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Conscious Discipline's 5 Steps for Self-Regulation Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo May 1, 2021 As I was attempting to write this newsletter, I simply couldn’t put my thoughts into words and I had an ‘aha’ moment. I reflected on Kim Hughes’ presentation on Feeling Your Feelings - How to Get Unstuck with Conscious Discipline and I followed the 5 Steps for Self-Regulation she focused on: I AM: My body was telling me that I was angry by my clenched teeth. I CALM: I allowed myself the time to sit with this emotion and let it bubble up to the surface by being a STAR (Smile, Take a deep breath – or as many as needed, And Relax) . I allowed myself that moment of self-care that is so important to help us get unstuck. I FEEL: I realized that I wasn’t angry, but rather I was frustrated. I CHOOSE: By naming the feeling I was able to ‘Name it, Tame it, and Reframe it’ and move towards feeling optimistic. I SOLVE: I then was able to take responsibility and take action – hence (I just love that word) my thoughts became my words. As they use to say on the television show, The A-Team, “I love it when a plan comes together!” By effectively using this process I internalized it and can now model for others. As Kim said, “We can’t teach skills that we do not have.” If we are going to teach children how to self-regulate, we must be able to do it ourselves. We can either catch their crazy or download calm and be a STAR. In order to be a STAR, we must be aware of our triggers and remember that “no one can drive you crazy unless you give them the keys.” Use D.N.A. to help the children recognize their feelings: Describe: “Your (eyes, mouth, face, arms) are going like this....." Pause: When you have eye contact, download calm by breathing Name: "You seem_______________________" Acknowledge: "You wanted _____________________" or, "You were hoping __________________" Kim stressed the importance of allowing yourself the luxury, not the necessity, of self-care. You cannot give what you do not have. I know it feels overwhelming to find the time – you can do it, you must do it! Turn off those electronics (I was embarrassed when my phone notified me of how much time I spent on it, and no I was not just talking to people), lock yourself in the bathroom and savor that piece (or pieces) of chocolate, take that walk, but please, I implore you to find the time. You matter!!!!! As our year comes to a close, I would like to thank each one of you for your commitment to early childhood education. During this unprecedented time in our history, you have been the ‘Safe Place’ for the children entrusted into your care. You are indeed a Superhero. THANK YOU. Until next time, I wish you well, Paulette Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

< Back Meet Jamari When Jamari first entered the infant room at Childcare Resources, he was a happy baby. But soon, teachers noticed that he was struggling to engage. The Wellness and Early Intervention team reached out to his mother Judean to ensure he received the proper support. “Jamari was able to enroll in one-on-one speech, occupational, and physical therapy during school hours, on-site. I was thrilled to find out these additional services were available for him,” says Judean. Through Speech and Occupational therapy, Jamari soon gained the skills he needed to interact with others in the classroom. Now at the age of three, he can grasp and communicate while maintaining eye contact, something he was incapable of before. “I see a major improvement in his communication abilities,” says Judean. “He has learned and developed so much. It is amazing to see him engage with others in play and read through the picture books he loves.” While Jamari was receiving support at Childcare Resources, Judean was pursuing her nursing degree. With the early drop-off time, year-round schedule, and affordable tuition, Judean was able to focus on her professional aspirations. “Working full-time and going to school is hard enough, let alone as a mother. Childcare Resources played a tremendous impact in reaching this milestone since I knew Jamari was safe every day.” In the spring semester, Judean graduated and is now currently working in her field. The supportive environment at Childcare Resources enriched Jamari’s early development and enabled his mother to pursue her career, supporting the entire family. “I am so grateful to Childcare Resources for providing a safe place for my child to learn and grow. Thank you for your passion and the phenomenal role you play in Jamari’s future!” Previous Next

You are the key factor in providing STREAM experiences for your children. Coach's Column Susan Roberts May 14, 2020 STREAM in an early education setting involves bringing together knowledge of developmentally appropriate practices in literacy, math, science, technology and art to help children increase their understanding of the world. You are the key factor in providing STREAM experiences for your children. Relationships are critical for children to feel safe enough to explore their environment. Mistakes will happen and your response will help children accept mistakes and move past them. Mistakes are an opportunity to adjust, try again and learn. This builds resilience. By listening, questioning and expanding on previous knowledge and experiences you are guiding your children to reach beyond their knowledge and form deeper understanding. Children naturally ask questions and we often provide answers instead of having children investigate to find answers on their own. STREAM involves doing. The teacher needs to provide the opportunity for children to safely experiment with a variety of materials. This allows children to go beyond recall and reproduction to creatively applying what they have learned, thinking about it and making adjustments. How do you do this in an early childhood setting? By integrating science, technology art and math and planning a