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The topic of this month which is balance, today’s episode is all about balancing work and parenting stress. Work stress is its own beast, but adding parenting stress opens up a whole new can of worms. So, what can we do about it? How can we reduce stress or at least find ways to combat it? Take a listen to this episode.

Alright, I am not gonna waste any time in this by talking about stress and all that jazz. What I am going to mention is that everyone has their own types of stress. But, it is how you deal with it that makes all the difference. It is unhealthy to bottle it up or try to suppress it. Because after too long it will eventually come to the surface. For me, my stress usually boils over into an argument with my husband over something small. In order to save you and your significant other some arguments, let’s talk about seven ways to balance work and parenting stress.

Have a Vision of Less Work and Parenting Stress

We all have a vision of what our inner peace looks and feels like. Maybe for some it is having zero places to be, getting to lounge around on the couch with a hot beverage and a good book. For others it may be a relaxing day at the spa. So, what does your vision of less stress look like?

For me, nothing makes me happier than having nowhere to go. I am a true homebody by nature. I encourage you to take a few minutes to think about the vision you want for your life. Is there a way you can eliminate your stress by rethinking your schedule or commitments? By thinking of your perfect stress free vision, it helps you realize what needs to change in order to get you what you want.

Start saying No

If you are similar to me, then my friend, you are a people pleaser. That is dangerous especially when it comes to stress management. At my job, I am usually one of the ones that gets asked to do extra things because I am not very good at saying no.

That is going to change though. Over the years, I have started to slowly realize that when I say yes to someone else, I am saying no to myself and my family. So, when you take the time to reassess you realize what is more important to you. 

I am also going to start employing the heck yes motto. What that means is whenever I am asked if I want to do this or that, if I can’t answer with a heck yes. Then, it is going to be a no. What if we change this year around and start making a motto to take charge and change how much we commit to things. 

Decompress to Reduce Stress

I’ve said this before, but we all need time to decompress. My favorite way to do that is on the car ride home. I have about a 20 minute ride to and from work, so I use my 20 minutes in the morning to come up with a plan that may help the issues that occurred yesterday, The 20 minutes on the ride home, I use those for going through my day and resolving to not think about it again until the next morning.

Now, I didn’t always employ this strategy. My first year of teach, I was a total train wreck. My days consisted of work, coming home, dinner, work more, watch a tv show, work up until bedtime, go to bed, get up and work some more before actually heading to work. I was working myself to the bone. 

The same pattern followed the year after I got married. God bless my husband because the summer we got married, I also decided to switch positions. So, on top of managing married life, I was literally starting all over in a new position too.

Then, the year we had our daughter, I decided to switch positions again. I see a pattern here that I never noticed before. But now, I had marital, parenthood, and work stress all at once. No wonder I felt overwhelmed.

That was the straw that broke the camel’s back. I knew that I could not live my life the best way possible if I did not take time to decompress at the end of each day. If I did not take time to decompress, I noticed I came home with a short fuse. I would get into more arguments, have less patience, and rehash the day’s events over and over again. It definitely wasn’t helpful for me, so I knew that it had to change. So, I encourage you to find ways to help yourself to decompress too. It won’t be easy at first, but with practice and repetition you will get the hang of it.

Stay Positive

I know this will be hard especially when it is so hard to find something positive every day. But I encourage you to find something, even if it is tiny like you went and got your favorite coffee or there was no line to fill up your car this morning. Anything. The more you focus on the positive things the more your vision and outlook will start to switch.

I recently read that if you constantly say you have bad luck, after days, months, years of telling yourself that, bad luck is all you will ever see. The same goes for negative outlooks. 

There is nothing that boots work and parenting stress to the curb than positivity. My favorite way to do this is to keep a gratitude journal. Every morning I take no more than five minutes to write down three things I’m grateful for. The trick is to not write down the same three things EVER. I can personally tell you that starting my day out being grateful for simple things opens up my mind and causes me to be more positive.

Make Choices to Eliminate Work and Parenting Stress

The next step to reducing work and parenting stress is to make some choices. If you know that running here and there makes you stressed just thinking about it. Then, it is time to choose wisely. I don’t mean to do a clean sweep and just cut out everything. But, take a good long look at your calendar or schedule and see which activities do not bring you joy. 

