The month of October can be a scary time for young children, but we can help them handle their fears with four simple strategies.

​Be aware of what is especially scary to your children.  Avoid images and situations that provoke unnecessary or unhealthy fear.  If a scary situation is unavoidable, provide emotional support. If you know a child has a specific fear, be especially understanding and respectful of that child’s experience.
 
Some experiences during the Halloween season may invoke more fear than fun for young children. Most “haunted houses” would be better saved for older children with a better understanding of their personal safety and what is not real. Older children typically can distinguish that fake blood and zombie costumes are not real and that something reaching out to grab them is not a real physical threat.

Even trick-or-treating may become overwhelming to young children.  If your children encounter something that scares them, offer physical distancing and words of comfort, “We can go over here.” Reassure using specific language such as, “You are safe with me,” rather than non-specific, “You’re okay!”
​
Dr. Rachel Busman, a clinical psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, notes that,  “Fears that don’t interfere with a child’s life don’t always need getting over. For example, if a child doesn’t like scary movies, that’s fine. It may actually be a testament to his self-advocacy skills. Deciding, ‘I don’t like these, I’m not going to watch’ is your child standing up for his needs and saying, ‘This is my limit.’”
 
When your children have had enough trick-or-treating, call it a night.  Give them fun and not fear - all treats, no tricks!

“Let your kids know you take their fears seriously, even if they don’t seem scary to you”, says Rae Jacobson,  senior content and marketing writer at the Child Mind Institute.  She continues, “For example, instead of, “Oh come on, that wasn’t scary!” try, “Wow, it sounds like you were scared!” Once they feel reassured, you can talk about how you’ll work together to help them be brave.” (2)

At Halloween, children may encounter scary images and situations more often than usual. Sometimes older children and adults may unintentionally make this even more difficult for a young child to handle, dismissing a child’s fear or saying they are silly to be scared. 

Talk with young children about what scares them. Share something that you used to be afraid of, and reassure them that you are there to help them feel safe. Validate all young children’s fears (including the imaginary ones), just as we want validation of our own fears.

In the children’s book, Go Away, Big Green Monster, author/illustrator Ed Emberley visually takes away a big green monster bit by bit until the narrator declares, “and don’t come back until I say so!” (1)
 
Young children may not have the vocabulary to say what they are afraid of. Emberley’s book gives them words to use to tell that monster to go away!
 
We can help children use language by exposing them to appropriate vocabulary and empowering them to use it. When we say, “Tell that monster ‘Go away!’”, we are giving children words and power.
 
When children can voice their feelings and feel that they are heard, they learn to face their fears with confidence. While some scary situations may call for an adult’s comfort and reassurance that they are safe, others may be opportunities  for children to face their fears themselves.  Gradually allowing more of these opportunities builds social-emotional skills that are necessary throughout life!

Young children are learning to distinguish reality from fantasy. They can accomplish this through pretend play, dress-up, acting out stories with props, etc. 
To help them work through the scary parts of this month, include Fall and Halloween props in a pretend play area. ​Here are some ideas:

All of us at ECS - and eepworm - are wishing you and your children a safe and happy Halloween!
​-Diane, Corinne, Marjorie, Ashley & Arlene

We want to help you lead the school year with SEL (social emotional learning)!

According to the Leading with SEL Coalition facilitated by CASEL:
“If you believe every child deserves...

• A quality education that recognizes their unique needs
• Opportunities to develop skills needed for academic success and fulfilling careers
• Teachers who care about them
• To feel safe and welcome in their schools
• Schools that provide students the resources they need to reach their full potential
• Instruction that motivates and engages them
• An honest and accurate education to help create a better future

Then you are an SEL leader!”

• If your children are “ready to learn because they trust their teacher, know they’re cared about, & feel comfortable asking for help,” you are an SEL leader!
• If your children feel “connected to classmates and see the community as a place where they belong,” you are an SEL leader!

​We adults have our own struggles with self-regulation, like controlling our emotions when we are tired, frustrated, feeling misunderstood, or when children’s challenging behaviors trigger our emotional buttons!

We all have moments when our own self-control is challenged - and sometimes that is precisely when children need our guidance the most!  When children’s behaviors “push our buttons,”  we must calm ourselves before we can effectively guide them toward self-regulation..

What can you do to regain your composure?

