensory tools, a place to discuss their feelings and fears. I use the Zones of Self Regulation, Social Thinking Curriculum and other books that support SEL and teach students strategies to help cope with situations that are frustrating or scary. Each student has a Daily Zones chart to help them chart their daily feelings/behaviors. Each student has a choice of calm down tools and is free to visit at times when not assigned to my room (in the GE room, “specials”, lunchroom, etc). My academics follow the grade level standards but are designed to help each student’s individual academic and emotional needs. We do a lot of place based or project based work in hopes that each student will be able to develop their skills. Each day starts with a check in and mindfulness activity and each day ends with a check out and/or mindfulness activity depending on the student.
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I am a Curriculum and Instruction Coordinator. I work closely with our school counselors to ensure we have materials to address the well-being of the whole child. Previously, I was a special education teacher and many years of that was spent in a classroom for students with emotional and behavioral disorders. I definitely understand the importance of having literature that addresses some of the many social and emotional needs our students have today.
I ensure the guidance counselors, social workers, and therapists at my school are kept up to date with new & helpful stories they might want to share with students.
I am a school social worker for students K-5
I am a school social worker serving students in a special school setting. All of our students have special social-emotional-behavioral needs. About half of our students are in residential treatment due to the significance of their behaviors at home or in the community. All of our students are amazing and need support from adults who will strive to understand them. Anxiety and trauma are prevalent in our population of students.
We are all trying to find ways to survive the collective trauma that COVID19 is ausing.I work with teachers to support young children who are at risk and communicating their fear and anger through their behavior.Needless to say, now more than ever children need to understand their feelings, These books would be wonderful resources for me to share.
Our organization creates resource bins for educators to borrow. We are very focused on bins that support mental health resilience and self regulation as well as supporting trauma informed approaches and growth mindset. We also provide professional learning sessions where resource ideas can be shared.
I work with families with children with special needs. We are always fundraising to get additional supports. These would be great for our site and special kids.
I teach students diagnosed with dyslexia and some with a dual label with a Learning disability or other health impairment. When you teach, you have to take care of the whole child, Mental health is the most important, your brain can help you succeed or break you in any given situation. Problems will happen, but with the correct mental health, it will be just a bump in life.
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Talk and discuss welfare check on families. Talk to the child, read stories online or facetime depending which app the family has.
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I work as a SPED Support Teacher with EBD Students. Our grades are Elementary to HIgh School Students. The students are at risk students. I teach Social Skills with books, role playing, videos, and other materials. Our goal is to have the students master the Social Skills in order to return back to their regular home school. We would love to receive the Mental Health Resources in order to help and teach our Students.
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I am a Paraprofessional at an elementary school in Brooklyn. I would love to win these books to help my students who are struggle with mental health issues during this time of Corona Virus.
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I support several schools and students with disabilities and/or metal health illnesses. This kit ca help many of my teachers and students.
I work with at-risk students and English Language Learners. I believe it is very important to establish a relationship with student families to encourage emotional health. It is a team effort between the school system and the families to promote emotional well-being.
In our Pre-K classroom we use books and visuals to teach children about feelings and how to manage them in different situations. We practice breathing techniques and calming activities before an emotional situation arises so they know what to do. A space in our room, the Kid Calm Zone, is devoted to being safe, cozy, and inviting when a child needs time away from others. When a child isn’t ready to be part of the group, needs to find calm, misses a family member, or just wants to be alone, the Kid Calm Zone has books, pillows, soft toys, and a chart to indicate how they feel. When we support children’s mental health during the early years a solid foundation is formed.
Hi,
I teach 3&4 year olds. I am doing remote teaching with them. I was a very frustrated the first week.
I knew I had to revise something to make this work for my little ones. I realized what they were really missing was the social aspect school provided. I now offer four small group meetings with four children at a time.The children love seeing and talking to their friends. This gives them the opportunity to share what they are doing at home and show the results of the activities assigned.