For instance, say that going grocery shopping takes an hour or two of your time and you feel that you could use that time better elsewhere. Well, hello online order and pickup. I will order my items on Sunday night and schedule it for Wednesday or Thursday after work. The first few times I used to pick Friday afternoon, but by the end of a long week all I really want to do is go home. Plus going on Wednesday night means my groceries are put away and I can relax once I get home on Fridays.

So, for a few minutes today take a look at your commitments and see which ones you could do without. I promise your work and parenting stress will greatly diminish.

Schedule, Schedule, Schedule

Going along with making choices also comes getting in tune with your schedule. By sitting down and taking a look at where you are splitting your time. It will also allow you to see if you have time to take on something else. You definitely do not want to be adding more to your already busy plate.

What I do is I have a planner that has the days broken down by hours. The first thing I do is put in the time I spend at work, exercising, working on my business, spending time with my family and so on. Then, I can see where I have an extra hour or more and really make the most of that time. It also helps me see where I have been wasting my hours on things that don’t really make a difference. This is a tried and true way of getting rid of any work and parenting stress because it helps you take back control of your time.

Get Help

Do you ever watch insta stories of someone and think, “How do they do it all?” Chances are they have mastered an area of work and parenting stress called getting help. Now I’m not talking about professional help, I mean help with things around the house.

If you are feeling stressed out with the kids, there is literally NO SHAME in asking the grandparents or *gasp* a babysitter to watch them for an hour or two. That will give you a chance to get away for a little relaxation and recharge which we ALL need.

If you feel like you need more help than that then there are services out there for hire. Maybe you need cleaning help, someone to run your errands for you, or people to pick up and deliver your groceries. Whatever the case may be, find something that brings you less work and parenting stress and more peace.

Friend, I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you want a free top secret parent’s guide to kindergarten success be sure to check out the link in the show notes. In that guide, it gives you secret tips and tricks from a tried and true Kindergarten teacher. If you would like to connect with me you can find me on Facebook and IG @tinytikesteacher. I’ll see you on the next episode where we will talk about parent burnout because yes that is a real thing. Peace, love, and less stress!

Alright I hope I didn’t lose you from the title, but bear with me. While most people, well I shouldn’t say most people. Let’s rephrase that, while some people have been talking about what the pandemic has taken away from them, I like to think about all it has given me. This isn’t the worst pandemic ever for me because it has gifted me with a new look on the life. I hope through this episode you are able to see my point of view and see if you agree that this hasn’t been the worst pandemic ever.

Did you know that the Fall Tiny Tikes Learning™️ Box is available! If you would like to purchase one head to the link in the show notes below or go to www.cratejoy.com and search Tiny Tikes Learning Box.

INTRO

I tend to always be more positive than negative. Especially in situations where everyone seems to be airing more on the negative side. So, as I sat down to record this episode I was reminded about all this pandemic and quarantine had stripped away. 

However, I’m sure you can find at least one positive that came out of this time in our lives. For me I can think of way more than one and I would like to share some with you. Maybe this will help get your wheels turning and realizing how blessed we truly are to have had this time with our family.

I feel like I should start singing the 12 days of Christmas because this episode is going to follow a similar format. Without further adieu here comes my 12 things this pandemic gave to me.

The first thing this pandemic gave to me is true family time. You don’t realize how much you miss out on as a working momma or parent for that matter. My day job, as you already know, is a Kindergarten teacher. So, after taking care of almost twenty 5 and 6 year olds I am pretty much wiped out at the end of the day.

Then, I come home and have to entertain and care for my 3 year old daughter. Sometimes after working all day, I am tired and worn out. I feel my patience become shorter and shorter and there are times where I am not the best mom. When my school switched to online learning, I started noticing just how much I was missing out on. People always say that kids grow up way too fast. I never realized how true that statement is until I got to see it first hand. I watched Aria flourish with my time at home with her. She was telling stories, writing in her journal, finding new shows, sharing funny jokes, and got fully potty trained! I know I would have missed these moments if I had been running to daycare and work.

