We are a School Psychologist and Classroom Teacher, each with 18 years experience working in Inner City schools. We are passionate about advocating for the exceptional abilities of educators, students and families, hoping to inspire others in the process!
We offer a range of educational and wellness resources, ranging from social stories, interventions, to lesson plans, digital prints and workbooks.
Please take some time to enjoy our Wellness Playground!
We are a School Psychologist and Classroom Teacher, each with 18 years experience working in Inner City schools. We are passionate about advocating for the exceptional abilities of educators, students and families, hoping to inspire others in the process!
We offer a range of educational and wellness resources, ranging from social stories, interventions, to lesson plans, digital prints and workbooks.
Please take some time to enjoy our Wellness Playground!
Many of our students have difficulties managing their worries and anxiety. This is especially true with our students who are more on-edge and emotionally sensitive, as well as our students who have diagnoses such as: Anxiety Disorders, Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD, FASD, and Communication disorders.
This is a social story meant to help students manage their worry/anxiety in healthy ways. It provides an overview of what Worry and Anxiety looks like, and explains how a person may feel, and react when feeling anxious, and outlines effective and practical strategies to help them manage their worry/anxiety across all settings, but particularly at school, and in the classroom. The social story consists of 12 pages of visual teaching of these concepts, including specific breathing and worry strategies that can be cut out, laminated and used directly with students.
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels. I have personally used it in individual and group format, in regular elementary and special needs classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
And, please feel free to leave your review and feedback, as I am always striving to provide valuable resources to my fellow educators. Thank You!
This Social Story is intended to provide students with awareness of their body, with emphasis on the fact that their body has private parts, and these parts should be respected. This story ideal for students across elementary and into junior high levels, in particular for students with special needs (intellectual disabilities, Autism Spectrum Disorder, etc.). Some of the areas covered include:
Our body is private and has private parts
Definition of private parts
Fact that boys and girls have different private parts
Private parts should not be shown or touched in public
If private parts need to be touched, this should be done in private, such as bathroom or change room (in public), and bedroom or bathroom (at home)
Presents different reasons for wanting to touch private parts: bothering them, need to use washroom, or to fulfill curiosity
Covers topic of self-touching out of curiosity - that this is okay, but needs to be done at home, in private
That touching or staring at other people’s private parts is NOT okay
Reminder to respect others personal space and privacy
Reinforcing that reminding self to follow these rules will make them proud!
This story is in PDF format, and can be easily printed and laminated. It has developmentally appropriate language, and is full of engaging visuals.
As always, please leave your feedback/review, so I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This is a social story meant to discourage students from Throwing Things, as a way to deal with strong feelings. The story goes through why a student may be feeling upset or frustrated, and outlines the potential dangers of Throwing Things. It goes on to present alternative behaviours and safe coping strategies, and allows the student to offer their own strategy ideas.
It is in PDF format (8.5x11 inches) and so can be easily printed and laminated. It is presented in a fun and visual format, that can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
Please leave reviews, feedback and comments, so I may continue to provide resources to my fellow educators that are worthwhile in reaching our students. Thank you!
The Social Story: Coping with Change, was created in order to help students and children to learn about what change means, and more importantly, to share effective and practical ways to cope with change in our lives.
The story cites several examples of what change means, what change looks like (seasons, weather, time, family, friends, where we live, where we go to school, how we feel, our thoughts, looks, etc.), and how change can affect our daily life. It speaks to normalizing change and reinforces that change is normal and okay!
The story discusses how some change is expected and planned, while other change is unexpected and sudden. It goes on to outline how change may cause us to feel and react, and how we can self-regulate in order to handle change effectively at home and school, or other setting.
This 10-page social story is in PDF format, 8.5x11, and can be easily printed and laminated. It uses clear language and engaging visuals, and while tailored for elementary years, is suited to all developmental and grade levels, across regular and special education settings.
The sad reality is some of our students, in their already vulnerable state, lack the necessary coping mechanisms to manage strong behaviour, emotions and feelings, and events in their lives, and will choose to Self-Harm or Self-Injure in order to cope.
This is a Social Story meant to help children and youth to navigate and deal with Self-Harm/Self-Injury, by Choosing Safe and Healthy Alternatives, instead. This social story validates the student’s emotions, by acknowledging their desire to self-harm, but stresses that these are harmful choices, and that there are some very healthy and effective alternative behaviours that can keep them safe, while getting them the help they need. In addition to suggested strategies, there is a page for the student to list their own personal strategies, as well.