Thank you,
Mary Kay Papa
Hello! I’m an instructional aide for a class with students with behavioral and emotional needs. Winning this contest would provide me the tools to support the students I work with to support their development.
I have a cool down box in our preschool office for kiddos who just need a minute away from class. I am big on validating feelings without making them feel insignificant or unimportant. Little kids have big feelings!
In my preschool classroom we use Second Step to promote social emotional skills that help the children thrive in their environment with their peers. We are currently using puppets online to promote the skills we have already learned this year in class.
I’m a school social worker! I support kids’ mental health by building safe and strong connections with them, facilitating safe and strong connections between them and their peers and teachers, and teaching mindfulness and coping skills. I love teaching kids that it’s OKAY and GOOD to feel all of their emotions so this would be an awesome package to win!
I am a school social worker working with PreK-3rd grade students. I am currently doing teletherapy with my students, as well as putting out daily activities that include SEL, mindfulness, self-awareness and managing emotions, etc.
As a school counselor, I help support mental health for all of the students in my school. I do my best to focus on mindfulness during lessons, coping skills during individual counseling, and targeting specific needs during group counseling.
I work with low income children and families. We try to do everything we can to promote social emotional health. We have used many different things to help them deal with and process their emotions. This kit would be helpful.
I am a school counselor. I work with elementary kiddos and provide support to both kids and their families. Besides being in the classroom, teaching small groups and working with individual students; I am also in the cafeteria with all students and would love to use these resources with my kids. When we go back to school after this pandemic, kids will need these more than ever. Until we go back, these can be used at home for remote lessons.
As a school social worker in an elementary school, I support the social emotional needs of a variety of students, as well as support for parents and teachers. Each student comes to us with their own “backpack” of their history, their life experience, and their learning needs. Using these resources helps to provide a great jumping off point for discussing issues that are sometimes difficult to approach. During our elearning time, I am using books to engage students in my mental health check in video sessions. Thank you for providing wonderful resources!
Hi I am a kindergarten teacher. I would love to share these wonderful resources with my little angels. Thanks
I am an elementary school counselor at a Title I school. I work with students in whole group guidance utilizing bibliotherapy, mindfulness activities, social skills training, etc. In the counseling office I work with individuals on barriers to overcoming obstacles for personal and academic success. I have used Free Spirit Publishing resources since I began my career 25 years ago as a mental health clinician in the community. I would love to be blessed with this set, specific to the anxieties of this time of COVID. Thank you.
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As a Family Engagement Specialist at a public elementary school, my commitment is to work side by side with the parents. I provide multiple SpeEd workshops, parenting and SEL classes, support groups, etc. I do not work directly with the children – my work is to make sure each of our children are surrounded with support and understanding.
Connection is the key beginning with truly being present in the moment; meeting/accepting the child where he/she is, following his/her lead, offering an authentic, gentle approach; being MINDFUL and patient: observing, listening, reflecting, living in the silence if that is needed; having FUN – laughing, going outside and doing physical activities, observing/experiencing nature.; reading or telling stories; reassurance and support as needed. Basically, just being truly present, making eye contact, intentional breathing, touch as appropriate,listening.
We have beenn working toward training our staff to provide trauma informed classroom experiences. We have been attending any and alll webinars pertaining to this. We have scoured the interenet for free resouces and share them with one another. When we were in session we provided resources for safe classroom spaces that we were developing in our classrooms.
As a special educator, I work with lots of challenges. I’ve found that unless the child is receptive, learning cannot happen. SEL is so important to address! I use stories, puppets, and often games that bring about a feeling of safety for the children, who will then be able to focus on the learning. Many times, the stories themselves evolve into learning material! With school closures, I have moved to supporting not just the student, but also the parents and the family.