Quarantine also gave me a chance to work on myself. With being home I was able to schedule in time to do a proper workout with abs, biking,and strength training. Normally, I am only able to pick one to do before going off to work. Being able to do this has made a tremendous difference in the results I saw. I am also able to watch and plan out my meals because I have more time to do so.

The next thing this pandemic gave to me is a closer relationship with my husband. Have you ever heard that expression of two ships passing in the night? That’s what I felt like we were before this stay at home order went into affect. We both would get up at the same time, have our morning coffee together and talk a little, then rush off to get ready for our days. He would leave before me and not get home until late in the evening almost bedtime.

I would get home around 4 and have to make dinner for us. I put his in the microwave so that it would be ready for him to warm up when he eventually got home. It felt like we were just aimlessly going through the motions without seeing a whole lot of each other.

Then the quarantine happened and everything slowed to a halt. He was home and I was home and we had literally NOWHERE to go. It definitely helped us grow and bond more in our relationship. We had to rely on each other for more things than what we did before and we were each taking on different roles. He was helping with dinner, laundry, and getting to make up for lost time with Aria which allowed me to get caught up on my online lessons for my students and work on my business without distractions. It was fantastic. Now that he is back to work, I feel like our relationship developed deeper and that continues to remain true today. We are better at communicating with each other about things and thinking through problems as a couple. Not that we didn’t before it is just different now.

Over this time, I have also gotten a chance to reassess some things. It has allowed me to take a deeper look at the people who are important in my life. Sometimes it is remarkable about who is actually still there when they don’t see you face to face like they used to. I’ve also come to the realization that sometimes situations like this show you what is truly important. I can honestly say that my friends have been there for me every day and I hope they feel the same way about me. We have messaged each other to check in, celebrated milestones and reminisced memories. We have worried about the fate of school for the fall, talked through our own issues, and I like to think we have grown stronger in our friendship. 

Getting time to find new hobbies is the fifth thing this pandemic gave to me. It’s no secret that I started my own subscription box company during quarantine. It might not have been the smartest move because of everyone being laid off, but I feel that it helped me get a foundation for my business. Now, the Tiny Tikes Learning™️ Box will be shipping out Fall boxes September 15. When I say that I cannot love this edition more, I just don’t know how the winter boxes are gonna top this one.

Over quarantine I was able to sit down and plan out the whole years worth of boxes ahead of time. Before this trying to do all the things was stressing me out and I knew that I wasn’t giving 100% to everything. I am grateful for this little bit of extra time so that I could take some time to focus on everything and get what I wanted to accomplished.

The sixth thing this pandemic gave to me is a better focus on dinners and meals in general that we have been eating. I was the queen of easy meals while I was teaching, chasing after a toddler, and trying to build my business. I couldn’t even tell you how many times we have hot dogs, pizza, burgers, or ham bbq for that matter. It seemed like every night I was pulling some already made meal out of the freezer to cook in the oven. Once quarantine hit I started looking at healthier options and found a meal plan box that would be delivered weekly and would save me some money and time while providing my family with healthier options. Now I don’t have to meal plan every week, I just hop on an app, pick the dinners we want, and cook them in 30 minutes or less.

Being in quarantine has blessed me with a new appreciation for things I once took for granted. I am seriously missing my favorite stores, ahem Hobby Lobby and Target, because those were my favorite places to go during the summer months. Shopping online just isn’t the same as getting to go down the aisles and smell all the candles that I won’t buy. I became so accustomed to hopping in the car and going wherever I wanted to without thinking twice. Now, I ask myself if it is necessary to go out. If not, I don’t go. I haven’t stepped foot in a store since honestly before this all went down. Curbside pickup all the way. I have done online grocery shopping for about a year and I will never go back to regular grocery shopping. 

Another thing that comes to mind is that there can never be a thing as too much fun. Before this I used to feel so rushed and the weekends were even busier; running and there for various things. Now, Aria and I will have played with sidewalk chalk, went swimming in the pool, and popped so many bubbles. Would we have done that before quarantine? I’d like to think so. But, every summer before this I have wanted to do fun activities with her and we have always had somewhere else to go.

