Mindful Moments Blog

SPD is a neurological condition that affects how an individual processes and responds to sensory information from the environment. Sensory inputs encompass various experiences, including touch, taste, smell, sight, sound, and movement. SPD can significantly affect a child’s social and emotional development. Early childhood educators play a pivotal role in recognizing, understanding, and supporting children with SPD.

In her work as a school counselor with young children and tweens/teens, Dusha Cecil wishes her district had used Generation Mindful social and emotional learning (SEL) materials years ago, to develop the language and “permission to feel” for a diverse population of students starting in preschool when they were ages three and four.  In this video, Ms. Cecil shares her experience of using GEN:M tools for early emotional education in the classroom setting: Among other experiences, Ms. Cecil shares her experience of working with young students, and the many black male teens she supports in therapy that struggle to be sensitive or express their feelings.  Using Generation Mindful tools to "have these conversations and create safe spaces for children makes them feel safe at school, makes them want to learn from their teachers, makes them want to do better, and encourages them to start envisioning their future." She has tremendous hope for GEN:M tools to lessen the school-to-prison pipeline by giving children of color, particularly boys, a voice and the permission and space they need to express their feelings starting in preschool. Colby Heckendorn, the former principal of Patrick Henry Downtown Academy in the City of St. Louis, and the Executive Director & Co-Founder of Atlas Public Schools oversaw the implementation of GEN:M products and curriculum with his diverse staff of early childhood and elementary educators and students at Patrick Henry Downtown Academy.  In his letter of support for Generation Mindful, Heckendorn shared how his diverse team of 11 K to 5th-grade educators felt the tools seamlessly embedded SEL into their everyday classroom activities.  "Generation Mindful provides amazing programs and tools that can help educators seamlessly embed SEL into their everyday practices. I have seen first hand how easy it was for our teachers to utilize these resources and have been astonished by our results."  - Colby Heckendorn, Executive Director & Co-Founder Atlas Public Schools Diversity, equity, inclusion, and amplifying voices of color are priorities for Generation Mindful.  There is a connection between punishment-based discipline, lost class time, and the many inequitable early childhood education suspensions happening on a daily basis that fuel the school-to-prison pipeline.  GEN:M tools educate rather than punish children who are still learning to regulate, strengthening social-emotional skills for a lifetime of health and well-being. They are inclusive, easy to use, and foster a supportive classroom climate for caring teachers to establish trusting relationships where students can feel emotionally safe, motivated, challenged, and have a sense of belonging.  The tools complement the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions Model developed by Dr. Ross Greene - driven by the belief that “kids do well if they can.” When maladaptive behaviors occur, educators use time-ins to identify and build lagging skills rather than punitive methods such as time-outs, or being sent out of the classroom. To learn more about using GEN:M tools to support social and emotional learning (SEL) in the classroom with the opportunity to bridge the learning into the home, visit here. Classroom Time-In ToolKit® Bundle 0 Reviews $149.00 $238.00 Save $89.00 GENM's social-emotional learning (SEL) tools take a positive, relationship-based approach to nurturing emotional intelligence in the classroom. Our ... View Product trauma-informed restorative discipline inclusion emotional intelligence classroom management

A world where 250 preschoolers are suspended per day in the US alone is a world that needs a course correction. You read that right -- according to 2017 data from the National Survey of Children's Health, 250 kids in the US are suspended or expelled from preschool each day. What’s more, the rate of expulsion is much higher among Black boys.  Researchers found that half of the 17,000 preschool students who were suspended or expelled in 2021 were Black boys even though they represent about 20 percent of enrolled children. The impact of expulsion and suspension on children, families, and society Recent research on Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) informs our increasing awareness of the impact of early trauma on a child's healthy development and the relationships between early trauma and compromised physical and mental health conditions later in life.  Expulsion and suspension practices in early childhood settings are stressful, negative experiences for young children and their families. Here are just a few of the negative impacts on our children and families.  Per findings from The Institute For Child Success, preschool expulsion and suspensions: - Interrupt the child’s sense of security, social acceptance, and academic routines. - Put added stress on the child’s parents who are often left to find immediate childcare or another early childhood setting, frequently without support or facilitation by the previous program of attendance.  - Are often delivered by early childhood programs that have not performed adequate developmental assessments of the child before removing them from the classroom. - Are predictive of expulsion or suspension in later school grades. Young children who are expelled or suspended are up to 10 times more likely to drop out of high school, experience academic failure and grade retention, hold negative school attitudes, and face incarceration than those who are not.  Variables including larger classes, a higher proportion of 3-year-olds in the class, and elevated teacher job stress were found to increase the likelihood of expulsion.  One study that assessed the quality of 65 discipline policies from state-licensed early childhood care programs found that most of the program's discipline policies fail to sufficiently address essential features known to reduce challenging behavior and promote pro-social behavior in young children. (Longstreth, Brady, & Kay, 2013) This same study confirmed the importance of positive teacher-child interactions in reducing rates of preschool expulsion, validating the importance of providing program support in the areas of social and emotional development as well as focused interventions for children with special needs and/or mental health issues. Students perform better when they feel supported by the adults in their lives. If we are to protect our youngest learners, and families impacted by racism, poverty, and learning differences, we need to invest in early and inclusive social-emotional learning initiatives.  Our school systems are failing to protect already marginalized student populations that, statistically speaking, are disproportionally more likely to receive punitive disciplinary actions than their counterparts. With the right instruction and support, every student can thrive and excel, in and out of the classroom. We do this when we: Invest in building stronger school-family partnerships. Incorporate strengths-based discipline practices into the classroom. Involve families, early and often, in their students' learning. Preschool expulsions and suspensions are a national issue. It's time for us as a society to implement positive, relationship-based practices in the home and classroom to meet the social and emotional needs that challenging behaviors often represent. With early emotional education, tools, and support that bridge home and school, we can support children, families, and educators, lower stress levels in the classroom, and prevent preschool expulsions and suspensions. If you are interested in how Generation Mindful is addressing the school-to-prison pipeline by making social-emotional learning inclusive and accessible, you can learn more here. Supporting Equitable Early Emotional Learning Time-In Activity Mat & Card Set 0 Reviews $18.00 The Time-In Activity Mat & Card Set playfully walks children through the process of emotional regulation with tangible tools to support learning fro... View Product trauma-informed restorative discipline inclusion Break Shame Cycles model to learn Breaking Generational Cycles mental health classroom management Neurodiversity

As students prepare to return to school this fall, there are many things for parents and educators to consider. We are still in the midst of a pandemic and living in an environment where racial disparities are being brought to the forefront where they can no longer be swept under the rug to be ignored, tolerated, or forgotten.  

While June is a month to honor and celebrate those in the LGBTQ+ community, inclusion is not a one-time or one-month conversation. It is an everyday lived experience. Here are 8 children's books to nurture inclusion. 

Sesame Street leads the pack on educating children about inclusion, social issues, and kindness, and now, with their newest special, “The Power of We,” they will teach children how to stand up against racism.

As an African American woman married to a white man, Ebony and her husband Michael have made it their mission to teach their four-year-old son, Max, about emotions and inclusion.