Ah, June. The smell of sunscreen, the sound of sprinklers, and the collective thud of educators collapsing into couches across the country.
On the surface, it looks like summer fun is finally here! But behind the Instagram beach pics and sidewalk chalk, there’s another truth:
☀️ Parents everywhere are battling cries from their kids of “I’m booooored!”
☀️ Educators are trying to recover from a year of carrying too much for too long.
That’s why this month’s Thrive Archive is all about reclaiming rest, not just as a break, but as a brain-boosting, burnout-busting necessity.
Microhabit of the Month: Activate Your Default Mode Network
This month, we’re tapping into your brain’s Default Mode Network (DMN), the system that kicks in when you’re not focused on doing anything in particular. I once heard the DMN referred to as the “Do Mostly Nothing” network and that’s the vibe!
This is the part of your brain responsible for creativity, reflection, and emotional regulation. It’s the bundle of neural circuitry that works behind the scenes when you’re at rest (and explains why good ideas and answers to problems come in the shower or after a good night’s sleep!)
But here’s the catch: it only activates when you give it space to wander (and sorry to say, scrolling through TikTok or watching TV doesn’t count, even though it’s relaxing, because your mind is being stimulated.) We’re talking about mind wandering, no goals, just the subtle art of doing nothing.*
Try this microhabit to tap into your DMN power:
☀️ Set a daily “do-nothing” window of 15 minutes of no scrolling, no solving, no checking.
🚶Do mostly nothing. Go for a walk without your phone, stare out a window, doodle, or lie in the grass and cloud-watch.
So easy! This isn’t wasting time. It’s giving your brain much needed room to reboot, refresh, and reimagine.
*Kind of like the very DMN-forward goal I wrote when I was 8 years old (recently found in my Ramona Quimby, Age 8, diary) which read: “My summer goal is to grow out my hair.”
🐻🎙️Teddy Talks® Podcast for Parents & Caregivers
Speaking of rebooting…understanding the importance of the DMN is not just for adults! If you’re a parent with kids at home for the summer who are already complaining, “I’m booooored!” by 9 a.m, we’ve got a resource for you all about the power of boredom!
Last month, for Mental Health Awareness month we welcomed our newest addition to our Thriving Students family…twin teddy bears named Grizzle and Grizzlette! In a beary special partnership with GoKidGo & Generation Mindful, Teddy Talks® Podcast was born!
Each week on Teddy Talks®, Grizzle, Grizzlette, and I guide kids (and their grown-ups) through big feelings, life skills, and everyday challenges—using storytelling, play, and just the right amount of teddy bear puns. Whether it’s learning how to cope with anxiety, build resilience, or navigate boredom, the goal is the same: emotional wellness made fun, memorable, and accessible.
Check out our recent episode featuring powerhouse educator Gavin ❤️ McCormack on the gift of boredom. Yep—boredom isn’t a problem to solve, it’s a doorway to imagination, and this episode helps kids and caregivers with a practical way to handle the “I’m bored” complaints! Just like we need the DMN, so do our kids!
Find this episode (and more!) wherever you stream podcasts: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube!
And don’t forget:
🌙 Teddy Talks® After Hours Podcast is made just for YOU—parents, caregivers, and educators looking for easy, playful ways to teach coping and emotional regulation at home. After you co-listen with your little one to the Teddy Talks® episode, you can learn even more ways to support your child.
In each After Hours episode, we PAWS, rewind, and unpack the Teddy Talks® episode with our special guests and you get behind-the-scenes insights from leading educators, mental health providers, and change-makers. Check it out here on YouTube!
But Wait…There’s More Support for Parents!
Parents, if you’ve ever found yourself scrolling TikTok at 11 p.m. looking for advice on how to help a neurodivergent child or a child with an emotional or behavioral challenge—and wondering if that person actually has credentials—this is for you.
Meet our Thriving Parents Platform:
🎥 Short, snackable videos (like TikTok, but vetted)
🧠 Expert-backed strategies on supporting kids with ADHD, Autism, anxiety, and more
💙 Real help for caregiver burnout—because your wellness matters, too.
More and more school districts are giving families access to the Thriving Parents platform—especially those with IEPs, 504 plans, or who are navigating mental health needs, so that support isn’t just for school hours. It’s a community-wide solution for thriving at home and in school.
Want to learn more about bringing the Thriving Parents Platform to your district or organization? 📩 Reach out to us at Thriving Students—we’d love to connect.
You + Me in 3D: Tiny Humans, Big Skills in New Mexico!
This month I had the absolute joy of keynoting for PreK and early childhood educators in New Mexico, where I brought the real stars of the show:
🎤 Puppets. 🧸 Bears. 🧠 And a whole lot of executive functioning brain science.
My session, “Tiny Humans, Big Skills: Unlocking Executive Functioning in Preschoolers” explored how even our littlest learners can begin building emotional regulation and cognitive flexibility—yes, even in PreK!
To everyone at the CREC New Mexico conference who laughed, learned (and watched an AI teddy bear awkwardly dance) with me, thank you for your heart-forward work! If you want to learn more about how to support PreK learners’ emotional regulation and executive function, feel free to reach out here!
🎬 Cringe TikTok of the Month: How Does Tom Hanks Know?!?
This month’s cringe TikTok? Just me, face-planting onto my bed next to one of my husky dogs, Xena, with full end-of-school-year energy. 🛏️🐾
Play it with sound on HERE (for reals….it’s Tom Hanks as a documentarian, narrating my life…)
Because let’s be honest: Rest is productive. Rest is not a reward. And we don’t have to wait for summer to make space for it.
At Thriving Students Collective we’re here year-round with burnout prevention resources, community, and support…because thriving doesn’t take the summer off.
So wherever June finds you—napping under a ceiling fan, running carpool, or just trying to remember what day it is—remember this:
🧠 Your brain deserves rest. 💙 Your nervous system deserves kindness. 🌱 And you don’t have to earn either.
With you in every season,
If you’re interested in being a part of the Thriving Students Collective community and would like more information about how to bring the Thriving Students Platform to your school or district, CLICK HERE to connect with us.
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Dr. Rebecca Branstetter is a school psychologist and founder of The Thriving Students Collective, which provides professional development, engaging online courses, and a supportive online community that prioritizes whole-school wellness and equips educators and parents with practical tools to empower every learner’s success. She also has a TikTok account all about burnout prevention in K12 that her middle school daughter has endorsed as “Cringe, but good dancing.”
