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We can teach children social and emotional skills in much the same way we teach them their ABC's and their 123's. The Time-In ToolKit gives you everything you need to create a calming space for children ages 3-9+ for use in homes, classrooms, daycare centers, therapy settings and more.

Suzanne using the Time-In ToolKit with Henri (3), Mark (6), and Kaylee (4).

The Time-In ToolKit comes with a 90 page illustrated digital manual including 40 pages of bonus printables to walk you through the process of 1) creating a calming space and 2) introducing this space, along with the concept of Time-In's to children and 3) replacing time-outs and punishment in your home and/or classroom.

For all Time-In ToolKit orders:

Please accept emails when asked at checkout to ensure you receive the digital components of this kit along with updates.

One ToolKit is all you need for a family, or an entire classroom. You can add a SnuggleBuddies, our online course, extra posters, and PeaceMakers if you like.

This ToolKit was created to meet children where they are and can be easily adapted for children with special needs.

How Does It Work?

When a five-year-old child misspells her name, do we sit her in a chair and tell her to sit there for 3 minutes to think about what she did?! No, that would be silly, and actually, counterproductive to their learning.

Foster a Growth Mindset: one of 42 cards in the mindfulness game PeaceMakers, in every Time-In ToolKit.

Instead, we break the task down, model the skills we are looking for in an engaging way, and reinforce each new budding ability we see emerging from this child. We make it safe for her to practice these skills and to make mistakes until eventually, she gets it.

Taking a similar approach to teaching children how to manage their bodies, minds, and feelings is equally helpful. We can meet children where they are, socially and emotionally, teaching them with loving, clear, and consistent boundaries, free from shame, blame, and pain.

Foster self awareness and control: one of 42 cards in the mindfulness game PeaceMakers, in every Time-In ToolKit. — Foster self-awareness and control: one of 42 cards in the mindfulness game PeaceMakers, in every Time-In ToolKit.

As adults, we have the power to teach children how to manage their emotions and behaviors by modeling these strategies ourselves, however, remaining regulated in the presence of a child who is not can be challenging. Finding and maintaining our center as parents and educators working with children takes tools, support, and practice.

When we respond instead of react to children who are feeling upset or overwhelmed, we help to improve their their social and emotional skills by modeling regulation and resilience ourselves. Research points to modeling as the most powerful teaching practice of all.

STEP ONE: SET-UP A SAFE SPACE

Set up a cozy, inviting space and establish your personal Calming Corner guidelines. The ToolKit comes with the "Creating a Calming Corner" manual devoted to holding your hand through this process. Hang your posters using the sticky tabs provided or frame them before hanging.

STEP TWO: NAME EMOTIONS

The many playful games, tools, and strategies that make up the Time-In ToolKit make thinking, talking and learning about emotions fun! Help children learn to recognize when they would benefit from visiting their Calming Corner by teaching them to notice and name their emotions.

With practice, children will quickly begin to recognize the four different mood groups we all feel in the average day.

The first step to emotional regulation is awareness. This is the case for big kids too (that's you and me), as it is our own self-awareness that allows us to respond instead of react to children, even if they are acting out.

By practicing self-awareness, we cultivate patience and self-control in ourselves and the children we are leading and guiding.

STEP THREE: CONNECT/REGULATE

Use your Calming Corner on a regular basis! There will no longer be a need to put children in forced isolation or to send them away to their room, the steps, a chair, the principal’s office, etc. Children (and adults!) can take a Time-In instead.

You don't need to wait until children are upset or acting out to visit your Calming Corner. The Manual that comes with every Time-In ToolKit will guide you through this process.

Connection builds compliance. The behaviors we are looking for from children are easier to learn when they are feeling safe and connected to another human being, ideally the adult in the room.

The Calming Corner is an inviting "get-to" place kids go to feel better and to learn. Time-Ins are not a punishment.

The many posters, games, and tools included in the Time-In ToolKit help you practice talking about emotions with kids on a regular basis.

The Time-In ToolKit will help you establish Calming Corner guidelines that best suit your home, classroom, day care center, etc.

Owl's message for kids is to tune in and trust their intuition; a theme that is repeatedly explored in the Time-In ToolKit.

Owl's messages invite kids to tune in and trust their intuition; a theme explored in both PeaceMakers and the Time-In ToolKit.

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Why Time-Ins?

Children can learn self-awareness, social awareness, self-care, and social skills in much the same way they learn to read and write, through modeling. We, as adults, deserve not only effective tools but a supportive community to grow into these tools and to do our own healing and growing, free from shame and judgment.

A "time-out" (also known as social exclusion) is a form of behavioral modification where adults temporarily separate a child from an environment where unacceptable behavior occurred.

