Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay politicians in the United States and a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement; May 22 is a day used to honor his life and legacy. Harvey was not only an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community; he believed in safe, strong neighborhoods; he supported public education, affordable childcare, and equal rights for everyone. 

How to observe Harvey Milk Day!

1. Fly a rainbow flag.
2. Read Milk’s speech “Hope.”
3. Donate to support the Harvey Milk Foundation.

Why Harvey Milk Day is Important!

1. Equality is still an ideal for which we are fighting.
2. He committed his life to the cause of equality.
3. Milk believed government represents individuals. 

Below you'll find resources regarding Harvey Milk and Mental Health in the LGBTQIA+ Community:
The Official Harvey Milk Biography 
UAB Resources as an Alliance for LGBTQ Equality
LGBTQ+ Communities and Mental Health
​Mental Health Challenges in the LGBTQ Community
The Trevor Project
In Response to COVID-19: A Checklist to Support LGBTQ Students During Distance Learning
Mental Health Disparities: LGBTQ+

We originally started this blog when the COVID-19 pandemic started in March 2020, and continued it as a source of resources for our community and friends. It will no doubt take some time for the world to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. It has taken over more than a year our lives, but it will more than likely affect us for many years to come. That doesn't mean we can't prepare our minds and emotions to recover though. Below are resources for you that include ideas, activities, and more to help you, your family, and community recover emotionally and mentally from the pandemic.

Why Mental Health is the Key to Dealing with Learning Loss
Recovering From the Pandemic: 5 ways to restore human connections
Recovering From the Emotional Challenges of the Pandemic
5 Ways to Start Emotionally Recovering from the Pandemic
How to heal the Mass Trauma of COVID-19
How Schools Can Help Kids Heal After a Year of "Crisis and Uncertainty" 
Raising Emotionally Healthy Children, During the Pandemic and Beyond

Earth Day is celebrated annually on April 22, and is known as a modern environmental movement since 1970. By the end of the first Earth Day in 1970, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was created and environmental laws such as – the National Environmental Education Act, the Occupational Safety and Health Act, and the Clean Air Act – were passed. Today, Earth Day is observed by more than a billion people globally as a day of action to change global, national, and local policy along with human behavior. 
History of Earth Day
Earth Day Live

Environmental Justice is defined as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people despite their race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. 
Learn About Environmental Justice
Yale Experts Explain Environmental Justice

In North Birmingham, the Environmental Protection Agency created the North Birmingham Environmental Collaboration Project to address environmental conditions in low-income and minority communities like air, waste, and water issues. 
Environmental Justice in Your Community

There are hundreds of ways to be Eco-Friendly! Try to incorporate some of these ideas into your daily routine to create a waste-free future and reduce your environmental impact.

• E-Books and audio books 
• Say no to plastic straws
• Reduce food waste
• Drive less, maybe a bike ride
• Consider switching to LED light bulbs
• Wash your clothes in cold water
• Invest in a water filter to avoid using water bottles
• Use cloth napkins rather than paper napkins
• Go to your local farmer’s market
• Start a small garden
• Use your local small businesses and services.
• Shop at your local thrift store

100 Easy Ways to be More Eco-Friendly

Stress is your body’s feelings of emotional or physical tension as your body reacts to a challenge or demand. The body reacts to stress by releasing hormones that makes your brain more alert, causes muscles to tense, and increases your pulse. The two main types of stress include acute stress or short-term stress that goes away quickly, and chronic stress or long-term stress that lasts for weeks to months. When used positively, stress can lead to growth, action, and change; while negative, long-term stress can lessen your quality of life. 

When you’re experiencing stress, you may feel – worried, angry, irritable, depressed, or inability to focus. Physical signs of stress include – headaches, trouble sleeping, upset stomach, weight gain or loss, tense muscles, and frequent or more severe colds. Excess chronic stress is linked to high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression or anxiety, skin problems like acne or eczema, and menstrual problems. Benefits of managing or reducing stress includes – better sleep, control of your weight, becoming sick less often or recovering faster, less muscle tension, better moods, and stronger relationships with family and friends. 

