I am so excited to introduce you to our
Children’s Book Author Spotlight, author Jasmine Shegog!
Jasmine Shegog
I was fortunate enough to have Suzy, a coworker, share Jasmine’s information and titles with me. I was hooked on Jasmine's books! With the focus on SEL and diversity, I was in love! She also knew Jasmine would be a great addition to this podcast series! Thank you, Suzy!
A little bit on Jasmine is taken directly from her website biography.
“Jasmine was a teacher in Chicago, and after she had her child, she suffered from post-partum depression and sought therapy to address her deep-seated problems. Therapy opened up Jasmine’s eyes to destructive patterns in her life and soon discovered that she lacked basic emotional intelligence, which factored into her poor mental health.
Jasmine noticed how few resources there are on this topic. Therefore, she began to write these books out of love for Jair and published them out of love for all children.
“Jair’s Collections' goal is to reimage families with social-emotional learning (SEL). Mental disorders in children are on the rise. As a company, they are dedicated to providing resources that foster healthy social-emotional learning and normalize mental health awareness. The goal is to increase the representation of all communities in their books. While increasing diversity in children's publishing, the organization also fights for better reading conditions for kids who live in poverty.”
Special Podcast Episode
Be sure to listen to this insightful and inspiring podcast episode with Jasmine Shegog. She truly has not only an admiration as a former educator but as a lifelong learner. Her outlook on life as well as a voice for mental health awareness and multiculturalism is refreshing. Join us to find out why Social Emotional Learning is so important even in primary-aged classrooms. Be sure to listen in to find some great ideas and lesson topics to pair alongside some of Jasmine’s books!Social-Emotional Learning
School districts across the country are looking towards SEL curriculum, resources, and activities to address what students and families may be walking through the door with. Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) fits in so well with the current educational views of the term why.
The curriculum is pushing us to allow students to understand the why of academics. It is no different when it comes to our social-emotional learning. Whether you are a K-2 teacher or a 3 - 5 teacher, SEL helps ideas that can be taught, modeled, and practiced. These skills focus on equity within the classroom as well as the community.
Unfortunately, you cannot expect students and children to learn SEL concepts out of a box. Explicit instruction is needed with continued practice and repetition. Just as we teach Reading and Mathematics, we need to teach Social-Emotional skills! Thank goodness we have Education to the Core and authors out there, like Jasmine Shegog, that help make these concepts easier to bring into our classrooms.
Jasmine Shegog’s Children’s Books
Throughout the interview, Jasmine shares such great ideas and resources to use alongside her books! Below are Jasmine’s current books and will be ever-growing I’m sure. Each book is linked to our Amazon affiliate account.Silly Little Squabbles
"Silly Little Squabbles: Dealing with Conflict" is one of Jasmine Shegog's newest additions to her SEL series. The story follows Rita and Mariah on their journey as they learn how to get along and compromise. Conflict resolution skills play an important role in healthy friendship development. However, let's be honest for a moment... conflicts will occur in and out of the classroom. Educators need to be prepared to address them appropriately. Coming Out Fall 2022 - PreOrder Yours Today!
Now I'm Really Mad: A Children's Story About Controlling Anger
When BIG feelings come along... You Can Be Calm! Everyone has emotions, but what do kids do with a stronger powerful emotion like anger? “Now I’m Really Mad” is an adorable children’s book which teaches kids a valuable lesson about dealing with anger and managing their emotions.
Jasmine has two versions of this text, as she explains in the podcast interview. Designed for the classroom setting, this version is the perfect fit for any classroom library. For instance, it is set up as a "quick" read text that has supporting illustrations to support the theme of this book.
Therefore consider various SEL skills throughout the day to incorporate throughout your lessons. For instance: daily morning check-ins, breathing exercises, movement breaks, art activities, and more.
