Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Helping Kids with Friendships and Social ...

Have you noticed social skills missing in your kids? Caroline Maguire, author of Why Will No One Play With Me?, joins me to discuss how to support your child and build them up through play.

Here’s some of the areas we cover:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
A Conversation about School Readiness with ...

The transition to preschool to elementary school can be such an anxious time for both parents and for the children. There’s a lot of unknowns to get them ready for and sometimes we think there’s lots we have to do to prepare them for starting. Today we discuss what you can do to help reduce anxiety for your little one with nursery practitioner, Caroline Allen. 

In this episode they discuss:


Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a ...

Sexual assault and harassment, sadly happens in schools on a too regular basis, whether that’s happening peer to peer or even between teacher to student. We hope our children never have to experience this. Knowing how to parent our children to take ownership of their bodies, so they know how to say no is key. We discuss how to navigate through abuse, bullying, harassment so they can get help is just as vital.  

In this episode, I speak with Meghan Joyce Tozer, author of the critically acclaimed novel Night, Forgotten and her annotated middle school diary, UnSlut: A Diary and a Memoir, which she wrote under the pen name Emily Lindin. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Bullying in Middle School Through the Lens of a Middle School Diary and Memoir
Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Introduction to Montessori Philosophy with ...

Have you ever considered a different educational style for your children besides the conventional method? If so, perhaps you have heard of the Montessori method. It is based on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. In Montessori classrooms children make creative choices in their learning, while the classroom and the highly trained teacher offer age-appropriate activities to guide the process. In this episode, I spoke to Montessori Home Consultant, Jeanne-Marie Paynel about the benefits of this education style. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Introduction to Montessori Philosophy with Jeanne-Marie Paynel
Calm & Connected Podcast, Families
Janine Halloran
Building Connections with Kids Through Play ...

When was the last time you had a dedicated playtime with your child? Life gets so busy so we can’t blame parents for not being able to squeeze this in-between school, dinnertime, sports or dance at the weekend but it is vital to a child’s development. Kim Feeney is the guest on this episode, she is a licensed independent social worker and a registered play therapist supervisor. I wanted to discuss playtime with her and how to build a connection with your child. 

The topics we cover in this episode are:

Building Connections with Kids Through Play with Kim Feeney

family activities

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Awesome Play Ideas for Families at Home

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Awesome Play Ideas for Families at Home



Inside: An incredible collection of play ideas for families during times when they need to stay at home. Also, why play helps at this time, and how we can view this as an opportunity to re-connect .

Usually, as families, we have busy schedules, and people are often going to sports practice or games, lessons, or after school activities. Because of the coronavirus and social distancing, things are getting canceled everywhere. This is a stressful time, and things seem to be changing day-to-day. Overall, what this means is that families are going to be spending a lot more time at home.

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Part Five - Games & Activities to Work on Perspective Taking

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Part Five - Games & Activities to Work on Perspective Taking

What is perspective taking? It’s the ability to take another person’s point of view. This is a building block towards empathy. There are lots of different teachable moments that can happen in day to day life where you can talk about different perspectives people have on the same situation. There are also several games and activities you can play with children and teens to help them practice the art of walking in someone else’s shoes.

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A Visual Activity to Help Kids Understand the Power of Their Words

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A Visual Activity to Help Kids Understand the Power of Their Words

I love using this intervention with children to help them visually see the impact that words can have on others. This activity can be used at home or at school.

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Board Games, Card Games, and Social Skills

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Board Games, Card Games, and Social Skills

On today’s episode, my focus is all games. I talk about all the different social skills kids practice when they play board games and card games. Did you know that by simply playing a game, kids work on…

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10 Magnificent Games to Practice Social and Emotional Skills with Kids

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10 Magnificent Games to Practice Social and Emotional Skills with Kids

Inside: An overview of 10 games that can be used to work on social-emotional learning at school, in small group settings or at home.

What was your favorite game to play as a kid? For me, it was Monopoly. My sister and I played this game all the time - it would keep us entertained for hours on a cold winter day.

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Video Games for Families to Play Together

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Video Games for Families to Play Together

For as long as I can remember, playing video games has been way of connecting and spending time with my family.

I vividly remember when my big brother got the original Nintendo with Duck Hunt. We were in our cozy family den with my brother and sister, so excited to try it out. And he finally let me try it too! Guess what - I wasn’t very good at it, but I loved watching my brother play.

3 Ways to Connect with Your Family at Meal Times

3 Ways to Connect with Your Family at Meal Times

Inside: 3 quick tips to connect with your family during a meal time. Even if you can't get together and connect during the week, the weekend is a great time to try this too!

It’s been a typical busy Wednesday after school. You’ve been helping with homework, driving your kids to dance and karate, and then taking a few minutes to make a quick Target run.

You’re finally all sitting down for dinner, but sometimes it’s hard to connect and chat. “How was school today?” gets you a one word answer. That’s not helpful. So what are some ways you can connect with each other during dinner?

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Yellow Pages for a New Neighbor

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Yellow Pages for a New Neighbor

Inside: A guest post from Greg Heilers at education.com with a writing activity that is also a good way to meet new people and potentially start a new friendship.

Whether they know it or not, fourth graders are natural authors. They’ve got lots to say, even if it happens to come with fearless spelling sometimes. And every time they create a sentence, whether it’s for a card, letter, shopping list, or complaint to you, they’re expanding their reading and writing skills.

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A Simple and Fun Game to Practice Making Decisions

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A Simple and Fun Game to Practice Making Decisions

Inside: A simple and fun game you can play with your kids to practice making decisions. You can play it at home, in restaurants, car rides or while waiting.

It’s Sunday and it’s my meal planning time for the week. I sit at the kitchen table, sip my coffee, and ask myself “what should we have for dinner this week?” Often, I ask my family for input, but let’s be honest, I get a lot of “pizza!” and “pasta!” answers from my children :-)

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DIY Scratch Art Painting

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DIY Scratch Art Painting

Do you remember the excitement you’d feel when you had a sub in elementary school? They always did things a little differently, and perhaps you’d get a chance to do something really unique and different.

Once, I had a sub who loved to do art projects. She taught us how to make scratch paintings. I loved it from the first time I did it, and when I showed my own kids how to make them, they loved it too.

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3 fun ways to teach kids how tone of voice impacts meaning

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3 fun ways to teach kids how tone of voice impacts meaning

How do you communicate with other people during one day? Do you talk face to face with them? Do you text them? Facetime them? Email them?

Humor me. Take a minute and check how many text messages and emails you received in the last 24 hours. I’ll wait.

4 Reasons to Cook with Your Kids

4 Reasons to Cook with Your Kids

When my son was little, he loved making granola bars. I have vivid memories of adding ingredients to the bowl, and allowing him to stir. The ingredients would fly EVERYWHERE, on the table, on the chairs and the floor. Even though it would always be super messy, I wanted to make sure that I cooked with them.

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4 Simple Ways to Practice Taking Turns

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4 Simple Ways to Practice Taking Turns

Children (and people in general) have to take turns all the time. Children take turns when they play games like checkers or four square, while they participate in a class discussion, or during a conversation. Adults have to wait and take turns too - in meetings, in stores and when driving. Taking turns, and in particular, waiting for the time when it’s your turn, can be frustrating. It’s good to practice turn taking, because it happens all the time.

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