About the Happier Hour® Method

The most powerful wellness tool for kids isn’t another app, program, or life overhaul—it’s learning how to turn everyday moments into emotional strength.

The Happier Hour® Method is a science-based system of tiny daily rituals that help students feel better—faster. Grounded in how the developing brain naturally works, it’s built around a powerful idea: thoughts and emotions aren’t random. They’re trainable.

Created by Dr. Robin Engelman, a clinical psychologist and educator with 25+ years of experience, the method blends habit science, neuroscience, CBT, and positive psychology to help students build resilience from the inside out. Instead of overhauling their lives, students learn to shift their emotional baseline—one intentional ritual at a time.

The Story Cure (Grades 6–10)

Turning skills into habits teens can rely on.

Through YA-style stories and relatable characters, The Story Cure helps middle and high school students practice emotional resilience in ways that stick. Teens see themselves in characters like Maya, who learns savoring, or Alex, who discovers how to build rituals that last. The curriculum addresses challenges like social media overwhelm, academic pressure, and friendship drama—showing that big change begins with small, meaningful choices.

Students learn how to:

• Calm their nervous system during stress

• Shift unhelpful thoughts and emotional reactivity

• Feel more connected, motivated, and self-directed

• Strengthen their relationship with themselves

• Move toward their goals with clarity and consistency

The Play Cure (Grades 1–5)

Turning play into powerful emotional tools.

Elementary students learn best through rhythm, movement, and imagination. The Play Cure brings SEL to life through superheroes, songs, games, and creative play—helping kids practice emotional skills in fun, memorable ways. By pairing playful experiences with ritual science, children build coping tools they can actually use in real moments of stress.

• Students discover their own “emotional superpowers” as they learn to:

  • Super-Calm Power: Use breath and movement to settle big feelings

  • Joy Collector: Notice and celebrate good moments with savoring

  • Challenge Shifter: See problems in a new light with perspective and appreciation

  • Friendship Builder: Grow kindness and connection through smiles, eye contact, and teamwork

  • Coach Voice: Turn their inner critic into an encouraging helper with positive self-talk

  • Future Hero: Imagine and practice being the hero they want to become

Change That Fits Student Life

The Happier Hour® Method works with the rhythms kids already live. Whether it’s checking a phone, lining up for recess, or walking to class, students “layer” feel-good micro-rituals onto their day using existing habits as cues. The result? More intention, less reactivity. More self-leadership, less self-doubt.

Tiny rituals. Big change. Real stories. Real play.