3 Peaceful Ways for Educators to Rest this Summer
I smiled and waved at the screen, thanked the class for their great participation and wished them well for the rest of their quadmester. There were seconds of silence, the “bloop-bloop” MS Teams log-out sound, and an anticlimactic rising in me. “Thud,” is the sound that would come after closing my laptop before I’d take […]
Celebrating Pride: Book List for Children and Youth
June is Pride Month! While we at TREE affirm and celebrate the 2SLGBTQIA+ community all year round, this is a special opportunity for us to celebrate and affirm the importance of recognizing queer identities. We are committed to supporting 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in our community! This non-exhaustive book list has been curated to highlight stories that […]
Transforming Classrooms: The Impact of Peace Education
“Make sure you have strategies to maintain authority in the classroom.”“You can’t let your students walk all over you.”“You’re their teacher, not their friend.” As a Teachers College student, these are phrases I’ve heard from various educators. I’ve received several assignments focusing on how to establish classroom expectations on the first day of school. I […]
Six Conflict Conversation Starters
I can count the number of times I’ve sat in silence with someone, building up the courage to begin a tough conversation. It takes me a few minutes to commit to the conversation, knowing I want to share how I’m feeling and ask them what’s going on for them. In tough conversations, it often takes […]
Engaging Mindfully Outdoors: Activities and Strategies for Kids
With greater amounts of screen time and indoor time these days, it’s more important than ever to cultivate healthy habits that get us outside to connect with our natural environment. Practicing mindfulness exercises can help us at any age to pay attention to the current moment and our surroundings. Intentional engagement with the world around […]
Four Steps to Interrupting Conflict Patterns with Youth
Can you recall an experience when you gave your child a request, like starting chores or meeting curfew, and you were met with the same predictable reaction? It may have been a groan, an elaborate resistance speech, or withdrawal from the conversation. I can remember certain reactions I gave as an adolescent that didn’t always […]
Community-building Activities for Spring Break
With spring break just around the corner, students from K-12 are eager to get some well-deserved rest. With nicer weather on the way, but pandemic restrictions still in place, many are likely looking for suggestions for keeping their children busy, but away from the screen. Check out our suggestions below for activities that draw on TREE’s […]
Beyond Bake Sales: Youth activism is more than raising money
I was leading a group of high school students in a community design simulation. Each student played a different role to represent different groups within a larger community. We had parents, youth, program specialists, local politicians, academics, and donors all advocating for their different needs and interests, which presented a problem requiring a complex solution. […]
Reframing: How to Shift Your Perspective in Conflict
Anyone who has raised or worked with children likely has some key phrases or workarounds in their repertoire to make undesirable things more appealing. Instead of, “Can you finish your vegetables?” you may have learned to say “Would you like to eat your carrots or potatoes first?” Rather than, “Time for you to turn off […]
A Powerful Tool to Stay Grounded in Conflict
Early on in my role as a TREE facilitator, I was feeling preoccupied trying to juggle our lesson while keeping my attention on our time limit. I was inattentive to a student’s (let’s call him Phil) contribution to our discussion, which they had voiced in the chat window. I was engaged in mindlessness. Mindlessness is living […]
