Recently, my 8th grade daughter had volleyball tryouts. Although she has bumped a volleyball back and forth during PE class, she's never actually had formal volleyball training. Nonetheless, she went to all three days of tryouts and gave it her best effort. On...
Sometimes it's fear. Hello friends! In a recent reflection, I explored motivation for kids. Here, I’d like to explore a common saboteur of motivation—fear—and how it can show up for kids (and us) in surprising ways. A story about Amy (Note: Details about Amy and her...
When you don’t know what to say Hello friends, A couple of weeks ago my husband lost his mom, and at first I wasn’t sure how to show up for him. You see, my husband has the chameleon feelings habit, which means he doesn’t like to talk about feelings. Most days, I know...
Habits that help when we're worried Hello friends, The other day my daughter, Maya, and I were waiting nervously in the waiting room of the oral surgeon’s office. We were frazzled from arriving late (more on that later), and Maya was fretting about the anesthesia that...
Hello friends! I teach playful mindfulness and self-compassion lessons in schools, and today I’m inviting you into a few K5-4th grade classrooms to see how I help kids open to goodness and take in good things. Do you ever have those days when you’re fixated on what is...
Hello Friends, When Maya was little, the hardest part of my day wasn’t mornings or bedtime…it was the walk from her classroom to the car. Almost every afternoon, she’d melt down. Sometimes over something specific, sometimes over nothing I could put my finger on. I...
The five "resilience animals" can help children and caregivers learn to be mindful and self-compassionate in moments of difficulty Hello Friends! I’m excited to share an article I recently wrote for Greater Good Magazine: Five Habits to Help Kids Be Resilient....
Do you ever feel responsible for things you can't control? Hello Friends, Do you ever feel guilty or responsible for things you can’t control? Me, too. For many of us, our childhoods primed us to feel this way. But, our feelings are not facts, and we can grow inner...
The Power of Curiosity Hello Friends! This week, I’m excited to share more about how to help kids (and ourselves) grow the resource of mindfulness. I get excited when I talk about how to best help children grow the resources of mindfulness and self-compassion. Why? 2...
Supporting Neurodivergent and Racially Diverse Children with Self-Compassion Hello friends, I am passionate about self-compassion for youth because it can help children and caregivers suffer less. Suffering can have many sources, including life events, our internal...