To prevent or reduce stress try planning ahead, deciding what tasks need to be accomplished first, and preparing for stressful events. One can manage stress by learning skills such as problem-solving, prioritizing tasks, and time-management; enhancing your ability to cope with stress; practicing relaxation techniques; and improving personal relationships; noticing when you feel stressed; getting active and eating healthy. 

The following are 10 tips to manage stress: 
1. Exercise
2. Relax your muscles
3. Deep breathing
4. Eat well
5. Slow down
6. Take a break
7. Make time for hobbies
8. Talk about your problems
9. Go easy on yourself
10. Eliminate your triggers

Children experience stress differently than adults, this means that their ways of expressing stress also look different. Consider that when your child is experiencing mood swings, acting out, poor sleep or concentration, and complaints of stomach aches or headaches, they may be trying to cope with their stress. There are four stress relief activities for kids which includes: 
1. Aerobic activities
2. Stretching / Yoga
3. Deep breathing and guided imagery
4. Get outside 
​
Below are more resources that you can use for managing stress:
Effective Stress Relievers for Your Life
Manage Stress
Stress and Your Health
Stress Management

Social emotional learning is the process of children and adults achieving and effectively applying knowledge, attitudes, and skills imperative to understanding and managing emotions, setting and achieving positive goals, feeling and showing empathy for others, establishing and maintaining positive relationships, and making responsible decisions. Activities that teach and establish social and emotional skills prepare children to meet the demands of the classroom and enable students to engage fully in the classroom. 
Improving the entire school climate will help students with social and emotional skills as well as improve their academic skills. Below are resources that can help you implement these kinds of practices in your own classroom.

Pre-K/Elementary Activities
​1. Consider starting the school day with an emotional check in. You could begin by welcoming the class and asking students to describe the way they feel, use a poster to display possible emotions, or asking students an inviting question. 
50 Questions to Ask Elementary Kids to Check in and Get to Know Them Better

2. Use story time to explore social-emotional themes that can be applied in your classroom.
50 Must-Have Picture Books to Teach Social Emotional Skills

3. Take time to teach kids how to work in a group; students will learn how to work with others, develop leadership skills, and identify their own strengths.
Not Just Group Work – Productive Group Work

4. Role-playing. Sometimes by putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is the best way to understand troubling situations. Introduce role-playing in the classroom to help children develop empathy and understand other people’s feelings. 
Character Role Playing Cards
Emotion and Scenario Cards

5. Peer-mediation or calm down corner. Peer-mediation is a problem-solving technique to assist students to work out problems in a private, safe, and confidential setting with a peer-mediator. You could also create a special place in your classroom known as a calm-down corner for students to take a break when upset or angry and need time to calm down. 
Teaching Students to Be Peer Mediators
How to Create and Use a Calm-Down Corner in Any Learning Environment

Middle School Activities
1. Paper Tweets creates an opportunity for students to connect with a friend or classmate to write or discuss anything they want. This should be an informal assignment and allow students creativity without being graded for their peer interactions. 
Paper Tweets Build SEL Skills

2. Group one-pagers are a great way for students to interact with each other and learn more about their classmates. You may consider a poster board for groupmates to create a team name, list of group favorites, and a symbol or icon for the group. Another way to create an interactive one-pager is to focus on relationship building; students may draw a picture of a classmate, friend, or teacher and three peers will give positive quotes about that person. There is opportunity for more creativity with this assignment such as – drawing funny or meaningful images, share inside jokes or memories of the person, and write a thoughtful, made-up definition of the person’s name. 
Using Art in Assessments  

3. Student-led end-of-quarter celebrations are a great way to create class-bonding. Students have the chance to select themes, create potluck sign-ups, make invitations, and choose activities for the celebration. 
Examples for 17 Awesome Ways to Celebrate the End of the School Year

4. Regular class meetings produce an empowering environment that students feel heard and acknowledged. Take time to check-in with students to address issues, needs, and successes in the classroom. 
Creating Positive Classroom Culture with Classroom Meetings

