For Educators

We provide professional development and self-care strategies via adult Brain Breaks, trainings and webinars. We also offer ongoing support for our partner districts and organizations. Continuing ed unit opportunities available.

For Students

We provide a range of free classroom resources that include learner Brain Breaks, health & wellness curricula,  and Virtual PE. Our mission is to promote social, emotional, and academic development for all learners.

Stress Management for Educators: A Virtual Professional Learning Community

The workshop is an experiential and relational approach to stress management with emphasis on educator well-being. Throughout these 45-minute meeting-style sessions, participants embark on a practical exploration of stress management that employs a positive psychology lens and provides tools to query individual awareness, perception, and thoughts by identifying, shifting, and applying strategies that influence behavioral outcomes.

Stress Management for Educators: A Virtual Professional Learning Community

The workshop is an experiential and relational approach to stress management with emphasis on educator well-being. Throughout these 45-minute meeting-style sessions, participants embark on a practical exploration of stress management that employs a positive psychology lens and provides tools to query individual awareness, perception, and thoughts by identifying, shifting, and applying strategies that influence behavioral outcomes.

Thrive Thursdays (Early): Start with the Heart

These sessions, each focusing on a specific grade band, will introduce Start With the Heart, a free curriculum to support well-being. Learners will explore the body’s stress response, the role of the brain and nervous system, neuroplasticity, brain anatomy, self-regulation, developing a growth mindset to support resiliency, reflecting on habits, and how their own well-being exists in relationship with the well-being of their communities. Sept. 21: High School, Sept. 28: Middle School, Oct. 5: Elementary (3-5), Oct. 12: Early Childhood (PreK-2)

Thrive Thursdays (Later): Start with the Heart

These sessions, each focusing on a specific grade band, will introduce Start With the Heart, a free curriculum to support well-being. Learners will explore the body’s stress response, the role of the brain and nervous system, neuroplasticity, brain anatomy, self-regulation, developing a growth mindset to support resiliency, reflecting on habits, and how their own well-being exists in relationship with the well-being of their communities. Sept. 21: High School, Sept. 28: Middle School, Oct. 5: Elementary (3-5), Oct. 12: Early Childhood (PreK-2)

Thrive Thursdays: Breathe, Move, & Rest to Kick Off the School Year

In these 30-minute sessions (divided by grade band), we will review our free resources and explain how building intentional student-facing routines through Breathe, Move, and Rest early in the school year can set the tone for the day, encourage co-regulation, support learner well-being, and build a sense of belonging in the classroom. July 27: Higher Education, Aug. 3: Middle and High, Aug. 10: Elementary, Aug. 17: Early Childhood.

An Inspiring New Partnership with Empatico

Pure Edge, Inc. is excited to partner with Empatico, a nonprofit organization that connects K-12 classrooms around the world, with a mission to empower school-aged students to form meaningful connections that foster a more empathetic world. The organization’s vision is to be the leading classroom connector worldwide.

Pure Edge shares those core values of compassion and connection, and so we are proud to have a selection of our Brain Breaks included at Empatico.org. Take a look at the collections Breathe, Move, and Rest and Animal Arms: Breathing Exercises, and explore Empatico’s wide variety of free classroom resources. Our Brain Breaks will of course also remain available, free of charge, in our Brain Breaks Video Library.

Wondering what makes Empatico special? Two of the organization’s notable accomplishments include recognition as a recipient of a World Changing Ideas Award and one of Common Sense Education’s 5-Star rated 2021 Selections for Learning. The platform has so far been used by 12,500 teachers in 131 countries, and we look forward to seeing this valuable resource continue to grow.

 

Free Classroom Resources Now in Ukrainian

We are pleased to share with you a few resources translated into Ukrainian to offer further support to learners: our introductory Start with the Heart curriculum, animated Brain Breaks videos, and Brain Breaks cards.