This is an important topic that warrants a frank discussion, and I hope this social story helps get the message across to youth, whether they be higher functioning or more developmentally vulnerable.
This 8-page social story is in PDF, 8.5 x 11 inch format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
I always appreciate feedback and comments, so please feel free to leave your opinions and suggestions! Thank you.
This brief social story/script: Keeping My Hands to Myself, encourages students to keep their hands to self, and to discourage less desirable behaviours (e.g., touching, poking, etc.).
It is in PDF format (8.5x11 inches), and so can be easily printed and laminated. It uses simple language and engaging visuals, and can be used across all grades and developmental levels.
I have personally used this social story in individual and group format, and across nursery, elementary and junior high levels, in regular and special education settings.
I hope this resource helps you, help your students!
I welcome your reviews and comments, as I am always striving to create valuable tools and resources for my fellow educators. Thank you!
This is a social story meant to help children to navigate and deal with bullying in healthy and effective ways. This social story validates the student’s emotions, by acknowledging how bullying can make them feel, and identifies that bullying can be towards them or others, and affect them equally. The script goes on to present differences between ‘bad’ choices and ‘good’ choices, and outlines ‘good’ ways to deal with bullying, to keep themselves happy and safe.
It is in PDF, 8.5 x 11 inch format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
I always appreciate feedback and comments, so please feel free to leave your opinions and suggestions! Thank you
This is a social story meant to help early and middle years children to better understand their SENSORY NEEDS, and how to Self-Regulate. Many of our students (in particular, those on the Autism Spectrum, ADHD, etc.) are highly sensitive to their surroundings, and have various sensory sensitivities.
This social story talks about what our 5 Senses do, and why they are important for better understanding our world. The story talks about how students can become overwhelmed due to one or more of their senses being ‘Too Excited’!, particularly in certain settings/places. The story talks about how the student may react (e.g., yelling, crying, hiding, running away, etc.) and offers alternative, safer ways to cope with excited senses (e.g., deep breathing, calm space, headphones, etc.). It ends by validating the student’s emotions and reinforces the student’s safer choices, and reminds them that they can do this successfully with help from their friends, family and teachers.
It is in PDF Format (8.5 x 11 inch), and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual way, and while it is geared towards early and middle years, can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
This Social Story: Stimming is My Superpower, discusses the concept of Stimming, a common behaviour in children with. The story reframes stimming as a child’s SUPERPOWER - in that it helps students communicate their feeling and thoughts, and to self-regulate by calming their minds, bodies and voices. It talks about and validates the various moods that can bring on stimming behaviours, and how to best communicate (using words and/or pictures) to adults (teachers, parents) about their need to stim.
The social story provides 17 pages of visual, child-friendly content. It is in Powerpoint file, in 8.5x11 inch format, so it can be both presented (projector or Smartboard), and printed out on regular printer paper. It can be used individually or in small group or whole classroom settings. It is best suited for Grades K to 6, but can be used in junior high and high school settings as well, particularly with special education settings.
As always, please leave feedback and review so that I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
This resource called, LIFE IS A JOURNEY: A SELF-DISCOVERY JOURNAL FOR YOUTH, is a journal and workbook for children and youth. The purpose of this journal is to provide youth with an opportunity to:
explore their feelings
discover their interests and strengths
enhance self-esteem and mental wellness
engage in future-thinking and goal planning
practice self-care activities
navigate topics of gratitude and self-discovery
This journal is in high-resolution PDF (8.5"x11") format, and contains 46 pages of engaging content, with fun exercises and visuals.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
1 High-Resolution colour 46-page PDF file, in 8.5x11 format
HOW TO PRINT:
Following purchase, your file will be emailed to you for printing.
Simply Print, laminate if you wish, and staple, bind or place in duotang or folder to use with students and children.
PERSONAL NOTE:
We love what we do, and do our best to provide a wide variety of options, quality resources, and flexibility in printing our digital files, all in attempts to make your life easier!
PLEASE NOTE:
No physical product will be shipped, as this is a digital download. Colours may vary slightly due to different colour monitor/calibration.
This purchase is licensed for PERSONAL USE ONLY. All Digital Prints are copyright of The Wellness Playground.
THANKS FOR VISITING, and FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT OUR OTHER LISTINGS!