5. Before students leave the classroom, ask exit questions that allow the teacher to assess and address the emotional needs of students. This activity is also known as an optimistic closure. 
141 Exit Ticket Questions and Prompts to Check for Understanding
Optimistic Closures
24 Exit Ticket Ideas  

High School Activities
1. To start the day, ask students to close their eyes and imagine what stress looks like and feels like in their body and prompt them to release their stress and visualize stress leaving their body.
Using Visualization to Reduce Anxiety Symptoms

2. Introduce a quote of the day that is relevant to what students are learning or may experience; you can use this quote to facilitate whole-class discussion, group discussion, or a one-word response to the quote. This activity gives students time to reflect on their beliefs, morals, and experiences.
51 Motivational Quotes for Students Who Need Inspiration 
​50 of Our All-Time Favorite Classroom Quotes 

3. Have students pair up with a classmate they don’t know and provide the students with questions to ask each other. After an appropriate amount of time has passed, each student takes turns introducing their partner to the rest of the class. 
20 Questions to Get Kids Talking & Build Community 
40 Weird Questions to Ask Your Students to Help You Get to Know Them Better    

4. Appreciation, apology, aha is an activity that encourages students to share helpful words, authentic apologies, and realizations they may have had throughout the week. 
Appreciation, Apology, Aha
60-Second Strategy: Appreciation, Apology, Aha!

5. Journaling or reflective writing should be a quiet, relaxing break from schoolwork that students look forward to. 
105 Writing Prompts for Self-Reflection and Self-Discovery

7 Ways Social Emotional Learning Will Solve your School Culture Challenges
5 Ways to Incorporate SEL in Middle School    
25 Simple Ways to Integrate Social-Emotional Learning Throughout the Day
13 Powerful SEL Activities

World Autism Day is celebrated annually on April 2; the observation of this day is a time to “Light it Up Blue” by showing awareness and concern for those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
​
Autism is a spectrum, meaning there's not just one type of autism, but many subtypes. Each person with autism has a different set of strengths and challenges. Some people with autism may require significant support in their daily lives, while others may need less support or can live independently. Autism can impact a person's social skills, communication, relationships, and self-regulation.

If you are a teacher with students who have autism in your classroom here are some tips for helping those students thrive in the classroom:
1. Avoid sensory overload.
2. Use visuals.
3. Be predictable.
4. Keep language concrete.
5. Directly teach social skills.
6. Treat students as individuals.
​6 Tips for Teaching Students with Autism

The following are ten ideas to use in the classroom to ensure students with autism feel included. 
1. Learn about the learner from the learner. 
2. Teach to fascinations.
3. Get them talking.
4. Give choices.
5. Consider handwriting alternatives.
6. Help with organizing.
7. Support transitions.
8. Create a comfortable classroom.
9. Take a break.
10. Include. 
Supporting Students with Autism: 10 Ideas for Inclusive Classrooms

Here are a few resources for learning more about people with autism:
The Importance of Peers in Inclusive Education for Individuals with ASD
9 Tips for Interacting with Individuals with Autism
Free Online Webinars: Autism Education for Individuals, Parents, and Professionals

Social emotional learning is important to students' academic success and future achievements. Teaching social and emotional skills takes a subtle approach to introduce topics daily in classroom activities. Use social emotional learning games to start the day, give students a break between academic lessons, or as a way to reflect on the school day.

Games, apps, and activities teach SEL to students in a way that's fun and interactive so sometimes they won't even know they're learning. Even games that don't overtly teach SEL skills can help students succeed with responsible decision making, problem solving, and critical thinking skills. Using digital games and apps create space for teachers to find more time throughout their day. While their students are learning important SEL skills and having fun, the teachers could be practicing self-care and mindfulness.

Below you'll find resources for SEL activities, apps, and games for your students or children.
Social-Emotional Learning Activities for Online Teaching 
Emotional Intelligence Apps and Games 
Using Digital Games for SEL Assessment and Skill Building 
The 5 Best Social Emotional Learning Apps for Teachers
Using Games to Teach Social Emotional Skills 
​20 Evidence-Based Social Skills Activities and Games for Kids
​Peekapak SEL Curriculum and Games