Hi. I am an elementary school teacher currently working with 5th graders. I truly believe that supporting students mental health starts with conscious observation and validation of their feelings and emotions. One thing that I do is share my own personal experiences with them of when I was their age. This strategy has helped me connect with them and get to know them more personally. That emotional closeness allows students to feel more comfortable–they are more willing to share personal things with me and ask for help whenever they need it. I have some books with stories and mindfulness strategies–we also use these in the classroom. Every Friday, I give them time to play with collaborative games–puzzles, perception games, memory games, attention games, etc. They always look forward to Friday afternoons so they can have some fun and build relationships with their peers. After we started working with these strategies, challenging behaviors–which were VERY frequent–have reduced dramatically.
I’m a school psychologist in an early childhood program. I support children’s mental health by helping teachers and families access resources and services that can help their children/students. I also help coordinate our positive behavioral support team and help teach preschoolers in my building about friendship skills, emotions, and social problem solving.
I work as a Child Development Specialist contracted through a local mental health agency with an elementary school. I present social and emotional learning lessons to classrooms K-4th and work with individual students and groups who are referred by teachers, parents and other school staff. I use a lot of books, games and activities to present these lessons to my kids. I enjoy teaching life lessons to our students in fun and memorable ways!
In my work as a middle school counselor, I work with students, families, and staff to provide resources and support on a daily basis. Mental health concerns affect so many students and their loved ones, so providing tools is one of my main goals to help them. Thank you for your awesome books on these important topics in our world! Therese
I’m an elementary school counselor and use lots of bibliotherapy to help my kids and families, often loaning books to familes, as well as reading them with kids in my office.
Hi–I’m the psychologist in a special ed preschool in NYC. We are conducting Zoom classes and therapy during the quarantine, including weekly social skills and music therapy groups. We make videos of the same subjects so the children can watch anytime. I consult with teachers and parents about stress and family functioning. I have just started making books with the children with their words and drawings, about what it’s like to be at home and away from school.
Our classrooms use Second Step kits and we are currently doing online Conscious Discipline training. Building relationships and really knowing your children and meeting them where they are is very important in helping them feel safe. When they feel safe and trust you, you can help them learn the skills they need to deal with big emotions and interact appropriately with others.
I am a Dean of Students and work with students who have special needs. I am also a yoga teacher and use books and stories to develop mindfulness activities and yoga practices for the students. All of the students would benefit from these resources as they would be also used in social skills training sessions, lunch bunches, and school assemblies to help our students make social emotional gains.
I am a teacher and parent. With my students i try to be there for them, In this crazy time, I am checking in with them frequently and letting them know I am available and a constant. With my kids I try to let them feel and name their emotions. Many adults are not aware of how to identify more than a few emotions in themselves and others.
I have access to research based information and materials that I proved to families to help them with mental health. I also provide families with activities to help support mental health development by defining and practicing emotions and other skills.
I am a school social worker who works with students using books as an outlet for understanding and developing different social emotional skills. Books are a way for children to realize that their feelings are normal. I empower students to creatively learn and express themselves. I provide a safe space for them, with calming tools and a listening ear. I help students understand that they are powerful and capable of many things. Helping them identify goals and tools that they can use to meet them.
I lead a team of Mental Health and Disabilities specialists within the Head Start and Early Head Start community. Our agency in in Clackamas Co. Oregon.
I am an elementary school social worker in two schools, where I do primarily individual and group counseling. I love to provide a safe space for kiddos to come and chat about anything on their mind – and I provide services to all kids in the building. I pride myself in having lots of fun resources and cool new things in my room to support a calming, supportive environment. Unfortunately, because i’m contracted in through a youth service bureau, I don’t get a budget like the rest of staff. All of my materials are paid for from my pocket – which is definitely hard on a social worker budget. This would be so incredibly appreciated by my students!!!!
I am a school counselor who reads them free spirit books and uses free spirit resources. During this covid-19 time, I am taking them on walks to get them out of the house.
Hi. I am an Infant and Toddler teacher in an Early Head Start Classroom. In our classroom we teach 2-3 year olds. We acknowledge children`s feelings by letting them know it`s ok to feel mad or sad, or to miss their moms and dads. We build relationships with families to keep them informed on everything we do in the classroom. We have books and pictures that show different emotions. We also teach children to be empathetic of others by modeling how to care about each others feelings.
