Nadine Levitt reading Inside Me Lives a Village to a class during an author visit

Emotional learning for every classroom

Stories, calm corners and hands on tools that help children name big feelings and practice what to do with them, at school and at home.

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Our programs

Superhero Initiative

A four week classroom kindness challenge built around the book Inside Me Lives a Superhero.

See the Superhero Initiative

Calm Corners

Everything for your classroom calm corner, plus printables that help kids slow down, name what they feel, and calm their bodies.

See Calm Corners

Coming soon

Kindness Initiative

Students with hands raised during an author visit at KIPP Empower

Hands up for big feelings. An author visit with Nadine.

Can you find your way around the storm?

Download the emotional storm worksheet Listen to the song

11

Percentile points higher in school achievement.

That is the average gain in school achievement for kids in programs that teach social and emotional skills, in the studies that measured it. From a review of 213 school based social and emotional learning programs reaching more than 270,000 students. Feelings and learning grow together.

Source: Durlak et al., 2011, Child Development

The science behind the initiative

From the Superhero Initiative, an Inspired Educ8ion initiative in partnership with My Mama Says.

Kindness helps children connect. In a classroom study, 9 to 11 year olds who performed three kind acts each week for four weeks showed greater gains in acceptance by classmates than a comparison group. Small actions can make a difference to peer relationships. Layous et al., 2012.

Noticing is a superpower. Kindness can feel good even when it isn’t directed at us. In a study of children aged 6½ to 8½, watching acts of kindness prompted greater feelings of happiness, warmth, and care than watching impressive talents. Our Thunderbolts give students a regular opportunity to notice and share the good around them. Gibhardt et al., 2024.

Seeing kindness can inspire more kindness. Witnessing goodness can create a warm, uplifting feeling called “moral elevation.” Experiments with adults found that this feeling increased helping behavior. Our classroom share outs give students opportunities to encounter inspiring examples from their own school community. Schnall et al., 2010.

Peers help shape what feels normal. Research in middle schools shows that students can influence one another’s understanding of acceptable behavior. Our wall puts that idea into practice by making kindness visible and communicating a shared value: this matters here. Paluck et al., 2016.

Recognizing peers can support classroom behavior. Studies of “tootling” (a structured approach combining positive peer reporting with shared rewards) have found reductions in disruptive behavior and improvements in classroom engagement. Our initiative similarly invites students to notice and name one another’s helpful actions. Chaffee et al., 2020.

Bring My Mama Says to your school

Author visits with Nadine, teacher training on building emotional strength, and calm corners for your classrooms. Tell us about your school and we will be in touch.

Ask about your school

Inspired Educ8ion, our charitable arm

Inspired Educ8ion is the charitable arm of My Mama Says. It supports teachers, school leaders and families. Its Superhero Inside Initiative, run in partnership with My Mama Says, is a four week classroom kindness challenge built around the book Inside Me Lives a Superhero.