157. New School: a relaxation and story for your nap time routine

Today is Raj's first day at his new school. He's feeling nervous. Who will reach out with kindness first? Hello everyone!  We hope you enjoyed our new story this week. Now, welcome to Favorite Friday! Sometimes we like to listen to our favorites again. Please enjoy “New School" and we’ll be back with a new story on Monday! Narrator: Male The Build Excerpt: It was the first day at Raj’s new school. As he waited for the bus, he began to feel nervous. Raj imagined all kinds of things. He thought about the new friends he would meet. He thought about the new things he would learn this year. Then he took a deep dragon breath in and out and slowed his running thoughts. He knew that staying present would help him through this exciting day. So Raj took another deep breath in and out, and then he took one more deep breath in and out, feeling calm. The bus pulled up and Raj stepped on, not sure where to sit. So, Raj sat down quickly in the front seat. Maybe on the way home, he would know who to sit by. Raj smiled at the kids across the aisle from him and they smiled back. “That wasn’t too bad,” Raj thought. The bus stopped again and again. Most of the kids got on, nodded hello to Raj, and then walked back further on the bus. Then at one bus stop two boys stepped on. "Hi!” one boy said. “Haven’t seen you around before. I’m Owen and this is Andy.” “I’m Raj,” Raj replied. “I just moved here.” “Great! We’ll show you around. Do you mind if I sit here?” Raj shook his head 'no' and Owen sat next to Raj. Andy sat in the seat behind them. The three boys chatted the rest of the way to the school. When the bus stopped Andy said, “OK, follow us. We’ll show you what to do.” Today’s Meditation: Feel your muscles relax as you check in with your body from head to toe. Looking for stories that emphasize acceptance, understanding, and empathy?  You'll find them on Ahway Island®. Be Calm on Ahway Island® Podcast offers original bedtime stories, like "New School," paired with meditations for kids. We help them drift off to sleep with a guided relaxation and a calming story. Gently nestled within each podcast episode are mindfulness techniques and positive learning moments.  To learn more about our mission at Ahway Island and our team, please visit our website. Creating the original bedtime stories and art for Be Calm on Ahway Island takes a lot of time and care. As a listener-supported podcast, we truly appreciate our members on Patreon. If you're not already a member, please consider joining! Writing, recording, editing, and publishing episodes and managing digital platforms is an enormous endeavor. Our Patreon program will help continue to grow Ahway Island and we hope you will support us! You can choose from 3 different Membership Levels, all of which include access to our Archives and an extra episode each week! Are you and your children enjoying our stories and self-soothing meditations? We hope your child loved “New School!” We ask for your positive reviews to help others find us, too! Please leave a 5-star review on your favorite podcast app (such as Apple Podcasts) or on our Amazon Alexa Skill page. And, please follow, like, and/or share our social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram ) to help us bring our original stories with positive messages to even more listeners!