Why Pretend Play Is Important for Kids (in Good Housekeeping)
“As families spend more time at home together due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, parents of preschoolers have found themselves echoing a similar refrain: My kid wants to play pretend all the time. Some find it easy, others think it’s tedious, but, as parents spend more and more time in their kids’ pretend worlds, questions have popped […]
How the Stress of Going Back to School in 2020 Can be a Learning Opportunity for You & Your Child
The beginning of any school year is filled with stress for parents and their children knowing that their fun-filled Summer is over, and change lies ahead. Whether it be new teachers, classmates, and routines, or the pressures that ensue, anxiety often feels like an inevitable outcome. With the changes that 2020 has landed on our […]
Reopening Schools: Educators’ Anxiety
Anxiety mounts as teachers plan their return to the in-person classroom. Earlier this week, CNN reported that instead of prepping exciting new curriculums and gathering classroom supplies, many educators are updating their wills. According to a July analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly a quarter of U.S. teachers are at higher risk of severe […]
Masks & The Return to School
As we approach mid-summer, many parents are anxiously planning for their children’s return to school. Though going back to school presents a small step towards a sense of normalcy and routine, it also gives rise to many legitimate questions about how to protect your child from COVID-19 when they return to class. Many schools are […]
9 Everyday Things Parents Can Do To Raise Emotionally Intelligent Kids (in the Huffington Post)
In turbulent times like those we are living in now bring to the forefront the importance of emotional intelligence. Some benefits of having heightened emotional intelligence leads to increased empathy, self-awareness, emotional regulation, and social skills. Housman Learning’s unique begin to ECSEL program trains educators in the use of evidence-based and research-driven tools and techniques to promote emotional […]
Summer Fun Amidst Social Distancing
In some areas of the country, families have been isolating at home for over 3 months. As we enter the summer months, many parents are wondering how to maximize summer fun while staying home and staying safe. As a central tenant of the begin to ECSEL program, educators are instructed to establish a consistent routine […]
The Power of Play: Building Young Children’s Resilience, Healthy Development and Learning
For all children, play is a child’s “work” and is essential in developing the foundation for social, emotional, and cognitive skills. A wealth of research shows that unstructured play is a fundamental necessity for children to thrive physically, emotionally, mentally and socially. The importance of play is something that I have stressed repeatedly in my […]
Sharing the History of Juneteenth with Children
Juneteeth is a holiday that takes place on June 19th every year to commemorate June 19, 1865, when federal orders declared in Galveston, Texas stated that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free. This momentous occasion fell two months after Robert E. Lee surrendered and ended the Civil War and two and a half […]
How First-Time Students Will Be Affected By New Coronavirus Procedures (in Romper)
Housman Learning’s founder and CEO, Donna Housman, Ed.D, was quoted in a new article for Romper: How First-Time Students Will Be Affected By New Coronavirus Procedures, According To Experts. Read the full article here.
Should Mindfulness Be Taught in Schools? (quoted in OpenColleges study)
“Mindfulness involves focusing one’s awareness on the present moment – on one’s thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations,” – Donna Housman, clinical child psychologist and founder of the Housman Learning, an early childhood training and research centre. Read the full article here.
Staying Safe and Sane Amidst Social Distancing
While many of life’s enjoyed moments and cherished simple pleasures are being put on hold, that voice in our head continues to call out with moment-to-moment reminders about when we were able to take care of our kids and also to take care of ourselves. The longer we continue to be socially distanced because of […]
Why Is My Kid Crying (Again) and What Can I Do About It? (on Healthline)
There are four primary and universal emotions that we all share (even our toddlers!). “Anger, happiness, sadness, and fear — and crying can be an expression of all those emotions and the feelings associated with them,” explains Donna Housman, EdD, a clinical psychologist and founder of the Boston-based Housman Learning. Read the full article here.
Talking to kids about job loss (on Care.com)
Donna Housman, a clinical child psychologist and founder of the Boston-based Housman Learning, an early childhood training, research and advocacy organization and its lab school, Beginnings, explains, “Children are emotional detectives. They pick up on our emotions and what we are feeling — not just by what we say, but also by what we do, by […]
Staying Emotionally Connected on a Physically Distant Mother’s Day
Among other important life lessons, this global pandemic is highlighting just how much we depend on social relationships. As social animals, some of us are struggling to establish a new normal while learning how to maintain relationships in this bizarre time of social distancing. Some of us may still be trying to figure out how […]
Keeping Your Students’ and Your Mental Health Strong in Stressful Times
How many times have you found yourself asking how will these times of increased stress, anxiety and uncertainty affect my young students’ mental health? As tensions mount and the instability of the situation intensifies, not only may you be questioning your young students’ well-being but so too may you be questioning your own ability to […]
Celebrating Earth Day through Children’s Literature
Let’s Turn Off the Screen, This Earth Day, And Read a Book The experience of having a book read aloud to children prompts conversations about what’s happening in the story, what the characters are feeling, the meanings of words, and especially how what’s happening in the book might relate to the child. In a world […]