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Liz Kay
Hello and welcome to the Providence College podcast. I'm your host, Liz Kaye, and I'm joined by producer Chris Judge of the Class of 2005 here in the Providence College podcast. We bring you interesting stories from the fire family. This week. We have the pleasure of speaking with Katie Wood, a member of the Class of 2000 for what was an elementary and special education major at Providence and spent a decade as a special education teacher.

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Liz Kay
In the spring, she published a simple seed of growth, gratitude and giggles, a journal for kids. Since then, more than 6000 children have started their days with these lessons, including students and schools across the country. Kate, thank you so much for joining us.

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Katie Wood
Thank you for having me. This is such an honor.

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Liz Kay
So tell us the story of a simple seed. How was it born?

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Katie Wood
So this journal was born during COVID. I was a former teacher and for several years when I was teaching, I always wondered why we're not focusing more on mental health growth mindset, social, emotional learning. And when COVID hit and I found myself homeschooling for kids, that was my time to pour into my kids and invest into their minds.

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Katie Wood
And it was on me now to walk the walk and give them this growth mindset, this attitude of I can figure things out. And it started when I had a morning routine, my second guard down, and asked if you could learn how to have special mornings as well. And that's when I started writing. And the journal consists of life lessons, gratitude, I am statements, all things that really help kids pay attention to what goes on in their head and that all happened throughout COVID years.

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Katie Wood
And once I started to share that, that's when I knew I had a huge amount of emails in my inbox, and that's when I knew if our family needed this, other families need it too, and that's why I published it.

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Liz Kay
Can you share some examples, some of the activities in the book you mentioned I Am statements. What are some of the immediate ones?

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Katie Wood
Oh, yes. So every lesson starts with a life lesson. So the journal is intended to just take 5 minutes to start your day. Right. Because how you start your morning really sets the tone for the entire day. So it was a little life lesson from how to be respectful, kind, making the right decision, knowing when to be rude, holding the door for the person behind you.

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Katie Wood
Why failure is really life's greatest lesson. All these life lessons. So they're very short and sweet. And then there's a box for gratitude where each kid has to come up with three things that are great for and they need to be different every single day. Helping kids realize that it's the little things in life that we probably don't pay attention to that we need to start becoming more aware of and how grateful we are.

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Katie Wood
It's that enough mentality. And then the I Am statements is just the box for kids to reflect on the voice in their head. So I am strong, I am kind, I am brave, I am worthy. Really paying attention to the voice in your head because what follows your IM's really comes back and follows you. So just bringing awareness because most of what we do is completely subconscious.

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Katie Wood
Most kids aren't even aware of the voice in their head, and when they start writing it down and paying attention, that's like anything in life. You learn a new word. You start seeing it everywhere. You start paying attention to the voice in your head, and that that single exercise of writing it down helps program in their brain their thoughts about themselves.

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Katie Wood
And this there's a daily challenge and a giggle, because starting your day with a laugh is such a powerful thing. And then lastly, so can I make smile today? And that's a chance for kids to be more intentional, to start their day, walk into the school with someone in mind of a day that they're going to make better.

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Katie Wood
And that's how kids become you start that ripple effect of making others feel good. Then the last little section is a chance for parents to connect is a question that parents get to share and experience from their life and have deeper conversations, more meaningful conversations with their kids.

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Liz Kay
And since since you've been published, it's been embraced by schools. Tell us how it's spread.

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Katie Wood
So this journal has really spread by word of mouth or social media. We did have a clip on NBC News that helped bring awareness to the power of starting your morning. Right. And so we had a bunch of schools reach out and this book has entered several schools in Massachusetts. Every we had a company called AM Cards sponsor a book for every child involved in the fourth, fifth and sixth grade.

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Katie Wood
So they get to start their day, which I can't think of a district who deserves it more really with something positive and enlightening and needs spread across all the United States in in schools where there's more of a focus on social emotional learning now, because, you know, it's easy to to say these days mental health is very real.

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Katie Wood
Kids are more stressed and anxious than ever. And I think schools are really starting to take notice that if their mind is not in the right place, the they can't learn as effectively. And when you do master social emotional learning and mindset and being more mindful, it actually improves your cognitive function. So just to spend a few minutes each day centering your brain and getting it really in the right place helps their day and helps them actually learn more and more effectively.

