Feeling overwhelmed is a common experience for educators and students alike, often leading to a cycle of unfinished tasks and increased stress. In this video, Ginger Lewman and Eric Nachtigal from the ESSDACK Resilience Team discuss practical mindfulness strategies to break this cycle and regain focus.

Learn how to identify the physiological signs of overwhelm and implement simple, effective tools to ground yourself during a chaotic school day.

Key Topics Covered:

• Understanding Overwhelm: Recognizing how "running at breakneck speed" can lead to half-finished projects and a self-diagnosis of being unable to focus.
• Combat Breathing Techniques: A step-by-step guide to a breathing method used to physically slow your heart rate and calm the nervous system physically.
• Sensory Grounding: Using your five senses—such as counting specific colored objects or noticing the sensation of clothing—to bring your mind back to the present moment.
• Finding Your Practice: Exploring different mindfulness outlets, from silence and classical music to movement, power walking, or stretching.
• Classroom Application: Strategies for introducing these tools to students and creating space for them to use mindfulness autonomously rather than through mandated breaks.

Are your students bouncing off the walls or struggling to stay engaged with traditional worksheets? In this episode of Resilience Team Quick Bites, Ginger Lewmen and Eric Nachtigal explore why "letting them play" is the most effective tool for classroom management and academic success in early childhood education.

Discover how purposeful play transforms the learning environment:

• Neuroscience of Learning: Research shows it takes approximately 400 repetitions to create a brain synapse through traditional instruction, but only 12 repetitions when learning occurs through play.
• Emotional Regulation: Play is a primary tool for building emotional regulation, allowing children to practice managing feelings and stress in a safe, low-risk environment.
• Stress Reduction: Play naturally balances the body's stress system by decreasing cortisol and releasing feel-good endorphins and dopamine.
• Academic Integration: Learn how to meet state standards and district expectations for reading, math, and science through sensory tables and dramatic play areas rather than worksheets.
• Trauma-Informed Care: For children coming from tough situations, play provides a necessary path for processing trauma and physical discharge of built-up energy.

Whether you teach Pre-K, Kindergarten, or even older grades, incorporating a "purposeful play block" can eliminate dysregulated behavior and foster a joyful, high-expectation classroom.

Are your classroom refocus rooms actually helping students, or are they just a temporary fix for behaviors? In this episode of Quick Bites, Ginger Lewman and Eric Nachtigal from the ESSDACK Resilience Team dive into the science and intentionality required to make calm spaces truly effective.

Why Some Refocus Rooms Fail

Many interventions are considered "late" because they address the behavior (the top of the iceberg) rather than the underlying unmet need or unsolved problem. To move beyond just responding to behavior, educators must focus on solving problems with the student rather than for them.

The Brain Science of Regulation

Drawing on the research of Dr. Bruce Perry and Dr. Ross Greene, this video outlines the essential steps to help a student move from their "downstairs brain" back to their "upstairs brain" where learning can happen.

Key Takeaways for Teachers:

• Give Time to Regulate: When a student enters a refocus room, avoid immediate questioning. Allow them time to use tools like music or drawing to calm down first.
• Prioritize Co-Regulation: The supervising adult must remain regulated themselves to help the student find calm through proximity and shared breathing.
• Follow the Sequence: Use Dr. Bruce Perry's model: Regulate, Relate, and Reason. You cannot reason with a student until they are regulated and feel safe.
• Repair and Restore: Use restorative questions to discuss how to repair harm to the classroom community before the student rejoins the class.
• Prepare the Receiving Teacher: Success depends on the mindset of the staff member accepting the student back. A welcoming, regulated reception is critical for long-term change.

Resources Mentioned:

• The Kids Who Aren’t Okay by Dr. Ross Greene
• The work of Dr. Bruce Perry on brain-based regulation

The book by Dr. Ross Greene that Eric references is called, "The Kids Who Aren't OK." Here's a link to resources you might like as you read this highly recommended resource. https://livesinthebalance.org/tkwaok/

Join the Conversation:

Does your school use refocus rooms? What strategies have you found most helpful for co-regulation? Let us know in the comments!

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Unlock the power of resilience in your classroom by focusing on the transformative concept of joy. In this episode of "Quick Bites," Ginger Lumen from the ESSDACK resilience team explores why cultivating personal joy is the essential first step for educators to effectively support their students.

Key Takeaways for Teachers:

• Self-Care as a Foundation: Just like putting on an oxygen mask first, educators must find a steady, safe space within themselves to better support their students.
• Joy vs. Happiness: Discover why joy is a durable, nervous system experience that can coexist with stress, unlike fleeting moments of happiness.
• The Physiology of Joy: Learn how joy regulates the body by deepening breath, steadying heart rates, and making the brain more flexible for learning and behavior.
• Widening the Window of Tolerance: Understand how intentional joy builds resilience, strengthening the brain’s ability to bounce back from challenges without becoming overwhelmed.
• Practical Classroom Application: Shared laughter, eye contact, and small moments of connection release regulating chemicals like oxytocin and serotonin in both teachers and students.

Intentional Practices to Rewire Your Brain:

• Notice the Beauty: Take a moment to appreciate small, simple things, like a sunny dandelion or a perfect cup of coffee.
• Movement and Music: Use dancing or your favorite music to shift your state and find calm or energy.
• The Power of the Pause: When you find a joyful moment, soak it in for at least three seconds to begin rewiring your brain for resilience.

Join the conversation: What are the small "golden nuggets" of joy you’ve noticed in your classroom lately? Share your experiences in the comments below!

