Social/Emotional Resources for Parents

Resource #1
Name of Agency: CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning
Contact Info: Main number: 312-226-3770
Purpose: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) is the
nations leading organization advancing the development of academic, social and
emotional competence for all students. Their mission is to help make evidence-based
social and emotional learning (SEL) an integral part of education from preschool through
high school. Through research, practice and policy, CASEL collaborates to ensure all
students become knowledgeable, responsible, caring and contributing members of
society.
Benefit: CASEL supports several initiatives that are helping to advance SEL in a
comprehensive approach that includes schools, families, communities, and teacher preservice education programs.
Resources: Users can browse available resources according to topic by clicking any tag.
Each item in the library was reviewed by CASEL staff and assigned content "tags" based
on their main focus. Most documents were given several tags, as they touch on more than
one topic in a substantive way.
Availability: Phone Contact (see above)
Cost: No Cost, unless the school district wants to invest SEL programming if their
behavior management systems are not working correctly.
Webpage: http://www.casel.org/

Resource #2
Name of Agency: Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning
Contact Info:
Mary Louise Hemmeter
Vanderbilt University
Department of Special Education
Box 328 GPC
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN 37203
Phone: (615) 322-8150
Fax: (615) 343-1570
Email: ml.hemmeter@vanderbilt.edu

Purpose: The Center will develop training and technical assistance (T/TA) materials that
reflect evidence-based practices for promoting children's social and emotional
development and preventing challenging behaviors. The Center will then work with
professional organizations and Head Start and child care T/TA providers to ensure the
use of the evidence-based practices in local demonstration sites.
Benefit: The Center on the Social and Emotional Foundations for Early Learning
(CSEFEL) is focused on promoting the social emotional development and school
readiness of young children birth to age 5. CSEFEL is a national resource center funded
by the Office of Head Start and Child Care Bureau for disseminating research and
evidence-based practices to early childhood programs across the country.
Resources: This agency offers resources for states, trainers/coaches, families, and
teachers/caregivers.
*For families: Parent Training Modules & Articles
http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/resources/family.html
Availability: Phone contact & email (see above)
Cost: No cost, free resources for families
Webpage: http://csefel.vanderbilt.edu/index.html

Resource #3
Name of Agency: Social & Character Development at Rutgers
Contact Info: Tel: 732.445.7504 . Fax: 732.445.7970 . E-mail: CSCD@rci.rutgers.edu
Purpose: Public can contact the Center for Social and Character Development at Rutgers
University (CSCD @ RU) for guidance, leadership and support in implementing
character education programs.
Benefit: Allows parents to become informed, look at what others are doing, and take
action in their childs life!
Resources: This site provides a What Can Parents Do page. It provides resources to the
U.S. Department of Education, Center for Social and Emotional Education, CASEL,
CharacterEd.net, Edutopia, etc.
Availability: Online, Phone, and Email (see above). Parents can join the Character
Education Network and receive news at the national, state, and local levels, best
practices, announcements of events, professional development, and grant and funding
opportunities.
Cost: No Cost for this Agency; all resources are free.
Webpage: http://www.rucharacter.org/index.php

Resource #4
Name: Avokiddo Emotions (iPad app)
Contact: View in iTunes or App Store on any mobile device under the Education
category (iPad, iPhone, smartphone)
http://avokiddo.com/contact/
Purpose of the App: Avokiddo Emotions lets kids of all ages explore feelings in an open
ended free style playroom. There are no rules or pre-set expectations other than to have
fun while learning fundamental social skills. Whether their intent is to make an animal
laugh or cry, kids are in control every step of the way. Even the very youngest fans who
arent yet able to quite grasp emotions will delight in the boisterous atmosphere and soon
be able to trigger specific reactions.
Benefit: Benefits children of all ages.
*encourage imagination & creative expression through unfettered opportunities for
pretend play
practice following directions and answering simple Wh questions related to the
animals responses
inspire curiosity as youngsters explore cause & effect relationships
build language as parents help children put names to the many emotions and physical
reactions displayed
develop empathy by connecting the animals' emotions both positive and negative to
their causes
make predictions based on how the animals will respond to various stimuli
Resources: They have many more apps that are designed for social/emotional
development in children. Avokiddo also provides a blog for families. It provides different
articles and apps for them to read. http://avokiddo.com/our-blog/
Cost: $2.99
Webpage: http://avokiddo.com/

