Pick any one (or all) of the following classes:

• Hunting the Good Stuff

  We live in a deficit oriented society, that is, a society which believes the negative has more value than the positive. Learning to re-focus on what is positive, what is working, and what makes us feel good allows us to think more creatively and to cultivate a sense of inner well-being. You will learn skills that will allow you and your students to increase focus on the positive.

• Character Strengths

  The bad weighs more than the good. We tend to be more aware of our deficits than our strengths. Most people are uncomfortable acknowledging their strengths. Knowing your strengths and using them increases well-being and resilience. You will learn what strengths are, how to identify your personal strengths and and those of your students.

• Practicing Savoring and Gratitude

  Most of us are aware of the importance of attending to and appreciating the good in our lives, in other words practicing savoring and gratitude. Research shows that practicing savoring and gratitude considerably increases personal well-being. We will discuss the latest studies on savoring and gratitude and you will learn tools that will enable you to express more gratitude and increase savoring and how to bring these skills into the classroom.

• Others Matter

  Research tells us that social support is key to well-being. We tend to have an easy time empathizing with and encouraging others during bad times. But fostering relationships during good times is just as important. You will learn tools that will enable you to enhance your social support by responding effectively when good things happen to others.

• Grit/Growth Mindset

  Studies have shown that success follows more from perseverance than intelligence. Gritty people tend to be more successful than their less gritty counter parts, especially during challenging times. A growth mindset fosters grit and has shown to improve academic achievement. You will learn the importance of grit, and how to foster it and a growth mindset in your students.

• How our Thoughts Impact our Resilience

  To become more resilient we have to understand how our thoughts impact our feelings and behavior. Contrary to what most people believe our emotions and behavior are not triggered by events, they are triggered by our interpretation of events. You will learn how your thoughts impact your feelings and subsequent reactions and how to teach your students to hear and challenge their thoughts.

• Goal Setting

  Research tells us that goal setting is correlated to happiness. Accomplishing our goals feels good, but it isn’t always easy. Setting goals helps us focus our energy on doing what we have to do to achieve what we want to achieve. Properly set goals is extremely motivating. You will learn effective goal setting skills for you and your students.

• Effective Praise

  All types of praise are not equal, certain types can be meaningless and even counterproductive. How and when you praise a child can make a big difference. Effective praise helps build self-esteem and confidence. You will learn the do’s and don’ts of effective praise and how to apply the do's effectively.

• Self-Control

  Having self-control is good for you. According to current research the ability to delay gratification is critical for a successful life. Self-control is correlated with a slew of positive outcomes. You will learn what self-control is, what ego-depletion is and how to foster self-control in your students.

• Self-Esteem and Self-Efficacy

  Children with high self-esteem perform better in school. A sense of self-efficacy is correlated to high self-esteem. Knowing you have the power to produce the results you want - feeling self-efficacious is conducive to good self-esteem. You will learn what self-esteem is, what self-efficacy is and how to foster a sense of self-efficacy in your students.