#TeacherWellbeing #ResilienceInEducation #TraumaInformed #SocialEmotionalLearning #JoyInTeaching #EducatorSelfCare

Are you struggling with a student who has intense behavioral challenges that compromise classroom safety? In this episode of Quick Bites, Ginger Lumen and Eric Nagal from the ESSDACK Resilience Team introduce RISE, an innovative alternative to suspension and expulsion designed specifically for elementary students.

RISE stands for:

• Relationships
• Instruction
• Safety
• Emotional Well-being

Why RISE is Different:

• Supports Trauma-Informed Care: Many students struggling in the classroom have experienced trauma or ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences) that literally wire their brains differently. RISE addresses these unmet needs rather than just punishing behavior.
• Keeps Kids in School: Instead of sending a kindergartener or elementary student home through suspension, RISE provides a designated in-school space where they can stay on track academically while learning vital self-regulation skills.
• Skill-Based Learning: Students become "stress detectives" to learn about their brains, their amygdala, and the physical sensations that lead to big emotions like anger or fear.
• Family Partnership: The program includes daily communication with families and provides resources like the "Caregivers Compass" so the same strategies can be used at home.
• Restorative Integration: RISE uses a leveled system based on restorative practices to slowly reintegrate students back into their original classrooms with the skills they need to succeed.

Currently focused on grades K–5, RISE is built on the research of Dr. Ross Greene, Dr. Bruce Perry, and Lori Desautels. It aims to wrap every child in safety, belonging, and dignity.

Ready to transform how your school handles behavioral challenges?

Click here to learn more about RISE

Contact the ESSDACK Resilience Team to learn how to bring the RISE program to your district.

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Are you tired of seeing students repeat the same mistakes despite constant consequences? Traditional discipline often pushes students away, reinforcing the "shadow message" that they are "bad" rather than showing them they simply made a mistake.

In this video, we explore the power of Esteemable Acts—a restorative practice designed to shift a student's identity from "the problem" to a valued, capable member of the classroom community. Instead of using punishment, we focus on providing opportunities for students to build skills, repair harm, and rediscover their intrinsic worth.

What You’ll Learn:

• The Science of Identity: Why more consequences don't repair a student's self-image or change repeatable behaviors.
• Repairing Harm: How to move away from shame and toward accountability through connection.
• Practical Examples of Esteemable Acts:
• • Assisting peers with academic tasks or mentoring younger students.
  • Restoring damaged classroom spaces alongside a supportive adult.
  • Contributing to the community through kindness notes or planning class activities.
• Preventative Strategies: Using these acts early to build positive neural connections and "fill a student's bucket" before behavioral challenges arise.

Key Takeaway for Educators:

"It’s the idea of instead of 'I'm bad,' I made a mistake and I can fix it". This empowerment preserves a student's belonging and teaches them essential conflict-resolution skills that many adults still struggle to master.

Ready to try this in your classroom?

Don't aim to make kids "earn back" their worth—use these strategies to remind them of the worth they’ve always had.

Subscribe for more "Quick Bites" on restorative practices and brain-based teaching strategies!

Blog post: https://www.essdack.org/tendingblog/when-consequences-dont-seem-to-work-esteemable-acts

#RestorativePractices #TeacherTips #ClassroomManagement #StudentWellbeing #EsteemableActs #EducationReform #TraumaInformedTeaching #PositiveDiscipline

Stop the Cycle: How to "Catch Them Doing Right" in Your Classroom.

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Do you have a student who is constantly in trouble?

Are you tired of the endless cycle of negative interactions?

In this episode of Quick Bites, Eric and Ginger from the ESSDACK Resilience Team share a transformative strategy for shifting classroom dynamics: Catch Them Doing Right. It is easy to fall into the trap of only speaking to struggling students when they misbehave, but constant negative feedback can make a student feel like they don't belong.

In this video, you’ll learn:

The Power of Positive Ratios: Why building a "bank" of positive interactions is essential for relationship building and long-term behavior change.

Beyond "Following Rules": How to look for specific positive behaviors in four key areas: Academic: Staying on task, taking risks, or asking thoughtful questions.

Social-Emotional: Helping others, using kind language, or promoting fairness.

Behavioral Habits: Being prepared, following through on responsibilities, and making smooth transitions.

Leadership: Including others and respectfully reminding peers of expectations.

Building Connectedness: How positive reinforcement improves safety and reduces crises by changing how students view themselves and how their peers view them.

Stop focusing on the negative and start feeding the behaviors you want to see. When you call out the good, everyone is listening.

Link to the flyer/poster: https://canva.link/9b7x4pj8of519wx

This video explores effective, neuroinformed strategies for educators to help students meet behavioral expectations through positive reinforcement and predictable routines.Summary for TeachersThe Power of Pre-correction: Rather than reacting to misbehavior, pre-correction involves setting students up for success by clearly stating expectations, modeling the desired behavior, and allowing students to practice before a transition or activity.1Neuroinformed Brain Science: Predictable routines and patterned, repetitive activities calm the nervous system and regulate the brain, making students more capable of following directions.2The STEADY Strategy: This structured approach helps maintain classroom order:S: Stop and focus to ensure you have students' attention.3T: Think and provide clear expectations or directions.4E: Engage and move around the room, as teacher presence improves behavior.5A: Act with positive non-verbals and encouragement.6D: Determine the timing (e.g., "we start in 30 seconds").7Y: "Yes!"—Notice and praise students the moment they meet expectations.8Positive Noticing: Educators are encouraged to "notice the heck out of" students when they do something right, even in small increments. This builds skills, strengthens connections, and releases dopamine, which keeps the student's brain in a state ready for learning.--

Get your copy here: https://essdk.me/STEADY