wide range of explorations. Follow the interests of your children. In the picture above a child has planted a seed in an egg shell. What can be done to move this one activity into a STREAM experience that will help the child expand their knowledge? Here are some ideas: Science - Grow a lima bean seed in a baggie with a damp paper towel. While observing daily use correct vocabulary for parts of plant. Recycling is involved since the egg shell can be planted in the ground with the plant. Composting scraps from lunch provides food (fertilizer) for plants. (Why are water droplets forming in the bag? That is another science concept dealing with precipitation and weather.) Literacy – Provide a variety of picture books about plants and gardening. Have child draw a plant and “label” the plant parts. Correct formation of letters is not the goal. Knowing that words are used to convey information to others is what is important. An older child may get some beginning sounds correct or try to copy labels on their own. Good for them! Have child cut out pictures of plants from a magazine or provide the pictures for them. Sort the pictures by color, flowers/no flowers, plants/trees, leaves/no leaves, etc. Encourage discussion and the use of a variety of words. Mathematics - Measure plant daily and record results on a chart. An older child can make “log book”. Let the child make the choice of how they want to record the plant growth. Engineering - Make card board seed starting pot from a toilet paper roll. Technology – At a young age “sharing” technology is probably the best approach. Have two children look at a website of plants they might not be familiar with such as desert plants. The tablet is a tool, other tools may be a magnifying glass, ruler, tweezers, etc. Art – various found materials should be available to experiment with-paper, twigs, rocks, leaves, sand, glue, coffee filters, pipe cleaners, string, crayons, magazines, etc. This is just one example of a STREAM experience. The block center can have tractors, the dramatic play center can be a garden shop, make a planting station with small cups, dirt and sunflower seeds to work on fine motor skills. These activities are all intertwined. The teacher is the guide that brings the appropriate materials together and provides the guidance, feedback, and assistance needed for each child to grow. Be confident enough to follow a child’s lead. Show enthusiasm, joy and curiosity yourself. And remember, we are all learning together! Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Early Childhood Educator of the Year Join Childcare Resources in celebrating the incredible impact early childhood educators have on our community! In its inaugural year, this award will recognize the outstanding contributions, remarkable passion, and true dedication of early childhood educators across Indian River County. Complete the short form below to nominate someone for early childhood educator of the year. Be sure to include your name your center your email and phone numbers why you are nominating this early educator Winners will be announced at the Conscious Discipline professional development workshop on Saturday, August 23, 2025. VIEW FLYER (PDF)

We know that all behavior is a form of communication and it is up to us to teach our children the necessary skills to successfully communicate their needs. Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo September 1, 2021 As you are reading this newsletter you have completed the first month with your new Class, building your Conscious Discipline® skills. Connections are being made, and relationships built. Hopefully you begin each day with a greeting for every child, have posted your visual schedule, started posting visual routines, and have begun your Brain Smart Start which includes your Daily Commitments and Wish Well Board . (If you have any questions on these activities please refer to last month's newsletter in which Susan Roberts so beautifully reviewed these). While these strategies are important in your classroom management, the key strategy is a choice that you get to make: Are you willing to choose to see the best in each child? It is easy to do this when a child is behaving, but what about when a child hits, kicks, yells, is defiant, or has a full blown fit. Are you still willing to see through this behavior and realize the Brain State that the child is in and work on strengthening the missing skill or skills needed? We know that all behavior is a form of communication and it is up to us to teach our children the necessary skills to successfully communicate their needs. Alex is busy building a tower in the Block Center. Jay walks by kicks the tower down and laughs as he continues walking. Alex uses the only skill he knows and starts crying inconsolably. Our first instinct might be to go to Alex and tell him to stop crying and rebuild the tower, after all, it is no big deal. As you pause by taking your 3 deep breaths, the crying turns to wailing. When a child is in this state and has no words, the way to help him self-regulate is to simply sit near him and breathe. No words, no lectures, simply be present and breathe with him. Once he makes eye contact with you (it may take some time – teachers often give up because they feel they don’t have the time to waste. I assure that you are not wasting your time. You are letting Alex know that he matters and modeling empathy for the other children to observe) use: Describe "You are crying” Notice “You seem sad” Acknowledge “You did not like it when Jay knocked down your tower” “You are safe” “Keep breathing” “You can handle this" Alex says, ”I worked so hard and that stupid Jay knocked down my tower and laughed at me. He is not my friend anymore”. When Alex uses his words you have helped him move up to his Emotional State by acknowledging his feelings and showing him empathy. At this point he is ready to engage with you and work on solving the problem. A conversation may go something