• Practice mindfulness and calming when you are challenged by big emotions.
• Model calm behavior when you are with children.
• Take three deep breaths and tell yourself, “I am safe, I am calm, I can handle this.” (Dr. Becky Bailey, Founder of Conscious Discipline®) 

To read more on topics such as Mindfulness, Self-Regulation, and the Power of Positive Guidance, see our previous blog posts.

When we provide words for children’s feelings, we are giving them tools to manage their emotions and their behavior.  We may even be boosting our own emotional intelligence by building our feelings vocabulary.

Don’t be afraid to use big words with children.  Go beyond happy, sad, mad, and scared.  Help children understand exhilarated, dejected, exasperated, wary, and others.
A feelings chart can be a helpful tool for children to identify and understand different emotions.  Search online for free printable feelings charts for your classroom.

Besides building a feelings vocabulary, you can use feelings charts in several other ways:

• As a check-in: “How are you feeling right now?”
• To help children identify the feelings of others:  Use the feelings chart to discuss how other children, adults, and characters in stories may be feeling
• To help children recognize triggers: Use the chart to help children remember situations that triggered certain emotions. “When did you feel ---?” 
• To help children develop strategies to handle strong feelings: “What could you do when you feel ---?”

Our own book and toy set, EEPWORM’s Emotional Day, is another tool for building a feelings vocabulary.   We provide 15 different feelings words in our note for parents and teachers to guide your discussion about the emotions in the story.   
You can watch story times of both our eepworm® books on YouTube at (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_WzmpQIN_N8bTgPHX2U72w​).
The notes to parents and teachers are included only in our printed books (available for purchase at our online store at https://www.earlychildhoodspecialties.com/store.html).

Young children don’t already know how to self-regulate when they join a school or child care setting.   They may not yet have the ability or the communication skills to let us know what is wrong, much less to handle it appropriately. Our primary responsibility as caring adults is to meet the basic physical and emotional needs of young children. At first, children need our constant support.

For a helpful description of self-regulation, see this short video from Empowered to Connect:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INGgzIO7vOY 

Eventually children learn to behave appropriately more of the time, even without us.  This process of self-regulation happens very gradually from infancy to young adulthood, and it requires lots - and lots - of guidance and practice.

Self-regulation takes such a long time because of all the skills involved and because it depends on the children's developing social, emotional, and cognitive skills.  Here are some examples of self-regulation skills that children learn over time:

​Self-regulation is a complex process that allows children to appropriately respond to their environment. It helps them manage their emotions, thoughts and behavior. 
Keep in mind that self-regulation:
-Develops gradually
-Includes physical, emotional, behavioral and cognitive (thinking) skills
-Takes lots of practice and repeated learning opportunities
-Requires intentional planning by teachers, caregivers and parents.

Following directions is one  of the self-regulation skills that develop over time and with experiences. Music and movement activities are a fun way to help young children learn and practice self-regulation. 

​Here are a few to try:

• Practice following directions by playing activity songs like Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, or Going on a Bear Hunt. These activities encourage children to move their bodies, listen and move based on what they hear, process and follow directions, and be aware of how their bodies move through space and in relation to others. 
• Make a game of moving to music and “freezing” when the music stops.  Adding visual cues about positions to take helps children plan.

Over time, fun activities such as these improve overall listening skills, planning when to move and when to stop, and self-regulation. Playing interactive games with your children also increases emotional connection! Having your children watch a video version of activity songs is a missed opportunity to connect and communicate - get active with them instead!

We probably don’t need to remind you that songs, games, and social emotional activities are not a break from learning in classroom settings. They are an age-appropriate way to teach young children self-regulation skills essential to learning in any environment.  Rest assured that when you provide these fun experiences you are indeed helping children learn valuable skills!

Share with us your favorite fun ways to help young children learn to follow directions!

The climate in the classroom, home, or caregiving setting should be one of loving support, safety and acceptance. Young children will learn and thrive when adults control the climate, keeping in mind the 4C’s!

Our own model, The 4 C’s Framework of Emotional Support, can guide adults in giving children what they need both when they are upset and when they are calm. 

The first 3 C's are things children need when they are distressed: connection, calming and compassion.

