Course Category: Educator

Peace at Home Parenting’s Amy Alamar, Ed D and Dana Asby, MA, M Ed, will introduce the research behind gratitude and share the benefits of practicing gratitude. We know a regular practice increases a  student’s sense of belonging, strengthens relationships, increases happiness, builds self-esteem, reduces stress & anxiety, supports  resilience, nurtures motivation, improves academic performance, and encourages engagement in extra-curriculars. We will also introduce research-based methods of practice including journaling, letter writing, and compiling a strengths inventory. Support for social emotional growth does not just happen during school hours – especially now, with so many families helping with hybrid and distance learning. We will also explore how young people can apply the skills they learn to strengthen family relationships and wellbeing and make an authentic home-school connection.

After this session, educators will be able to:

• Define Gratitude
• Identify the components of gratitude (Benefactor (person, thing or condition), Benefit, Personal Value, Cost,  Intention)
• Coach students through developing meaningful messages of gratitude 

• Explain how gratitude practices & technology can increase students’ sense of belonging, self-esteem and motivation.
• Explore practices counselors can use to help students process emotions, behaviors, and decision-making.
• Discuss ways counselors can support educators to strengthen student social-emotional wellbeing

• Define digital citizenship 
• Explore taking responsibility for your online interactions
• Share gratitude practices to build digital citizenship, SEL, & wellbeing

Essential Library:
The Science of Gratitude
Using Gratitude in Your Counseling Practice
From School to Home: How students can lead gratitude practice beyond the classroom
Using Gratitude to Teach and Practice Digital Citizenship

Parents, students, and teachers have all endured the challenges of an unusually tough year that has led to academic and social loss for many. The Support Student Success series for educators offers inspiration and strategies educators can use to help students enter the classroom with confidence, character, and the tools they need to succeed. This series covers clear, actionable ways to inspire meaningful conversations and develop routines at home that support social-emotional health, reduce conflict and foster a sense of gratitude and safety. Gain the information and techniques needed to support students to confidently re-enter school, collaborate, establish routines that work, and look towards graduation, and beyond. 

After this session, educators will be able to:

• Help students advocate for themselves
• Invite students into decision making
• Collaborate with colleagues to help build support for student interest
• Establish/Re-establish routine
• Use mindfulness to teach self-regulation at home and at school
• Understand developmental stages for school-aged kids
• Provide opportunities for independence
• Value progress and effort over product and behavior
• Identify red flags for learning
• Help students look towards graduation and beyond
• Support the Social Emotional Health of Gifted Student
  

Essential Library:
Strengthen the Home-School Connection: Academic and Personal Goals
Promote Independence and Foster Character
School Success: Inspire Motivation and Engagement for Educators
Help Students Feel Safe in Challenging Times

Extended Library:
Reflective Practice in Action to Elicit Deeper Understanding
What Our Students Need: The Power of Identity
Approaching Graduation and Beyond
Support the Social Emotional Health of Gifted Students for educators

Schools face academic loss challenges every year, and in response to COVID-19 we are seeing an even greater loss and a widening of the achievement gap. So how can we address the loss and build understanding? First, we can start with building empathy, and then as a community, we can embrace the academic challenge.

Led by Peace at Home Parenting experts Amy Alamar, Ed D, and Dana Asby, MA, M Ed, this series addresses the important issues faced by educators: How do we build community and approach academics after such a challenging time in education? What have students experienced, what do they need, and how can we begin to capture their attention and engage them in learning? We will introduce practical and effective ways to emphasize emotional safety and equity for in-person and hybrid environments. 

This series supports the ability of educators to:

• Recall strategies to build resilience
• Foster community and nurture relationships
• Recognize and address grief 
• Establish/Re-establish routine
• Use mindfulness to teach self-regulation at home and at school
• Contribute toward a common vision for the community

Essential Library:
Schools and Families Working Together to Support Social Emotional Skills
Stress Reduction for Children, Parents, and Educators
Understand Executive Functions, Emotions, and Self-Regulation
Back-to-School: Reconnection and Recovery
Address Academic Loss and Increase Academic Engagement

Extended Library:
Use Conversation to Build Understanding
Build Confidence with Growth Thinking
Language Matters! Give Feedback that Changes Brains