Taes Leavitt

Bring emotional learning to life in this heart-centered, interactive school assembly that helps students build resilience, understand their emotions, and discover powerful tools to calm their bodies and minds.

Created by award-winning children’s performer and emotional wellness educator Taes Leavitt, The Big Heart Journey blends storytelling, movement, music, and mindfulness to teach kids how to navigate big feelings in a way that feels fun, safe, and empowering.

Through brain-based strategies and in-the-moment participation, kids will learn how to tune into their feelings, create space before reacting, and bounce back when life doesn’t go their way.

💛 Students will walk away with tools for 💛:

• Self-Regulation: Calming their nervous system and creating space between a feeling and a reaction.
• Resilience: Building their bounce-back when things go wrong.
• Emotional Ownership: Understanding that they can make choices about how to respond.
• Empathy & Community: Connecting with kindness, listening, and shared understanding.
• Mindfulness: Being present and grounded in the moment.
• Emotional Literacy: Naming, talking about, and navigating big feelings.

Being a human is hard sometimes. Especially when you’re a teen trying to figure it all out.

In this honest, engaging, and interactive keynote, students explore what it really means to feel — and how to navigate big emotions without shutting down, lashing out, or getting stuck. Using brain science, real-life stories, and practical tools, Taes leads students on a journey into the heart of what it means to grow, struggle, bounce back, and lead yourself with kindness.

With compassion and clarity, students are invited to connect with their emotions — not as something to fix, but as powerful signals that help guide who they are becoming.

💛 Students will walk away with tools for 💛:

• Emotional Intelligence: Understanding the brain-feeling connection and how to respond rather than react.
• Resilience: Building inner strength when life gets messy or hard.
• Self-Leadership: Learning that you can’t always control what happens, but you can control how you meet it.
• Empathy & Connection: Developing deeper relationships by showing up with honesty and listening with care.
• Communication: Expressing your feelings clearly while respecting your boundaries and others’.

When big feelings show up in the classroom, teachers need practical tools that actually work, and kids want to do. This transformative professional development replaces that sense of overwhelm with confidence and practical tools educators can use immediately.

Educators will learn how to help students build emotional resilience, regulate their nervous systems, and talk about their feelings — without piling on more to manage.

Blending brain science, real-life classroom insights, and evidence-based practices, Taes shares an empowering approach that makes social-emotional learning feel doable, meaningful, and deeply human. You’ll walk away with simple strategies to build emotional safety, regulate your own stress, and create a classroom culture where kindness and connection lead the way.

🌱 Educators will leave with tools to 🌱:

• Support Self-Regulation: Teach students how to pause, breathe, and respond — rather than react.
• Build Resilience: Help students bounce back when life doesn’t go their way.
• Apply the CASEL Framework: Integrate SEL pillars like self-awareness, emotional management, and relationship skills in real, meaningful ways.
• Foster Empathy & Community: Strengthen classroom culture through connection, compassion, and co-regulation.
• Take Care of Themselves: Learn how to support student emotions without burning out.

Raising and supporting kids today can feel overwhelming — especially when big emotions show up and the old tools just don’t work.

This inspiring and practical session introduces a new, research-backed way to understand and respond to children’s emotions — one that strengthens relationships, builds resilience, and supports well-being for both kids and adults.

Whether you’re a parent, teacher, grandparent, or caring adult, you’ll walk away with simple, effective strategies to help kids feel seen, heard, and safe — while also learning how to care for your own emotional world in the process.

🌱 Participants will leave with tools to 🌱:

• Support children through big feelings — without power struggles, shutdowns, or shame.
• Build emotional connection and communication in families and communities.
• Understand the science behind kids’ behavior and regulation.
• Model resilience, empathy, and emotional safety.
• Shift from reacting to responding — even in the hardest moments.