Lean Into You

We all have moments where we struggle to love ourselves or give ourselves any credit. This short meditation is centered around five affirmations you can repeat to help get in touch with yourself again.

This meditation was written by Jenée Johnson and was originally published on www.mindful.org. We highly recommend mindful.org as a resource for continuing the conversation about mindfulness, meditation, and overall wellness.

Licensing...

If you have worked in child care long, chances are at some point you've associated licensing with more paper work, more rules, more regulations and you've wondered what the additional benefit is. Or maybe you have started the process to be licensed and become intimidated by how involved the process is. 

Cynthia Roberts is the Program Manager of the Pre-Licensure Unit with the Tennessee Department of Human Services. In our conversation we talk about why the licensing process is the way that it is, how providers can get started on the journey to becoming licensed, the supports available to providers along the licensing process, and finally, the benefits to being a TDHS-licensed child care facility, which we think make this process a no brainer. 

If you are interested in becoming licensed, start the process today by emailing:
[email protected].

This project is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc. 

What kinds of things should an educator look for in an employer? What types of questions should you ask in an interview? How do you have a conversation with your supervisor when your growth is leading you away from your child care facility?

We discuss all of these things and more in our conversation with Candace Hansen, Small Business Coordinator for the Child Care Resource & Referral Network. We'll also cover why it is vital for educators to have their own set of standards when entering the workforce. Above all, we'll discuss how educators can navigate their professional journey from a place of empowerment.

For more info on CCR&R's Small Business Academy, visit www.tnccrr.org.

This project is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc. 

What does it mean to be an intuitive decision maker? Is your intuition something you can exercise?

In part two of our conversation with Holly Elissa Bruno we talk about strategies that can help you strengthen your intuition, so that you can make decisions you're proud of and that align with your values.

Holly Elissa Bruno is a "recovering attorney" who has authored several NAEYC bestsellers like, "Happiness is Running through the Streets to Find You: Translating Trauma's Harsh Legacy into Healing," and "Leading on Purpose: Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Administration."

For more info on Holly's work you can visit www.hollyelissabruno.com. 

This project is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc. 

Do you struggle with making decisions? Listen, we get it. It can be stressful. You want to make the right choice. You are worried about what you may miss out on but choosing one thing over another. You may disrupt your sense of belonging within your community.

In this conversation, we talk with Holly Elissa Bruno about the psychology of making decisions, what we are actually afraid of when we make a choice, and how we can confront it to become the most confident decision maker possible.

Holly Elissa Bruno is a "recovering attorney" who has authored several NAEYC bestsellers like, "Happiness is Running through the Streets to Find You: Translating Trauma's Harsh Legacy into Healing," and "Leading on Purpose: Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Administration."

For more info on Holly's work you can visit www.hollyelissabruno.com. 

This project is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc. 

Do you see yourself as a creative person? You might after listening to this conversation with Fran Sorin.

In this conversation, we talk with Fran about what creativity actually means, how we are all exercising our creativity on a daily basis, and how cycles of shame and being a perfectionist are the biggest enemies to creativity.

For more info on Fran's work you can visit www.fransorin.com.

This project is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc. 

What does it mean to work in a compassion profession, and how can you be aware when you might be experiencing compassion fatigue?

We get to the bottom of all these questions in our first chat of season 3! Our guest is Becky Haas, who is an author, trainer, and public speaker. Becky leads trainings on trauma informed care, ACE's, and resiliency with groups that range from Early Childhood Educators to police officers and medical professionals.

In this conversation we also talk a little bit about the Provider Resilience App, a great tool for educators to assess their burnout levels.

For more info on Becky's work you can visit www.beckyhaas.com.

This project is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc. 

We've been hosting conversations about self-care for just over a year now, which kind of blows our minds. Thank you to everyone who continues to entrust us with leading these conversations every week. We are going to do season break to prepare for season 3, but before we go, we have curated some of our favorite moments from the first and second season. Enjoy this bonus episode and we can't wait for you to join us again for season 3!

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Rick Lozano, a keynote speaker, musician, and author.  In this conversation, we will talk about how educators can begin to understand their passions better. We will cover:
   
     1) What passion means and how we can revamp our understanding of passion
     2) Borrowing from other interests in order to adopt a lens for viewing our work
     3) How emotional intelligence plays a role in understanding our passions
     4) The importance of facilitating a work environment that nurtures its employees' passions

If you would like to engage more with Rick's work, visit www.ricklozano.com.

This podcast is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc.

We all have moments of anxiety. That anxiety affects us all in different ways. This guided meditation will help you slow down and learn how to rest in the midst of your anxious emotions, so you can understand them, and eventually move past them.

This meditation was written by Bob Stahl and was originally published on www.mindful.org. We highly recommend mindful.org as a resource for continuing the conversation about mindfulness, meditation, and overall wellness.