Mind Body Align https://mindbodyalign.com/ Social Emotional Learning Curriculum, Professional Development, and Resources for School Districts Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:16:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://mindbodyalign.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/cropped-mindbodyalign-logo-circle-clay-32x32.png Mind Body Align https://mindbodyalign.com/ 32 32 How to Teach Social-Emotional Learning Through Everyday Moments https://mindbodyalign.com/educator_resources/how-to-teach-social-emotional-learning-through-everyday-moments/ Tue, 27 Oct 2026 13:16:34 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37795 Listen or Download Article Audio Because sometimes the biggest life lessons happen between hidden blankets and missing shoes. As a mom, a classroom teacher and someone who teaches social-emotional learning (SEL) to children and adults, I’ve learned something important: Some of the most meaningful SEL moments happen when we least expect them. Usually when we’re […]

The post How to Teach Social-Emotional Learning Through Everyday Moments appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> Why Feeling Connected at School Matters More Than Ever https://mindbodyalign.com/educator_resources/student-sense-of-belonging-at-school/ Wed, 21 Oct 2026 17:54:42 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37857 Listen or Download Article Audio What New Attendance Research Means for Elementary Educators As a teacher and a mom, I’ve learned that sometimes the smallest moments make the biggest difference in a child’s day. A greeting when they walk through the classroom door. A friend saves them a seat. A teacher notices that something doesn’t […]

The post Why Feeling Connected at School Matters More Than Ever appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> Helping Children Build Confidence One Small Success at a Time https://mindbodyalign.com/educator_resources/how-to-build-confidence-in-children/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 14:58:46 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37781 Listen or Download Article Audio As a third-grade teacher, I heard two words almost every day: “I can’t.” I can’t solve this math problem. I can’t read that book. I can’t draw that. I can’t stand up in front of the class. I can’t do it! After more than 20 years in the classroom, and […]

The post Helping Children Build Confidence One Small Success at a Time appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> Cozy Fall Storytime Ideas: Create a Family Reading Tradition https://mindbodyalign.com/family_resources/fall-storytime-ideas/ Mon, 12 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37760 Listen or Download Article Audio There is something about fall that naturally invites us to slow down. The days get shorter, warm blankets and pajamas come out, and suddenly curling up together with a good book sounds better than it did during the busy days of summer. When my own daughters were young, some of […]

The post Cozy Fall Storytime Ideas: Create a Family Reading Tradition appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> More Than Sharing Candy: Helping Kids Practice Inclusion at Halloween https://mindbodyalign.com/whole-child-development/halloween-inclusion-for-kids/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37771 Listen or Download Audio In second grade, my first year at a new school, I went to a Halloween party at a classmate’s farm. The entire class was there. I was the only child wearing a costume. I was teased and laughed at. A boy stuffed hay down the back of my coat. But the […]

The post More Than Sharing Candy: Helping Kids Practice Inclusion at Halloween appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> When Halloween Feelings Are Bigger Than the Candy Bowl https://mindbodyalign.com/educator_resources/halloween-feelings-for-kids/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37766 Listen or Download Article Audio If you ask me what the most exciting day of the year was in my third grade classroom, I wouldn’t say the last day of school. I wouldn’t even say Christmas. It was Halloween. The excitement started long before October 31. By the time Halloween arrived, my students had talked […]

The post When Halloween Feelings Are Bigger Than the Candy Bowl appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> When “How Was School?” Isn’t Working: Better Ways to Get Kids Talking https://mindbodyalign.com/family_resources/questions-to-ask-kids-after-school/ Tue, 06 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37751 Listen or Download Article Audio Some kids come home from school ready to give you a full documentary of their day. My 9-year-old is that kid. I barely get her backpack off her before I know how quickly she completed her math facts, who she played with at recess, what flavor coffee her teacher drank, […]

The post When “How Was School?” Isn’t Working: Better Ways to Get Kids Talking appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> Benefits of Reading Together: How Books Build More Than Literacy https://mindbodyalign.com/educator_resources/benefits-of-reading-together/ Mon, 05 Oct 2026 11:00:00 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37747 Listen or Download Article Audio For more than 20 years in my third-grade classroom, reading aloud was part of our day. It wasn’t something I stopped doing once my students could read independently. We read together because books gave us something to wonder about, laugh about, and talk about. Our trips to the school library […]

The post Benefits of Reading Together: How Books Build More Than Literacy appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> What to Say Instead of “Calm Down”: Coaching Children Through Big Emotions https://mindbodyalign.com/whole-child-development/what-to-say-instead-of-calm-down/ Tue, 22 Sep 2026 22:05:49 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37730 Download or Listen to Article Audio “Calm down.” (And let’s face it, sometimes the “Calm down” has an exclamation point at the end!) I said it as a teacher. I said it as a mom. And I’m fairly certain it has never actually made my upset child calm down. As a third grade teacher, there […]

The post What to Say Instead of “Calm Down”: Coaching Children Through Big Emotions appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]> How to Start Meaningful Conversations With Kids After Reading Together https://mindbodyalign.com/family_resources/how-to-start-meaningful-conversations-with-kids-after-reading-together/ Fri, 18 Sep 2026 14:40:33 +0000 https://mindbodyalign.com/?p=37707 Listen or Download Article Audio Some of my favorite conversations with kids have started with a book. Then wandered as far from the story as Mo Willems’ Pigeon from what he was supposed to be doing. A character does something that reminds them of school. A problem in the story reminds them of something a […]

The post How to Start Meaningful Conversations With Kids After Reading Together appeared first on Mind Body Align.

]]>