Mike Ferry

While at a media conference in New York, I had the chance to meet a cooking blogger named Alma Schneider.  She wanted to know if I could put together a guest blog post showing how gratitude can lead to more…

Every year, students bring in baked goods, gift cards, handmade notes, and other presents during Teacher Appreciation Week.  Keep them coming - teachers love that stuff!  However, there's a FREE gift that teachers really want their students to carry with…

"I'm bored!"

How often do you hear that as a parent?  How often do you say it, even to yourself?  Our hectic lives have not banished boredom from the face of the planet.  Whether it's at school, at work, or…

Creativity is a path to happiness.  It also is an essential aspect of innovation.  As kids many of us are naturally creative.  Unfortunately, our creativity tends to be eliminated as we enter school. 

The good news is that we can…

"Beware the barrenness of a busy life." - Socrates

As we identify and teach habits related to emotional well-being, it's important to think about the negative impact of busyness on our brains, moods, and output.  Thanks to modern technology, we…

As you may know, teaching kindness is one of the best ways to guide our kids towards happier lives.  New research is showing that kindness has many other benefits as well.

According to this new study, children who show…

This article originally appeared here - http://ripplekindness.org/creating-a-happier-classroom-with-gratitude/

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend an education conference in San Francisco, CA. While I was there, I learned many exciting findings from the "science of happiness." That weekend revolutionized…

This article originally appeared here - http://www.jbfsaleblog.com/10-ways-to-teach-kindness-to-our-kids/

We all want our kids to find happiness in life.  Thanks to the "science of happiness," research has identified several habits that make lifelong happiness more likely to occur.  Kindness is one of…

Interested in how many people were born today?  How about the amount of money spent on obesity-related issues in the US?  Or maybe the number of emails that have been sent today around the world?

You can find all of…

The headlines are, and will always be, disastrous.  If you spend five minutes reading a newspaper or watching a newscast, you might be tempted to believe that the Earth is seconds away from total destruction.  Surely things have never been…

While Jenny and I may think that driving is light years away for our kids, that visit to the DMV will be here before we know it.  What can we be doing now to prepare them to be the safest…

All of us need ways to manage the stress we face in our lives.  Here is a helpful tool - the mindfulness bell.  I like to use it in my middle school history classes.  For the duration of the…