Butter- Based on the Best-Selling YA novel of the same name by Erin Jade Lang, Butter tells the story of a lonely obese boy everyone calls "Butter." Butter decides to make history, he is going to eat himself to death-live on the Internet-and everyone is invited to watch. This PG-13 movie that tackles mental health, suicide, and bullying in an engaging way. You can also use the free curriculum to help engage your students on these complex topics.

CASEL | What is SEL? - CASEL supports educators and policy leaders and enhances the experiences and outcomes for all PreK-12 students.

Jesse Lewis Choose Love Movement – Creating Safer Schools and Communities through SEL Culture - A nonprofit organization with a mission to create safer schools through a no-cost, lifespan SEL platform that not only teaches students the life skills that are essential to happiness and success, but also fosters a school culture that reduces violence from the inside out. 

Make a Mindfulness Jar or Calming Timeout Timer - When things become too much for your little one, pull out this mindfulness jar to help your child relax and settle down.

Random Acts of Kindness - Kindness matters! This foundation provides lesson plans and additional resources for K-12th grades.

Resources for Social and Emotional Learning | Common Sense Media - Learn more about character strengths like empathy, find actionable activities and edtech tools for the classroom, and discover ways to involve families in SEL learning.

SEL in Digital Life Resource Center | Common Sense Media - Support your students' social and emotional learning as they navigate the digital world. 

SEL for Parents - CASEL - An 8-minute introductory video for families that explains what social & emotional learning (SEL) is and how they can reinforce these skills at home. Includes perspectives from administrators, educators, and parents! Also available in Spanish.

Sesame Street in Communities - Home - Hundreds of bilingual multi-media tools to help kids and families enrich and expand their knowledge during the early years of birth through six, a critical window for brain development. Our resources engage kids and adults in everyday moments and daily routines—from teaching early math and literacy concepts, to encouraging families to eat nutritious foods, to serious topics such as divorce and food insecurity.

Teaching Resources for Social and Emotional Skills | CenterVention - Teaching resources, including lessons and printables, classroom decorations, and behavior management tools that can be used together or separately.

Build a strong foundation of trust and respect in your family and support your child’s well-being socially and emotionally with these resources.

Choose Love At Home - Choose Love for Home gives families a healthy way to grow together. Using neuroscience and positive psychology, children and parents alike can learn to better understand themselves and each other. Through a series of self-guided videos, activities, and “dinner table discussion topics,” Choose Love for Home teaches families how to manage their emotions, communicate in healthier ways, and create a nurturing environment focused on the things that matter most.

Emotional Smarts - Great! Schools - Articles, games, cue cards, videos, interviews,  an emotional toolbox, and more.  Developed for families by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.

Family Resources - Amazing Me Self-Esteem - Family activities ranging from 20 to 60 minutes that promote confidence, self-esteem, and positive body image.  Ideal for children in upper elementary grades.

Make a Mindfulness Jar or Calming Timeout Timer - When things become too much for your little one, pull out this mindfulness jar to help your child relax and settle down.

ParenTeen Connect - Committee for Children - Videos, resources, and advice around topics such as independence, responsibility, and communication to promote healthy family interactions during adolescence.

Prioritize Coping and Calming Skills | AFIRM - Supporting individuals with autism to learn coping, self-management, and self-care skills is a priority during this time of uncertainty.

About Child Trauma - The National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Provides an overview of how children experience trauma, symptoms of child traumatic stress, and both risk and protective factors for children.

Building Your Resilience - American Psychological Association - Presents practical steps people can take to adapt well when confronted with traumatic events and other significant stresses.

Coalition to Support Grieving Students: Modules - A collection of online modules to help support students during times of grief and trauma.

Coping Tips for Traumatic Events and Disasters | SAMHSA - Emotional distress can happen before and after a disaster. Coping strategies include preparation, self-care, and identifying support systems.

Coping with Trauma, Stress and Violence - NAEYC - Articles and other resources on helping young children cope with trauma, stress, and violence.

Disasters - NCTSN - Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods, as well as extreme weather events can lead to many adversities for children and families. NCTSN provides collections of disaster-specific resources so that families know what to do before, during, and after to support their children.

Discussing Difficult Situations with Your Children - National PTA - Tips for counteracting fear and giving reassurance by providing opportunities for children to express how they feel and channel their feelings into positive actions.