• - To connect with children, stay close!  If the child is comforted by touch, hug them, rub their back or stroke their hair. If touch doesn't calm the child, get on their level and stay within an arm's length.
• -To calm an upset child, first we must remain calm or regain calmness ourselves. Model calming strategies such as breathing exercises, sensory engagement,  or movement.
• -Show compassion by offering to help the child deal with the feeling.  Let them know "I'm here to help." 

​The 4th C is capacity-building of self-regulation. When children are calm and ready to learn, adults can build their capacity for self-regulation and resilience by teaching them what to do instead and applying other strategies and environmental supports to help them handle future challenges.
 
To learn more about our 4 C’s Framework of Emotional Support:

• Contact Us.
• See our previous blog posts on emotional support
• Follow Early Childhood Specialties on social media for ongoing tips for supporting young children's social-emotional learning!

​Following directions can be considered a self-regulation skill, but before children can follow directions, they may need specific instruction to learn what is being asked of them. One example that Diane and I (Marjorie) talked about recently was “lining up”. 
Typically that is not something children need to know at home, or prior to coming to school. It is something that children are expected to “know”, or quickly learn when they begin school, or in any group childcare setting. Teach what lining up means and why we do it: to walk down the hall, to stay safely together with our class, to take turns at the water fountain or slide… 

Try these activities to teach, support and practice following the direction to “Line up!”  

• Place footprints or spots in a line leading toward the main exit door
• Place a line of tape on the floor where the children typically line up or walk
• Play Follow the Leader on the playground, naming “around the tree”, “through the gate”, etc.
• Line up stuffed animals or blocks (also talk about positions first, second, third when appropriate)
• Practice making a “train” or musical conga line during music and movement
• Make a math lesson of “what is a line?”, connecting two locations with ribbon or chalk
• Art activities: straight lines, curvy lines, draw lines in sand or shaving cream, make lines with play-dough
• The child who is last in line can have a special title, like caboose, or a job, like closing the door. 
• Call students to line up using different cues, such as “If you are wearing a blue shirt, line up.” Continuing until everyone is in line.

Share with us your favorite ways to teach children to “Line Up”!
How can you add learning, variety and fun to this routine activity?

​Showing self-compassion means accepting our own limitations, giving ourselves credit for how far we have come toward a goal, or that it is time to rest and recharge until another day. 

When we show self-compassion, we are  not only improving our outlook on our own lives; we are also providing a model for children learning to show compassion to themselves and others.

We can model and verbalize acceptance of our efforts and abilities: “We practiced really hard today!” “I did the best I could!”

We can be the voice encouraging young children until they can provide their own voice of encouragement and self-compassion.

After all, children are soaking up the how-to’s of life from the models they see and hear.  It’s not always a “lesson” or an intentional response that leads children to develop social and emotional skills. 

Showing self-compassion has other benefits for us and our children as well.  How we see ourselves and accept our own limitations have much to do with how we treat others, whether we are willing to try new things, and how we continue to learn throughout our lives. 

-Show self-compassion at the end of the day by thinking of things you did – even the smallest steps.

-Share how to do this positive reflection by talking with your children about things they did, learned, or practiced that day. 

-How can you show self-compassion using positive language?

As the new school year approaches, we want to share some of our favorite SEL strategies for starting off strong.  Social emotional learning is a sturdy foundation on which children's success in learning - and in life - is built.  
We hope you find our tips helpful as school starts, or at any time of the year!

​Here are some ways to make connections with each of your children at the beginning of the day.  Do what works for you and the children you care for.  If children enter the room from a hallway, greet children as they enter.  While there are charts available with greeting choices, it may be best to make or modify your own. Limit choices and have children give input as to their favorites to include. Choices can be changed or added over time. Choices can include:

• -a wave
• -a hug
• -an elbow touch
• -a verbal “Good Morning!”

If children arrive at different times, a greeting apron can display choices wherever the adult is and can be used by more than one caregiver.
 
After the morning greetings, create opportunities to connect with each child throughout the day by playing connecting games with them.  For ideas for connecting activities with children, see our previous blog posts.  We also highly recommend Dr. Becky Bailey’s book, I Love You Rituals.

Imagine how young children feel when they will be going to a new class or school, especially if the experience is totally new for them!  We can help children adjust to these new situations by including activities that strengthen peer relationships and nurture important social-emotional skills.

