Seven ideas on how to make the world a better place from our very own kids.

Here are 15 great books that offer life lessons, inspiration and fun reading.

February is the time of the year that we honor our greatest leaders as we celebrate both President’s Day and Black History Month.  Through education, parenting, and experiences that cultivate emotional intelligence skills we can help children develop in these areas. Here are some of our favorite articles on the subject of how to develop leadership skills in children.

Self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship management––these are all familiar terms, but did you know that together these four components comprise “emotional intelligence?”

Social and emotional skills are increasingly important, both for children and adults. Below you’ll find some of our favorite TED TALKS on social-emotional related topics, ranging from vulnerability to compassion to why we need SEL in schools.

I recently returned from a trip to Yosemite National Park. This experience gave me the opportunity for learning, reflection and a few days of catching up with an old college friend. As The Meeting House Founder, I was inspired by the leadership at Nature Bridge, Yosemite's educational partner, to improve my own emotional intelligence and share those skills with adults in our community. Here are some visual inspirations from my trip plus seven ideas in social emotional learning that I've committed to in 2018.

We have compiled our favorite gifts for infants to tweens in six different categories for easy holiday shopping. We included books, construction toys, games, gifts for little ones, the small stuff, and arts & crafts to meet all of your shopping needs. To find more great gift ideas, click here, and our TMH favorites are below.

Using picture books in our group has been an effective way to talk about different kinds of social emotional challenges that kids may face. Books also serve as a great way to brainstorm, problem solve, and include parents in our process so that their children are better prepared for a variety of challenging social situations.

For many, the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year. But the festive season can be full of the added stress that comes with extremely high expectations and busy calendars. For some, the holiday season is difficult, and additional support is needed to avoid feeling isolated. Here are a few ideas on how to stay active and connected throughout the holiday months.

Through all of the expansion this fall at The Meeting House, we always keep social and emotional learning at the forefront of our mission––now more than ever, we must remember the importance of emotional intelligence. As we engage in conversations on difficult topics with our children and overwhelming news stories like the recent terror attack in our hometown of New York City, we want to emphasize how social emotional learning helps us process information and emotion, and can prevent such tragedies from happening to begin with.

With the costumes, candy, parties and trick-or-treating, Halloween is many children’s favorite holiday. They revel in the dressing up, and find the festive decorations and spooky symbols of this season -- spider webs, mummies, ghosts and vampires -- thrilling. However, for many kids, even though they may look forward to Halloween, the sensory stimuli that comes along with this holiday can be challenging. Here are some tips to keep the festivities fun for all.

In June, while our students were enjoying their first week of summer, TMH teachers and staff became the learners for the day during a training in the RULER approach to social-emotional learning. We were joined by teachers and staff from Thurgood Marshall Academy Lower School, a public school in Harlem that has become a national model for the implementation of this approach. We settled in, notepads and pens in hand, to learn directly from RULER developers, Dr. Marc Brackett and Dr. Robin Stern, from the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

As parents, we want to make sure our children are eating a balanced diet. When your child is a “selective” eater, that can be difficult, and back-to-school time is when issues around pickiness can become more problematic than ever. Whether your child takes a lunch or eats at a school cafeteria, if he or she only eats a very limited selection of foods, this can make for some challenging conversations.

In honor of Healthy Aging Month, we’re featuring a special guest blog from TMH Founder, Paula Resnick, on the power of intergenerational service and exchange, and why the cause of aging awareness is particularly close to her heart.

For parents, educators, and kids there’s no time of year that’s more emotionally charged than back-to-school time. These weeks are both exhilarating and exhausting. The prospect of a new school year can fill us with a sense of promise and, at the same time, overwhelm; a sense of joy mixed with one of melancholy. This rollercoaster of emotions is stressful in itself, and when we add to it the change in schedule, long to-do lists, back-to-school events, and all the rest, we can quickly find ourselves in over our heads.

For this week’s blog we have a special guest post from our Clinical Director, Jackie Covell.

This summer many of my students and clients have spent one or more weeks at camp. Although the experience of camp can be a bit daunting, especially for first-time campers and parents, it is a fantastic opportunity to learn and practice social and emotional skills. Additionally, many camps provide feedback for parents at the end of a session, sharing insights which are particularly valuable in helping kids integrate what they learned.

Week #5, and the last one for a handful of kids who head out onto summer vacations, was easily one of the best afternoons of the summer.  We were happy to have so many of the parents and siblings join us for our Ice Cream Social.  The way the kid's faces lit up when you all entered the room was just magical! 

It's hard to believe we only have two weeks left of our summer program. I guess it's true that time flies when you are having fun!  The kids continue to participate with enthusiasm  and are so excited to see each other and our TMH team each week.