A trauma informed, relationship centered approach to guiding behavior and building emotional regulation in young children.

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The L.O.V.E.E. Method is the heart of Mindful Foundations. It is a simple framework Mercedes created from years of classroom experience, trauma informed training, and hands on consulting. It helps teachers pause, see the whole child, and guide behavior in a way that builds trust, safety, and long term emotional skills.

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L.O.V.E.E. stands for:

L – Look and Listen

The first step is slowing down long enough to actually see what is happening.
Teachers learn to look at the child’s cues, listen to their voice and their body language, and notice whether the child is in survival, emotional, or executive state.
This keeps the adult from reacting and shifts them into connection.

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O – Observe the Need Beneath the Behavior

Children’s behaviors are communication.
Instead of “Why are they doing this?” the question becomes:
“What do they need right now?”
Teachers learn to identify missing needs like safety, independence, connection, rest, rhythm, or emotional support.
This observation changes everything because correction becomes compassion driven.

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V – Value Through Validation and Connection

Children move toward regulation when they feel seen and safe.
Valuing the child helps them know:
“I hear you. I’m with you. You are safe.”
Connection might look like sitting beside them, helping them breathe, or offering a gentle co-regulation strategy like the breathing ball or rowing the boat.

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E – Empathize

• When we begin to understand deeper, we can choose to
empathize deeper. It’s "I feel with you, not just for you."
• This allows you to respond with genuine understanding and support.
• It helps build connection and compassion rather than frustration
with behaviors.
• That is where true restoration can take place. When we understand
what the child has gone through, we communicate “no matter
what it is, I am here to help and will stay with you.”
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E – Evolve Through Practice

Children grow through repetition and ownership.
Teachers guide them through practicing the new skill, reflecting, trying again, and celebrating growth.
This builds confidence, resilience, and independence.

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The Purpose of the L.O.V.E.E. Method
L .O .V .E .E . doesn’t just change how children respond—it transforms the
teacher’s role, too. Educators are no longer expected to simply manage
behavior or deliver instruction. Instead, they’re invited into a deeper
rhythm of observation, connection, and restoration. They learn to look
beneath behavior to see the trauma, adversity, or unmet needs that often
drive dysregulation.

Through L .O .V .E .E ., teachers begin to identify both their students’
emotional triggers and their own. They learn to pause, observe more
deeply, respond with thoughtfulness, and intervene with healing instead
of control. The result is more than classroom management—it’s relational
transformation. As a teacher, you become more powerful in your
relationships—both inside and outside the classroom
 

It helps teachers:

• Respond instead of react
• Build consistent and loving boundaries
• Move children from dysregulated to calm
• Understand the whole child

• Provide restoration from identified trauma to children and their families
• Bring peace and predictability into the classroom
• Strengthen relationships that support learning

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It helps children:

• Feel safe and seen
• Understand their emotions
• Build self regulation skills
• Learn to use words instead of behaviors
• Grow socially, emotionally, and developmentally
• Become active participants in their own regulation

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But for this kind of shift to take root, schools must be willing to walk the journey with their educators. Trauma-informed classrooms aren’t just built; they’re lived—moment by moment—by teachers who feel equipped, valued, and empowered to lead with empathy and consistency.