Here are some of our favorite ways to help children get to know new friends at school:

-Make a class book with pages picturing every student. Children love recognizing and naming classmates. 

-Practice name games, like singing, “My name is Miss Marjorie.” Children echo, singing back, “Her name is Miss Marjorie.” Continue with everyone’s name.

-Help children make friends through stories.
“Meesha Makes Friends” is a book by Tom Percival, author of the Big, Bright Feelings book series. In the beginning of the story, Meesha is happy to “make friends” out of paper and craft materials, but not as comfortable talking to other children.  Sharing this book can open a discussion with preschoolers: “How did Meesha “make a friend”? How do you make friends?”  Children can also “make a friend” like Meesha and Josh in art!

-Guide children through role playing. “What do you say when you want to play with someone else? When you want a turn to play? When you need help? When someone asks you if they can play with you? How do you feel when someone shares a toy with you or gives you a turn?”  

How do you “coach” children through making friends with classmates?  Share with us your favorite name game or connecting activity!

When we talk about the school family, we are referring to children and those who support and care for them, providing a safe and supportive place in which they can grow and learn.

We can help children feel safe by introducing them to all the adults who work in their school or child care program.  We can provide opportunities for the children to connect with each adult, not only at the beginning of the school year but throughout the months.  If we notice and point out the adults contributions, the children will begin to do the same.

Here are a few ideas that may to reinforce these connections and the children's sense of appreciation:

-Make a book of the people at school, explaining everyone’s jobs and emphasizing that they are all a valuable part of the school family.

-Help children show appreciation for all the people who take care of them at school.  Assist them in drawing or writing notes of thanks, especially when school family members do something above and beyond their duties.

Mornings can be hectic for families at home, in the car, and at drop-off, especially at the beginning a new school year! Take a deep breath and guide your children to school or child care by sending the calming message that ``It's gonna be a good day!”

Try to keep the before-school morning routine as consistent as possible. As you dress or prepare for the day, talk through any special activities your children can look forward to, like telling them that you packed their favorite snack! 

Connecting games can be incorporated into the morning drive. Sing favorite songs together or look for familiar places along the way. 

At school, share a hug or handshake that is special to you and your children. If possible, walk your child to their teacher or caregiver. 

If your child is upset at your leaving, show compassion, focus on safety and provide a connection before you leave. You may say, “I see you are feeling scared that I am leaving. You are safe here at preschool, and your teachers will keep you safe and help you learn and play today!” Let’s take a big breath and say “Have a great day!” 

At school, teachers and caregivers can begin the day with consistent routines. For young children, a familiar “Good Morning” song can be an opportunity to individually greet and connect with teachers and other children. 

Keeping the daily schedule as predictable as possible helps calm the children's uncertainties as to what is going to happen.  Posting a picture schedule and reviewing it during every transition can ease children into the school routine until it becomes familiar. 

The beginning of a new school year is a good time to set goals.  For myself, I find setting goals much easier than accomplishing them!

If you struggle with taking action toward your goals as I do, perhaps you can try what I'm trying: start with small steps.  I got this idea from a book I recently read, Atomic Habits by James Clear.  Another piece of valuable info in the book is this: the best way to change a habit is to focus on the person you want to become.  So I’ve started telling myself, “I’m the kind of person who…”

Here are some of my personal examples:
-I’m the kind of person who follows through in a timely fashion when I say I will do something.
-I’m the kind of person who completes projects I start
-I’m the kind of person who reaches out to help others

NOTE:  I don’t have any of these identities yet!  But I want to be the kind of person who does those things - and much, much  more.  And I’m finding James Clear’s idea of focusing on identity to be a helpful way to start. I hope it will be helpful for you, too.

Here are some identity ideas to get you started, based on my 4 C’s Framework of Emotional Support.  

Perhaps you would like to be:
-a connected teacher, who builds strong, caring relationships with each and every child
-a calm teacher, who uses deep breathing and other stress relief strategies regularly as part of your self-care
-a compassionate teacher, who is empathetic toward all your children, especially the challenging ones

For more info about these 3 C’s and the 4th C as well (Capacity-Building of Self-Regulation), see my blog posts from May and June of this year 

We hope you found some of these ideas helpful.  Please share your own if you are willing.
​All of us at ECS are wishing you a wonderful school year!

