A special thank you to Lorilee Binstock for her publication and re-publication of my posts. In her online journal, Authentic Insider , she share a myriad of articles on trauma and its amelioration. Well worth perusing regularly. In her May issue, linked here, she shares an article I wrote (and illustrated) on trauma art and the many ways it leads to healing. I often do art when working with groups. See:...

New book on education is being released. Webinar at Rutgers GSE offers discount code for book and PowerPoint deck.

I have written the attached for educators and parents, wherever they are located, to help them deal with this shooting, school and business closures and lockdowns. We need to recognize that the impact of this event will be felt not just in Maine, but across the nation as past trauma gets retriggered and the friends and family of those affected could be located in any state. Please share this piece with others. I hope it is helpful at this difficult time. ...

A story to inspire....

In this time of real need for mental health intervention, consider attending (virtually) this conference. Here is the material and hope to see you there. Our students need us to understand trauma and its symptomology. Date: Nov. 4 from 8 -- 2:30. Come for all or some of the event. https://www.massachusettspta.org/2021-health-summit-agenda/

Just a reminder to all educators out there (PreK-- 12): The second cohort of the Virtual Teachers Lounge is launching this Saturday, Sept. 25th from noon -- 2:00 p.m. est. Join us for across the globe. Share, vent, learn now strategies, connect. It is an opportunity to garner help to navigate forward with 4 trained facilitators. FREE! Sign up at website below. New teachers welcomed. Experienced teachers welcomed. Counselors welcomed. Sign up at www.virtualteacherslounge2021.com. And, we are...

I have been deeply concerned about the growing lack of kindness that individuals are displaying when engaging with those providing them with services. This occurs in restaurants, airplanes, healthcare facilities, stores and educational institutions. It is not enough to say: Be Kind to others. Words are not enough. Deeds matter. Below is a link to an essay I wrote explaining why I believe that kindness has taken a vacation and what we need to do about it -- which will strike many as...

How to reopen schools in Fall 2021 optimally

Reopening schools/organizations/non-profits/governments/businesses come fall will not be easy. Some take-away strategies for successful reopenings are addressed in a webinar June 19th at noon (EST). Powerpoints available after attendance to serve a a go-forward guide. Join us. Sponsored by DKG International (altho donations graciously accepted). While the focus is educational settings, the import is broader. Here is link to register; it is also embedded in the flyer. See you there I hope. ...

I am worried about schools/organizations reopening successfully in Fall 2021, even if they opened in some fashion this Spring/Summer. Trauma among students and educators/social workers will abound and we need trauma responsive institutions, trauma responsive pedagogy and trauma responsive strategies. The time to do that thinking is now. That is why this course (3 hours; May 12th; 9 -- noon est) is so important. Please consider signing up. Whether you are a social worker or an educator or an...

If you aren't Zoomed out, consider joining us on March 20th at noon for a conversation on whether schools can be a place for healing trauma. Three educators engage with each other and with you. Learn some trauma responsive strategies. Free (with request for $3 donation to go to Nu Zeta Chapter of DKG -- women educators honor society). Here's the link. More info on the attached document. See you there I hope. ...

The answer is yes and three educators, all members of Delta Kappa Gamma (the women educators' honor association), will engage in a Zoom conversation. Suggested donation of $3 (going to Nu Zeta Chapter) requested. Date is March 20 at noon. Join us. Join in. Important topic in today's trauma filled world.

I am delighted to share that, with three other educators (Ed Wang, Sakina McGruder and Pat Neal), we are launching a pilot Virtual Teachers Lounge. The first of four facilitated conversations with educators will begin on March 13. If you are an educator or know an educator in the K -- 12 pipeline anywhere in the US who wants to join in this effort to connect with other educators, compile strategies to ameliorate classroom hurdles and vent, please complete or share the link below. The...

Just as a reminder: Join us for a panel discussion sponsored by TC Press on January 27th (Wednesday) at 5:00 p.m. on Zoom. RSVP is on the flyer below or at: https://teacherscollege.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_OAVd3MexS32a9xv5Gg92JQ. Book discount too! Critical Question for our times. "See" you there.

This is the subject of a Zoom conversation with a sensational panel of educators/psychologists on January 27th at 5:00 p.m. --- for free. The flyer is attached. Meet Ed Wang (Harvard Medical School; MGH); Pat Neal (experienced educator; counselor; leader of non-profits); Sakina McGruder (elementary school educator; member Delta Kappa Gamma Women Educator Honor Society). Now, the answer to the question in my view is yes. But, we need to act on not just talk about change. We need trauma...

Just a gentle reminder of the program -- Dec. 11. Registration includes a copy of Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door. One session on trauma's impact on students; another session on the impact of trauma on educators (broadly defined). There is a Q and A and follow on session too. Join us virtually but there will be hands on activities, some of which will help during the holiday season, including Positive Feeling Tree and Holiday "Trauma" Kits.