We support mental health in children by validating ALL the emotions, frustrations and fears they exhibit or talk about. We plan activities to sensitize children to their feelings and to show them how to be more in tune with their feelings and emotions.
I am going to be a first year licensed specialist in school psychology in Texas. I work with student with emotional/behavioral and social needs and I would love to start building up my therapeutic library for these kiddos. I am starting from scratch with resources so any chance to build up my stuff is appreciated!
I am an Early Childhood Behavior Support Specialist at the WV Behavior/Mental Health Technical Assistance Center. I work closely with teachers, schools, and districts to support implementation of research-based practices in the interest of promoting social emotional development. The opioid epidemic has taken a drastic toll on our state. Our youngest learners are coming to school and displaying challenging behaviors that have teachers and local education agencies pleading for help. Our goal is to support educators in positive behavior interventions and supports because we know this is a problem we cannot punish our way out of – we need a cultural and systemic shift to support the behavioral and mental health needs of our children.
I work with teachers, child care providers, caretakers, and parents in order to support the development of social and emotional skills in the classroom.
I teach in a virtual K-12 school, where several students attend to find a safe, nurturing classroom environment. Many of my students were bullied at their former schools, and still have the physical, emotional and mental scars from those experiences. Some of my students did not share that same experience, but attend to avoid those, or for a multitude of other reasons, including impairments that physically or mentally prevent them from succeeding in a traditional school setting. I support them both in class and with personal phone calls, sometimes emails and text messages. Different supports I provide are personal help sessions, validating their feelings and experiences, and modifying their tasks to help meet individual needs. Especially in these very trying times, I have recently been working to support parents and guardians in a similar way.
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As a school counselor for K-4th grade, I support mental health by encouraging and supporting school-wide social emotional learning sessions once a week, I also have small groups of students that I meet with on different topics varying such as self-esteem, trauma, anger coping or self-regulation. Every year it varies and it really depends on the needs of the students for that particular school year.
I work at an independent school in Vermont for children with significant behavioral and mental health issues. The main focus in my classroom is social emotional health and teaching social competencies in a trauma informed way. Each one of my students has experienced significant trauma in their history and my job is to help support their mental health while giving them a positive school experience. I use books like this to help them understand a) emotions exist, b) emotions are OK to have and c) emotions don’t always have to control our brains.
I support children’s mental health by nurturing the children’s confidence and self esteem. Lots of praises, setting realistic goals, being honest, encouragement, and making learning fun.
developmentally appropriate materials and appropriate guidance is provided as well as talking about how we feel. Most of all children need to feel LOVED!
I teach preschool at a nonprofit organization. To help support my kid mental health and will read stories and follow up with questions that help them process their thoughts and feelings. I also have a variety of fun games and activities that help in our classroom setting. Now with our school closed I am reaching out to my students via zoom and scheduling a special meet with them to see them in person at their home (outside from a distance). This allows them to know they truly do matter and we can still be safe from a distance. I am bringing books from home and using our natural environment to engage in activities. It is so important that each child still has a sense of belonging even if we can’t all be together!
As a pre k teacher I educate parents & students on symptoms of mental health problems. I promote social & emotional competency and build resilience. I ensurs a positive, safe school environment. I teach and reinforce positive behaviors and decision making.
In my first grade classroom I have a Peace chair. While sitting in it, students squeeze a stress ball, read a poster with ways to calm down and sing a song from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. We also listen to relaxing piano music when returning from lunch recess and practice deep breathing daily. We have some self help books such as The Angry Octopus.
Being a school counselor, I support kids mental health in several different ways, such as, individual and small group counseling and classroom guidance lessons. It has been challenging the past couple of months since we are not together physically, but I have still been reaching out to students through Google Meets and email. I have been giving parents and teachers tips and activities to help with students’ SEL needs.
I am a Kindergarten who believes strongly in supporting mental health. We use a variety of techniques in our classroom to assist the children with this. I think sometimes just sitting down and reading a story can be a very calming strategy as well as drawing a picture which the children generally love sharing. We have different areas in the classroom that the children can go to have some time on there own.
