Lessons
After a Student Flips Their Lid: Trauma-Sensitive Steps for Groups
Trauma-sensitive practices improve regulation for classrooms and schools. Still, youth will escalate sometimes. In this post, Ms. Jen shares a classroom sequence that can help everyone get regulated and ready to learn after a student flips their lid. Even if you’ve taught your students about brain states, you’re using hand signals to communicate about these…
Read MoreIf Not a Sticker Chart, Then What? Trauma-Sensitivity is Science
An earlier version of this article about addressing big behaviors at school was published in the Attachment & Trauma Network’s December (2015) Therapeutic Parenting Journal. Here’s an updated version. Big behaviors at school—every school’s got ’em. Maybe you’ve learned about adverse childhood experiences or been told that healthy relationships matter. While this advice is a…
Read MoreUnpacking Big Stress with Rock, Paper, Scissors
Big stress is impacting educators—it’s influenced by a lack of substitute teachers, student behavior concerns, heated conflicts (e.g., over mask mandates, how history should be taught, or affirming gender identities), and more. Together, it creates distress that can increase school personnel’s vulnerability for burnout. That’s because ruptures in relationships take a toll. Many educators feel…
Read MoreUsing Plants to Encourage Taking Good Care
Layers of stress, trauma, and grief continue to impact people individually and collectively as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. As a leader you may be wondering how to tend to your people as well as students in meaningful ways. In this blog post, Ms. Jen explains one idea for using images of plants to encourage taking…
Read MoreTrauma-Sensitive Student Support
After watching my webinar with Brookes Publishing that shares this title, read this post to explore eleven activities designed for youth and their caregivers. Use them to provide trauma-sensitive student support during school closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing worry and fear for youth, families, and educators. Each person’s reactions…
Read More“Is It Ever Okay to Flip Your Lid?” Using Brain Books to Teach for Regulation
During a second grade counselor visit as students worked on their non-fiction brain books, one learner raised their hand and asked, “Ms. Jen, is it ever okay to flip your lid?” I stopped the group, posed the question to everyone, and students voted to show how they would answer. The majority of students raised their…
Read MoreThe River of Feelings Improves Regulation
Thanks so much to everyone who joined my webinar with Brookes Publishing this week. I enjoyed teaching you about the River of Feelings, which is a visual from my new book Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools: Your Guide to Creating Safe, Supportive Learning Environments for All Students. Participants shared excellent questions and gave positive feedback. You truly warmed…
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