My Mindful Friends

We have all been there, either as an observer, caregiver or educator, watching a child have a tantrum in the grocery store, a meltdown before going to bed, tears when playtime is over, arms clutched around a leg on the first day of school.

Teachers, parents, and caregivers today have to teach children much more than reading, math, how to walk, and dress themselves, they also have to teach how to deal with strong, anxious, sad, or angry feelings in a positive way. This is social-emotional learning (SEL) and it is the process of developing the skills that are vital for success in school, work, and life.

My Mindful Friends is a social-emotional learning book that will improve classroom culture or home climate, tame the worries, reduce anxiety, calm anger, and manage strong emotions in any situation. This book shares four steps to mindfulness that are based on researched methods and will support social-emotional learning lessons or programs used by educators and caregivers. The steps, along with easy-to learn calming techniques, will provide valuable mindfulness and self-regulation skills, and show children that each and every emotion is okay. It will share a variety of breathing techniques that they can use to calm big emotions, practice mindfulness, and become ready to problem solve or learn.

Social-emotional learning (SEL) provides a foundation for positive, long-term skills, including effective problem-solving, impulse control, and management of emotions. People with strong social-emotional skills are better able to cope with everyday challenges and benefit academically, professionally, and socially.

My Mindful Friends is for preschool and elementary aged children and illustrated with diverse illustrations that will teach a variety of skills, including:

• choosing and practicing mindfulness strategies,

• breathing and strategies to calm strong, uncomfortable emotions,
• showing kindness and empathy towards others, and
• developing a growth mindset to show that they can do hard things.

Share these essential life skills with the children in your life with My Mindful Friends.