The next thing being in quarantine has shown me is that you need to water the seeds you plant. There is one thing that will be guaranteed for the rest of your life. That is your family that you have helped raise. You can’t be worried about everyone else and what they are doing or not doing. The most important thing is what you show your own family.

I have always been family oriented but I feel that this pandemic has brought about a new light to that area of my life. Before this I would be thinking about other people’s children and how I could make them feel wanted and safe. Which I don’t want to sound like that has changed. I still love and cherish my students the same way, although this has made me realize that no one is going to my love child or family the way that I do. It has led me to change my thinking about where I put most of my effort and time and how that needs to change.

Alright this one is a tough one. For the first two weeks of being home, I casually brought it up to my hubby that I think I would like to be a stay at home mom. We then went to work to see if that would be physically and financially possible for us. Little did I know that after about three weeks, I would change my opinion. My hat goes off to all the stay at home parents out there because I don’t know how you all do it. I mean we had both of us home day in and day out and I still found toys and play doh and whatever else on the floor moments after I had picked them all up. Adult conversation was also something that was lacking. Of course I had my husband to talk to but I missed my friends and coworkers.

Throughout this time, I also gained the necessary courage to start my business. I was teaching my kiddos online, running around while on my prep time and lunch break to do laundry and other things (if my hubby didn’t already get them), so I was becoming pretty good at mastering my time. I made sure to keep it to the normal school day as much as possible. So I would be available from 7 to 3:30 and then after that I made it a point to answer any messages or emails the next day. I saw a lot of other teachers struggling because they could not turn off being a teacher. They were literally sitting at their computers day in and day out until 8 o’clock at night.

When I first saw that I instantly thought that will not be me. I have a toddler who still needs her momma and a household that still needs to function. So, from the very beginning I put a schedule into place. But since I didn’t have to commute back and forth, I found myself with some extra time in my day.

That is when I decide to take on this new business adventure. I was carving out a to do list for my business and devoting one day to getting a specific task done. Little by little I started chipping away at things and then decided to launch my subscription boxes to the world. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I am just glad that my boxes did so well. I’d like to think that I would have still been able to launch my boxes if we weren’t in the pandemic. But, I don’t know how soon it would have been.

And now friends we have come to our last and final thing that this pandemic has given me. It is the realization that if you want something, do it. This is kind of morbid but stick with me. When this first started my mind immediately went to, what if we are never able to leave our houses again. What if March 13 was the last time we would see our friends, coworkers, neighbors forever.

What if, what if, what if and then you fall into a rabbit hole that is hard to get out of. But, that is what happens to me. I then made myself promise that when quarantine was over I would do these things. I would no longer come to the end of my life and think about all the regrets.

So, I wrote a list of things for when quarantine is over. On the list is to go to Nashville again with our daughter. We have said every summer since our honeymoon that we would love to go back. But, we haven’t made it back yet because of this that or the other. Well you best believe when we are able to freely travel again that will be our next summer destination. I have also wanted to teach Aria how to ride a horse. She has been obsessed with horses and watching people ride them so that is something that made the list. I am also going to get a tattoo. I have wanted one forever but have been too chicken to get one. Well, not anymore. There are tons more on the list, but you get the picture.

The choice is up to you. You can choose whether you want to be stuck in your house or whether you thrive in your house. I hate to say this but there’s a part of me that doesn’t want things to go back to normal. I like the slower paced life that we are living. It kind of reminds me of my childhood. When there was really nowhere to be and nothing pressing that had to be done.

I have enjoyed seeing people post about their kids jumping in puddles. For real, when is the last time you have seen a kid do that. Seeing people get creative with ways of having baby showers, seeing their elderly relatives, and getting married. It is always amazing to me how many brilliant ideas we as people can come up with when faced with a challenge. That’s why I truly believe this isn’t the worst pandemic ever.

I hope that this episode hit home. Maybe you take a minute to think about the ways that this wasn’t the worst pandemic ever. Maybe for the better or maybe not. But, I think we can all say that there will be a change because of this.