Sadly, trauma anniversaries will be abundant. And, they can serve as triggers -- triggering the older trauma. We do best to plan ahead for anniversaries --- and this course at Rutgers on Dec. 9 from 9 --noon provides concrete strategies and a case study and powerpoints to use thereafter. Register here and it is right priced. Available to all -- social workers, HR personnel, educators, family. https://ssw-web.rutgers.edu/ssw/ce/index.php?m=catalog&cid=2328 See you there. Til then, stay...

Apropos of my last posting on naming feelings so one can tame them, try this activity. Find or create a wee tree. Each day put a positive feeling on the tree and share the sayings on the tree. My positive sayings are from a jar filled with colorful paper — each is which has a positive feeling. We pull one out per person each morning. And, The Feeling Alphabet Activity Set will help you identify positive feelings if you get stuck. Order it at: www.karengrosseducation.com/thefeelingalphabet/.

Are you struggling to identify your feelings? Has the holiday left you with strange feelings? Are you struggling to put words to thoughts? Me too. That is why Dr. Ed Wang of Harvard and I developed (among other reasons) The Feeling Alphabet Activity Set. It helps family and friends identify feelings. And if you can name it, you can start to tame it. For every negative feeling, try 3 positive feelings. Create a jar of positive feelings and take one or two each day and have friends take them...

Holiday activity that's fun: Tongue Twisters!

I think this PDF will help. It allows adults and children to name their feelings so they can tame them. Right priced. Good for families and schools and anyone who is struggling to try to ascertain just what they are feeling now. And, we know, as the PDF shares, that for every negative feeling, we would be wise to identify three positive ones. Stay safe and be well. I hope this resource helps families through the holidays... this one and the next (and it can be done remotely and in person). ...

As Thanksgiving approaches and COVID soars, I wrote this piece to help parents and educators understand student non-compliance and to suggest a solution or two or three, not the least of which is positive role modeling. Here is the link to the piece appearing in the New England Journal of Higher Education. A worthwhile read I hope -- with strategies for positive role modeling, something we are lacking. As the title suggests (apologies to Pete Seeger), Where Have All the Role Models Gone? We...

As we approach Thanksgiving, we are also approaching the anniversary of the first #COVID case. It is the first of many difficult anniversaries ahead. Please consider taking this course at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work on how to manage trauma anniversaries -- from the pandemic to death to illness to school shootings to natural disasters. Sadly, these will be upon us all. Concrete strategies provided. Dec. 9 -- from 9 til noon. Reasonably priced. Valuable for educators, psychologists,...

An opportunity to learn about trauma -- its impact on youth and on you! Holiday trauma addressed too. CAEOP conference on Dec. 11th (virtual) -- day long. Registration includes a copy of Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door (paperback or ebook). Join us. Register here: https://forms.gle/fMA13aPL4SBrWrZy8.

Here is a link to a recent post -- tied into Dak Prescott's injury and an article on post-partum depression. Key here is that if you can name feelings, then you can tame them. https://medium.com/age-of-awareness/we-dont-recognize-mental-distress-that-has-to-change-1e23074f2f19 Watch too for a new download: Trauma Toolbox Maker Kit at www.karengrosseducation.com. Should be available by week's end.

Consider enrolling in this course on Trauma Anniversaries at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work, Dec. 9 online from 9 --12. See link to learn about course + registration. $60. https://ssw-web.rutgers.edu/ssw/ce/index.php?m=cart&cid=7851&add . In addition to social workers, this will be a valuable course for school psychologists, educators, HR personnel, among others. The point is that many anniversaries are coming up and the prior traditions for dealing with anniversaries have...

Here is how you get The Feeling Alphabet Activity Set, a new resource for students/clients/adults to help navigate these complex times.

Not to interrupt your holiday but the ebook version of my book, Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door , is steeply discounted as an ebook on Amazon. (Not sure for how long but still there as of this writing.) There might be staff who want it for under $20. Holiday deal of the day -- especially with the start of school. Feel free to share. Then, next week, there will be a downloadable PDF for under $5.00 (co-authored with Dr. Ed Wang) titled The Feeling Alphabet Activity Set. Works from the...

In case you are interested, there is an affordable, easy to register for Zoom course at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work on how to create trauma responsive institutions. The focus is not limited to social work organizations. There is also a discount for the presenter's book, Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door and recently published by Teachers College Press. Session runs from 9:30 -- 12:30 on July 31, 2020. Look forward to seeing you there. Here's the needed link (can also be...

I have written an adult book titled (sadly but aptly): Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door: Strategies and Solutions for Educators, PreK-12. It is available at Teachers College Press and Amazon as an ebook and paperback. What I have now created, by popular demand, is a set of items that animate the trauma responsive suggestions within the book. There are many concrete suggestions already within the book that are transportable to a reader's home institution and adjusted for culture and...

I am teaching at three hour affordable Zoom course at Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work on how to create trauma response schools, organizations and businesses. It is July 31 and it is easy to enroll and you get a discount code for my new book (which ties in) titled: Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door (just released from Teachers College Press, June 2020). Here's a link to the course: https://ssw-web.rutgers.edu/ssw/ce/index.php?m=catalog&f=4 I cannot think of a time in which we...

