Self-Care in the New Year

The new year brings new opportunities as well as unknown challenges. This week, focus on taking time for mindfulness and implementing sustainable self-care resolutions that will benefit children, families, and teachers! When we take care of ourselves, we’re more prepared to take care of others.

A photo of a classroom full of children sitting on mats, practicing a seated yoga pose. Text overlaying the photo reads, Learning Snacks: Self-care is important for everyone.

FOR KIDS: UNDERSTANDING FEELINGS

Self-care is for everyone, and it begins with emotional awareness! Young children can practice self-regulation and mindfulness in more ways than you might think.

• Try drawing your feelings to express emotions.
• Practice many different ways of breathing to calm your body and mind.
• Play Guess the Feeling or watch The Calm Down Song with Daniel Tiger on the PBS KIDS Games and Video apps.

FOR PARENTS: MODELING SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL STRATEGIES

Consistent, healthy routines in the home can build resilience for the whole family when things get tough. Try these new, healthy recipes to keep your minds and bodies strong! Work on expressing your own feelings and modeling mindfulness strategies to help teach your children appropriate and beneficial ways to communicate their moods.

FOR EDUCATORS: SELF-CARE AT SCHOOL

A lot has been asked of educators this past year. Implementing self-care routines can seem like another thing to add to the pile. However, it is more important than ever to model self-care for your students (which means using some of the strategies yourself!).

Using the Whole Child approach is a great way for early-childhood educators to implement emotional intelligence and regulation. Try introducing Daniel Tiger's Life's Little Lessons curriculum or classroom yoga. PBS LearningMedia offers a playlist of professional development on resilience, self-care, and mental wellness for teachers working with older students.

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