Whole Child Maine

08/27/2023

There is nothing we love more than kicking off the start of the school season with a big dose of brain-based training and teacher support!

- see you tomorrow!

08/27/2022

What you can do when you are mad.
-Squish a squishy
-Punch a pillow
-Yell in a pillow
-Stomp
-Scribble on a piece of paper

What to do when you want to calm down:
-Draw a picture
-Read a book
-Snuggle a stuffy

Teach your kids what matters most:
❌spelling
✅ emotional regulation

02/02/2022

It is February here in Maine and there is no better time than NOW to bring your attention to your nervous system.

Did you know that your nervous system communicates directly with your body and your brain to help you determine whether you feel safe or not? This is called neuroception, a concept coined by Dr. Stephen Porges and beautifully explored and explained in lay person’s terms by Deb Dana, LCSW.

Here are a few ways that you can begin to familiarize yourself with and explore the concept of neuroception:

🧠 What specific sensory experiences bother you? (i.e. smells, physical sensations, particular foods, noises, etc.)

🧠 When you feel calm and easeful, take a moment to pause - notice where you are, who you’re with and what’s going on around you.

Be curious and experiment.

Stop and notice what signals in your environment contribute to the way you feel.

12/13/2021

We often associate the words “grief” and “loss” to specifically refer to the death of a loved human or pet. We also want to bring your attention to another very important way to understand grief and loss which is, when “living” relationships are traumatic, distant, cutoff/estranged or are impacted by physical and mental health challenges. We experience feelings of grief and loss in these situations because there can be sadness, hurt and longing for what could have been, but cannot be.

The pandemic experience, coupled with winter holidays may highlight or bring experiences of grief and loss into your emotional life in unexpected and difficult ways. Sometimes there are anniversary reminders, family gatherings, lack of access, or traditions that may uncover a sudden, deep sadness or hurt. Paying attention and staying attuned to yourself during these times is important. We also encourage you to reach out for support from a trusted source such as:
💫 a friend who is able to listen and hold space
💫 a talk therapist
💫 an energy or body worker

12/09/2021

Whole Child Maine would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to those of you working with children in so many different capacities.

Thank you for caring.
Thank you for paying attention to the emotional well being of children.
Thank you for being willing to learn and grow.

We have included a special, free resource on our website just for educators! See it here at: www.wholechildmaine.com.

We are sharing this with you so that you may consider your own needs while attending to the needs of so many children in your care each day.

12/07/2021

Holidays can bring lots of additional things to our already filled plates. More events, gatherings, gifts, tasks, cooking, baking, shopping, decorating and sharing can feel like too much. This holiday season we encourage you to get clear on what specifically feels like too much. When you are clear on your too much you can determine what boundaries to hold with intention and self awareness, for yourself and your family.

EXAMPLE 1: Your child wants to help bake and decorate the holiday cookies.

First, check in with yourself and asses a) your own needs and b) your brain state.
Next, determine what part of the task potentially feels like too much.

Boundary choices:

*Bake alone and invite your child to help at another date/time when pressure isn’t as high.

*Allow your child to do one part of the baking/decorating that feels most manageable to YOU.

*Ditch the baking all together this year and purchase a premade yummy treat to share instead.

EXAMPLE 2: You agree to host friends for a holiday get together on a busy weekend.

Boundary choices:

*Cancel.

*Reschedule to a less busy weekend or date.

*Choose a different meeting spot to lighten your load.

12/01/2021

•emotional fallout•

Most often when we think about kids (or us!) having a meltdown, tantrum or other big behaviors and feelings, we associate it with something being “wrong” or “off”, such as being overtired, hungry, overwhelmed or upset about something that happened.

Over here at Whole Child Maine, we want to bring your attention to something that may be news to you: big and messy emotions and behaviors also come from things that we associate as “good”! Feelings of excitement, being overjoyed, anticipation, bursting imagination and so, so much fun also results in💥…emotional disregulation and unwanted behaviors.

If you are participating in celebrations, winter activities, holiday traditions and/or a change in routine this time of year, please remember to make room for the emotional fallout. Whether it’s from the good and fun activities or the hard and messy days, the pent up feelings need to come out so that they can re-regulate - kids need us to make room and allow for this time without fear of judgement and punitive responses.

