I had an interesting experience with my youngest the other day that to an outside observer may have looked harsh. He was at the beginning of an emotional tempest and I simply pointed to his room and said, “I don’t have it in me right now to help manage this. Go do what you need to do.”
Cold hearted? I’m sure it looked that way, but in reality, that moment was the result of A LOT of work he and I have done over the years to help him manage his larger than life emotions.
What I see in my practice (and what I saw as a teacher for all those years) is that all kids need a little help in the area of managing emotions. They feel things so deeply and often don’t know what to do with those feelings that they simply “act out” and that leads to all sorts of trouble at home and at school.
Kids need skills and I am so thrilled to share with you a beautiful way to help them gain those skills. When my kids were younger, and when I was a classroom teacher, I tried to use children’s books to help my kids (yes, my students were “my kids” too) understand themselves a bit more. The pickings were slim back then, but I’m happy to say there are many more choices and I can’t wait to introduce you to the newest and best!
Zara’s Big Messy Day (that turned out ok) is a new book written by Rebekah “Bex” Borucki, founder of BEXLIFE® and the BLISSED IN® wellness movement. Rebekah is a mother of five, TV host, meditation and yoga guide, birth doula and just all around rockstar of a woman who shares her talents willingly and who’s honesty and authenticity is an inspiration to many.
What do you need?
Rebekah’s mission is to make mental-health support and stress-management tools accessible to all. One way she’s doing that is with her new book for kids. Not only is Zara’s Big Messy Day an adorable story, there are helpful tools for kids to use to manage their emotions and feel better. Who doesn’t want that?
So, why me?
And why should you buy this book? Well, besides that it is fantastic and every kid should have it, the book is a 100% indie-funded project so every sale helps make the book a reality.
The Best Part (teacher friends listen up)
Rebekah is partnering with a very dear friend of hers who is doing great work in the yoga community in Baltimore City to go on a reading tour of Baltimore classrooms and gift them Zara’s Big Messy Day.
For just $250, you can gift 25 students—an entire Baltimore public elementary school classroom—their own book to take home and enjoy.
That’s only $10 per book (Rebekah’s cost), and she’ll deliver the books herself! They’ll also get extra goodies: coloring pages, stickers, and more! (There’s also an option to fund a partial classroom: 10 kids for $100.)
Your books will be delivered with a note from you so the kids can send you a special thank you. I could go on and on about why this is literally the BEST use of your money but I’ll simply say this: you want to make a difference in the world, start with kids. You want to make a huge difference, start in Baltimore.
There’s something for you too
Of course it could just feel good to gift a bunch of kids new books but it’s always nice to get a little something for yourself too, right? Rebekah added to her kickstarter page a bonus: you’ll get set of signed copies of all three of her books to enjoy as a thank you gift: Zara’s Big Messy Day, You Have 4 Minutes to Change Your Life, and Managing the Motherload (This last one was life-altering for me!).
Is that the only way to help?
If this is all a bit too steep, I get it, trust me. So just go preorder a copy of the book. You’ll want to own it and preordering helps the cause as well. Also, if you’re a teacher in the mid-Atlantic region (that’s you my Maryland peeps!) who would like to bring Zara to your classroom, contact me and I’ll put you in touch with Rebekah herself to arrange it.
Please consider supporting this effort, sharing this post with your community, and making wellness accessible to our most vulnerable kids.
P.S. Looking for more parenting guidance and tips for self-care? Check out From Chaos to Calm a guided training to help you feel better in this tough season.
