Cooking Up Clarity: A Taste of SEL at My Dinner Table emotional literacy emotions Mar 10, 2022

I often picture the five SEL competencies—self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making—as individual continuums. Throughout the day, I mentally check in with myself: Where am I right now on e...

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Compassion: Kindness With Action compassion emotions empathy parenting self-management Feb 24, 2022

In a past newsletter, I mentioned that I am the mom of three teenage boys. 

My oldest son turned 20 in October of 2021. He is a sophomore in college now - a deeply thoughtful man who takes his time to process factors before making decisions. He love...

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Both/And Perspective relationship skills social awareness May 11, 2021

I've been actively practicing deep listening for the past several years to better understand another's perspective. I say "deep listening" because when the topic is related to a core value or a previous "hurt," my initial response is to feel an emoti...

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A Clearer Lens: What I Didn’t See Until Someone Helped Me Look Again responsible decision-making sel social awareness Oct 27, 2020

I’ve worn glasses since the third grade. That means I’ve sat in an optometrist’s chair dozens of times, answering the familiar question:
“Which lens is clearer—1 or 2? 2 or 3?”

Each time, I’m amazed by how much sharper things can become—even when I ...

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