Hey parents of 3-6 year olds, did you hear about the latest and greatest subscription box out there? The Tiny Tikes Learning Box covers everything your child needs to grow up happy, healthy, and ready to take on school. The best part: it is 100% customizable. Check out the link in the show notes below or head to www.cratejoy.com/tinytikeslearningbox to purchase yours today. The last day to order the fall box is Monday.

Have you ever thought about writing a letter to your child? Normally parents will write an encouraging letter to their child. But, what if we switched it and instead wrote a letter to your child about all the qualities you want them to have. In that letter to your child, what would you say? Would you talk about your life before having kids? What would the letter to your child end with? Love you! Hug and kisses! Love you stinky face! There are a million things I would say in my letter and here is a run down.

A Letter to My Child

There is a question that has been on my mind for a long time and it’s about time I spit some word vomit out. I don’t know if it is due to that fact that our summer plans were canceled so now I have more time to think. But whatever the reason, I have had a lot of time to think about the person my daughter will be when she grows up. So, I dreamt up a little message to my child on life, love, and laughter.

Alright friend, this episode is more of a message to my daughter, but it can also serve as a reminder or inspiration for your own letter to your child. This episode is all about the characteristics and values I hope my husband and I are instilling in her that will continue for her whole life. So here we go into a deep dive.

Be Kind to Everyone

First and foremost, I want her to be kind. Not the kind where she gets walked on because I’ve been there and that is definitely no fun. But, where she is gracious to others, sits with the kid who is alone, and opens her heart to people who are different then her. That to me is TRUE kindness. 

My husband and I always say that Aria has the purest heart ever. She loves fully and completely; the way that we are supposed to. I pray that she holds onto that for as long as she can.

Forgive Quickly

Whenever, we accidentally do something like bump into her or spill a little bit of milk. She always is quick to point it out and laugh about it. Then, we say “Oops sorry.” Her response is “That’s alright.” It is an immediate response every single time. 

She doesn’t hold grudges, she doesn’t keep things inside like so many of us do. She says that’s alright and moves on. It makes my heart happy to see that. I would like to take credit for that but I can’t because I don’t know where she learned that from.

Be Blissfully Unaware

To watch her go through childhood, is like watching a butterfly glide softly through the air. She just has a certain bounce and lightness about her. She isn’t plagued by the worries of the world, money, work, or anything else that seems to drag us down. She is LIGHT.

I am not naive; I know there will come a day when she will get a job and join the world that we live in. But, I hope that she finds something she LOVES to do so that she doesn’t feel like going to work is a crutch. On the same note, I don’t want her to be so driven by money that she pushes others aside just to earn a dollar. Is it too much to want her to have a happy medium? I don’t think so.

Be Humble

If you do something wrong, own up to it. Don’t ever think that it is best to lie except little white lies when and only when appropriate. Do not flaunt your winnings, earnings, material things, or accomplishments excessively. This will not make friends at least not the right type of friends you want.

Remember where you came from and use that to keep you driven and grounded. Never look down on someone who has less and always make sure to hold the door for someone else. Always remember that you can come home whenever you need to even if your 40. 

Never Idolize 

For the love, please do not look up to the people you see on TV, movies, or shows. Most of the time they are not who they portray and living your life based off of theirs will not make you happy in the end. Truth is most of them feel unfulfilled, they are just too proud to say it.

Be your own person, and strive to be the best version of yourself-no one else. Love yourself first because no one else can take better care of yourself than you.

Do Not Chase Flashy Items

Just because it shines doesn’t mean that it’s gold and sometimes even gold is fake. Do not seek out the best of the best, be happy with what you have. Never compare what you have to someone else and vise versa. Be content and fulfilled with everything you have. 

Chasing flashy items will just lead to chasing more flashy items and you will never be happy with what you have. If you have somewhere to live, somewhere to go, and someone to love then you have everything you need.

Have a Pure Heart

Children have the purest heart I have ever seen in my life. They are untouched from the way the world changes a person;they are still open to the belief that anything is possible and that mom and dad hung the moon. Aria loves everyone and loves nothing more than to talk and wave to people which tends to make me uneasy at times.

She doesn’t see good or bad, right or wrong, pure and impure; she just sees a person. The little things about a person stand out to her and it isn’t the things that we adults notice. 