The more we can understand the why of behaviors (the neuroscience), the better equipped we are to have more ease and connection through this season and in the weeks and months to come.

11/22/2021

The holiday season brings about lots of fun, excitement and anticipation. It also brings with it routine changes & expectations. Needless to say, when difficult behavior from your children or students arise, remember that it is totally normal. They are responding to a variety of things: change, exhaustion, excitement, overstimulation and so much more. It’s important to remember that behavior is communication and although we might not know exactly what’s causing the behavior we can recognize that holidays have the potential to bring stress and, therefore, behaviors, for parents and children alike.

Here are some writing prompts to help you gain more self awareness and clarity as we approach several upcoming holidays:

Q 1: What holiday traditions are most meaningful to you and your family?

Q 2: Do your expectations for your children change around the holiday? Ie: are your children asked to wear different/specific clothing, engage in meal time differently, eat new food, behave differently around different people?

Q 3: Have you prepared your children for any of the changes? If not, how could you connect with them about these changes?

Q 4: What do you want more of this holiday season? What do you want less of?

11/17/2021

Over here at Whole Child Maine we are noticing that the daylight, weather changes, decor and shift in energy is upon us. This time of year there are often physical, emotional, mental and spiritual factors that impact our daily lives at home and in the classroom. When we understand the specific conditions that can impact behavior, we can better support ourselves and the children in our lives.

A few things to consider in the days and weeks ahead:

🛑 Children, especially, need ample time to RECOVER from busy, fun, exciting and “out-of-routine” experiences.

🫂 Build in lots of breaks for grown ups and kids for down time, protein, water, connection, fresh air and playfulness.

😠 😢 EXPECT kids to have a hard time - this includes challenging behaviors and emotional fallout. When we understand that this is normal and developmentally appropriate, we can be better prepared to offer coregulation instead of judgement and worry.

Stay tuned for more support, tips and tricks from us in the weeks ahead!

10/17/2021

When we describe children’s behaviors as ill-willed, we limit our ability to respond to them respectfully. We might say or feel things like:
“she is just doing that for attention”,
“he manipulated that situation”,
“stop being naughty”.

When we see other folks respond to acting-out-children with kindness or an offering to help, we might say or feel things like:
“that is reinforcing their bad behavior”,
“don’t coddle them”,
“you’re spoiling them by giving them attention”.

Thanks to neuroscience, we now KNOW that all behavior is a form of communication. If a child is having a hard time, it means they are disregulated and their behavior tells us something important about how they feel when they can’t verbalize it.

Have you ever had a rough day and acted sh*!ty?
Think about that. Think about how hard it feels and how impossible it is to act differently in the moment. Now think about our expectations of kids whose brains aren’t even close to fully developed…

There are several reasons it can feel
threatening for us to understand and react to “bad behavior” differently:
🍁 Nobody did that for us when we were young.
🍁 We are operating with old information about child development.
🍁 We avoid trying out new ways of being with children because the discomfort is too much for us.

If this resonates for you, you are not alone. It is hard freaking work. We see you. We support you. We are here to help.

10/02/2021

If you find yourself wondering “What do I do?” during difficult interactions with children, this training is for you!

Whether you are a parent or educator, you will gain an understanding of how neuroscience informs our relationships with children.

You will leave with confidence and skills to navigate those challenging situations at home or in the classroom.

Another offering is just around the corner:
Intro to the Whole Child Approach

Virtually, Monday 10/4 @ 6:30PM, ET

Sign up here:

A brain-based resource for working with theWHOLE CHILD The WHOLE CHILD approach means that we guide our interactions with children by honoring and understanding ALL parts of the child including developmental, emotional and physical needs. Meet the Trainers Tara & Nikki We are Tara and Nikki of Whole...

09/25/2021

We are excited about our recent opportunities to support local schools who are eager to learn about brain development and how it relates to relationships with children.

We are ready to expand our training opportunities to your school. Repost your favorite post, tag your school and we will reach out to them.

In the meantime, please join our next training:
Intro to the Whole Child Approach
October 4th at 6:30p, ET