Award-winning Skills-Building Games, Mental Health Tools & Courses
Created by Dr. Jenny Woo, Harvard-trained educator, researcher, and mom of 3.
Watch her TEDx talk below.
WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING
“52 Essential Conversations is a wonderful tool for teachers and parents alike to have anytime, anywhere conversations with young people to build our mutual understanding and our SEL competencies together.”
“As a pediatrician, I believe this will help children from Pre-K to High School build true life skills like self-awareness, self-management, and social skills. I recommend that pediatricians and all healthcare providers put these in their waiting rooms.”
“These remarkable conversation prompts lead children into meaningful discussions with adults about relationships, self-awareness, social understanding, self-management, and other relevant issues in their lives. The prompts build on research on social-emotional development and the everyday experiences of children. Such an easy and fun way of building bridges with young people and learning together with them.”
“52 Essential Conversations empowers parents with the necessary language to break down barriers of communication with their children to build a healthy and supportive culture of understanding.”
“As an educator and parent of three tween girls, 52 Essential Conversations is the answer to my prayers! It gives me the prompt for the conversation I want to have but am not sure how to start.”
“52 Essential Conversations gives parents what they need to cleverly transform everyday interactions with their children into deeply memorable learning experiences that nurture children to be purposeful and empathetic adults.”
“What a cutting-edge opportunity to align social emotional learning at home and in school! 52 Essential Conversations covers critical topics that both children and parents need to succeed as self-aware participants of the 21st century.”
“Children – and their parents – need help navigating a screen-based world that’s more concerned about ‘me’ than ‘us. This seemingly simple deck of cards prompts discussion about honesty, kindness, disappointment, and compassion. Our judges recognized ‘52 Essential Conversations’ for making these often-intimidating conversations as easy to spark as playing Go Fish. Turns out, families were waiting for the opportunity.”
WHAT PARENTS AND TEACHERS ARE SAYING
“This game is exactly what our family has been looking for! We use it with our children ranging in ages from 5 to 19 as a fun way to talk about meaningful life experiences. It is the perfect size (small!) and comes in a solid case to keep all of the cards contained. We use it at the dinner table and in the car. Love it.”
“Your game is just like the best social-emotional learning tools. When you see it, you say “of course!” There’s such a need and how come it hasn’t existed before and in every family household?!”
“My husband gifted me 52 Essential Conversations and I was blown away by the questions and prompts! Having previously taught mindfulness to young kids I know how vital social and emotional learning (SEL) is to healthy development and long term success. The thoughtful questions cover so many important topics and make it easy to engage in meaningful conversations. This is such a beautiful game that can benefit children and adults alike!! I highly recommend it!”
“I got my cards and I love them. Great topics and questions. They blend perfectly with our Restorative Justice circles and Kagan team building we do with our students. I love how there are levels of difficulty ( and I don’t have to figure/plan that out) and I can pass the card around during circles. I wish I had had them during our road trips this summer. I think they are great for parents who are looking to engage in deeper conversations with their kids and honestly, couples. I asked and answered questions with my husband. I think I’ll use them with my dad too.”
“52 Essential Conversations resonates strongly with our mission at The Outdoor Academy, and we value opportunities to engage our students in thoughtful reflection about ethics, character, leadership, relationships, and community. 52 Essential Conversations makes it easy, and these cards will serve as an excellent resource for our faculty, dorm parents, advisors, and outdoor educators. This is a simple yet incredibly powerful tool for anybody who spends meaningful time with young people. We are ordering more decks for The Outdoor Academy, and I’ll keep one on hand to start great conversations with my own son!”
“My 11yo is just starting to get into middle school and I can tell a lot of his friends are shutting down to their parents. I think this is going to be great to make sure that it doesn’t happen. Thanks for all your hard work! It’s making a real difference in people’s lives already!!”