The Wellbeing Canvas is a recently released curriculum designed to provide educators with social-emotional learning (SEL) and wellbeing practices that can be seamlessly integrated throughout the day. Kristin Pittman, the founder of The Feelings Fairy and an educational consultant and wellbeing expert, developed The Wellbeing Canvas to replace the overwhelming and often rushed social-emotional learning (SEL) programs with a reliable strategy for educators. By taking this approach, The Wellbeing Canvas goes against traditional programs that overload educators’ schedules. Instead, the multi-component curriculum empowers teachers to integrate SEL and mindfulness concepts into existing curriculum and offer additional activities for the lessons.
The Wellbeing Canvas teaches six elements of wellbeing through color categories. The strategy addresses emotional, social, physical, intellectual, cultural, and environmental wellbeing. Within each category are multiple skills that foster a balanced wellbeing. In the emotional wellbeing category, self-awareness, self-compassion, individuality, and emotional awareness are some of the skills included for students or teachers to reflect on through daily activities.
Kristin has over two decades of classroom experience and is a certified mindfulness educator. Like many other educators, Kristin’s biggest inspiration to teach is to make an impact on students. She has always enjoyed helping others and spreading knowledge. However, when she was experiencing personal difficulties in 2017, Kristin realized that these same mindfulness sessions were key to her own self discovery and that by working on herself, she was better suited to help her students. Therefore, this method could be key for reinvigorating teachers, limiting burnout and improving student success.
Kristin felt urged to continue expanding her knowledge of mindfulness when a local parent asked her employer to consider adding the same lessons that Kristin was exploring. As Kristin delved deeper into mindfulness education, she grew passionate about sharing the benefits of this practice with her students and other teachers. However, some education professionals were hesitant about introducing another curriculum.
Despite the apprehension, Kristin was able to present her mindfulness and SEL-centered curriculums to educators inside and outside the classroom. Kristin realized that teachers needed to experience the benefits of her curriculum firsthand to effectively convey it to students. This is why she began offering personalized wellbeing workshops for groups of educators. Kristin also provides one-on-one coaching for students and professional development for educators. Her overall mission is to revolutionize classrooms globally into safe, supportive, and thriving environments that equip the next generation for success. In her eyes, nurturing the wellbeing of all the adults in our children's lives is the only way to enhance student outcomes and support educators to perform at their best.
To make the biggest impact possible, Kristin encourages educators to use The Wellbeing Canvas strategies daily. “Inserting social-emotional and wellbeing practices into lessons is really simple with The Wellbeing Canvas,” says Kristin. “The strategies easily integrate with language art lessons or other subjects, giving teachers opportunities to ask more intentional questions. Long-term exposure to The Wellbeing Canvas can allow educators to re-engage with their work and enable students to build skills that will help them live fulfilling and meaningful lives.”
Within the next few years, Kristin hopes to introduce The Wellbeing Canvas to several schools in California. Although the initial goal is to target California, the long term goal is to expand nationwide and eventually globally, aiding as many individuals to truly understand the impact that wellbeing practices can have on our own minds as well as the children we aim to inspire.
Media Contact
Name: Kristin Pittman
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