Lean Into You

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Gina Tek, the Senior Director of ChildcareTennessee. In our chat, we will talk about how ChildcareTennessee operates as a resource hub for directors and educators across the state. We will cover:
   
     1) What ChildcareTennessee is
     2) The kinds of resources you can find on the website
     3) How to apply for enhancement and emergency grants through ChildcareTennessee
     4) How ChildcareTennessee is promoting equity across the state
     5) How you can register to start receiving services from ChildcareTennessee

To begin the registration process, visit www.childcaretennessee.com.

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

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Dr. Claire Warden, an internationally-renowned advocate for nature-based practices in early childhood education. In our chat, we will talk about promoting a nature pedagogy and what that means for ourselves and our kids.  We will cover:
   
     1) What it means to have a nature pedagogy
     2) How we can use the four elements to promote a equitable nature-learning environment
     3) How to bypass the obstacles that come with documenting nature-based learning
     4) Inside, outside, and beyond as three literal and metaphoric spaces we occupy
     5) How promoting nature-based learning can slow us down as educators

If you would like to engage more with Claire's work, you can visit her consulting page at www.claire-warden.com. For tutorials and resources related to Claire's work, visit www.mindstretchers.academy. For more information on Claire's charitable work related to nature-based learning, visit www.livingclassrooms.org.uk.

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

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we continue our conversation with Pat Stanislaski, the Director of Partnering for Prevention, LLC. In part two of our chat, we will talk about how educators can cultivate resiliency within themselves. We will cover:
   
     1) The five protective factors
     2) The importance of reframing obstacles in front of us
     3) Using humor as a strategy for cultivating resiliency
     4) Asset building through I have, I am, I can affirmations
     5) The five domains of post-traumatic growth

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

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Pat Stanislaski, the Director of Partnering for Prevention, LLC., an organization which focuses on child abuse prevention training and education.  In part one of our chat, we will talk about how educators can develop and cultivate resiliency within the kids in their care. We will cover:
   
     1) How have the protective factors changed Pat's definition of resiliency
     2) The research on the resiliency gene and the importance of environmental factors
     3) Strategies to cultivate resiliency within kids
     4) How educators can be a resource for parents in helping cultivate resiliency at home
 
This podcast is funded through a grant with the Tennessee Department of Human Services and Signal Centers, Inc.

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Marj Flemming, the founder of Launchpoint Leadership, a consultancy that develops individuals into strong leaders.  In our chat, we will talk about how you can know when you may need a mentor. We will cover:
   
     1) What the qualities of a good leader are
     2) The dynamics of a mentor/mentee relationship
     3) How to diagnose whether you need a mentor or not
     4) How to find a mentor and what the benefits are for educators
     5) How educators can become mentors in the everyday through "mentoring moments"

If you would like to engage more with some of the topics in today's conversation, visit www.launchpointleadership.com.

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

We are taking February off!

After producing an episode per week for the last five months, we are going to take a break over the next month to give our audience a chance to catch up with our content, brainstorm new ideas for 2021, and focus on our Instagram account. Thank you for making Season 1 of Lean Into You more successful than we could have ever imagined and we'll see you on March 3rd for the start of Season 2!

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Dr. Matt McClanahan, the Medical Director for the Center for Insight Medicine.  In our chat, we will talk about understanding pain and stoking our curiosity. We will cover:
   
     1) What pain is and how it operates as a messenger in our bodies
     2) The misconceptions surrounding pain
     3) The connection between mind, body, and spirit
     4) How we can begin to reframe pain to help us understand ourselves better
     5) How approaching pain with curiosity can nudge the needle back towards safety

If you would like to engage more with some of the topics in today's conversation, visit www.centerforinsightmedicine.com. If you are interested in watching the Still Face Experiment mentioned in this episode, view it at the link above. 

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

It is easy to get lost in New Years resolutions and feel frustrated when we don’t follow through with them. But by setting our intentions, being solution-oriented, finding mentors or friends to hold us accountable, and having a proper understanding of failure in relation to all of these things, we are better equipped to ease into the life we set out to lead. Just a note, this meditation does call for making a few lists so it is recommended you have a notebook or something to write on for this practice. Enjoy this meditation and we hope it brings you peace and empowerment for the coming year. 

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Dr. Craig Bailey, the Director of RULER for early childhood at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.  In our chat, we will talk about the RULER approach to social/emotional learning. We will cover:
   
     1) Having a growth mindset when it comes to social/emotional development
     2) RULER's systematic approach
     3) What the RULER acryonym means
     4) How to keep your emotional journey from being a barrier to future growth
     5) Practices we can use to model social/emotional intelligence to our kids

If you would like to engage more with some of the topics in today's conversation, visit www.rulerapproach.org or www.casel.org.

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

In today's episode of Lean Into You, we talk with Crystal Jensen, the owner and founder of Mindful Expressions, a mindfulness and nature-based child care center in British Colombia, Canada.  In our chat, we will talk about mindful play and how we can begin to restore childlikeness. We will cover:
   
     1) The importance of play for self-realization
     2) How we can begin to reclaim childlikeness for ourselves as educators
     3) How to regulate while you educate
     4) Some mindful play activities you can incorporate in classroom today.

If you would like to engage more with some of the topics in today's conversation, visit www.mindfulexpressions.co. Join Crystal's Mindful Play Community on Facebook for more ideas on mindful play. 

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