I am a SEL Integration Specialist in Tulsa, Ok. I teach kids social and emotional skills in small groups and in classrooms in our elementary school. I also help coach and support Teachers in their own Adult SEL and help them organize and set up their class for SEL success!
As a mental health clinician I support children’s mental health by providing a safe space for them, helping them build coping skills, problem-solving skills and self-regulation through play therapy strategies, being a good listener, helping them to understand their emotions and process and express them in a healthy way.
To help students with emotional health, I like to be proactive in providing sensory breaks, building relationships so students feel comfortable talking with me, and giving space and silence when needed!
In my classroom, I have a calm down cubbie where students can go if they are feeling overwhelmed, or just want to be left alone. There are puppets, breath step to be a star, writing material, in folder and paper. Sometimes can tell when they are getting ready to flio they lid and want some time to alone.
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Forgot to include – I am also sending snail-mail cards to some of my students who are “high flyers” in case they are not able to access the internet.
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I work with elementary students and have been working with them on mental health issues through online learning activities these books would be a great addition to video read aloud
For me, during this tough time, I am reaching out to students via Google meet to have “real-time” conversations
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I am an art therapist at our community mental health center. Our school-based team serves six different school districts in an effort to eliminate barriers and increase access to services for children K-12.
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Working with schools and districts as a PBIS Coordinator to align efforts, streamline initiatives, share resources, and benefit as many staff and students as possible.
I am a school social worker that works with students from Pre-K through high school age 🙂
as a special needs teacher we daily help with maintaining emotional health, as well as physical and cognitive health
I am a parent and a music educator. In my Zoom music classes I use a lot of movement, games, and humor and I always leave a lot of room for people to share what’s going on in their lives. I am prioritizing connection over content and checking in as much as possible. With my own children at home I try to remember to offer hugs if they’re struggling. I have introduced some mindfulness practices into our family. Before we eat we hold hands together and breathe and say a blessing. I also try to make space to answer any questions they might have and provide as much comfort as I can. Finally, I have my own self care practices so that I can keep myself strong and healthy – our on my own oxygen mask before assisting others!
I am an elementary school counselor and I use a lot of books and bibliotherapy and play therapy to help children support their mental health. I meet with students individually and in small group usually in lunch bunch. I teach Social Emotional learning whenever I can. I love utilizing activities, books and toys that speak to students!
I work for a State Preschool program. I am a teacher on Special Assignment I focus on the parent education piece of the program. A lot of our families are farmworkers, I have connect with several parents to see how they are doing. My concern right now is if the families have enough food or have issues with paying their rent. As a program we are working to get supplies out to the parents. The teachers are doing class dojo. During the year parents received several social emotional books to read to their child. The list of books you are giving away would be used during a reading in class dojo. Thank you.
In my classroom, I have a calm down corner where students can go if they are feeling overwhelmed, or I recognize they are overwhelmed. There are strategies in a folder and paper. Sometimes the student is recognizing they are overwhelmed and once they begin to calm down they can put their thoughts into words. Or maybe they cannot put it into words, but the strategies I put in the folder help them to calm down.
Hi, I help kids with their mental health creating a routine during this lockdown, giving reflective and art activities related to emotions as they are kit able to outdoors here and in this way express ando talk about their feeelings. Also I encourage them to do exercise or some meditation that will help them being more mindful.
*not able to ho outdoors
I am a children’s librarian and I use SEL books and activities during storytimes to help support/teach children and their families about mental health/SEL. We have a collection of parenting books for patrons to check out as well.
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I am an elementary special education teacher, and one of my primary goals is always to connect with my students on a personal level. As I get to know them, they feel safe in my classroom and often become comfortable confiding in me when they have a concern or something is troubling them – either at school or at home. During this time of distance learning, I have been able to connect with my students and their families via phone or video meetings, making myself available to support them both academically and emotionally.