Don’t Be Afraid to Try Something New

If you want to go skydiving, do it. Start a business, do that. It doesn’t matter what you want to set your heart on as long as it is something that you are passionate about. If it flops, oh well, pick yourself up and try again. 

Ending the Letter to My Child

In the end, I just want what every parent wants which is for their child to be happy. If she is 100% happy being a tattoo artist or CEO it doesn’t matter to me. So long as she is happy.

I hope you found some inspiration from today’s episode to write your own letter to your child. As always, feel free to leave a review or reach out to me on instagram at Tiny Tikes Teacher.

Peace, love, and letters friends and I will see you soon!

Hey parents of 3-6 year olds, did you hear about the latest and greatest subscription box out there? The Tiny Tikes Learning Box covers everything your child needs to grow up to happy, healthy, and ready to take on school. The best part: it is 100% customizable. Check out the link in the show notes below or head to www.cratejoy.com/tinytikeslearningbox to purchase yours today.

Social emotional learning is such an important topic. It is going to be even more important with kids returning back to school soon. But where exactly do you start with social emotional skills activities especially for your child or students?

Eek! I am so excited because on today’s episode I got to interview one of my very good CEO teacher buddies. Her name is Shannon and she loves everything about social emotional skills. I have never met a more inspiring and caring person and I hope you love her as much as I do. 

A Little About Shannon

Q: Tell us a little about yourself, what you do, and your life as a mom.

Absolutely, my name is Shannon. I am a wife, mom, and social emotional learning coach. We live in North Carolina. I live with my husband, 2 year old son, and another little boy on the way any day now. I’ve been in elementary education for 10 years. Even though I left the classroom last year to be home with our boys, I have not left education.

As parents and teachers, we don’t want to see our children struggling with behavior issues or making bad decisions. We don’t want to see them not knowing how to manage their emotions. We want our children to be kind. To reach their goals, problem solve, resolve conflict effectively, and have healthy relationships. All those things are social emotional skills. It is my passion to help parens and teachers get started with social emotional learning. I’ve seen first hand, year after year, how crucial it is to a child’s success and happiness.

I currently run a social emotional learning program called the Made to Be Me membership. This is where I provide fully planned, zero prep, social emotional lessons and resources. It is so important to me that anyone who wants to get started with social emotional learning can. Through the Made to Be Me membership, I eliminate all of the common roadblocks that teachers or homeschooling parents face. This makes it super easy for them to get started.

Her Social Emotional Business Idea

Q: How did you start your business? Where did the idea come from?

The idea for my business…came from, I guess have you ever thought how do I avoid messing up my kid. How do I keep my baby safe? How do I prepare them for a happy and successful life? I think most of us as parents have thought that and as much as we always want to be there for our children we can’t be.

So, then the next question becomes, how do I best prepare them? It was in asking myself those questions that I came back to what I had known. What I saw in the classroom for years which is our children need social emotional skills and development.

When I was in the classroom, I wanted to do what was best for my students and for my child at home. It was so important to me to have energy left at the end of the day for my son. But, I found that I was leaving work drained after helping my students work through behavior issues due to the lack of social emotional skills. I knew I had to find a way to take care of my students and my family. So, I began to incorporate intentional and specific social emotional skill lessons and it was a complete change.

I was able to thrive with my child at home, my students were doing better than ever, and I really got to see firsthand how truly powerful and informative social emotional skills are in a child’s life. The students who were able to communicate clearly, manage their emotions and behaviors, the kids who could empathize with other students, they were excelling far beyond their peers both academically and socially.

They had more friends, they were happier, and they were able to access more academic opportunities so, it was really through that deep emotionally desire to not only prepare my child but to help other parents and teachers do the same that the idea for the Made to Be Me membership was born and now I get to live out that dream and make it really easy for parents and educators to prepare the next generation with the skills they need to have the best future possible.

Social Emotional Skill Benefits

Q: Why is social emotional learning important for kids?