This month, we want to share some ideas for activities you can use in your classroom and home this summer - or any time of the year!  We hope you enjoy these ideas for outdoor play, early literacy, art, science, and gender-neutral environments and toys.  Please comment to share your own favorite teaching tips or activity ideas - there are so many wonderful ways for children to learn through play!

Summer is the perfect time to give children the chance to read or be read to for fun and information. Visit your library to find books about a topic your children enjoy or that features their favorite characters. Check out a book that is beyond your children’s ability to read on their own and read it to them. Set aside time during your summer schedule for “read to me time”. Attend library programs, or read a book at naptime or bedtime. Reading to your child instills a love of language and the understanding that what we say can be written, what we write can then be read. It also builds connections between reader and child!
Public libraries across the country have summer reading programs and incentives for all ages, even grown-ups! Visit your local public library to find out more about what they offer, or you can provide your own reward at home when a reading goal has been met.​

​​Open-ended, creative art experiences emphasize process over product. Through these experiences, children explore materials instead of being told “how to do it” or what color something “should” be. 
​Some process-focused art materials and activities to explore with young children include:

• Sidewalk chalk
• Painting with a variety of objects or tools (paint rollers, dish scrubbers, whisk, or outdoor objects like a feather or small pine branch.)
• Mixing colors (use droppers of watercolor/diluted food coloring onto paper towels or coffee filters.)
• Clay and dough of different colors and textures, including natural clay, mud and sand sculptures.
• Weaving cloth, yarn or paper.

There are so many science activities you can enjoy both indoors and outdoors!  Besides the activities you provide in the science center in your classroom, you may want to provide these outdoor explorations as well:

Sun:

• Is it hotter in the sun than in the shade? Experiment on the playground, in the park or your backyard.
• Create and observe evaporation paintings: “Paint” with water on surfaces like a sidewalk or outside wall and watch as they dry, then “paint” again.
• Shadow art: Trace around someone's shadow with sidewalk chalk, move, then have children find and match their shadows again.
• Sun prints: Place a toy, flower or other found item on construction paper and leave it in the sun (outside or near a window) Observe after a few hours, how the sun will fade the paper to leave a print of the item.

While we as early childhood educators and parents may strive to make our classrooms and play areas places where boys and girls are equally encouraged to explore their own interests, we know that many social traditions as well as marketing and packaging are aimed at boys or girls. At ECS our team has always supported play that is child-led, not directed by an adult to be gender specific.  ​

Here are some ideas for fostering gender neutral play environments:

• Watch your language! Please don’t exclusively tell girls they are pretty and boys they are tough or smart.
• Use gender neutral terms such as firefighter, mail carrier, parents, and police officers. Be aware and make children aware of jobs held by men or women: soldiers, trash truck drivers, farmers, nurses, hair stylists, the list is endless! 

Play is the means through which children learn, and toys are the tools we give them to accomplish that job. What toys can best help?  To help answer that question related to gender roles, NAEYC asked a researcher about her work on gender-typed toys:
“In general the toys most associated with boys were related to fighting or aggression (wrestlers, soldiers, guns, etc.), and the toys most associated with girls were related to appearance (Barbie dolls and accessories, ballerina costumes, makeup, jewelry, etc.)."
"The toys rated as most likely to be educational and to develop children’s physical, cognitive, artistic, and other skills were typically categorized as neutral or moderately masculine. We concluded that strongly gender-typed toys appear to be less supportive of optimal development than neutral or moderately gender-typed toys.”

We hope you got some new ideas for activities to help children learn through play.  Let us know your favorites so we and others can learn from you!

I hope you've gained some strategies that help you build children's capacity for self-regulation.  Let me know which ones work best for you.  Any additional tips are welcome as well - we can all learn from one another!

When young children are upset, they usually need help from adults to calm down.  And the more upset they are, the more help they need!

When children are distressed, acting out, or having a tantrum or a meltdown, they don't often know what to do.  Sometime as adults we don't know what to do, either!  We may try distraction ("Look at this book"), reassurance ("You're okay"), questioning ("Why are you crying?),  reasoning ("We have to clean up so we can have our snack") or consequences ("You need to be by yourself until you can calm down").  Unfortunately, these efforts don't always work as well as we'd like.