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Hi, I teach preschool at a nonprofit organization. To help support my kiddos mental health I typically will read stories and follow up with questions that help them process their thoughts and feelings. I also have a variety of fun games and activities that help in our classroom setting. Now with our school closed I am reaching out to my students via zoom and scheduling a special meet with them to see them in person at their home (outside from a distance). This allows them to know they truly do matter and we can still be safe from a distance. I am bringing books from home and using our natural environment to engage in activities. It is so important that each child still has a sense of belonging even if we can’t all be together!
I listen to them and give the children my attention and time. Especially during these times when there is so much going on and it can be scary. I am a preschool director and the best thing I can do right now is to be here and listen.
Hi,
I have been supporting the kids, which are high school students, by speaking to them. Trying to pacify them by sharing my views and letting them express theirs.
Also sometimes video calling and chatting to know how they are doing, speaking to their parents and grandparents also, which makes them feel special.
Sometimes playing online games with them.
Wishing them on their birthdays at times when I come to know about it.
Encouraging them to study and divert their attention.
As a School Social Worker I support children’s mental health first and foremost by simply being a resource the children can access. It is so important for children to have outlets and I would like to think I am one for the kids, along with teaching them other outlets as well. I support my kids by teaching them mindfulness and coping skills they can use in various situations. These books would be incredible to read with my kids over our zoom sessions. They would absolutely love it. Thanks so much for doing such a fun prize give away! 🙂
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I support my students’ mental health by making and sharing videos of myself, teaching material and singing songs we would be singing in school. I also host a weekly Google Hangout so that the kids can see each other
We have an emotional check in inside our classroom. Students can go to it everyday and let us know how they are feeling. They can change it later as their feelings change during the day.
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I support the mental health of children through my work as an early childhood mental health consultant at the Collaborative for Educational Services in Massachusetts. We work with teachers, child care providers, caretakers, and parents in order to support the development of social and emotional skills in the classroom, in after school programs, and at home! During the pandemic, we have been doing our best to provide teachers with ongoing professional development including especially around trauma informed care and support to parents in meeting the needs of families at this challenging time.
Remote learning is now mandatory as students continue their education. It is an extreme shift from our every day lives, as educators and students. I am an educator for 3K. Children do not understand what is happenning, all they know is they are not allowed to school. I am here to support parents and communicate with them over the phone or through video chat. Many express
Concerns, and a mixture of emotions due to the change. Helping parents now more than ever is important. Many do not have resources like books, or the appropriate environment where students can learn to self compose. I provide parents with pdf books
I create on how to follow rules at home, how to be nice, how to share and use language. I also plan to do videos of books , read aloud and have it available online for everyone to use at any time they wish to read books.
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I am a Special Education teacher. Many of my students have difficulty identifying and expressing their feelings. Emotional health and learning to express and regulate these emotions and feelings is so important for my kids to have the best success possible when in the community, interactions within school and interactions at home and with others….
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I design and conduct workshops for front line early childhood and school age professionals.
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We order books for our public library’s children’s collection that support our community’s need for mental health resources.
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As an elementary school library teacher I am constantly enlarging our collection of books addressing social emotional growth for kids, parents and teachers. It is amazing what a read aloud to a group will do for a single person struggling in the area addressed.
Being a Special Education Teacher for 5th through 8th grade, I meet the kids where they are. I teach social skills on a daily basis. I incorporate those skills throughout the broad range of curriculum. I also treat the students as if they were my own. This bonding is the key to mental health. They feel safe with me and will share both the good and the bad knowing I will help when I can and at others times they just need to vent.
I support children’s mental health by respecting their feelings and giving them the words to express them.
I teach 3rd grade. During our online classes, we start our time with a check-in to see how everyone is doing. I’ve also added an additional time for my class to meet for a community circle. We use this time to see how everyone is feeling and a time to share and connect with each other. During a traditional year, SEL is super important and we use community circles, books, role playing, etc to meet those mental health needs.
