Free SEL Resources for Educators
Being an educator is hard. We designed these free SEL resources for educators to make your life a bit easier and help you teach your students valuable brain basics and self-regulation skills.
FocusedKids Basics
Your Amygdala – The Guard Dog
Learn how to teach children about their amygdala and the role it plays in their brains.
Your Hippocampus – Miss Elephante
Learn how to teach children about their hippocampus and the role it plays in their brains.
Your Prefrontal Cortex – The Wise Owl
Learn how to teach children about their prefrontal cortex and the role it plays in their brains.
Articles for Educators
The Compliment Carwash: A 5-Minute SEL Practice Every Teacher Needs
The Compliment Carwash teaches essential social emotional skills and normalizes kind and positive language. Giving and receiving compliments helps create a safe and positive classroom culture. Compliments create belonging and a sense of community. Hearing authentic, specific compliments can help students recognize their own strengths and build the confidence and self-esteem they need. You aren't just giving a compliment; you are teaching children how to validate one another, which is a lifelong skill for emotional health.
Stop Managing Behaviors and Start Teaching
Is there too much to do and too little time? Teachers face an overwhelming amount of expectations, especially at the start of the school year. We feel pressured to implement new strategies, new programs, and countless current classroom practices. We want to do our best, but how do we make all this work and still enjoy our work and our life?
Managing Expectations & Priorities for the School Year
Is there too much to do and too little time? Teachers face an overwhelming amount of expectations, especially at the start of the school year. We feel pressured to implement new strategies, new programs, and countless current classroom practices. We want to do our best, but how do we make all this work and still enjoy our work and our life?
Lessons for Educators
Essentials: FocusedKids Classroom Lessons
Get the key FocusedKids lessons right here and start teaching the in your class today!
Essentials: FocusedKids Classroom Demonstration Videos
Watch demonstration videos that will help you teach FocusedKids in your classroom!
Essentials: FocusedKids Classroom Visuals, Posters, Printouts
Access educators' favorite FocusedKids posters, visuals, and print outs.
Videos for Educators
The Glitter Jar
The glitter jar is one of the best tools to use if you need to calm down kids (or yourself). Click to find out how to make and use a glitter jar.
Three Important Parts of the Brain
Discover the three key parts of the brain that you and your students need to know about.
Teach Gratitude with Grateful Goat
Meet Grateful Goat: Your Partner in Teaching Gratitude Science tells us that gratitude is a game-changer in child development....
Professional Development Recordings
Nervous System Regulation for Students and Teachers with Autum Romano
In this professional development session, Autum Romano introduced teachers to the transformative power of Polyvagal Theory. Autum provided a variety of sensory-based interventions and co-regulation strategies designed to support all learners, particularly neurodivergent students.
Spilling the Tea on ADHD with Kathy Flaminio and Judy Richardson-Mahre
The February Professional Development session of the 2025-2026 school year, led by Kathy Flaminio and Judy Richardson-Mahre, provided educators with valuable insights into ADHD, aiming to dispel myths and enhance understanding of the condition's impact on learning and behavior.
Brain Breaks & Challenging Behaviors
In the final Professional Development session of the 2024-2025 school year, Amanda Petersen facilitated a group reflection on the work teachers have done both personally and professionally through FocusedKids.