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Liz Kay
Do you feel that the time of day is really key? Like, is it important to start this way in the morning?

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Katie Wood
So at the end of the day, I think parents are just very busy. Today's day in the age. I think a lot of us are staying afloat. I think we want to point out our kids, we want to invest in them. We want to make them the best version of them. I mean, at the end of the day, that is the most important role will ever have in this journey on life in life.

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Katie Wood
But I don't think we know where to begin. And this journal takes that away. The thought process, you know, it is a roadmap for families and kids of teaching all these life lessons that usually are taught in hindsight, you know, they're usually taught after something happens. And the whole goal is to give these tools so they are prepared for whatever life's to throw at them, because we all know life's going to throw hard things.

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Katie Wood
The reason it's done in the morning and the most effective in the morning is because when you wake up, your brain is in a state is called a theta state. That is most receptive. So how you start your day and you know, most of us will turn on the news and maybe pour a cup of coffee without water.

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Katie Wood
And we're kind of doing these automatic bad habits that are affecting our mind without even realizing. And our day really is the tone of our day is set in the morning. So if you can do it in the morning, that is ideal for my kids walking to school. They have these thoughts about themselves and these challenges, so they're being intentional, which I think gives them an advantage for the day.

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Katie Wood
If you cannot do the morning, absolutely do it at night because it's better than nothing. It's great for dinner topics and conversations, but this the start of the day is intentional because that is when your brain is the most receptive and how you start your day is how your day will flow.

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Liz Kay
How did you develop your own mindfulness practice? Like how did you get these routines yourself?

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Katie Wood
So about, let's see, six years ago now, our third daughter, she had a lot of medical issues. So she was a Boston children's kid. And I felt during that time that was one of the hardest times of our lives for my husband and I. I felt my my mind, my brain was spiraling. I feel like I was losing control of my mind.

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Katie Wood
I was going to places I shouldn't. I was really having a hard time mentally. And that's when I started digging deep. That's when I started my morning routine. I got up before the kids. It was like the calm before the chaos. And we have four small kids. It's crazy if I don't center myself first, then I notice I would.

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Katie Wood
That energy, that bad energy if I didn't take care of myself, would lead on to my kids. And once I started really taking care of myself first in the morning and setting the tone and I did. I read something positive, I did some prayer, I did some mindfulness. I wrote down and I was great for really got my day in order.

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Katie Wood
And that is when, number one, I saw my mind starting to calm down to get more in control and I was more intentional and more aware of the voice in my head. And that was also noting a whole different tone in the whole house. My kids were happier when parents are stressed, kids are stressed. I don't I don't know if we realize how important it is.

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Katie Wood
Our role is to be in control of our energy and set the tone of the day because it 100% affects our kids without us even knowing because energy is invisible. But energy is very real. So once I learned six years ago, wow, I can take control of my mind. And one of the darkness hardest times in my life.

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Katie Wood
And I know I saw such a difference and I knew what a gift it was. That's when I couldn't stop because I feel like I owed it to my kids. And that's when I also realized I could give them this gift. And you can learn this at a young age. My gosh, I feel you can conquer the world if you know how to control your mind.

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Liz Kay
And so I'm certain that you have encountered, as you've been testing the journal, some children, maybe even some educators and parents who have been a little skeptical about whether this would work for their families. How have you gotten how have you gotten them to embrace these habits?

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Katie Wood
You know, at the end of the day, my job is not to make other parents do things they don't want to. I think it's very hard to argue that mental the mental state of kids is at a low, all time low. I mean, I think we all can see that stress and anxiety. If the if if this tool doesn't work for your family, if life lessons and gratitude and paying attention to their self-talk, if that doesn't work for your family, then that's on you.

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Katie Wood
That's kind of what I say. I created this journal for my family at the end of the day, these are these are my husband and I are God forbid something happens us tomorrow. They always have this journal, they have us. It's kind of our little legacy, our gift to them. And if other kids can benefit from it, that's all I care about.

