Social and emotional learning (SEL) is the process through which students understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions. At Learning to Learn we aspire to create an environment that provides the needed emotional support and social skills support! Here are some resources that you can use to help develop this important skill.
- Multisensory Brain Break Meditations: This publication, by Dr. Warren, offers a large selection of downloadable, multisensory mediations that can be done in the classroom or at home.
- Mindfulness Activity Cards for Developing Working Memory: Dr. Warren’s Mindfulness Activity Cards were created based on the current research on working memory, and they can be used in classrooms or therapeutic sessions to help develop working memory capacity and build community. In addition, they can be used to teach authentic dialogue and develop emotional intelligence.
- Mindfulness for Teens: This website offers an age-appropriate, engaging introduction to mindfulness and it’s benefits along with 11 guided exercises designed specifically for this population.
- Kidevolve Imaginarium Meditations: This site offers some great, FREE meditations to help develop the following skills: self control, improved sleep, resilience, empathy, anxiety control , gratitude, increased joy and energy, and pain management.
- Mood Meter: Created by the Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence, the Mood Meter helps you become more mindful of how your emotions change throughout the day and how your emotions affect your actions. Using the Mood Meter can help you to develop self-awareness and self-regulation.
- HeartMath - The HeartMath system empowers people through visual biofeedback to self-regulate their emotions and behaviors to reduce stress, increase resilience, and unlock their natural intuitive guidance for making more effective choices. I like the variety of options that the company offers from tablet and phone apps to gaming programs for your computer.
- MUSE Meditation Headband - Muse 2 is a multi-sensor meditation device that provides real-time biofeedback on your brain activity, heart rate, breathing, and body movements to help you build a consistent meditation practice. It also provides guiding meditations and auditory rewards to help you know when you reach a deep sense of relaxation.
- Magical Meditations for Kids - Magical Meditations 4 Kids is a series of children’s relaxation mp3 downloads for children aged from 4-7 and 8-11. They are lovingly crafted by psychotherapist, Heather Bestel, to inspire creativity, create deep and peaceful sleep, build esteem and confidence, and to enable children to visualize that wondrous place inside them where deep peace and gratitude resides.
- Smiling Mind Smiling Mind offers hundreds of mindfulness activities for all ages. It offers breathing meditations as well as sensory exercises. The app also keeps track of when kids meditate. Smiling Mind was created by a nonprofit with the mission of improving mental health in Australia.
- Headspace Headspace is an app that uses fun, cartoon videos to teach meditation. The app has many of guided meditations that target specific areas, like sports and health. Headspace offers reminders and a buddy system. Headspace is best for teens and older kids, but it does offer some short meditations for younger children.
- Scape is a creative app that allows kids to make their own calming sound. To do this, they combine shapes, colors, backgrounds, and sounds, called a scape. Kids can meditate to the sound of the scape, or they can listen to it while focusing on activities like homework.
- Calm offers a new meditation every day, as well as meditation programs like “7 Days of Calming Anxiety” or “7 Days of Focus.” Most of the meditations are guided, but there are options for unguided meditations, too. Kids can also listen to sounds like ocean waves or the wind. It’s free to try the app’s first program and a few stand-alone guided meditations. Calm is best for older teens and young adults. Parents may want to try the app too. And if you have a younger child, Calm offers sleep stories to read to kids.
- Stop, Breathe and Think - This app allows you to check in with how you’re feeling. Then kids can practice mindful breathing to create space between thoughts, emotions and reactions. Finally, perspectives can be broadened and strengthen with personalized meditations and activities.