Most teachers don’t burn out because they “can’t handle it”—they burn out because their nervous systems are never allowed to stand down. Learn why “stay calm” advice fails, what burnout actually feels like in your body, and what teachers really need instead of more resilience training.

Big emotions move through the body in about ninety seconds, but most students don’t know how to support themselves through that wave. These micro-regulation practices give the nervous system quick, steady moments of grounding so children can settle, reconnect, and return to learning with more ease.

Humans have had their hands in clay for thousands of years. Before we had textbooks, classrooms, or even written language, we were shaping the earth with our palms, letting our hands make sense of the world one imprint at a time. What’s fascinating is that only now, with modern neuroscience, are we beginning to understand why clay feels so grounding. I’m sure you have seen it in your own classrooms, or with your own children. When kids touch clay they instantly begin to settle and soften. It improves their focus by anchoring them in the present moment and a delightful consequence of it is that it lowers the temperature in a room full of busy bodies and big feelings.