Grit, Perseverance, Resiliency

Winner of the Counselor's Choice Award (Freddie the Fly Series)Winner of the Moonbeam Children's Book Award (Freddie the Fly Series) Freddie the Fly's friend Stella the Stinkbug has a problem. Or lots of problems. Some problems are BIG and some...

Boone is a gosling, loving life on the water with his family. He feels safe and comfortable in his small corner of the pond, so why would he ever leave? When Boone's mama and siblings swim off to the opposite shore, he won't follow. He has his reasons,...

Amelia is her name and conquering new challenges is her game! She's an up-for-any-adventure second-grader who's eager to try new things, provided nothing can go wrong. She takes up skateboarding with gusto and feverishly builds a swing set for her kid...

When the new kind in class, Skyler Blue, wows everyone with tales of wild adventure - riding camels, exploring pyramids, and going on a safari - it leaves Parker Plum feeling small, insignificant, and soooo not special. Parker, green with envy and down...

Parker Plum is having a bad day! He wakes from a night of slumber to find a little green egg resting on his pillow. How did it get there? While most children would find this quite unusual, Parker was accustomed to such peculiar things. He plops it in his...

Poor Amelia! Between softball practice, homework, and chores, she's struggling to keep her head above water! And when she starts feeling stressed out, it seems like the world is at its end! Fortunately, Amelia's mom is around to teach her some stress...

"My name is Norman David Edwards, but everybody calls me Noodle. Sometimes I get tired of being told what to do." Every day Noodle hears all about what he needs to do and why he needs to do it. He hears it from his parents, teachers and coaches, and...

Staying on task until a job is done can be tough for adults, so it's not surprising that it's also difficult for most children. Teaching kids the importance of staying focused and finishing tasks is something that will serve them well in life. Help...

Planning is the ability to create a roadmap to reach a goal or achieve a task, while prioritizing involves the ability to make decisions about what is important for you to focus on next. It can be challenging for children to know where to get started on...

It's easy for kids to feel sad when bad things happen in their lives. This is especially true when boys and girls are bullied or picked on or feel left out and isolated. Author and School Counselor, Bryan Smith, has developed four exercises to accompany...

When children learn or try something new, they can easily get discouraged when things don't go as planned. They don't yet understand that mistakes and failure are parts of learning. Author and educator Bryan Smith has developed four excellent activities...

Flexible thinking allows people to think about things in new ways or to incorporate new information into a specific plan or idea. Flexible thinkers are often able to come up with more than one solution to a problem or challenge. The ability to think...

Self-control is the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behavior and to keep one's cool in the face of disappointment. These four activities developed by author Bryan Smith can help children with self-control. The lessons are designed to...

Too much stress STINKS! Students in grades K through 6 will identify the negative side effects of experiencing too much stress and develop healthy strategies for dealing with stressful situations. Reinforce the lesson from the storybook, Stress...

Problem solving involves many other executive functioning behaviors, including reasoning, attention, planning, initiation, working memory, and self-monitoring. Teach your students problem solving skills with these activities that accompany the...

Overreacting is common for children, but as they get older, it becomes more important that they learn to manage their emotions and practice flexible thinking. Reinforce the message from Bryan Smith's My Day is Ruined! storybook, by displaying...