Though punishment based discipline like time-outs may lead to short-term compliance, they do not enhance moral behavior or teach children useful conflict-resolution skills*. While often well intended, punitive childrearing practices fail to address the underlying cause of a child's "mis"-behavior and are usually ineffective in accomplishing the goals of discipline: to change behavior and build skills.**

Spanking, yelling, shaming and isolating children can be harmful, lowering their developing sense of self, and trust for the world around them.

All children deserve to feel powerful, safe and connected. We have the science but we lack the skills. This is where the Time-In ToolKit and Generation Mindful's supportive community come in.

*Hoffman, Martin. (1970) “Moral Development.” In Carmichael’s Manual of Child Psychology, 3rd ed., volume 2, edited by Paul H. Mussen. New York: Wiley.

**Chapman, Michael and Zahn-Wexler, Carolyn. “Young Children’s Compliance and Noncompliance to Parental Discipline in a Natural Setting.” International Journal of Behavioral Development 5 (982): p. 90.

Q AND A

I want to intrinsically motivate my children. Can you explain how the ToolKit does this and how this is different from behavioral charts that rely on extrinsic motivation?

ABSOLUTELY! The Time-In toolKit is built around skill building, and teaching children social and emotional skills via modeling, not by reward or punishment.

The Time-In ToolKit replaces the "behavioral management approach" by nurturing emotional intelligence in both children and adults. The kit's activities are built around emotional regulation, encouraging people of all ages to notice, name, and express thoughts and feelings. The stickers engage children and help them track which PeaceMakers cards have been talked about, serving as a record of the learning that has occurred (Reggio Emilia). Children do not need to interact with the stickers if they do not wish to, and the stickers are not a reward nor are they given in exchange for a behavior.

For more on PeaceMakers, the positive affirmations/cards included in each kit, please visit here.

What's Included

Shipped Items

PeaceMakers Mindfulness Card Game: 42 Cards plus instructions
35 Resealable Animal Stickers
Meet the PeaceMakers Poster (works with the stickers): 20" x 30”
My Calming Strategies Poster: 20" x 30"
32 Feeling Faces Poster: 12" x 16"
PeaceMakers Feel Many Emotions Poster: 12" x 16"
My Calming Corner Poster: 8" x 10"
Calming Steps Poster: 8” x 10”
My Feelings Card Set
Calming Corner Activity Mat: 8” x10”
8-page full color printed Mini-Manual
32 sticky tabs to hang posters to the wall if you decide not to frame them

Digital Components
Emailed when your order ships.

Creating A Calming Corner & Using Time-Ins: 50 pages of instructions (PDF)
Bonus Printables (PDF): This 40 page set of printables comes at the end of your Digital Manual to help you take Time-In's more powerfully into your home, school and/or therapy practice. Because these sheets are PDF's, they can be used with multiple children at no extra cost to you.

FRAME RECOMMENDATION:

We recommend IKEA frames for quality and price. Their RIBBA frame line has a 24" x 36" frame that works well with the 20 x 30 posters in the ToolKit. Here is a photo of the Calming Strategies Poster from the ToolKit in the 24" x 36" frame from IKEA.

Videos

Shipping

We proudly ship worldwide!

After you place an order, we will send you a tracking number along with delivery updates.

The recipient is responsible for any applicable duties, taxes, and fees. Please be aware, if you live in the UK, imports fees on a kit have been as high as US$22!

Thank you! Please email support@genmindful.com if you have any questions.

User Images

Mark (6) shows me how breathing helps him calm his body during our photo shoot. It was powerful, by far my favorite moment of the day.

35 Resealable Animal Stickers to use with the PeaceMakers Chart and PeaceMakers mindfulness card game. Your children will love being able to add a new sticker to the chart with every card they pull.

The Time-In ToolKit makes connection a habit, nurturing children's social and emotional skills through everyday teaching moments. Here's an introduction to the ToolKit by a few children who have been using the Time-In approach with their mom and dad, incorporated the approach into their family life and homeschooling.

Lotus, age 7, after reading her PeaceMakers card "I am silly" to her mom.

Henry (3) and his first time using a Calming Corner.

Henry (3) and his brother Mark (5) just minutes into working with PeaceMakers and a few other tools from the Time-In ToolKit in his new Calming Corner.

FREE Calming Coloring Sheets

Interested in learning more about using Time-in's? Here's a free printable with eleven calming strategies for you to color and share with your children.

FREE Calming Strategies Coloring Sheets (4 pages)

Just color, fold, staple, and turn your printables into a calming strategies booklet with children ages 3+. Or cut the cards out, add a key ring, and make a handy set of calming strategy cards you can take with you on the go.

These BONUS printable calming strategies are just a taste of what you'll find inside the complete Time-In ToolKit.

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TESTIMONIALS

To learn more about what others think about the ToolKit, check out our 90+ Facebook reviews here, and if you purchase the kit, add your own!

Over $30,000 worth of Generation Mindful materials have been donated to schools and families in need to date. Thank you for making our give-back program possible with your purchase.