Brain Breaks Videos

In this video showcase, you will find animated video Brain Breaks with Ukrainian voiceover. These videos guide learners through breathing, movement, and rest strategies to help manage stress and reset. We recommend using Brain Breaks to start and end the day, before potentially stressful activities such as tests, and during transitions between classes or subjects.

 

Brain Breaks Cards

Click here to download this set of cards that provide written instructions and illustrations for Brain Breaks.

 

Start with the Heart

Start with the Heart is our introductory curriculum. It answers the question educators always ask during trainings: How do I get started sharing this work with my students? The lessons are designed for ease of delivery, and they weave Pure Edge Brain Breaks into foundational lessons from the original Pure Power curriculum.

Download the curriculum here:
K-2: “Shine”
3-5: “Discover”
6-8: “Connect”
9-12: “Engage”

 

For technical support questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at getmoving@pureedgeinc.org.

 

FLOURISH: A K-5 Curriculum from UVA’s Compassionate Schools Project

This foundational one-hour session will allow participants to gain access to the new Flourish curriculum from the University of Virginia’s Compassionate Schools Project. Dr. Alexis Harris and Dr. Tish Jennings will introduce elementary educators to the new curriculum, which will equip educators to integrate compassion and core social and emotional competencies into the classroom. The curriculum is designed for grade bands K-1, 2-3, and 4-5.

Stress Management PLC for Educators (4 PM / 7 PM)

This professional learning community will provide an experiential and relational approach to stress management that aims to explore educator well-being over six 30-minute sessions. Join us for a practical exploration of stress management that encompasses a positive psychology lens to tools that query our individual awareness, perception, and thoughts by identifying, shifting, and applying strategies that influence behavioral outcomes.

Virtual Field Trip: Curiosity Before Judgment | Meet the Filmmaker

Join us with your class (all grade levels welcomed) for a 30-minute, webinar-style virtual field trip with Abhi Nangia of Better World Ed! Better World Ed is a nonprofit creating authentic stories to reweave community, humanize learning, and teach curiosity before judgment about self, others, and our world. We will share a short, wordless video, followed by questions from lesson plans to get classrooms wondering and engaging. “Meet the filmmaker,” ask questions, and learn more about the mission of Better World Ed.

Chicago Public Schools Landing Page

Welcome to the landing page for Chicago Public Schools educators! Here you will be linked to Pure Edge, Inc.’s full video library and training manuals of Breathe, Move, Rest Brain Breaks, as well as our introductory curriculum, Start with the Heart.

Free Curriculum Account

First, please sign up for a free curriculum account. On our Curriculum page, you’ll have access to even more resources than are linked on this page, including neuroscience mini-units, printable Brain Breaks, and implementation guides. Click here to sign up for a free account to browse and download any of our free curricula and supplemental materials.

 

Brain Breaks Videos

In this video library, you will find Brain Breaks divided by category: Breathe, Move, and Rest.

The videos are provided in English and Spanish and are closed captioned. The English videos for youth and adults also include versions with ASL interpretation. There are animated videos for our youngest learners, videos intended for grades 2-8, and videos for 9-12 and adults. The animated videos are also available with Ukrainian, Farsi, Dari, Chinese, or Haitian Creole voiceover translation.

 

Brain Breaks Training Manuals

We also provide a full training manual for easy classroom implementation of Brain Breaks. Download the manuals below:
English
K-5 Training Manual
6-12 Training Manual

Spanish
K-5 Manual de Enseñanza
6-12 Manual de Enseñanza

 

Start with the Heart

Start with the Heart is our introductory curriculum. It answers the question educators always ask during trainings: How do I get started sharing this work with my students? The lessons are designed for ease of delivery, and they weave Pure Edge Brain Breaks into foundational lessons from the original Pure Power curriculum.