Social emotional skills are really important to begin teaching our kids. They are the building blocks, the pillars, the cornerstone of really raising capable learners who are able to navigate life well. Whether it’s learning academically or playing in the sandbox our children need skills like self-control, problem solving, empathy, perseverance, conflict resolution, and to know how to communicate clearly to navigate life.

Q: What are some things you would suggest parents to work on before sending their kids to school or maybe starting virtual learning?

In my opinion, before sending kids back to school whether that’s virtual or in person, or maybe if your child is a few years away from starting school, some core things that we as parents can work on are having our children identify their emotions and asking for help. I can break down a little bit what that looks like for us as parents.

I would say first helping our children identify their emotions would be helping them know what it feels like physically and mentally when we’re sad, angry, surprised, happy, scared, safe. So having that discussion about what it feels like when you have a certain emotion. So for example, when we’re angry or upset we really feel our chest getting hot, we may feel stinging or watering coming to our eyes, we may tighten our hands. When we feel angry our minds may feel cloudy and it could be hard to focus, so describing those feelings, both mental and physical, when our children are calm and not experiencing the emotion can really help them identify later when it does happen.

The second thing I would suggest is once our children are able to identify how their feeling and identify emotions, we want them to know it’s okay to feel whatever they’re feeling. There’s no wrong emotions. But we do also want our children to understand that while there are no wrong emotions there are right and wrong reactions to those emotions. So, it’s okay and normal to be angry that our toy broke, but it’s not okay to throw our toy across the room.

The third step is talking through with them what are healthy responses, what are healthy reactions to the problems. Those three things will really help your child be cued in to how their feeling. Now of course all of these would be at an age appropriate level for your child. A 3 year old is not going to be able to communicate the same way that a 5 or 6 year old might be able to. So, those would be the first things I would suggest.

If your child is doing really well with those skills, I would recommend preparing your child for school by teaching them how to ask for help. So, letting our children know that it’s okay to ask for help when their having those really big feelings and they don’t know what to do is really important. It gives them the next step. Instead of maybe having a negative behavior reaction, they can talk to themselves and say “Okay, I have a really big feeling and don’t know what to do. I’m going to ask for help.”

This year especially, I would recommend that we as parents check in regularly with our kids about how their feeling. Just like us through all of this craziness, what was a task that was maybe manageable and no big deal yesterday, today may feel completely overwhelming. One aspect of school that was easy today may be really frustrating and overstimulating tomorrow. So, being open to our children’s needs and helping them process their emotions will be really big this year.

We don’t want our kids to ignore and internalize the negative stressors of what their going through. So, as parents some things we can do to prevent that would be just talking through their emotions, asking them how their day is going. Reminding them that it’s okay to feel that way, offering helpful suggestions, and just really listening to their concerns. So, that would be what I would suggest parents to work on with their kids before starting school – whatever that may look like this year.

Q: What is the most important aspect of social emotional learning?

As far as the most important aspect of social emotional learning, whew that’s a tough one. So there are five main areas or competencies of social emotional learning. They are self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making. While all of those are a piece of the puzzle of helping us live happy, fulfilling lives. I really believe everything stems back to self-awareness.

It is the most basic building block of all the social emotional skills. Once we are able to be aware of how we’re feeling and how our thoughts and emotions impact our behavior, then we’re really able to build on that. We begin to use other skills like self-management. We can become social aware of those same emotions in other people and develop that empathy. It helps us to build healthy relationships and make responsible decisions. So, as you look at that list they are definitely all crucial skills, but I think it starts with self-awareness. Kind of like what we were talking about earlier. Helping our children identify how their feeling, how their thoughts and emotions are impacting them and their behavior.

Find Out More About Social Emotional Skills

Q: Tell people where they can find you to learn more.

If any of your listeners have any questions or what to chat, I love talking with parents and educators. They can reach out at any time. Email: hello@shannonmareeteaching.com. You can find me on everywhere @shannonmareeteaching and I would love to hear from you!

I cannot stress enough how important social-emotional learning will be this year! This school year will be unlike anything we have seen before. Some of our kiddos may need a little extra love. I encourage you to follow Shannon. She gives easy and quick tips to help you with your child and/or students with social-emotional skills. Peace, love, and bear hugs and I will see you back here real soon!

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