How Are You Feeling Today?

In this episode of How Are You Feeling Today? , an unexpected storm brings a new challenge to the Gathering Pool. Join Kai and his friends on a jungle adventure as they explore the Need for Support and discover that sometimes strength looks different than we expect. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling...

At school under the Banyan Tree, Mr. Oak gives the class a new activity: travel a brand-new trail and find three markers along the way. Ivy does great until the path splits into three and all her usual clues disappear. She circles back, tries harder, and ends up feeling trapped, lonely, and afraid even though she’s capable and smart. Listen along to find out how Ivy finds a way forward.  Resources...

When a shadow moves through the jungle and a bear steps into the banyan tree schoolyard, everyone stares, and Gus quietly decides he has one job: prove he belongs. Find out what happens when Kai, Theo, and the new student face their limits in a tower-building challenge.  Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counse...

Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

A boat race should be simple: build a craft, hit the water, reach the other side. But when the animals gather at the jungle pool, the race becomes something else entirely: a gentle doorway into grief, memory, and the kind of sadness that proves we cared.  We talk about what grief means in plain language: remembering what we’ve lost so our hearts can heal and hope again.  Resources, activities, and...

In this episode we play “Liam’s Camouflage,” a game where kids decide if a moment is “Bright Green” (attention is met) or “Camouflage” (attention is missed). Together we walk through everyday scenarios and learn more about the need for attention.  Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resource...

It’s the first day back at school in the jungle! Kai is pacing, Ellie is checking her feathers, Theo is arriving early, Asher is full of energy, and Liam is trying his best just to keep up. As the animals gather beneath the giant Banyan Tree, Liam discovers that sometimes we can look okay on the outside while something very different is happening inside. Thankfully, good friends care enough to not...

Join us for another Gathering Pool game! Today, you'll become a Comfort Detectives and practice spotting what someone's heart might need. Listen for the clues, think about how you could show comforting care, and discover how healthy touch can help people feel safe, comforted, and cared for. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtod...

Ellie is excited for her family's annual picnic day, but when things don't go as planned, she learns that sometimes the greatest comfort isn't in the perfect words; it's in someone staying close. A heartwarming story about the need for healthy touch and the comforting care of people we know and trust. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  ...

In this game episode, kids will play along with Ivy as they learn about the need for security. Security means, “I have a place to go when I feel lonely, scared, or uncertain.” After hearing Ivy’s story in Ivy and the Great Kapok Tree , kids will practice listening to their hearts through a simple movement game called Move Ahead or Head Home . When a situation feels safe enough to keep going, they...

In this episode, we learn about security: having a place to go when we feel lonely, scared, or uncertain. Ivy lives beneath the Great Kapok Tree, where her hiss and her heart are always welcome. But when Ellie flies away after hearing Ivy’s hiss, Ivy begins to wonder if her friends are afraid of her. Ivy’s story helps kids and parents see how security gives our hearts a safe place to tell the trut...

Today we jump into a game called "Asher’s Banana Stand." Each banana holds a “gift” a kid can bring to the gathering pool, and we explore what those gifts actually do for a group. It’s a gentle way to build confidence and understand more about how you matter in your family! Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more...

In this episode of How Are You Feeling Today? , we return to the Gathering Pool to learn about the need of mattering . Asher the monkey is fast, funny, and full of energy, but he begins to wonder if he only matters when he is performing, winning, or making everyone laugh. When Asher arrives quietly at the Gathering Pool, his friends help him discover that he matters not because of what he does, bu...

In this episode, we practice the “Belong or Pretend” game, built for kids and parents to do together.  Belonging means I have a place to say what I feel and people still want to be with me. Pretending is when I act loud, perfect, or agreeable to keep approval. We walk through real-life situations like telling a safe person “I feel sad,” being invited to sit with a friend even when you’re quiet, as...

Belonging isn’t about being the fastest, funniest, smartest, or strongest. Belonging means I have a place to say what I feel, and people still want to be with me. Through a gentle jungle story, Kai the tiger wrestles with comparison at home, and Mack the turtle wonders if he belongs at the gathering pool because he can’t do what other animals do. What happens next is the heart of the lesson: Mack’...

Glad isn’t just a smile. Sometimes it shows up right next to lonely, sad, or even hurt, and that “mixed up” feeling can be confusing for kids and adults alike. I sit down with Dakota for a warm, funny, and surprisingly deep conversation that helps kids build real emotional vocabulary and helps parents practice emotional coaching without turning it into a lecture. Resources, activities, and discuss...

Glad can feel like cheering after a hard-earned win, but it can also feel like a quiet warmth in your chest when you realize you belong.  Today's story steps back into a jungle story where the gathering pool holds memories of fear, sadness, shame, courage, and truth. We also break down a key social emotional learning idea: glad is not always the same as happy. Gladness can be joyful, hopeful,...

In this episode of How Are You Feeling Today? , Alex is joined by six-year-old Sloan, a curious, brave, and imaginative guest who helps us understand the feeling of guilt. Through the story of Theo and the heart-shaped stone at the Gathering Pool, Sloan explores what it feels like when a child does something wrong, wants to hide, and needs help telling the truth. Together, Alex and Sloan talk abou...

In this episode, Theo learns that guilt is not just about feeling bad, but about knowing when we have done something wrong and needing to tell the truth. As Theo admits his lie about the heart-shaped stone and experiences repair with his friends at the Gathering Pool, kids and parents are invited to explore how guilt can lead us toward honesty, forgiveness, and restored connection.  Resources, act...

Alex has his son Reed back on the podcast! This time for an interview about anger. When anger is handled safely, it can help children stand up for what matters, set boundaries, include someone who’s left out, and say the hard thing with honesty. We also talk about what kids often need most from parents in those moments: calm company and support so they can speak for themselves. Resources, activiti...

This episode is another jungle story where Bin the leopard storms up to a peaceful gathering pool and announces, “This is mine now.” The whole jungle goes still, and you can feel what fear does to each friend. Then Kai feels something different rising in his chest: anger, not to hurt anyone, but to protect a place and a community that matters. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for famili...

A four-year-old can teach us a lot about feelings when we actually slow down and listen. We’re joined by Griffin, who loves baseball, team chants, and superheroes like Hulk and Captain America. From there, we step into the “gathering pool” story world with characters like Kai, Liam, and Theo and use play to talk about real emotional skills. When Liam struggles, we unpack what kids often feel in th...

In this episode, Theo, Kai, and Liam the chameleon discover that shame is not always something bad, but can be the feeling that reminds us we need help and cannot do life alone. As Liam uses his gift to hide when he feels limited, kids and parents are invited to explore how healthy shame can lead us out of hiding and back toward support, belonging, and connection.  Resources, activities, and discu...

In this episode, Alex sits down with 12-year-old Hannah to talk about hurt. They talk about what hurt feels like, when it shows up, and what actually helps. This conversation invites parents to consider how home can become a place where kids feel seen, known, and not alone. That by telling the truth about hurt, children and parents can find the healing that they need.  Resources, activities, and d...

In this episode, Ellie the toucan discover that hurt is not just about what happened on the outside, but about the pain we carry in our hearts when words or laughter wound us. As Theo helps Ellie tell the truth about her hurt and return to the Gathering Pool, kids and parents are invited to explore how sharing hurt can lead to healing, courage, and connection.  Resources, activities, and discussio...