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Katie Wood
I think that is such a beautiful thing. But at the end of the day, you know, parents, they're in control of their their own family and whatever they value as important that's on that. So I think there's not something for every family in the world. I think you have to do what you think is best. But I will tell you, we did a study for two years of a focus group and 97% of people in the focus group said that this completely changed the tone of their family.

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Katie Wood
And with those stats and that kind of data, I think this book does work. I think at the end of the day you have to work and I think that goes for anything in life.

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Liz Kay
So you were an education major PC Elementary in special ed. What were some of the courses experiences that you had as a student that you felt helped you with your path, your career path afterward?

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Katie Wood
Yeah. So I actually look back at Providence as a key time in my life where I started to believe in myself. And I'll tell you, I'll share a quick little story. But I was a walk on for the women's basketball team, so I was playing pickup with the boys one day in the gym, and I did not believe I was worthy of a spot for Division One.

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Katie Wood
Peggy's basketball. I was recruited to some D-3 schools, something in my heart and my gut told me, Go to Providence. That's another big lesson from the Journal is always follow your heart in your gut. I did that and and it has served me very well from meeting the best friends in the world. And my husband. Well, when I was on that court, the men's basketball coach came over to me and said, you should try out for the women's team and immediate negativity filled my head, I can't do this.

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Katie Wood
I'm not good enough. I'm not tall enough. I'm good. All the I'm not, which is what as humans we it's usually what we do. That's our first inclination. And he came back in the next day and said it again. And at that point I'm like, All right, well, what do I have to lose? And so I met the woman's coach.

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Katie Wood
I showed up, I worked and hustled harder than I have ever in my life. I always knew, you know, if I didn't, wasn't the most talented out there. You better believe my attitude. My effort are going to make up for that lack of talent. And I worked so hard that I got a spot on that team for two years.

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Katie Wood
I played a total of 24 minutes my freshman and sophomore year, but I didn't quit. And and I'm very big believer on if you just keep going, if you work hard enough and you don't quit, there's always going to be some reward at the end. But most of us fall short because we just can't hold on any longer.

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Katie Wood
And I did not quit. And I got an opportunity at the end of my sophomore year to go into a game and worked my hardest and helped the team completely turn around the game. And at the end of that game, our coach granted me a full scholarship and I was named captain my junior and senior years. And that experience lit a fire in me and that experience showed me I can do hard things and that experience gave me a burst of confidence and and knowledge that I didn't even know about myself.

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Katie Wood
And every time, to this day where I struggle or I want to quit because I wanted to throw this book in the fire pit. And many times it is a very, very difficult task to write and publish a book. But I had that little voice back in my head of my coach telling me I can do hard things, believing in me when I didn't believe in myself.

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Katie Wood
And I have always held on to that and I'm forever grateful for that experience that I never quit. And I saw it through and remember that there are rewards at the end of hard work. You just have to keep going. And I sent a copy to my coach and said, This really started with you. You planted a seed in me and gave me those roots to always stay strong and know I can do hard things and I think providence for that experience.

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Liz Kay
What brought you to Providence in the first place? You said your gut was telling you that Providence was used to be in fire town. How did you know.

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Katie Wood
It was something? The same reason that I knew writing this book was the right reason. There's a feeling that just can't be explained. It's. It's a gut feeling. I remember my guidance counselor saying, why don't you apply to Providence College? And something inside me was like, Yes, why don't I like yes. And you know, when my kids can't make decisions, we do something called the coin flip feeling and I'll tell them, you know, heads this decision, tails this decision.

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Katie Wood
We'll flip that coin halfway through. I'll stop it. And I won't even show them if it's heads or tails. I'll ask them at that moment, what do you hope it is? And we always hope it's something which is that is your gut, that is your soul telling you. There is this, you know, we are all on this path with these feelings of finding out what our purposes and so forth and whatever that feeling is.

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Katie Wood
That is your answer. It doesn't matter if it's heads or tails, it's what you hold, and that is your answer. And that was one of the ways that I chose Providence College. Something inside me was pushing me to go there, even when I knew nothing about it.

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Liz Kay
So where did you grow up? So you were not familiar with Providence College before you applied?