Going Back to School After a Tragedy - Child Mind Institute - Children find comfort in the familiar, and going back to school and any after-school activities help build healthy, resilient children.  Here are some tips for helping kids who are worried about going back to school.

Guidelines for responding to the death of a student or school staff | School Crisis Center - These guidelines are designed to help school administrators, teachers, and crisis team members respond to the needs of students and staff after a loss has impacted the school environment, such as after the death of a student or staff member or when deaths occur that affect many people in the community. 

Families and Trauma - The National Child Traumatic Stress Network - All families experience trauma differently.  Learn more about how trauma impacts families and find resources to help your family navigate through traumatic stress responses together.

Guiding Students and Families Through Grief - ASCD - Trauma response teams, grief circles, and ample preparation can help your school community process death.

Having hard but necessary conversations | Understood.org - Traumatic events have become all too commonplace in our lives and people are experiencing an endless cycle of emotions — anger, grief, anxiety, fear, and in some cases, helplessness. It’s nearly impossible for many of us to process so much pain, loss, and the resulting sense of insecurity that it has caused. When it comes to these serious issues, words and conversations are a necessity in being able to understand and work through things that may feel unexplainable.

Helping Children Cope with Frightening News - Child Mind Institute - What parents can do to aid scared kids in processing grief and fear in a healthy way.  Available in Spanish.

Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Disasters and Other Traumatic Events: What Parents, Rescue Workers, and the Community Can Do - NIH - An overview of what trauma is, common responses to trauma among children, what to do if you or someone you know is in crisis, and how to help in the first days and weeks after a traumatic event.  Includes specific tips for parents.

Helping Your Child Heal After Trauma - KidsHealth for Parents - Explains how trauma affects kids, how therapy can help kids heal, how to find therapy for your child, and how to give your child the extra support they need.

How to Talk to Kids about Tough Topics - Sesame Workshop - Caring adults can help kids learn coping and resilience-building techniques to help them face tough challenges like divorce, foster care, grief, and more.

Mindful Warriors: Meditation for Teenagers - Roots of Action - an overview of the benefits of mindfulness and resources to implement meditation strategies with your family.

National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement - Dedicated to helping schools support their students through crisis and loss.

NEA's School Crisis Guide - Educators know that when disasters such as hurricanes strike, children are often traumatized and they need help from families and educators to cope and heal. NEA's School Crisis Guide offers a step-by-step outline of what to do before, during, and after any school or community crisis like a natural disaster. 

Quandary - A free, nonprofit teaching tool designed to engage students 8+ to develop critical thinking and perspective-taking, practice empathy, and learn to make ethical decisions through fun and engaging gameplay. Includes teacher guide, classroom implementation video, and lesson plans.

Supporting Schools During and After Crisis - Resources to support the use of a multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) framework to support students, families, and educators during the transitions back to school during and following a crisis (e.g., a pandemic, natural disaster, other emergency) in a manner that prioritizes their health and safety, social and emotional needs, and behavioral and academic growth.

Talking to Children About Violence: Tips for Parents and Teachers- High profile acts of violence, particularly in schools, can confuse and frighten children who may feel in danger or worry that their friends or loved-ones are at risk. They will look to adults for information and guidance on how to react. Parents and school personnel can help children feel safe by establishing a sense of normalcy and security and talking with them about their fears.

Trauma & Grief | ChildMind -Every kid processes emotions differently and some benefit from professional support when coping with a major life change, grief, or witnessing or experiencing violence.

Traumatic Experiences - Sesame Workshop - With their warmth, humor, and friendly personalities, colorful characters like Elmo, Grover, and Abby Cadabby make difficult topics much easier for parents and kids to talk about.  Explore Sesame Workshop’s resource collections on topics such as parental addiction, foster care, family homelessness, grief and more.  Topic collections include resources such as videos, articles, family activities, and printables.

What to Say to Kids When the News Is Scary - NPR - Points to helpful discussion questions and activities that families can promote to help children process potentially traumatic news.

When Bad Things Are Happening | Learning for Justice - Recommended steps for navigating classroom discussions of unfolding crises in the news, based on the Psychological First Aid (PFA) framework and suggestions from the American School Counselor Association and The Child Mind Institute.