Brain research  and experts in child development, psychology and psychiatry show us a better way (1, 2, 4, 7).  To handle their upset, children need three things from adults:  Connection, help with calming, and to be treated with empathy and compassion.  In my Framework of Emotional Support, I call these the 3 C's.  Let's look at strategies for each of the 3 C's.

After giving empathy, show compassion by offering to help the child deal with the feeling.  Let them know "I'm here to help."  Your job is to help them deal with the feeling, not to "give in" to what the child wanted that started their upset.

I hope these strategies help you support upset children with the  3 C's of connection, calming, and compassion.

Later, when children are calm and ready to learn, we can provide the other support they need.  We can build their capacity for self-regulation and resilience by teaching them what to do instead and applying other strategies and environmental supports to help them handle future challenges.  Watch for the next blog post for information about this fourth "C'.".

In honor of Autism Acceptance Month, here are 7 tips for working with children on the autism spectrum:

4.  Provide practice of problem-solving.
​ Problem solving skills take a lot of practice and can be learned through opportunities for peer conflict resolution. Encouraging children to attempt to figure out how to solve a problem on their own promotes independence and self-confidence.  Practice can also come from discussing scenarios and providing feedback on various solutions.  When children learn to have healthy discussions and use active listening, they develop respect for others' opinions, even when they disagree.

In my preschool classroom, I taught children a simple method of problem-solving.  I coached them through the process, and eventually they could solve problems themselves!

• Define the problem ("It looks like you both want to play with the truck")
• Brainstorm solutions ("What do you want now?" Let each child tell what they want.)
• Evaluate the solutions ("Will it work if...)
• Choose one both can agree on ("You've agreed to each play with it for 5 minutes")
• Help them implement the solution (Play a chance game to see who goes first, set a timer)

First, let's define diversity, equity and inclusion.  Here's what the terms mean to me:

• Diversity - there are differences in a group of people, such as culture, race, gender, family structure, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, language, and abilities
• Equity - we take into account what individuals need to be successful, instead of giving everyone the same thing (equality). 
  
• Inclusion - everyone belongs and feels they are a valued member of the group

B- Books...
A great way to show children our attitude of honoring diversity and inclusion is through the wonderful world of books! 
Here are a just a few suggestions to reinforce kindness, inclusion, and respect for all. ​

...And Beyond
​Another way to honor diversity and model inclusion would be to include depictions of or interactions with people of all races, abilities and other social identities throughout your classroom or home environment.  Are multicultural dolls and pictures of all types of people easily accessible to your children?  Do you provide opportunities for your children to interact with people from all backgrounds and walks of life?

C- Classroom Activities/ Cool Ideas to Try at Home
That leads us to activities to do in the classroom or at home. Here are some ideas for reinforcing kindness, honoring diversity, and encouraging inclusion:

• Provide a variety of cooking implements and pretend foods in your home center 
• Cook and discuss various dishes from many different cultures and countries
• Listen to music from around the world (and from different time periods, too), providing instruments from different cultures in your music center
• Encourage children to make life-size self-portraits, providing butcher paper, mirrors and art media with accurate colors for skin, hair and eyes​
• Entice children to play in all learning centers, going beyond gender stereotypes in the materials you provide in each
• At "show and tell", encourage children to share about experiences rather than possessions
• Read books flexibly, substituting fathers and other family members for the mothers in the stories
• Emphasize abilities rather than disabilities, and provide adaptive equipment for all children to explore

As we implement activities to honor diversity and inclusion, let’s remember to incorporate them year-round.  Avoid a “tourist approach,” where children “visit” other cultures only during holidays or special occasions; instead, provide activities that broaden children’s awareness of different ways of doing things.

As we are reminded to honor Black historical figures this month, let’s remember all the ways that we can show our respect for them – and others, in the past and in the present – throughout the entire year. ​

Check out my previous blog post on mindfulness activities for children.  Remember that we need to teach these strategies when children are calm and provide lots of opportunities for practice.  Eventually children will be able to practice mindfulness themselves when they are upset.  What a valuable skill for life-long self-regulation - and for a calmer classroom in the meantime!

Here are four more mindfulness activities to help you to cultivate calmness in your classroom or home life.  Please share your own as well - let's support one another as we strive for a better 2022!

Add these four mindfulness activities to your repertoire, and please share your favorites with us.
​We at ECS are wishing you a happy, healthy, and calmer 2022!