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As a developmental specialist, I promote ways to help kids self-soothe as well as coping mechanisms for anxiety, stress and trauma. I encourage a positive, stable environment consisting of routines that build the foundations for a safe and secure mentality.
I have worked at on online public charter school for ten years now educating special education students in my online classroom. We have work groups on social emotional practice and behavioral social groups to help students learn healthy relationships and and we teach about mental health in each session. These types of resources can be used to work online with all of our students and recorded and shared with outside agencies and groups that partner with us in each students community all over the country..
Especially with distance learning, the number one thing I can do for my students is give them opportunities to talk and to genuinely listen to them.
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I work in a large urban school district. Mental Health is a daily challenge. Any hands on support is greatly appreciated
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As a preschool special education director, I developed and presented a training for my staff that covered the why and how of using visual supports with preschoolers. One thing that I stressed during the presentation is that we all use them (ex: calendars, watches, to do lists, road signs, building signs, etc.) so why should we expect our preschoolers, some without much language, to perform activities and demonstrate appropriate behaviors without them. 🙂
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I’ve been a gifted teacher and coordinator for 22 years, and have worked with both teachers and students to help them understand the social and emotional needs of gifted students. This year I took on a new role, that of homeless liaison for the Ohio Valley Educational Service Center. In that capacity I am working with district liaisons to provide the assistance that they need to help the homeless students in their districts cope with the needs that can accompany being in that situation- stress, basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter and hygiene, as well as academic support.
I connect with every student each school day. Right now it is virtually, but when we are not quarantined it is at school, on the playground, or in the hall. I like to make sure that I “see” them each day and that they know I am there.
I’m a Mental Health & Disabilities Specialist at Early/Head Start. We work to build children’s social emotional intelligence and close any developmental gaps. At the moment, we’re doing lots of family outreach and creating videos on youtubes in an attempt to help children/families
I am a preK teacher, as well as a certified children’s yoga teacher. I teach a lot through stories dealing with feelings, emotions and mindfulness ❤️
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With our online learning, we do check-ins during our online classes (3rd grade). I’ve also add an additional time each week to meet with the kids for a community circle time. We use this time to see how everyone is feeling and a time to connect and share with each other!
I am a toddler teacher and how I support children’s mental health is I with everything that is going on and my program is opening up soon I record videos that are positive for children. We start the day off my giving virtual high fives and shaking our sillies our stomping our grouches our and stretching our sillies out. When in school I let my students know it’s ok to feel how they feel
We are working with 8500+ students in our school district. We understand the importance of social and emotional learning support for ALL of our students. Being able to provide a tool that addresses needs is a story is a great way to start the thinking and conversation
We do communication activities – sometimes these are done while they are painting
We love Cornelia Spelman’s books. I am a first grade teacher and I have a pre-K daughter so we do a loot of SEL work.
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As a parent and professional I endeavour in my role as a Consultant to advocate for inclusion for children who are differently abled in child care, schools and in the larger community. I work with children who have been adopted, suffered trauma, medically fragile or have a diagnosis of ASD or Down’s Syndrome
I support the mental health of my students by being a presence. I check in with them as often as possible and let them know that I am available if they feel they need any kind of support. Sometimes, even if I don’t get a response I know that the gesture of reaching out has a positive impact because students will eventually tell me so.
As we prepare to reopen our facilty after two months of closures due to COVID-I feel these books would be an incredible resource to our classrooms to help children during this tough time.
Previously as a middle school counselor and special education teacher NOW as a therapist in the community for kids and teens.
As a program we use second step to teach feelings and then move on to what we can do when we have strong feelings. We also try very hard to make connections throughout the day so children feel connected with us and we with them. This is harder during zoom teaching but we still continue to try to make connections virtually.
I am a school psychologist and support students in Grades K-7 with their emotional well being and learning needs. I am also a support teacher for the district for gifted students who can be vulnerable because of their large emotions. I would love an opportunity to receive these resources.
I am a behavioral health specialist working with teachers and children in preschool classrooms. A lot of the work is around social skills and emotional well being.
