👍 Beat Pre-K anxiety now with these gentle tools

We Build Better Humans #64

Features: 1. Saying goodbye with safety 2. Easing adult fears around screen time & other tricky subjects 3. Affiliate opportunity from Twinkl: Do YOU want to get paid to promote?

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Anxiety can come in many forms. And when change is in the air, the whole world can feel like one raw nerve ending. This fall, We Build Better Humans is focusing on tools & resources to assuage anxiety in every way——starting with this issue that’s all about the preschool POV.

sarah_chesworth

A post shared by @sarah_chesworth

Instagram contributor @sarah_chesworth shares in this post:

I love the book The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, but it’s just a little bit on the long side when you are reading it to little ones! So I was so excited to come across this board book adaptation of the popular story that is just perfect for younger children headed to school!

How to let go … without fully letting go

Daniel Tiger teaches us that “Grownups Come Back.” And, for the most part, that is true. But when we are apart from the ones we love, how do we hold onto them when there isn’t a hand there to hold?

This concept is complicated enough for those of us with adult brains. For the nascently forming early childhood brain, simpler is always better.

The Kissing Hand series has books that cover:

• preschool drop-off

• loss of a pet or loved one

• moving homes/changing communities

… & so much more. They can be adapted, as well: I know people who have used them to model comfort to kiddos after a parent’s death or when moving between foster homes.

Are there **any** pros to pre-K screens??

Parents & classroom educators probably don’t need more convincing about the woes of early screen exposure. And YET … screens blast even the most diligent avoiders at the checkout line, the airport & the gas pump. How does one fit into an all-tech society & keep a little one away from it all?

The answer, of course, is that you don’t. Co-use, or watching what you kiddos are watching (or, at a minimum, checking in on what they are watching & talking with them about it) is the one point that got any pro-tip checkmarks in this most recent JAMA study (that’s Journal of American Pediatrics Assoc.). Read more in the joint article by

Dr. Cara Goodwin, PhD

of Parenting Translator &

Jacqueline Nesi, PhD

of Techno Sapiens on 100 Studies on Screen Time … or check out this multi-level think piece by

Culture Study

that cross-references

Early Learning Nation

to dive into more pros & cons on U.S. child care. Both Substack pieces take anxiety-ridden topics & give caregivers a little peace of mind.

Do YOU want to get paid to promote lesson plans you’re already using??

Many teachers use Twinkl——to both find & share lessons on a variety of subjects. (Paid subscribers, check out our bonus list of SEL supportive lessons behind the paywall. Just scroll down! Free subscribers can use your free look to access!) If that’s you, check out their limited-time offer to earn a little extra while you click & search & share.

And just in case you don’t have the extra few minutes to get around that reader paywall, here’s something for everyone, all gratis:

Tinkergarten, in honor of its last e-newsletter issue, shares THIS RITUAL for helping kids deal with change: A FALL LANTERN WALK. (<— instructions included)

Thank you for reading, sharing & using the tools in We Build Better Humans. You are making the world a better place! … Looking for the BONUS CONTENT? Subscribe as a purchasing reader & get your access now!