Welcome! My name’s Anita, the author behind WholeHearted School Counseling.
I’ve known since about the time I was five or six years old that I wanted to do something (hopefully good) for kids and classrooms.
I’ve got masters degrees in American Studies and Counseling, and have been a high school teacher, college advisor, and elementary school counselor.
I’m also a Mama Bear.
And love to research and make things for teachers, counselors, families, and schools to use to support the social emotional needs of kids and teens.
The north stars which orient WholeHearted stuff are:
All kids, and most of us grown-ups, too, do the best that we can, given the resources that we have, at any given moment.
Empathy, connection, compassion and calm are contagious.
Tough emotions, mistakes, and vulnerabilities can be sources of resilience and strength when processed within safe environments and relationships.
Black tea at 4am, kindness, libraries, showing up, being brave, hard work, a good pair of running shoes, second chances, free speech, mountain sunrises, family game night, mindful breaths, dog love, green chile, and chocolate.
And this, too: connection, love, courage, resilience, belonging, and agency are best realized as verbs that need to be practiced over and over again.