Relaxing and Ruminating

Happy August; today I'm excited because it's time to go

back to school this week, and I got my clock display done.

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Creatively Decompressing

Happy July; what an incredible month June was. I was especially excited to finally spend a little time with our book's talented illustrator, Audrye Williams, when the hardcover copy made its debut.

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When Anxiety Attacks: 12 Tools

Today I'm grateful to be able to help to lead this quick chat about empathy, compassion & kindness on Twitter and on Facebook live at 6 pm CST tonight. Please join us as we discuss nurturing these three glorious virtues and skills.

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PPBF: Winnie & Her Worries

Happy slide into summertime.

This week we hit the two-month mark since a leak in our attic pipes threw us forward into serious house renovations and upgrades; this is how we {and our cat} are beginning to feel about the contractors and plumbers and painters, oh my.

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Human Doings or BEings?

As I continue to dig into the practice of mindfulness,

of being in the moment and unwrapping the present,

I often wish we could go back and take away some of the

crazy running around we did when our kids were younger.

And when I make self-care suggestions,

they always have to do with us as human beings

rather than human doings.

Click this image for 10 Tips for give your self-care alternator a tune up.

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ABC Worry Free Giveaway

Happy Monday; today I'm excited to introduce you to a beautiful new resource

 to help your learners let go of their worries. 

According to Tim Elmore, we are in an age when teens are experiencing more anxiety than the average 1950s psychiatric-unit patient. I've actually heard it referred to as Generation Stress.

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The Practice of Mindfulness

Today I'm excited because I'm on assignment again at Free Spirit and, this time, I'm talking about the practice of mindfulness. Click the graphic below to go there and read my guest post.

What are some ways that you help yourself stay in the moment?

Check out Go Zen {here}, 

Goldie Hawn's MindUP curriculum {here}, 

and HeartMath Tools {here}.

Then, before the week is out, challenge yourself to actively notice

five new things about a loved one, a favorite activity, or a place that you frequent. Predict what might surprise you. How might doing this more often help you? How does being in the moment and getting in touch with all of your senses enrich your daily habits and routines?

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Testing, Testing

Today I'm excited to wish my Father a happy birthday.
Birthday blessings, Dad!

I'd also like to wish you a happy Earth Day.
Click {here} for some creative ideas for being kind 
to the earth from my friend Jennifer at All Done Monkey.

I'll be spending the day monitoring

our state-mandated STAAR testing.

{I know, it's misspelled. Weird, right?}

I woke up in the middle of the night thinking that we could give our shining third-graders each a stress star (cut from a pool noodle) to celebrate successfully making it to - and crossing! - the finish line of their first official state testing session.

I figured we could attach a note that looks something like this:

Squeeze Me - I'm A

Smart Student,

           Trustworthy Test-Taker,

  And A                    

       Responsible Reader!

Sometimes the thought of testing

eight-year-olds keeps me awake at night.

Does your school do anything special

to help students skate through the rigor

of your state assessments?
How about to celebrate Earth Day?

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A Stress-Free Me

The calendar tells me that Christmas is officially just a week off and I'm staring at it in disbelief, because, how can that be? And as joyful as the end-of-the-year festivities can be, they can also bring with them a certain amount of stress.

Stress balls or busses, stars or spacecraft anyone?

Here's the good news: 
Stress is a choice!
You can choose to not let holiday stress to ruin your fun.
What are your best practices for keeping stress at bay?

I wrote a guest post with my suggestions {here}.
E-learning online has an interactive page about stress relief {here}.
And there's a calendar of ideas to help you de-stress {here}.

Additionally, here's a post I received by email this week:

Parenting Tips For Stress-Free Holidays

Prevent Child Abuse Texas offers the following tips to help families enjoy the holidays while keeping tension to a minimum:

1.   Establish a budget for holiday spending. Be realistic about what you can afford to spend on gifts, entertainment, decorations for the home, special foods, travel, etc.

2.   Hold a family meeting to discuss holiday plans. Ask for ideas from the children for family activities that would appeal to them.

3.    Post a calendar of family activities in a place where all family members will see it. Ask each person to remind you of school events, church activities, parties, etc.

4.    Remind children that a gift’s importance is not determined by the amount of money spent on it. Handmade gifts and freshly baked cookies are welcome and appreciated by friends and relatives.

5.    Check community calendars and local lists of events to find inexpensive or free activities for children. Write all possibilities on individual slips of brightly colored paper and put them in a “holiday fun jar.”  When children have been especially cooperative with other family members, allow them to choose a slip of paper from the jar. Then, the family can enjoy an afternoon of skating, sledding or other fun activity together.

6.    Have your children make a list of elderly or shut-in neighbors in your area. Plan to share a meal, some of your time, or run errands for these neighbors. Explain to children that helping and sharing are important elements of special holidays.

7.    Find time to relax and reflect on the simple joys of the holidays. When you feel yourself becoming overwhelmed, take a break to get a better perspective on what needs to be done and what can be done.

8.    If you find that it is becoming difficult to avoid being verbally or physically harsh with your children, STOP. Don’t take out your anger on your kids. Instead, try the following:

·         Take a deep breath and count to 20.

·         Phone a friend.

·         Take a walk outside, or use another form of exercise.

·         Laugh. Even a comedy show on television will help relieve stress.

·         Spend one hour doing something you really enjoy.

Prevent Child Abuse Texas is the leading organization working to prevent the abuse and neglect of our state’s children.

More information is available by accessing the organization’s web site {here}.

Cheers to a stress-free we! 

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