Children are at the center of our world each and every day. They are our axis – we spin around their needs and focus our energy on what is best for their education, development, sense of security, and well-being. We work to ensure they are safe, fed, supported, learning, and healthy. But are we doing […]
There are three ways to ultimate success: The first way is to be kind. The second way is to be kind. The third way is to be kind.” ~Mr. Rogers Research tells us that acts of kindness release hormones that contribute to your mood and well-being. When you perform an act of kindness, you are not […]
Halloween is quite literally at our doorstep complete with pumpkins, giant spider webs, inflatable monsters…and Trick or Treat bags waiting to be filled. This Halloween is still haunted by many ghouls and goblins – social distancing, little ones with no vaccine available, scaled-back celebrations and events, and real masks to wear under our costume masks. […]
When it comes to our children’s emotional and social well-being, there are ways to ensure the autumn of our uncertainty doesn’t become another winter of our discontent Most schools are planning for in-person classrooms this fall, though debates continue across the country over vaccine and masking requirements for protection from the Delta variant. We are […]
This is no ordinary Back to School season. When classrooms moved online last year, parents got a front-row seat to daily classroom life, from listening to remote “circle time” to trying to engage and motivate children slumping disengaged in their chairs. It gave many parents a first-time opportunity to participate in their children’s schooling, including […]
Take a moment and reflect: what is our first response when our child has an angry emotional outburst? Is it to stop the behavior? Or is it to understand what’s behind the anger, help them understand what’s behind the anger, and how to manage it? In a recent article in the Boston Globe Magazine, educator and parent Deborah […]
In a recent webinar, Dr. Housman spoke to a group of over 3,000 early childhood professionals on “The Power of Emotional Intelligence from Birth to Age 8.” The webinar was framed around the impact the pandemic has on children, as well as educators and caregivers. As we move toward our “new normal”, and a new school […]
As this tumultuous school year winds down we are all owed a deep breath! And yet we also need to reflect on what this unprecedented time has taught us and think forward to what lies ahead in our “new normal.” As we slowly emerge from one pandemic, we are in fact facing another — one […]
There is a growing appreciation that emotional intelligence is more than a wish list of optimal social skills. Emotional intelligence is a set of competencies that enable you to understand and manage your own emotions and those of others—a critical prerequisite to lifelong learning, relating and relationships, and personal and professional growth. But perhaps the […]
We’re hitting a strange anniversary this month. It’s been a year since the pandemic’s first reported deaths in the U.S., and this week, we crossed the dark threshold of a half-million deaths due to COVID-19. With the vaccinations available to more and more people, there’s a sense of light at the end of the tunnel. […]
Hopeless. Overwhelmed. Anxious. Depressed. Exhausted. Those are just some of the emotions that educators report feeling in the past year since COVID-19 infiltrated our lives and schools. Teachers were tossed into the virtual world without tools or blueprints, using trial and error to figure out remote teaching for themselves, and remote learning for their kids, who […]
Sometimes it seems like a young child’s favorite words are “why” and “no.” Why do we have to go to the store, why do we have to leave the park, no I don’t want carrots for lunch, no I don’t want to wear pants. We can give them any variation of answers…because we need food […]
We limit how much technology our kids use at home.” — Steve Jobs My feeling about technology in general is very Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Having too little exposure isn’t good, but too much – a few hours turns into six — is detrimental to their brain development and mental health. The temptation for […]
Children are born ready to learn and it is not only traditional skills that we need to teach from a young age, we also need to foster children’s understanding of their emotions and those of others from the very beginning.1 By reaching children in their earliest years we have the extraordinary opportunity to shape children’s […]
2020 has been quite a rollercoaster for us all! This year has tested the best of us and unfortunately meant great pain for so many while the relentless onslaught of troubling news does not seem to be letting up. With a global pandemic, racial injustice, economic hardships, storms, fires, political unrest, where do we look […]
As educators and parents, we know how important routine is for the children we love and care for, but what about our own? The back-and-forth of school environments in 2020 have caused us all to lose our footing. Our new norm is a revolving door of in-person school, Zoom classes, and remote learning with no […]
