Advertise on podcast: How Are You Feeling Today?

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

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 counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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

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 resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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 notice. In this episode of How Are You Feeling Today?, we explore the need for attention and help kids understand that we all need to feel seen, listened to, and cared for. Through Liam’s story, kids and parents can begin talking together about what it feels like to receive attention—and the different ways we sometimes try to get it when we need it. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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 can move ahead toward the Gathering Pool. When their hearts need help, comfort, or a safe grown-up, they can head home to the Great Kapok Tree. This episode helps kids and parents talk about safe places, safe people, and how security gives children courage to move toward hard things. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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

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 about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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, but because of who he is and what only he can bring.  Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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, asking a grown-up for help when you feel left out, and handling anger with honest words. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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’s friends aren’t asking him to be someone else. They’re glad he’s there because he’s Mack. Resources, activities, and discussion tools for families are available at:  🌱 howareyoufeelingtoday.net Learn more about counseling and family resources at:  🌿 vothcenter.com

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