We support children’s mental health in many ways! We provide individualization in our classroom to make sure the needs of each individual is met. We allow them to express themselves in many ways. We offer books within the classroom and posters. We offer resources to our families to also help support the mental health of our children. We ensure to provide a loving and nurturing environment.
As an early childhood quality coach I support ECE programs in using best practices for providing healthy social- emotional development.
I currently support students mental health through google classroom.
As a Head Start teacher, I support children’s mental health by assisting them to identify how they are feeling and how to heal if necessary.
I work with preschool teachers who teach social emotional lessons in their classrooms. I also help when students have behavior problems in the classroom by working with teacher consultants and the families. I also do parent trainings for getting students ready for preschool and kindergarten and always include social emotional resources.
I constantly look for resources inside and outside of our school to help with my students mental health. These resources could be read alouds that help with situations they are going through to phone calls and texts checking in on them.
During this mandated shut down of schools, I have tended to students’ mental health with email and google Meet check ins with students. During the normal school year, I do it with daily interactions and conversations. I also use books and a tell me something box.
I am an elementary school counselor who is working from home supporting a school of 550. I spend most of my 1-1 phone calls and small group time currently processing feelings of grief and sadness. Any new resources would be a blessing – especially since we don’t have access to our buildings currently.
I currently support mental health needs via video chats to continue with connection and processing feelings! Being an elementary school counselor at home has been challenging, but also rewarding!
As a school social worker, I support mental health of students daily. I like to teach students that mental health is a continuum. Some days will be better, others a bit more of a challenge. teaching coping strategies are helpful. Using books, drawing and journals, breathing, sensory tools and music are just a few strategies I practice with the students.
I am a Pre-K teacher. I support kids’ mental health by reading and discussing books during a Large Group or Small Group Read Alouds. It is not easy finding good books that lead to great conversations, help children understand feelings, and give children solutions of how to manage strong feelings like anger, fear, and disappointment – Especially books that have a story line and great illustrations. Thank You.
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I try to support my student’s mental health in many ways. I create a warm, welcoming environment for them with a variety of seating options and stress reducing gadgets. I have encouraging messages around the room. I have a check-in station where they put themselves each day from doing great to I need to talk to someone ASAP. I supply snacks for those who need one. I do a mindfulness minute at the beginning of class which might be tapping, breathing, guided meditation, or yoga. Kids know I am always available to talk, hug, and listen whenever they need something. I use the Second Step curriculum to teach SEL lessons. I am a fifth grade special education teacher, but I am sort of the mother/grandma figure in the 5th grade and all of the students come in to see me.
Debra. wow! Some great ideas I will use when classes go back in real time. Those kids are so lucky to have you.
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I spend a lot of time just letting the children that I am here for them to come to anytime and I will listen to them and that they can come to me with anything that they want to talk about. They draw a lot pictures that we talk about and we read a lot of books.
I am a school social worker and I work hard to help kids have positive school experiences, work through conflicts and challenges and create a positive school climate. I love seeing smiles and connections made between students and students and their teachers. Thank you for your blogs and articles, especially about mental health during this pandemic.
I support children’s mental health by providing them with support either in person, via telephone, or as of late on google meet. I provide parents with resources and encouragement. I provide teachers with mental health support ideas and resources so that they can share them with their students.
I support students’ mental health by encouraging them to show their feelings through there artwork. While the artwork is in progress, many times students are able to talk about their work and what they are creating.
I believe that every child deserves to feel safe and know that when things are out of their control its OK to be scared but talking about how they are feeling is an important step so we we can show them different ways to deal with theses feeling nd make them easier to understand .
I belong to a community volunteer group called an Early Childhood Coalition. We focus on helping families with the best outcomes for their children birth to age five. Right now emotional health is at the top of our list along with food security of course. Many of our families come from the Navajo Nation and books are so appreciated especially at this time.
I work with high risk families who are struggling emotionally to connect with each other. The children would love something to help them cope and relate to unconventional situations. A lot of the families come from single parent who are young and need assistance to parent. This would help a lot!