Social Story: Respecting Personal Space
High-Quality Colour PDF File | 8.5"x11" Format
This is a social story meant to help children to respect others Personal Space.
Sometimes our students do not have awareness of their own and others personal space. They can intrude, touch others, and speak too closely, making other students feel uncomfortable and upset.
This 10-page social story guides the student through the meaning the Personal Space in terms of a Personal Space Bubble, explaining that this is the space in which we feel comfortable and safe. It notes that staying an arm’s length away will make others feel comfortable and safe.
It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, that can be easily printed and laminated, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels. It is in Powerpoint format, but in 8.5 x 11 inches, so it can be printed on regular paper.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. As always, please leave feedback so I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
INSTANT DOWNLOAD | PRINTABLE WORKBOOK
High-Quality PDF | 8.5"x11" Format
How to Tame Your Worry Monster: An Anxiety Workbook
This 30-page anxiety workbook was created to educate and support children and youth with managing their worries and anxiety in a fun, creative, and engaging way.
It may be used independently or with guidance from an adult. We hope it offers some strategies and a glimmer of hope to anyone who uses it.
What You Will Receive:
30-Page Digital Workbook
High-Resolution Colour PDF
8.5"x11" Format for Easy Printing
This is a DIGITAL DOWNLOAD. You WILL NOT receive a physical product.
How to Download:
A. Download the PDF file
B. Print at home, or
C. Use a local print/copy shop to print for you, or
D. Upload to an online printing service to have the prints delivered to your door
E. Bind or staple, or place in duotang or folder
PERSONAL NOTE:
We love what we do, and do our best to provide a wide variety of options, fun products, and flexibility in printing our digital files, all in attempts to make your life easier!
Please provide your feedback, so we may continue to offer worthwhile products!
Thank you.
Our students and children often struggle with managing their emotions and feelings, especially when these emotions are strong and overwhelming. It can be difficult to understand how to manage emotions in the midst of stress, and how to juggle more than one emotion at a time. This Social Story is meant to provide students with clear, step-by-step guidance and instruction around How to Manage Strong Emotions.
This includes:
A. Normalizing the experience of having strong emotions
B. Examples of common emotions
C. Examples of what being extremely excited, angry, and worried might look like, both mentally and physically
D. Introducing effective strategies to Calm and Process strong emotions
E. Offering space for the student to come up with their Own strategies
F. Reinforcing the importance of learning this skill!
This 11-page social story is in PDF format, and can be easily printed and laminated. It contains engaging visuals and developmentally appropriate language. It is best suited for elementary students (Gr. K-6) and students in special education/life skills classroom settings.
As always, I encourage you to leave a review/feedback, so I may continue to provide practical resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
SOCIAL STORY: MANAGING CLASSROOM TRANSITIONS
This social story on classroom transitions is intended to help students to transition from classroom to classroom. Transitions are an expectation in school, but often prove challenging and stressful for many young learners. This story guides students through the necessary routines, expectations, and what to consider within themselves and the environment, in order to see success in changing from classroom to classroom at school.
As educators and parents, we model important social behaviors and provide explicit instruction for appropriate behavior. Read this social story frequently with your child/student(s), who may struggle with making transitions. It is important to read the story before an incident has occurred, rather than as a consequence for not coping with transitions well.
We hope this resource helps you and your children now and in the future!
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels. I have personally used it in individual and group format, with elementary and early junior high students, across regular and special education settings. I hope it helps you, help your students!
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
1 High-Resolution PDF File, 9 Pages, 8.5"x11"
PERSONAL NOTE:
We love what we do, and do our best to provide a wide variety of options, quality resources, and flexibility in printing our digital files, all in attempts to make your life easier!
Please provide your feedback, so we may continue to provide practical resources to our fellow educators!
Many of our students have difficulties modulating and controlling the volume of their voices. This is especially true with our students who have issues with language, impulse control, and limited social awareness (e.g., language disorder, deaf/hard of hearing, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, FASD, etc.).
This is a social story meant to help children to practice controlling the volume of their voice, across all settings, but particularly at school, and in the classroom. The social story consists of 13 pages of visual teaching of these concepts.
It provides an overview of what Voice Volume looks like, from Not Talking at all, to Soft/Quiet, to Medium, to Loud and Extra Loud. This story explains that each volume level can be appropriate, but only in the right place and situation, and right time - providing examples of what this looks like.
