Packed with creative, effective ideas for bringing mindfulness into the classroom, child therapy office, or community, this book features sample lesson plans and scripts, case studies, vignettes, and more. Leading experts describe how to harness the unique benefits of present-focused awareness for preschoolers, school-age kids, and teens, including at-risk youth and those with special needs. Strategies for overcoming common obstacles and engaging kids with different learning styles are explored. Chapters also share ways to incorporate mindfulness into a broad range of children's activities, such as movement, sports, music, games, writing, and art. Giving clinicians and educators practices they can use immediately, the book includes clear explanations of relevant research findings.

Finally -- a comprehensive, practical and user-friendly mindfulness resource written specifically for children and adolescents. Best-selling mindfulness author Debra Burdick has blended the latest research and best practices to create this straight-forward guide for improving self-awareness, self-regulation skills, mental health, and social connectedness in kids and teens. This expertly crafted resource features a collection of more than 150 proven tools and techniques, presented in a simple, step-by-step skill building format. Perfect for mental health practitioners, teachers and all in the helping professions. Tools for explaining mindfulness and neurobiology in kids’ languageActivities, games, and meditations that build basic through advanced mindfulness skillsStep-by-step instruction on teaching and practicing mindfulness, meditation and reflectionGuidance on choosing age appropriate skillsHow to apply mindfulness skills to specific childhood mental health disordersJournal prompts to help integrate learningGoal-setting charts for tracking progressDownloadable worksheets, exercises and reflections

Does music make kids smarter? At what age should a child begin music lessons? Where should you purchase an instrument? What should parents expect from a child's teachers and lessons? How can you get kids to practice? Raising Musical Kids answers these and many other questions as it guides parents through everything from assembling a listening library for kids, to matching a child's personality with an instrument's personality, to finding musical resources in your community. Knowing that children can--and often do--get most of their music education from their school, parent and educator Robert Cutietta explores the features and benefits of elementary and secondary school programs, and shows how parents can work with the schools to provide the best possible music program. Throughout the book, Cutietta emphasizes the joy of participating in music for its own sake. The first edition of Raising Musical Kids delighted and informed parents to equal degrees, and this fully-revised second edition is a book that parents everywhere will treasure as a complete road map for developing their child's musical abilities.

Equipping clinicians with “sensory smarts” to treat their child clients. Many children, teens, and even adults experience sensory processing challenges including out-of-proportion reactions to certain sensory experiences that most of us find commonplace. These challenges can range from mild to severe—from difficulty tolerating fluorescent lights and discomfort with certain clothing textures, to fight-or-flight reactions to unexpected or loud noises such as sirens or automatic hand dryers, or such strong oral sensitivities that the individual can tolerate eating just a few foods. They may struggle with one or more “sensory channels," or, more often, be quickly overwhelmed by the demand to process multisensory input (especially in busy environments with competing sights, sounds, and smells), leading to poor self-regulation, acting out, and tuning out. Sensory challenges, sometimes referred to as Sensory Processing Disorder when they interfere with daily function, are frequently seen in tandem with autism, anxiety, attention disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and other diagnoses. This book equips clinicians with all the information they need to know to recognize and understand sensory sensitivities; connect the dots between behavior and underlying sensory processing problems; when to refer and collaborate with sensory processing professionals; and essential “sensory smart” strategies that can help clients feel and function at their best at home, in school, and in the community.

Give control back to God and get back to what you enjoy most–loving your teen. Parenting teenagers isn’t easy. No matter how much we love our kids and want to protect them, we cannot control them or their circumstances. But God is in control, and– particularly when we trust him–he can take care of our kids far better than we ever could. So what else can we do? We can pray. In fact, prayer should be our first response–because prayer is the most powerful tool at a parent’s disposal. That is what this book is about: releasing our teens to God’s control, learning to pray specifically and with confidence for their every need, and recovering the sense of humor that will help us face the situations that now cause us so much stress. This book includes: • lighthearted stories designed to help take the edge off of parenting your teenager • valuable insights on more than twenty areas of conflict you are likely to experience with your teen–from language, grades, and clothing to drugs, drinking, and smoking • specific prayer strategies to help you make a difference in your teen’s life • perspectives on the “hot” issues, from real teens • what the Bible has to say on each subject • tips from parenting experts • specific prayers to get you started • discussion starters to help open up dialogue with your teen Whether parents have never prayed for their teens, have prayed sporadically, or have prayed every day, now is the time to pray even more and in whole new ways–and Prayer Changes Teens will show them how.

Music games are relaxing and playful. They encourage creativity both in children's imagination and expression. All players need is a willingness to have fun and to experience the joys of interacting with others. The games include rhythm games, dance and movement games, card and board games, and musical projects. All of the games stress humor, challenge, surprise and cooperation rather than competition.

The 1,300-plus programs described in this easy-to-use guide are offered by private schools, colleges, camps, religious organizations, travel and sports groups, and others. An easy-to-scan chart makes it easy for readers to quickly identify the programs and activities, which range from precollege academic programs, sports, bike and wilderness trips, music, theater, and the arts, and more.

Teenage Nervous Breakdown: Music and Politics in the Post-Elvis Era combines music and cultural history and criticism to examine how rock and the rock lifestyle have been merchandised first to a teenage audience and eventually to a worldwide consumer society. Well-known, iconoclastic writer/ critic David Walley examines the entire rock culture and

Presents a collection of fifty creative discussions for junior high and middle school youth groups that address issues of prayer, priorities, heaven and hell, premarital sex, and other topics.