Dear Morningside Center friends,

In this issue we have a new lesson on "fast fashion," as well as a start of school reflection on gratitude and nature, and a new blog post on building classroom belonging.

Also, you'll find more activities to get your school year off to a good start.

Showing Our Gratitude for the Natural World

This start-of-the-school year reflection invites students to connect to their natural surroundings. With a focus on gratitude, students will explore how nature influences and positively impacts them.

How One Teacher & Her Students Built a Welcoming Classroom

Second grade teacher Molly Heekin and her students created a classroom where everyone felt they belonged. Here's how they did it. 

Are Sweatshops and Child Labor Abroad Used to Make the Clothes We Wear?

This lesson includes two readings on the issue of sweatshops and child labor abroad, each with questions for class discussion.

Activities to Start the Year

Activities to Start the Year

A collection of community building activities, SEL Tips, games, and lessons on self-care to get your year off to a good start.  

Starting Out with Restorative Discipline

The first few days of school are the perfect time to begin taking a restorative approach to discipline in your classroom. Step 1: Be in community with your students.

Start-of-School Jitters Time Capsule

Students anonymously share their anxieties about the new school year, consider how to support each other, store their findings in a "time capsule" that they revisit later in the year – and pass on their wisdom and encouragement to the next class.

For an array of other ideas and strategies for the coming school year, see our full collection of Activities to Start the Year.

“Showing up with curiosity takes time and patience...It really is a different way of communicating with children.”

-Molly Heekin, 2nd grade teacher