Resource #5
Name of App: Wince- Dont Feed the WorryBug (iPad App)
Contact: View in iTunes or the App Store- search the Books Category.
http://www.worrywoos.com/contact.html
The WorryWoo Monsters
344 Grove Street #119
Jersey City, NJ 07302
Phone: 201.792.4599
Fax: 866.887.2990
Purpose: written and illustrated by Andi Green, is an outstanding new storybook app.
Worrying, is an ultra-important theme and very apropos topic for todays world.
The WorryWoos is a new series of books and toys created especially to promote
emotional wellness in children. Wince is appealing to a broad range of ages and each
individual will take away something different.
Benefit: Winces journey of self-awareness helps him overcome his worries and banish
the WorryBug. Hes a character that will inspire anyone whos ever had a worry no
matter how old they are. This app can help parents in dealing with a child who has many
worries.

Resources: The app includes: a device for children to record their worries and hear them
played back, 20 original hand painted pages, originally composed music and gentle
interactivity that allows children to follow the app at their own pace. The site also
provides resources for lesson plans and ideas to do in the home with your child or
yourself.

Availability: Online/Email, Phone, Mail

Cost: $2.99 in the App Store

Webpage: http://www.worrywoos.com/



Resource #6

Name of Agency: Parent ToolKit

Contact: http://www.parenttoolkit.com/index.cfm?objectid=82D4AAD8-29E2-11E38F610050569A5318
This is a contact page where parents can type in their name, email, and a message to the
Parent Toolkit site.

Purpose: Studies show children whose parents are involved in their education do better in
school, and our hope is to provide you with useful tips and tools to support your growing
child at all ages. The Parent Toolkit is a one-stop shop resource that was produced and
developed with parents in mind.

Benefit: The Toolkit focuses on many aspects of your childs development, because it is
all connected. Healthy, successful children can excel in many areas: in the classroom, on
the court, and in their relationships with peers and adults. They have worked with experts
across the country including classroom teachers, professors, pediatricians, psychologists,
and parents, to make the resource as robust and useful as possible.

Resources: This site offers grade level links for parents of children grades Pre-k to 12th
grade. The site also offers additional resources from experts and academic support.
http://www.parenttoolkit.com/index.cfm?objectid=3EA689D0-9D6B-11E3857E0050569A5318

Availability: Online only. They have a stay connected page where parents can sign up
to receive email updates about the toolkit.

Cost: There is no cost to use this site or receive resources.

Webpage: http://www.parenttoolkit.com/index.cfm?objectid=50A8EC10-32D8-11E4B03B0050569A5318




Resource #7

Name: EduTopia

Contact: Connect with EduTopia on social media through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest,
YouTube, Instragram, and Google +

Purpose: The purpose of this site is to provide numerous resources to families about
social emotional support for their children. They are dedicated to transforming
kindergarten through 12th-grade (K-12) education so all students can thrive in their
studies, careers, and adult lives. They are focused on practices and programs that help
students acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, skills and beliefs to
achieve their full potential.

Benefit: To show people how they can adopt best practices and we tell stories of
innovation and continuous learning in the real world.
Resources: The site provides a wide range of topics that parents can browse. Some of the
topics include: Back to school, Social/Emotional Development, Engaging Children, K-2
Primary Levels, Intermediate Levels, etc. The site also provides videos with each topic as
well.
Availability: Online only- mainly connected to social media
Cost: There is no cost for EduTopia
Webpage: http://www.edutopia.org/

Resource #8

Name of Agency: PBS- Parents

Contact: http://www.pbs.org/parents/contact/
Parents can contact by email

Purpose: PBS Parents provides the answers you need to be your childs first, best teacher.
It is a trusted online resource that's filled with information about your childs
development from birth through the early school years.
Benefit: PBS Parents is committed to providing valuable school-related resources for
parents and caregivers. OurEducation section offers strategies for building literacy and
math skills and tips for Going to School.
Resources: Giving parents information they need fast is important to us. So, we created a
number of tools for that purpose. Click on Search to quickly find content related to
whatever topics interest you. Get book recommendations categorized by age, theme or
keyword from the PBS Parents Bookfinder. Our Activity Search will connect you with
games and activities related to your child's favorite PBS KIDS programs. And, our highly
regarded Child Development Tracker will help follow your childs development at a
specific age or stage and suggest supporting activities.