Download the curricula here:
English
PreK: “Shine”
K-2: “Shine”
3-5: “Discover”
6-8: “Connect”
9-12: “Engage”

Spanish
PreK: “Brille”
K-2: “Brille”
3-5: “Descubra”
6-8: “Conecte”
9-12: “Participe”

 

For technical support questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at getmoving@pureedgeinc.org.

Virtual Field Trip Series: Curiosity Before Judgment | Meet the Filmmaker

Join us with your class for a series of three 30-minute, webinar-style virtual field trips with Abhi Nangia of Better World Ed! Better World Ed is a nonprofit creating authentic stories to reweave community, humanize learning, and teach curiosity before judgment about self, others, and our world. During each field trip, we will share a short, wordless video, followed by questions from lesson plans to get classrooms wondering and engaging. “Meet the filmmaker,” ask questions, and learn more about the mission of Better World Ed.

Stress Management PLC for Educators (Wednesdays)

This professional learning community will provide an experiential and relational approach to stress management that aims to explore educator well-being. Join us for a practical exploration of stress management that encompasses a positive psychology lens to tools that query our individual awareness, perception, and thoughts by identifying, shifting, and applying strategies that influence behavioral outcomes.

Stress Management PLC for Educators (Mondays)

This professional learning community will provide an experiential and relational approach to stress management that aims to explore educator well-being. Join us for a practical exploration of stress management that encompasses a positive psychology lens to tools that query our individual awareness, perception, and thoughts by identifying, shifting, and applying strategies that influence behavioral outcomes.

Supporting a Fail Forward Culture with SEL (Secondary)

For 6-12 Administrators & Educators – A “fail forward” culture is part of a whole child approach to addressing the achievement gap. Somewhere along the way, both educators and students become fearful of failing and trying again. Students struggle to engage a growth mindset and become locked into self-fulfilling prophecies of achievement. Explore how we can mitigate these effects through SEL.

Supporting Student Agency & Voice (Secondary)

For 6-12 Administrators & Educators – Amid uncertainty and disruption, how might we use this moment to elevate student voice and choice to help students make purposeful transitions and choices? We start by identifying unique ways in which they already have power and agency and elevating these opportunities in their school lives.

May Mindfulness Meditation Series

“Most people are creatures of habit. When things go as planned, we feel in control. But when life throws a curveball, it can leave us feeling anxious and stressed.” -APA website, Oct 2021

Don’t let workplace stress derail your healthy routines. Whether just starting out or building upon our everyday routines for well-being, a mindfulness meditation practice can help us feel regulated and balanced as we continue to manage life’s stressors and changes. Join Anne Contreras for a four-part series of interactive sessions that center around 20-minute guided meditation practices in support of self-care.

April Mindfulness Meditation Series

“Most people are creatures of habit. When things go as planned, we feel in control. But when life throws a curveball, it can leave us feeling anxious and stressed.” -APA website, Oct 2021

Don’t let workplace stress derail your healthy routines. Whether just starting out or building upon our everyday routines for well-being, a mindfulness meditation practice can help us feel regulated and balanced as we continue to manage life’s stressors and changes. Join Anne Contreras for a four-part series of interactive sessions that center around 20-minute guided meditation practices in support of self-care.

Compassion & Adult SEL Series

How can administrators, along with faculty and staff, show compassion not only for our students, but for ourselves and each other? Join former school administrators Katie Barr and Tristan Love for a 3-session series that focuses on adult well-being.

Session I – Toast to Myself
Session II – Grounding in Joy
Session III – Circles of Compassion

Well-Being Wednesdays in May

This Well-Being Wednesday series will offer experiential mindfulness-based sessions designed to support the well-being of school-based personnel as they continue to provide essential services to our community each day. Each session is 30 minutes. Please wear clothing suitable for light exercise. Closed captioning provided.

Mindful Mondays in May

Mindful Monday is a 30-minute, experiential mindfulness-based session designed to support the well-being of school-based personnel as they continue to provide essential services to our community each day. Closed captioning provided.