like this: “You didn’t like it when Jay knocked your tower. It hurt your feelings. You wanted to see how high your tower could go. Let’s practice what you could say to Jay: Repeat after me: 'Jay, I don’t like it when you knock my tower down. Next time, ask to play with me.' Let’s practice it together. Do you want to go by yourself to tell Jay or do you want me to go with you. Remember to tap Jay on the shoulder, look him in the eye and tell him. Which do you choose?” Follow the child’s lead. It takes practice, practice, practice, and more practice to help guide a child to their Executive State. There may even be some oops moments along the way. Remember to give yourself and the child grace as you navigate this journey together. Dr. Becky Bailey always stresses these important points for the adults: The child should never be in a higher brain state than the adult and always remember that our internal behavior dictates their behavior. As your school year continues its adventure, remember to take the time to take care of yourself. Until next time, I wish you well, Paulette Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Repetition in Play Coach's Column Amanda Gooch July 1, 2024 Did you know that repetition in play is one of the secret superpowers in early childhood education? In the following video, Sally Haughey from Wunderled - Fairy Dust Teaching, reviews the top five reasons repetition is beneficial for play based learning. In this video she teaches us how repetition helps give young children a sense of security, deepens learning and understanding and supports executive functioning and language development. YouTube: Secret Superpower of Learning: Repetition Rasmussen University gives us six reasons why play, specifically dramatic play, matters in early childhood education. Dramatic play teaches self-regulation and gives them an emotional outlet to have teachable moments for conflict resolution. Dramatic play also supports literacy and helps to develop your student’s creative thinking and storytelling ability. Dramatic play creates opportunities for you as the educator to support your students individually and encourage their own ideas. To learn more about how to encourage dramatic play in your classroom, click on the following link below: Why Dramatic Play Matters In an age when play is often seen as frivolous or unproductive, Rae Pica's book ”Why Play?” explains the importance of play in early childhood education. Each chapter focuses on a specific type of play, includes suggestions for putting theory into practice, and offers recommendations for language and information educators can use to help parents understand that play is not separate from learning. ”Why Play?” highlights some of the most popular types of play, such as dramatic, cooperative and construction. This book shares why different modes of play are beneficial and how educators can facilitate these different types of play in early childhood settings. Whether used as a tool for advocacy or as a guide on how to use play, “Why Play?” is for everyone who believes children should have the chance to be children, and that child development should guide all our practices. Wishing you the best, Amanda & Todd Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Trauma-Informed Practices to Benefit All Children | Dr. Peg Oliveira | Gesell Institute at Yale Trauma-Informed Practices to Benefit All Children January 2021 Dr. Peg Oliveira Gesell Institute at Yale Handout (PDF) Workshop Photos Back

Teaching What We Practice: Conscious Discipline Starts with Us | Angela Fraley | Conscious Discipline Teaching What We Practice: Conscious Discipline Starts with Us August 23, 2025 Angela Fraley Conscious Discipline Join us to uncover how connections with children shape their development and well-being. Explore the science of the attachment system to respond to young children in distress Understand the powr of "meaning-making" Discover the importance of connections with children Saturday, August 23 9 am - 3 pm Vero Beach Museum of Art Available at no cost to early educators in Indian River County CEUs available from FLAEYC Breakfast and lunch will be provided Join us for a chance to win workshop raffle prizes Handout (PDF) Workshop Photos Back

We are all dealing with trauma during these difficult times. Each person has a unique story filled with circumstances no one else can understand. Coach's Column Susan Roberts February 1, 2021 Dr. Peg Oliveira from the Gesell Program in Early Childhood at Yale presented an informative and timely workshop on Saturday, January 23. The workshop dealt with Trauma-informed Practices That Can Benefit All Children , but honestly I got so much out of her presentation that I can apply to my own life. You probably noticed a lot of references to information and practices that have been presented in Conscious Discipline workshops. Building relationships, establishing routines, and building resilience in children through support and practice are the foundation of trauma informed practices. It is the foundation on which learning can happen. We are all dealing with trauma during these difficult times. Each person has a unique story filled with circumstances no one else can understand. The coronavirus is unprecedented in that its impact is community wide and does not stay within the boundaries of economics, race, gender, religion, etc. Even though Dr. Oliveira states that all trauma is not bad, prolonged trauma without having sufficient coping skills impacts people physically and emotionally. The brain can actually adapt to the stresses of prolonged trauma and learn to behave in a fight or flight way. Relating this to Conscious Discipline, the brain is stuck in the survival state. It reacts without thinking to protect itself by fighting back, withdrawing or running away. Until a trusting relationship is formed no significant learning can occur. The love, empathy and understanding shown within relationships is what helps children