This new book, focused on student success in a world filled with trauma, is releasing officially on June 22 at 5:00 p.m. EST in a Zoom launch sponsored by Teachers College Press. Details are in the flyer below and there is a panel discussion on the book and its impact on educational outcomes, including those related to pre-pandemic trauma, pandemic traumatization and racial tension trauma. The book is available in three formats: hard cover, paperback and ebook. Ebook is discounted by TC...

https://medium.com/@KarenGrossEdu/for-those-folks-dont-think-the-covid-pandemic-is-traumatic-here-s-my-response-5ec6bb236413 The piece is long and perhaps winding but so is the trauma journey. I hope that it is a piece that will help you and your clients, especially those who are seeing naysayers now or who are feeling angry generally or at specific people. Share thoughts. I'd welcome them. Karen

Here is a podcast on how to reopen schools when allowed -- colleges and preK--12. And, there's a bonus. The listeners get a discount on my new book (which can't emerge soon enough: Trauma Doesn't Stop at the School Door from Teachers College Press. So listen and pre-order. And, be well and stay safe. https://teachinglearningleadingk12.podbean.com/e/karen-gross-schools-and-colleges-are-not-light-switches-289/ Special thanks to Steve Miletto and TC Press.

So we are all worried about the virus and germs and transmission. Families confined to their homes are struggling. I have a bilingual children's book (ages 2 -- 4) that is on indestructible paper that can be wiped down -- cleaned off with a wipe. Seriously, this is a book for our transmission worried times. And, it deals with object constancy --- something critical in our crazy world. It is fun and clever and has multiracial characters. Older kids can find use for the book if they are trying...

Children can read the story and write to Wrinkles. Added activity. Letter can be emailed.

This link has all the needed places to go to get Wrinkles: the video book without music, the video book with music, and now the podcast of an educator (not me) reading the story. Stellar really. A Spanish version is in the works as is an ebook. Please help kids navigate our complex, changing world by understanding through Wrinkles the feelings we are all having. Processing is key. https://medium.com/@KarenGrossEdu/a-wrinkles-story-podcast-wow-is-it-good-5dea87c75e1d P.S. Watch for a set of...

As this group knows well, kids need to process what is happening in their world. It is hard for kids to understand social distancing, stay at home mandates and school closures. This isn't a snow day or summer vacation. And home isn't idyllic for many. This story will help. Designed to be trauma responsive. It is being translated into Spanish. Please get this YouTube book to teachers, organizations, groups and folks who work with children. Text it, email it, forward it. Aiming for 10,000...

I recently encountered a post by a Head of School who suggested all the positives of being quarantined for him and the children and families in his school. I know I am preaching to the choir here but I wanted folks to see what I wrote. We need to stomp out the perception that children are all enjoying time at home -- as if they were experiencing an extended snow day. I get silver linings. They do exist, including for trauma. But for a head of school to write what he wrote suggests to me that...

Here's a link to the book I wrote to help kids understand social distancing and express their own emotions. This is really important or things stay bottled up inside. It is now in video version; podcast and ebook are coming. Feel free to forward to others -- kids of all ages across the nation and the globe.Reprint the link. Do an article on it. Share with friends. Circulate it. Tweet it. Free resource. Bottom line: make it viral. The cover is attached!!! I hope it helps. Navigating emotions...

The picture isn't pretty. See this linked article with its solution (with more to follow). Comments welcomed. I hope this helps. https://www.tcpress.com/blog/schools-close-academic-year/

Here is my just released article with 10 concrete suggestions that can be deployed immediately. They can be adapted for PreK- 12 schools and workplaces; they are designed for colleges/universities but easily transported. These are all trauma-responsive and critically important in my view. I noted with a smile that the ACE Connection folks are already using some of these in their own organization. Feel free to circulate the 10 suggestions as a separate document (with attribution as to where...

Here is the promised link to the piece I wrote on the psychological impact of the coronavirus on campuses. The impact is vastly more than physical but we are just paying attention to the physical aspects of the situation. While that matters greatly, the psychic consequences -- the trauma -- is real and needs to be addressed. Hope the piece helps educators at all ages and stages. https://nebhe.org/journal/im-worried-higher-education-isnt-focused-at-all-on-covid-19s-psychological-toll/

My newest book with Columbia Teachers College Press and a sidequel to my book, Breakaway Learners, is now available for pre-order on Amazon and Columbia Teachers College Press. Publication date is June 2020, in time for faculty and staff development and classroom use for Academic Year 2020 - 2021. The title to this blog is the book’s title, and the book probes and offers suggestion for how to facilitate student success for those students PreK—College who have experienced trauma. Real in the...

I just completed this short piece on Medium. It may help as educators and others reflect on the 2nd anniversary of the Parkland School Shooting. The piece has current and future resources. https://medium.com/@KarenGrossEdu/use-your-heart-today-b0439ab29070