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Katie Wood
I grew up in Connecticut, so I was familiar with it. I just I didn't know enough of I never had my heart set on one word to say. I didn't grow up being like, I am going to go to this school. I always had an open mind and an open heart. But when I heard Providence College, something went through me and for the right reasons.

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Katie Wood
It was one of the best decisions I've ever made.

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Liz Kay
Until you didn't visit. It's not like you did the whole, like, college tour thing. You. You just knew.

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Katie Wood
I just knew.

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Liz Kay
Where can people find the book if they want to try this with their own families?

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Katie Wood
Thank you. So it's on Amazon and you for people that are interested in like bulk items or schools. So we are writing a school addition that will be secular that is coming out in about one month. You can email us at Simple Seed Journal at gmail.com and we're coming out with a third journal. It's a mindset for athletes and it will be middle school and high school geared towards that age level, about four teams about really teaching the power of the mind in sports.

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Katie Wood
You know, my husband played hockey at Providence. I had my story as a walk on. We both can. 100% say everything is between the head. A huge part of sports is what's in your mind. And the younger you teach kids to take control of your mind and the power of body posture and being a good teammate and, you know, getting up after you fall down, the bigger advantage you have and that's a journal my sister and I are co-writing that should be done by next spring.

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Liz Kay
Is she an athlete as well?

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Katie Wood
She is an athlete as well and she's a certified mindset coach.

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Liz Kay
It's so interesting because I feel like we talk, I feel like we hear a lot about sports psychology. But it sounds like you and your husband developed these these skills before. That was really a thing.

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Katie Wood
Yeah. Yeah. It's just showing the power of it. I mean, it's very difficult to play division or any any divisions for into the college level. I mean, it's it's very hard to play at that level. And when you do, a huge part of it is the conversation between your ears. There is a huge mental peace that either will make or break you.

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Katie Wood
And if you and yes, you know, today, unfortunately, the average kid is quitting sports by age 13. There's a ridiculous amount of pressure on them. There are. I think the sports world is falling a little bit out of control. And I think parents especially need to help guide their kid a little bit more. And I think teaching at that middle school, high school level of the power of your mind and what how you can make it work for you and not against you will take you very far in the sports world, but more importantly in life.

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Liz Kay
Can you tell us a little bit about your kids? You've got four. How old are all of them?

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Katie Wood
Yeah. So I have a ten year old and three daughters and a little boy, a ten year old, an eight year old, a six year old and a three year old. And and my husband, Steve, is now a firefighter. So we've yeah, we've both learned to follow our dreams and what's so important for us to walk the walk and follow your purpose and passion, because at the end of the day, you know more as cop and talk and our kids are watching us and if we want them to follow their passion and their goals and their dreams and, you know, you'll fill your purpose of why you're here on this planet, you better believe we

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Katie Wood
we will do it, because I think at the end of the day, parents are you know, we are the most important teachers to our kids.

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Liz Kay
So you've got to share your project, not just within the United States, but there are other places as well. Can you tell us that story?

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Katie Wood
Yeah. So we took a trip to Anguilla, my husband and I, in the spring, and we met with the director of education and we visited the school while we were down there. And it was beautiful because as we walked into that school, written all over the building was like clips from my book and I was like, Oh my gosh, look at this school.

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Katie Wood
It was, I am worthy, I am strong. And, you know, I can do hard things and all these positive messages. And we walked in, we met the principal, we met a few students, and we are still in the works because it's easier said than done to get books to. Well, it's not, you know, it's it's it's a process.

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Katie Wood
And we are in the process of getting a grant because we have some companies who have sponsored us to help give books to each one of those kiddos in the school that we visited.

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Liz Kay
How did you make that connection? How did you like like your was it just part of a vacation? And you said, I'm going to stop into a school.

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Katie Wood
It was part of a vacation. But we so I always have the journal with me and we met Juan, we met a little boy, Derek, while we were on an excursion and he really hit it off with my husband. The two of them were like playing in the water. Like, just this kid was cutest kid ever. And he told us where he went to school and we had told him about our journal because he asked what we did and he's like, That sounds like the coolest thing.

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Katie Wood
And that's when we were like, How awesome would it be in your school? So we made a quick call. We went to visit, we gave Jerry a copy of the book and that you know, we can thank that little boy for again, life is always speaking to you. You just have to open your eyes and follow the clues.

