Note #017

A Big, Fat Pivot

And…we’re still in the game. It has been tricky, to be sure. But here we are, moving forward with some exciting new opportunities and options.

We have gone virtual! “What does that mean?” I asked as my mentor, about two years ago, explained that if YOUTH Positive was to survive, we would have to make the (cosmic) leap and go virtual. I’m still not 100% sure I understand what my mentor meant, but I’ve done something about it.

YOUTH Positive is now an online “school”. We have created videos lessons of the content in the YOUTH Positive series for the middle school and high school classrooms. And a handful of Teacher Support video lessons as well. Oh, and maybe my favorite, eight Guided Intentional Breathing Practices to help students master the art of self-management.

I spent the summer in my new “recording studio”, which is really just my office with a few strategically placed background embellishments and a super-high-powered photography lamp that was my great grandfathers. My mom recently gifted it to me and at the time I wondered what in the heck I would ever do with such a thing. Thanks Mom! Thanks Great Grandpa. The light works cinematic wonders as I sit to record these video lessons.

It’s been really fun … much more so than I imagined. And boy, have I learned a lot! I am upping my game like crazy. Ha! I now joke that I’m an author and a film maker. A girl can dream…

So, what about these videos? Right now, I have completed Phase I, which is three video lessons with student notetakers (pdf) for each letter of the YOUTH acronym that can be used by classroom teachers, counselors, coaches, homeschool groups, parents—anyone who teaches students ages 12 and up. The content is the same great content found in the YOUTH Positive books, just with me explaining and covering the basics in the videos.

What I really like about it is that a teacher, parent, or even the student can simply click-to-play and have an on-demand lesson without any prep. Click here to explore five freebie lessons. If you like them, use them with your students or children. If you want more, sign up on Teachable for 16 weeks’ worth of positive education and emotional resilience lessons for your students or children.

And for you too…you’re still a kid at heart, right?