Availability: Email, Facebook, Twitter

Cost: No Cost for this site

Webpage: http://www.pbs.org/parents/



Resource #9

Name of App: Positive Penguins

Contact: http://positivepenguins.com/contact-us
This site has a contact page that allows parents to type in their name, email, and a
message. The app can be found on the iTunes App Store under Education.

Purpose of App: a simple, interactive, educational tool to help children understand why
they experience a range of challenging emotions. In a fun way, it gives them practical
ways to understand and cope with these emotions and, most importantly, change the way
they think. We have so many negative thoughts that cloud our brains every day. We want
children to learn to clearly identify their automatic negative thoughts and learn to
challenge them to see things more clearly and hopefully more optimistically.
Benefit: This is an excellent app to help teachers and parents guide children to understand
their beliefs and challenge their thinking and assumptions. Certainly it is not easy to
pinpoint the negative thought but we cannot create new ways of thinking if we dont try
to understand our feelings. The app also gives teachers a fun way to empower kids of all
ages to stop and reflect on feelings during the day and challenge the negative ones rather
than spiral into negativity and depression.
Resources: This site has provided posters to download and print out for a childs
bedroom, activity sheets for a rainy day, a brochure on the app, and a positive penguins
lesson for a small group of children.
http://positivepenguins.com/resources
Availability: Online Only
Cost: .99 cents
Webpage: http://positivepenguins.com/




Resource #10

Name of App: Smiling Mind

Contact: Smiling Mind has a contact page where parents can type in their emails and any
messages they have for the company. Smiling Mind can be found on the iTunes App
Store.

Purpose: It is a fantastic app for young (and not so young) people to gain an
understanding of mindfulness and modern meditation. Its a simple tool that gives a sense
of calm, clarity and contentment. Mindfulness and mindfulness-based meditation are
becoming widely accepted tools for building resilience and well-being.

Benefit: Children would benefit greatly in understanding these skills at an early age with
the objective of better management of stress, increased resilience and therefore assisting
in mitigating mental health risks in later life. The app is very intuitive and reminds the
user to undertake different activities each day.
Resources: The App is attached with a website that has many resources. The site allows
parents to pick the age of their child and what they want to focus on. Smiling Mind has
trial sessions for parents to try with their children.

Availability: Online Only

Cost: Free

Webpage: http://smilingmind.com.au/





Resource #11

Name of App: Emotionary by Me.Mu

Contact: This app can be found on the iTunes App Store under the Education Category.

Purpose: The Emotionary app is designed to give young people the tools and skills to
express themselves well in the digital era. It is a very unique dictionary and is a great tool
that could be used in homes to help children develop an emotional vocabulary in a fun
and interactive way.
Benefit: With over 70 expressive full-sized emoticons, and hundreds of feelings to
choose from it can be used for social networking for older children or in a
classroom/home setting for younger children. The ability to express to others exactly how
you are feeling is such an important skill to learn.
Resources: This app is the only resource included with it.
Availability: App Store Only
Cost: $1.99
Webpage: http://memu.org/emotionary.php

Resource #12
Name of App: Live Happy
Contact: This app can be found on the iTunes App Store under Education. It is an
iPhone/iPod app but it does work on the iPad.
Purpose: It includes educational tidbits and videos that can help you better understand
what is known about the attainment of happiness and resilience, as well as features that
encourage you to engage in happiness-promoting activities. The application lets you
choose from several different activities, tells you what to do, and tells you why and how
this particular activity promotes happiness.
Benefit: The app is aimed more towards adults so for primary aged children a teacher or
parent would best guide it. However, it is a great tool for teachers and parents to build in
to daily activities for children to help them boost their happiness and form positive habits.
Resources: There is a blog that goes along with this app. It includes articles on how to be
a happier family, positive quotes, how to make mornings easier, etc.
Availability: App Store & Parents can sign up on the website for a monthly newsletter
with updates. Parents can also follow along with the blog for ideas and tips.
Cost: .99 cents
Webpage: http://www.happier.com/

Resource #13
Name of App: Enterprising Child- Communication Edition
Contact: This app can be found on the iTunes app Store under Education.
Purpose: Enterprising Child is all about play and using fun and everyday offline activities
to give children the skills to become resourceful, enterprising adults to benefit both their
personal and working lives. The app is for parents to act as a resource. Its full of activity
ideas for parents to use both indoor and outdoor, at home or out and about.