Managing emotions

Nurture Your Child’s Inner Optimist

March is National Optimism Month You might think your child has a sunny or gloomy personality. You might describe them as an optimist or pessimist. But optimism isn’t a disposition someone is born with. It’s a learned skill, and it’s an important factor in determining a person’s level of happiness. Magination Press has several books about optimism, positive psychology, and positive self-talk.  Celebrate National Optimism Month by sharing these books with your child.  Help build their sense of optimism and positive thinking skills. What to Do When You Grumble Too Much: A Kid’s Guide to Overcoming Negativity by Dawn Huebner, PhD What to Do When You Grumble Too Much guides children and their parents through the cognitive-behavioral techniques used to treat negative thinking. Lively metaphors and illustrations help kids see life's hurdles in a new way, while drawing and writing activities help them master skills to get over those hurdles. And step-by-step instructions point the way toward becoming happier, more positive kids. This interactive self-help book is the complete resource for educating, motivating, and empowering children to work toward change. It includes a Note to Parents and Caregivers by the author.  “Dr. Huebner has a gift for describing abstract issues in simple, concrete terms…a unique resource that helps children practice how to think differently. Highly recommended.”  —Carina Ziemek, MA, school counselor See other books in the What to Do Guides for Kids Series.    A Feel Better Book for Little Tears by Holly Brochmann and Leah Bowen This rhyming book will help kids identify what it feels like to be sad and what they can do to respond to it. It offers suggestions such as talking about what makes you feel sad, imagining happy things, or crying as a way to let the emotion out. The book lets kids know that it's perfectly normal to feel sad — but offers a gentle reminder that the feelings won't last forever. A Note to Parents and Caregivers provides guidance about how to help children respond to strong feelings of sadness. “Brochmann and Bowen have provided readers with the tools to help their kids get through their first bouts of sadness.”  —BookTrib Read an excerpt from the Note to Parents and Caregivers.  Hear A Feel Better Book for Little Tears read aloud. See other books in the Feel Better Books for Little Kids Series. Grow Happy Jon Lasser, PhD and Sage Foster-Lasser Grow Happy shows kids that they can play a pivotal role in creating their own happiness. The main character, Kiko, shows the reader how she grows happiness: by making good choices, taking care of her body and mind, paying attention to her feelings, problem solving, and spending time with family and friends. A Note to Parents and Other Caregivers provides more strategies for helping children learn how to grow happiness. “In Grow Happy, the authors help children to think metaphorically about growing happiness in a variety of strategic ways. This is a fun and meaningful way for children to learn

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Nurture Your Child’s Inner Optimist 2022-03-24T16:12:51-04:00

Dance With Me! Upbeat Books to Celebrate Dance

September 18 is National Dance Day. Whether you love hip hop, ballet, salsa, polka, swing, ballroom, or folk dancing, moving to music is a universal experience. These upbeat Magination Press books celebrate dancing with family, friends, and even on your own. When Nana Dances by Jane Yolen and Maddison Stemple-Piatt Nana can make any object a dancing partner. An umbrella, a broom, even a rake! Both onstage and off, she can shimmy, she can mambo, and do the bunny hop. She’s won prizes and can dance to grandpa’s music or to her own beat. But nothing is more special than when grandma dances with her grandchildren. This fun story is filled with the movement, energy, and laughter that comes when kids dance with their grandparents. Accordionly: Abuelo and Opa Make Music by Michael Genhart, PhD When both grandpas, Abuelo and Opa, visit at the same time, they can’t understand each other’s language and there is a lot of silence. The grandson’s clever thinking helps find a way for everyone to share the day together as two cultures become one family. Hector’s Favorite Place by Jo Rooks Hector loves his cozy, snugly, safe home. It's his favorite place to be. Hector loves his home so much that he doesn't often go out, and soon, it starts to affect his friendships. Can Hector find the courage to break out of his comfort zone? Move Your Mood! by Brenda S. Miles, PhD, and Colleen A. Patterson, MA Feeling blah? Here's what to do. Move your body and your mood moves too! Move Your Mood! invites kids and adults to twist, wiggle, shake, hop…and smile! Reading this book with your child is an active and fun way to teach your child about emotions, and introduce the idea that moving our bodies affects the way we feel inside. Ready to start feeling better? Move and groove your way into a better mood!

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Dance With Me! Upbeat Books to Celebrate Dance 2021-09-17T15:46:23-04:00

Late Summer Relaxation

As summer winds down, many families are taking one last opportunity to rest and restore themselves before the fall rush. If you need a reason to encourage your kid to take it easy, August 15 marks National Relaxation Day.  According to the website, “National Relaxation Day advocates chilling out and promotes stress relief through meditation and other relaxation techniques. Managing stress requires relaxation, which leads to a clearer and calmer mind.” Relaxation means different things to different people. Magination Press has books that explore different approaches to relaxation including yoga, mindfulness, and meditation.  Bee Still: An Invitation to Meditation by Frank J. Sileo, PhD Bentley is a lovable, calm honeybee.  When the queen tells the bees to get busy, it sends them scrambling into a tizzy. But not Bentley. He chooses to be patient and wait. He decides to look for a place to meditate. Bee Still is a child-friendly introduction to meditation. Includes a Note to Parents and Caregivers with more ideas for introducing meditation into your child's life “Through this engaging introduction to the benefits of practicing meditation, children and adults will learn how to focus emotions and relieve stress and anxiety…" —Foreword Reviews Relaxations: Big Tools for Little Warriors by Mamen Duch This book uses gentle affirmations to improve and enhance confidence, self-esteem, concentration, and creativity. “So many kids are dealing with stress in many ways and it manifests itself in ways you may not expect. This book explores some of the basic concepts of relaxation and how you and your kids can find more ways to relax…. The visualization and breathing exercises were great and really allowed you to find an inner-calm within yourself. This is a great book that I highly recommend!” —Dad of Divas A World of Pausabilities: An Exercise in Mindfulness by Frank J. Sileo, PhD Told in rhyming verse and beautifully illustrated, A World of Pausabilities is an inviting introduction to mindfulness. Following a neighborhood on a summer day, readers will learn how to apply mindfulness to simple, everyday moments, and how days are filled with endless possibilities to take a pause. Includes a Note to Parents and Caregivers that further discusses mindfulness and ways to introduce pauses into your child's life. King Calm: Mindful Gorilla in the City by Susan D. Sweet, PhD, and Brenda S. Miles, PhD Marvin isn't like other gorillas. He doesn't stomp his feet and he never ever pounds his chest with a thump thump roar. Marvin is mindful. He's focused. He's calm…and he's about to teach his grandpa to be a king of calm, too! Includes a Reader's Note loaded with information about living mindfully and ways to become more calm, focused, and tuned in to the Great Big World around you. “King Calm is a wonderful gateway for teaching mindfulness to children. The narrative manages to give explicit instructions on being mindful without being pedantic or dull.” —Seattle Book Review Fantastic You by Danielle Dufayet There's one special person that kids get to spend

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Late Summer Relaxation 2021-08-11T12:45:49-04:00