You can teach Wholeself Care in the classroom
What is on your mind when you are teaching children? Probably too many things! There is classroom management, safety, lesson plans, targets, standards, assessments, and of course our own wellbeing too! (Are we going to make it through the day?) An underlying goal can be lost: For children to become independent adults they need to be able to take care of themselves physically, socially, and emotionally. As teachers, you may be struggling with this yourself, even if only because your job is so challenging.
Wonderful Me along with SongsToGrow can be thought of as a creative manual on self-care and growing up, designed to support a child learning to become their own parent. And, built right into the book and songs are ideas and moments for you to pause and get something for yourself too! Research shows that how caregivers take care of themselves impacts a child’s well-being!
For the classroom, Wonderful Me: A First Guide to Taking Care of Yourself is designed to be read in sections to either your entire class, small groups, or individual children. There are many themes, and the student and/or the teacher can choose which ones to read. In most situations, the text is to be read by the teacher while the child looks at the pictures. There are many suggestions of activities that the caregiver can help the child to do, and most sections also offer questions and prompts for reflection that could spark conversation. As a teacher, you might also consider how these themes are relevant in your experience of caring for yourself.
Songs To Grow - Songs from this album can be listened to on their own, or songs can be chosen intentionally to reinforce particular themes of the book. You can play the songs to introduce or reinforce themes during music time, transition times, or to accompany activities. Sample themes also include: Respecting self and others, promoting sleep, making choices, finding peace, befriending yourself, and reducing screen time.
Here are a few questions that you can take with you to consider when you are caring for a child:
How will the way I am providing care, teaching, and running my classroom affect this child today, and tomorrow?
How will the way I am providing care, teaching, and running my classroom affect how they learn to care for themselves?
What am I role modeling for the kids with how I take care of myself?
What teachers are saying about the book for themselves:
“In my public school preschool program, we focus heavily on social/emotional development and cover many of the topics discussed in Wonderful Me. This would be a great book to add to a social/emotional curriculum, cozy corner library, school library, etc. to reference when focusing on social emotional concepts.”
“Wonderful Me not only teaches why it is so important to care for yourself but it goes into detail of how you can do it! It starts with things that may seem simple like physically caring for yourself but also goes into setting up healthy boundaries. and how we can love ourselves well in different aspects of our lives. Great for the classroom!”
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“What an expansive, welcome approach to health that provides readers with the tools necessary to experience wellness while navigating feelings and new and tricky experiences.”
“Elementary teachers: you’ll need a copy! This book aligns so well with the curriculum.”
“This is a book I believe every classroom should have. I love the way it explores every aspect of self care in an accessible and child friendly fashion. “
“This is an excellent tool to have. This book doesn’t even need to always be read in one sitting. Taking a page or two at a time is a great way to bond and start strengthening those communication skills!”
“I am a student teacher and a daycare teacher and I love how the language is easy to understand and there are not too many big words.”
“What a fantastic find. It's a fun, educational read to help children learn more about themselves, how to properly take care of them, physically and mentally, how to interact with their surroundings, how to communicate their needs, etc.. They'll learn how to be well-rounded social individuals. Well-written text and cute illustrations. It should definitely be used in schools and other educational places.”
“The book encourages self-reflection and resilience through interactive activities, making it a valuable resource for parents, educators, and caregivers. Overall, it's a must-read for anyone looking to support children in their journey towards self-discovery and personal growth.”
“As someone that works with kids on their social and emotional learning this book describes concepts in a great way for kids to understand.”
“In addition to offering information and helpful suggestions, it also asks questions, giving kids a chance to think about how the subject just discussed might apply to them. This book covers important topics like boundaries, respect, feelings, communication, health, and other self-care matters in healthy, accessible ways. Because they're broken down into sections, it's easy to handle one topic at a time, if you want to read a small piece and then talk about it together.”
“There’s a lovely thread of normalisation and validation throughout the book, gently balanced with encouraging children to take steps to increase their autonomy and independence through self care.”
“This book tackles a wide number factors involved in self care, and explains them thoroughly and in language children can understand. These are skills many adults still need to work on, and learning to look inward at a younger age will help set children up for success.”