Our society is grief, loss and death-averse—understandably so.
For every human being on the planet, life guarantees that we will bump up against pain and grief in some form, at some point. Despite its unrelenting ubiquity, so few of us are equipped to navigate grief when we are pitted against it ourselves, or to support others in their healing when they are wading through the inevitable darkness.
From an early age in school, children learn math, spelling, history. There’s physical education, even sex education (albeit lacking), yet no foundational curriculum aimed to educate and support children in developing the critical social-emotional life skills to weather the stresses and traumas that they will most certainly encounter in their lives.
I never sought to be an expert in grief and loss, but that’s where my life journey has taken me.
My own intimacy with grief and resiliency has inspired me to develop a trauma-informed elementary school integrated curriculum focused on stress mitigation, mindfulness, self-love, boundaries, expressing needs, conflict resolution, grief, and loss. The goal of this curriculum is to age-appropriately empower children to build personal resilience strategies and a strong foundation that equips them with the critical skills needed to cope with stress and heal from traumatic experiences.
Students who engage with this curriculum will learn:
Healthy coping skills to deal with existing trauma and ongoing stressors
Strategies to manage academic, emotional, and personal/social challenges
Stress management and mitigation
Self regulation
Mindfulness
How to build healthy relationships
Self-identity and self-esteem development
Perseverance
How to foster connections and empathy/compassion
Conflict resolution
How to respond to others in crises
Cooperative play and self-expression through art
How to seek out positive role models and mentors
Equipped for life.
By receiving the life skills and tools they need at an early age—flexible thinking, social and emotional regulating, patience, resilience, anger-management, and empathy—children are better prepared for academic achievement, better prepared to face life’s challenges head on, and better supported in navigating their paths to becoming engaged adults, global citizens, and community leaders.
Although in the early development stages, I am excited to share my progress and toss around ideas. To learn more about the curriculum, and to stay up-to-date on announcements and rollout, sign up to my newsletter. For comments, questions and collaboration inquiries, please contact me here.