Included in the story is a VOICE VOLUME METER visual, that incorporates a 1-5 rating scale, and corresponding visuals and descriptors. This visual aid can be laminated and used in the classroom and at home, either on the wall or in a binder.
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels. I have personally used it in individual and group format, in regular elementary and special needs classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
And, please feel free to leave your review and feedback, as I am always striving to provide valuable resources to my fellow educators. Thank You!
Sometimes our students struggle with the loss of a loved one. This Social Story: When Someone I Care About Dies, is meant to teach students about death and dying - in particular, losing someone they care about.
The social story guides the student through the concept of death (in basic terms), what death means (being alive vs. not alive), what various feelings we can experience after a loved one’s death, and what we can do to help support ourselves. It also touches on the various beliefs around death, including the afterlife. It goes on to normalize these feelings and emphasize that the grief process is healthy and we can do this on our own time, and with the support of family and others who care for us.
It is in PDF format (8.5 x 11 inches) and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. As always, please leave feedback/review so I may continue to provide practical and meaningful resources to my fellow educators. Thank you!
DIGITAL DOWNLOAD | TEEN JOURNAL
HIGH-RESOLUTION PDF FORMAT
LIFE IS A JOURNEY: SELF-DISCOVERY JOURNAL FOR YOUTH
This resource called, LIFE IS A JOURNEY: A SELF-DISCOVERY JOURNAL FOR YOUTH, is a journal and workbook for children and youth. The purpose of this journal is to provide youth with an opportunity to:
explore their feelings
discover their interests and strengths
enhance self-esteem and mental wellness
engage in future-thinking and goal planning
practice self-care activities
navigate topics of gratitude and self-discovery
This journal is in high-resolution PDF (8.5"x11") format, and contains 46 pages of engaging content, with fun exercises and visuals. It can be easily downloaded, printed and bound or stapled to be used individually, with clients, or in group format. It is best suited for Grade 6 to Grade 12 students.
WHAT’S INCLUDED:
1 High-Resolution colour 46-page PDF file, in 8.5x11 format
HOW TO PRINT:
Following purchase, your file will be emailed to you for printing.
Simply Print, laminate if you wish, and staple, bind or place in duotang or folder to use with students and children.
PERSONAL NOTE:
We love what we do, and do our best to provide a wide variety of options, quality resources, and flexibility in printing our digital files, all in attempts to make your life easier! Please provide your feedback, so we may continue to offer worthwhile products!
PLEASE NOTE:
No physical product will be shipped, as this is a digital download. Colours may vary slightly due to different colour monitor/calibration.
This purchase is licensed for PERSONAL USE ONLY. All Digital Prints are copyright of The Wellness Playground.
THANKS FOR VISITING, and FEEL FREE TO CHECK OUT OUR OTHER LISTINGS!
This is a social story meant to encourage students to learn to control their emotions and make good choices, when they get upset or angry.
Sometimes our students struggle with the day-to-day social demands presented at school, home and other settings. This social story validates the student’s emotions, by reminding them that it is okay to be upset or angry. However, it then goes on to show what bad and good choices look like, and how to problem-solve in order to self-regulate, and make themselves and others happy.
It is in PDF format, and so can easily be printed and/or laminated. It is presented in a simple, fun and visual format, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
This is a social story meant to help children cope in healthy ways when things (e.g., their surroundings) get too loud!
Sometimes our students become anxious and overwhelmed when faced with too much noise, whether it be due to people or things. Settings such as busy classrooms, malls, recess and gym class, a noisy classroom, birthday parties (the list goes on!), can be simply too overstimulating and too loud for our students.
This social story guides the student through normalizing these experiences, and then providing some simple strategies to cope and calm down in healthy ways.
It is in PDF format (8.5" x 11"), and is presented in a simple, fun and visual format. This social story can be easily printed and laminated, and can be used across all ages and developmental levels.
I have personally used it in individual and group format, in elementary and special needs junior high/high school classrooms. I hope it helps you, help your students!
This is a social story that aims to:
(a) Provide basic information about this unique situation we are in, and
(b) To hopefully alleviate children’s anxiety and reassure them that they will be okay
The social story explains what Coronavirus/Covid-19 is, in basic terms, how it may affect the people around us, what symptoms to look for, what this means for school and social interactions, and how to ultimately keep safe and healthy. It goes on to normalize feelings of anxiety and worry, and reassures children that things will go back to normal and they will return to school, their friends and their favourite activities.
Please Take Care, and Stay Safe and Healthy!