break from the habit of fight, flight, or withdrawal. They learn to feel emotions, and then move through them. Better choices can be made. This can take a long time. Remember, a child may have depended on an adult who exposed them to harmful circumstances. They may have experienced the death of a loved one, homelessness, hunger, or unstable adults in their life. They may feel fear and anxiety. Young children may not have had the chance to see and practice the coping skills needed to handle stressful experiences. As educators you cannot take away the feelings a child is having due to circumstances beyond your control. You can provide love, empathy, and understanding to help them build a trusting relationship so they feel connected, loved and accepted. You can teach children how to calm, identify their feelings and pause before they react. Practicing everyday will help children learn new more positive habits that enhance their ability to bounce back from the inevitable stress they will experience in life. Dr. Oliveira suggested the following classroom practices to help children build resilience: Routines help children feel secure and in control. They know what is coming next. Things are predictable. A visual schedule gives children the opportunity to see for themselves what is coming next. Starting the day with a structured activity helps children move from an unstructured home into the secure and structured school environment. Having table games or floor toys out helps children move into the day without having to make choices and have conflict from the start. Developmentally appropriate activities help children feel success without frustration. It is important to know the developmental milestones. Children need a good foundation to build upon. They cannot successfully, and without frustration, move to cutting with a scissors if they have never developed the proper grip strength to handle the scissors. Be aware of difficult situations and transitions. Children who have little structure or routine are on high alert for what may come next. Surprises may not be welcome! Warn children of changes in schedule and new situations. Practice transitions so they know what is happening and the appropriate way to respond. Proximity to an adult or trusted friend may smooth the way through new situations. Creating rituals to support and practice calming and co-regulation gives children the pause to learn how to go from their survival state to the emotional and executive state where they learn to self-regulate. I Love You Rituals, soothing songs, familiar music, breathing, etc. can calm and remind children that they are safe and loved. Every educator is committed to do no harm. It is our wish that the information shared by Dr. Peg Oliveira will help to build resilience and the ability to bounce back from stress. We are wishing you well! Susan and the Childcare Resources team Resources ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/aces/fastfact.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fviolenceprevention%2Facestudy%2Ffastfact.html https://www.joiningforcesforchildren.org/what-are-aces/ This page contains a link to the ACES questionnaire. Social Emotional Learning and Covid https://casel.org/resources-covid/ Working with Traumatized Children, A Handbook for Healing . by Kathryn Brohl This book was specifically recommended by Dr. Oliveira in January's workshop. Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

Let’s take some time to review the Conscious Discipline Brain Smart Start Coach's Column Amanda Gooch August 1, 2023 Welcome back to another incredible beginning to the school year. We are starting the year strong with Conscious Discipline. Conscious Discipline utilizes everyday events to cultivate emotional intelligence through a self-regulation program that integrates social-emotional learning and discipline. Let’s take some time to review the Conscious Discipline Brain Smart Start and what that structure looks like in the classroom. The Conscious Discipline Brain Smart Start of the day consists of four activities: An activity to UNITE, an activity to CONNECT, an activity to DISENGAGE stress and an activity to COMMIT. Conscious Discipline designed this combination of activities using current brain research in order to promote an optimal learning state. The Brain Smart Start should be conducted in the classroom daily. Let’s review these four components that make up the Brain Smart Start: 1. Unite: The activity to unite as a School Family involves everyone doing something together. It builds connection, fosters a sense of safety and releases endorphins. These activities can be combined, for example, a School Family chant involving music and movement with a partner would both unite and connect. 2. Disengage: The activity to disengage stress involves deep breathing and stretching. It prepares the brain for cortical learning and turns off the stress response. The four core calming activities used in Conscious Discipline to help disengage are S.T.A.R., Balloon, Pretzel and Drain. The calming activity S.T.A.R. stands for Smile, Take a deep breath And Relax. Taking three deep belly breaths helps to shut off the fight, flight, or freeze response in the body. 3. Connect: The activity to connect the students to the teacher and to each other helps to maintain focused attention and the motivation to learn. It also releases oxytocin, which promotes connection and reduces aggression. Eye contact, presence, touch and a playful setting are the four core components required to truly connect with others. I Love You Rituals are an effective way to incorporate connection in the classroom. Classrooms benefit from I Love You Rituals in routines like the Brain Smart Start, during circle time and after transitions. Teachers and individual students benefit from scheduling regular one-on-one I Love You Rituals with children call for help through difficult behaviors like aggression, tantrums or withdrawal. 