Lesson Category: Teens

The way adults—both parents and educators—talk about their own abilities and challenges sends powerful messages to the youth they influence. This session explores how fixed and growth mindsets impact self-esteem and motivation in children and students. By understanding the connection between adult self-talk, feedback language, and student behavior, educators can better guide parents and foster a supportive environment for learning and personal growth.

This class, originally created for parents, offers valuable insights for educators as well. It provides tools to support conversations with families about mindset and self-esteem, helping to create a community-wide approach to empowering students.

Research has shown that once youth understand how their brain works and what they can do to optimize brain health, their social emotional health and motivation to learn increases. In this session, parents and educators can learn about the relationship between executive functions and emotional regulation, and how that affects academics in addition to stress and well-being.

Navigating special education can feel overwhelming, but you are your child’s best advocate! This class will help you understand the IEP process and confidently collaborate with your child’s school to get them the support they need.

Is your child frustrated with schoolwork, falling behind, or losing confidence? Learning struggles can be stressful for the whole family. This session will help you identify what’s going on and work with teachers to get your child the support they need.

Building a strong home-school connection is essential for student success, but effective communication between educators, parents, and school staff can be challenging. Teachers and administrators juggle multiple responsibilities, making it difficult to align academic and personal goals across all stakeholders. This session provides practical strategies to foster productive conversations, set shared expectations, and empower parents to support their children’s learning journey.

By strengthening these connections, educators can create a collaborative environment where students feel supported both at home and in the classroom.

We want our children to live healthy, happy lives with strong connections and a positive sense of self. Conversation is a pathway to developing and sustaining a healthy and trusting relationship with your child and for having a positive impact on how they see themselves.

We hope our children will make healthy choices, form lasting, meaningful connections, and develop a strong, positive sense of self. In other words, we want them to thrive! LGBTQ+ youth face more risks to their well-being than their non-LGBTQ+ peers. Risks are even greater for people with low income and for people of color. The good news is that with the right information you can support your child through these obstacles.

If your child has started using terms like pansexual, transgender, or nonbinary, you might feel unsure about what they mean or how to respond. Understanding the differences between sexual orientation and gender identity can help you support your child with confidence and care. This class provides a clear breakdown of LGBTQ+ terminology and practical ways to communicate with your child in a way that fosters trust and understanding.

After this class, you will be able to...

• Understand the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity.
• Identify common LGBTQ+ identities and what they may mean for your child.
• Respond to your child in a way that is supportive and affirming.

Does the idea of talking with your child about sexual orientation feel difficult or even a little scary?

Are you confused about the changing ways that many in our society see these issues?

Worried about knowing how to support your child?

The issues of sexual orientation can be daunting for both kids and parents. Your child will look to you for guidance about how to feel and act. This class will help you prepare for an open, ongoing dialogue with your child or teen that is candid, authentic and supportive. Participants in this class will be able to:

• Recognize key issues and biases related to sexual orientation for your child and for yourself
• Apply listening and talking strategies that help your child feel safe enough to express their true thoughts and feelings
• Apply approaches that will support your child’s positive thoughts and feelings about themself

Sometimes children don’t outgrow fears that are typical in younger children like being apart from parents or extreme fears about specific things or situations like dogs or going to the doctor’s office. Sometimes fears or worries may interfere with home, school or play activities. Sometimes children may seem irritable and angry or experience physical symptoms like stomach aches, and still other kids turn their symptoms inward causing us to miss them. In any of these cases, your child may be experiencing anxiety and will benefit from focused support and sometimes professional services. As parents, we may sometimes be inclined to help in ways that actually make symptoms worse like allowing children to avoid certain situations or getting worried about our children’s worries.