As the school year draws to a close, K-5 teachers must be ready to offer support students struggling with the transition to summer and the next grade level. It’s essential for educators to recognize these challenges and equip their students with social-emotional learning strategies to navigate them successfully. In this blog post, we will explore

Teach students this acronym for when they encounter obstacles: Whoops! Instead of “Dang it!” try “Whoops!” to normalize and celebrate failure How? Instead of “Can I?” try “How can I…?” to foster ideating Yet Instead of “I can’t do this!” try “I can’t do this yet!” to foster prototyping and testing Together, these ways of reframing our

Research has shown that by learning about the different parts of the brain and their functions, children are better able to make intentional decisions when responding to challenging situations. We’ve created a chant and visuals to introduce the amygdala and pre-frontal cortex and help children distinguish between their unconscious reactions and problem-solving behaviors. Amygdala, amygdala,

Teach students this acronym and ask them to use it during the moments when they aren’t able to check-in with you immediately upon encountering an obstacle. When you hit an obstacle, don’t give up or sigh! Just remember i-Can! It will get you by! Inhale, Calm Down, Adapt, Now Try

When a student comes across an obstacle, resist the temptation fix the issue for them. Instead, ask open-ended questions to help them find a solution. One questioning technique is to ask What-Why-How to guide the student towards a problem-solving strategy. What‘s the problem you are facing? Why do you think that’s happening? How might you fix that?

  Your child is in the driveway practicing free throws, but very few balls make it into the hoop. As the time ticks by, you start to see the look of defeat on your child’s face.  Eventually, they trudge back to the house and say, “I can’t do it.”   What can you do? Help

  In the park? In your living room? A house full of friends? On your own?   No matter where you are, who you’re with, or what time it is, i-Can! activities are a great way to flex your i-Can! mindset AND have fun!   i-Can! activities use a modified version of the Stanford University

  It’s 6:00 p.m. and your family is juggling homework, dinner, and evening extra curriculars, when you hear it, the voice of your children speaking the dreaded sentence, “I’m bored.” Your eyes widen slightly in disbelief and you wonder, “How could anyone be bored amidst this avalanche of activity?” But this time, instead of letting

  In a world full of parenting advice, we try to keep things simple. We tell parents to keep just three things in mind as you try to foster an i-Can! environment at home: Play Connect Believe   Play: It’s fun AND It Builds Your Brain Dr. Stuart Brown calls play, “The brain’s best form