4. Commit: The activity to commit oneself to learning involves affirmations and positive thinking. It produces serotonin, teaches responsibility, promotes mindful attention and develops the prefrontal lobe. Making commitments and following through on them builds self-esteem, neurologically bathing the body in feel-good chemicals. These chemicals help focus attention and achieve goals. Commitments help us shift from being unconsciously stimulus-driven to becoming consciously goal-oriented. Commitments can be individual, like having each child take a clothespin with his name on it and place it beside a class agreement. The class can make a group commitment with the teacher stating, “Today I’m going to use kind words with friends,” and the children would signal their commitment with a thumbs up. Provide a time at the end of the day to invite children to evaluate their commitments. The children respond with either, “I did it,” or, “Oops.” An Oops is an opportunity to try again tomorrow. Some children may have difficulty keeping their commitments. Check to see their commitments are specific, narrow in scope and realistic. Instead of, “Today I will be nice all day,” coach them to say, “Today at recess I will invite a friend to play with me.” A Brain Smart Start also offers opportunities to practice social skills. It also provides many chances to model acceptable behavior, reinforce, redirect, or remind. The investment returned on time spent with a Brain Smart Start is repaid many times over. This teaches a sense of belonging, as well as develops skills of listening, attention, expression and empathy. A Brain Smart Start sets the tone for the day. It is not an add on or something extra to make time for, but rather an integral part of the day's planning and curriculum. Wishing you the best, Amanda Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters

How many of us feel like we are juggling on any given day? How is it possible to keep all these plates up in the air? Coach's Column Paulette Maggiacomo August 6, 2020 How many of us feel like aw are juggling on any given day? How is it possible to keep all these plates up in the air? What happens when we drop one plate, or two, or three? With all that is happening in our world today, how are we even keeping any plates up? Today, let’s talk about Resiliency, Self-Care, & Lifelong Learning. Dr. Antoinette Taylor’s presentation How Can I Deal with This Child’s Behavior When I’m Juggling So Many Plates? truly resonates with me. Keeping plates spinning all of the time is overwhelming! She shared that in order to be resilient, we must press pause and realize that we can’t keep all the plates spinning but we can take the plates off the sticks and manage them. Let us manage the plates instead of them managing us. How do we do this? As early education professionals, we must be lifelong learners. New research is constantly coming out in our field and it is important for us to be able to articulate it. Teachers feel empowered when they have the knowledge to address what is occurring in their classroom. So how are we able to continue this learning journey? Encourage participation in professional development workshops presented in our area. The internet has exploded with virtual learning. Use it to your advantage. Dr. Taylor said that we often talk about children having “summer slide” but teachers do too! Directors: it is vital to carve out time to schedule staff development days with no children present . I know what you are thinking - my parents work and this would be so inconvenient for them. On the other hand, think of how beneficial it would be for your teachers to come together as a School Family, connect, and learn something new. This time also allows teachers to know that they have a voice and are valued and respected. In turn, it also gives them confidence to apply what they have learned which ultimately has a positive impact on the children in their care. Let me paraphrase a popular saying: A happy teacher makes a happy child. Challenging behavior is often the reason for a plate to wobble and fall. So, let’s take it off and manage it. Believe or not, children do not wake up thinking how am I going to misbehave in class and annoy my teacher? Their misbehavior is a time for us to teach the skills that they are missing. As early childhood educators, we know that it is not our job to diagnose children. But due to our passion as lifelong learners we are often the first ones to notice that a child might have a developmental delay or is in need of some kind of extra service. Dr. Taylor states that child development is nonlinear and our different domains can develop at different rates. Here is where she discussed “twice exceptional children”. These children are at or above average in one domain of development, yet need support in another area or domain of development. Athletes are a perfect example, where one might excel at football but not at basketball. A child may have strong fine motor skills but weak in social/emotional skills, for example, they might enjoy spending time painting but have a meltdown if another child wants to have a turn. So instead of thinking, what is wrong with this child? They are making me crazy! We must switch our mindset and realize that the child is not doing this to us. Instead of saying they can’t, how about saying they can? Engaging in this virtual conference has reinforced my belief that there is no one right answer in dealing with challenging behavior. I have learned that for me, it comes down to self- care . If I am not taking care of myself, then it reflects in my daily interactions with those around me. If I carve out time for me every day, even if it is just for a few minutes, then my interactions reflect a positive vibe. Therefore, instead of having a “Q-Tip” (Quit Taking it Personally) mindset, I am able see that the person in front of me needs my compassion and empathy. Until next time, I wish you well. Back to Coaching Back to Newsletters