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Katie Wood
He led us to that school.

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Liz Kay
It's amazing. So when I pictured when I think I've seen references to this, like in the some local news stories about your work and things and I presumed you meant adults, but I can't believe that, you know, it was a student who paved the way.

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Katie Wood
Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. You know, that's a big thing that I teach my kids all the time to just open your eyes. Life is constantly speaking to you. The universe has this way of, you know, you put your dreams and your goals out if if it's one thing to do that. But then you go to walk the walk and work and take a ton of action.

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Katie Wood
And if, you know, the universe sees, wow, these are your goals and you're working hard towards it, we're going to open doors for you and and that's how I've taught them to just there's something so much bigger than us and you can really have whatever you want. You just have to be open to it and work really hard, not be afraid of hard work and sacrifices to get really what you want and live a very meaningful life.

00;21;54;07 - 00;22;07;07
Liz Kay
So just review. There's your work. You have to versions of the book now and then you're working on this athlete's version. So one is a secular version for schools and the other the original is not the original.

00;22;07;07 - 00;22;20;29
Katie Wood
It has some mention of keeping God in your heart, reminding kids that, you know you were born for a reason. You are the way you are for a reason, and you're never alone. And that's how God is mentioned in this journal, just to keep God in your heart.

00;22;21;00 - 00;22;24;15
Liz Kay
Can you tell us a little bit about your faith? Has that been an important part of your life?

00;22;24;18 - 00;22;46;07
Katie Wood
It has so faith has always been a part of my life. It got incredibly strong again when our daughter went through that really difficult time. And that's when I leaned on my faith. I think at the end of the day, we all need some kind of anchor in life because life is going to throw you storms and big waves and going to knock you down.

00;22;46;07 - 00;23;04;01
Katie Wood
And if you're not anchored in something, you're going to get knocked down. And for me, my anchor is my faith. And that's that one thing that I can go to when I'm struggling, when I'm in a hard time, when I don't know where to go, I go to my faith and without fail, it pulls me out every time.

00;23;04;02 - 00;23;27;22
Katie Wood
That's my anchor. It might not be someone else's anchor, but that's really that's that's gotten me very far by leaning on that. And I think it also it humbles you to know we are pretty small in this big world. And a reminder, my faith always reminds me we are here for a reason. Our job is to figure out why and then use those gifts to serve the world and serve others.

00;23;28;03 - 00;23;37;19
Liz Kay
And so I'm just curious, you know, if you think back on your experience at Providence College, is this kind of the path you expected to go? Were you always a writer or were you always.

00;23;37;22 - 00;23;58;11
Katie Wood
Oh, no, I wasn't. I was not. So my path was to be a teacher. And, you know, I think you you know what? You know, you know, when you're young, when you're in college or figuring it out. And I loved teaching. I did I taught in the South Bronx. I taught in New York City. I taught, you know, in Jamaica Plains outside of Boston.

00;23;58;11 - 00;24;22;20
Katie Wood
And I ended up in Westwood. And I had a great teaching career. However, when I started to grow a family and we had four kids, teaching just wasn't the right place for me anymore. At that part of my life. And so it takes courage to make a change. I think it's it's very hard to do because you work so hard for that career.

00;24;23;01 - 00;24;47;09
Katie Wood
But when life changes, you know, I felt unaligned. I wanted to be at home. I knew this was a short time in life of having young kids. I really wanted to be there as much as possible, and that's when I made that change and to find a way to work around my kids so I could put them first and work second, which is a difficult thing to do, but worth it.

00;24;48;03 - 00;24;54;26
Liz Kay
Well, I think we'll all be excited to see this next project for middle and high school students and see how it helps students there.

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Katie Wood
Thank you.

00;24;56;26 - 00;24;59;28
Liz Kay
Kitty. Thank you. It's been so wonderful chatting with you today. Thanks for joining us.

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Katie Wood
Thank you so much for having me.

00;25;01;19 - 00;25;13;00
Liz Kay
Subscribe to the Province College podcast in all the usual places, including iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, Google Play and Spotify as well as your smart speaker. If you like what you hear, please review and share with others. Thanks for listening and go friars.