I have an increasing number of students that are requesting items to have at home for when they feel overwhelmed. I have been putting together calming kits for them, and I will often include a paper version of a finger labyrinth to help with focus and calm.
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As many of you know by now, I have been working with an increasing number of students dealing with anxiety. They have all really enjoyed the What is Anxiety video, but even after watching the video, I have found myself explaining a few things in more detail. So… I made this sheet/activity to help my students understand the difference between real (the owl) vs. perceived (bear or fox) threats.
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How annoying is it for you when you’re really upset and someone says, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine,”? I don’t know about you, but for me, this tends to just make me feel worse because everything doesn’t feel fine in that moment. Our students are the same way. Simply dismissing their anxiety or worry often just spirals them. If everything was fine for them, then they wouldn’t have the big feelings in the first place.
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Anxiety is a BIG feeling with MANY feelings wrapped up inside, and it often manifests itself in so many ways from child to child. There are an increasing number of students in my building that are experiencing some symptoms of anxiety on a day-to-day basis. I found myself on repeat discussing what anxiety is and how it works, and thus, this video was created!
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Schools play a huge and instrumental role in creating a strong support network for students. My teachers are great at building relationships with kids. It is seriously one of the things that they’re best at! Because of this, my students typically have a pretty strong support network in place during their school day. However, I find that some of my students truly do not recognize all of the supportive people that surround them until I point it out.
Continue readingIt was hinted at before, but now it’s finally here! The activity bundle (Identifying Feelings: Using a Feelings Scale) that goes along with the Size of Feeling video is up and running!
Continue readingBeing able to tell the difference in the intensity of our feelings is one of the first ways we can learn to cope. It’s not only important for students to be able to name their feelings, but also notice how their bodies change and react based on the intensity of the emotion.
Continue readingWe cannot expect our students to be able to regulate if they do not have the words to express how they are feeling. I absolutely love teaching feelings vocabulary to my students because I always find that it is so interesting to hear those that the students know. Sometimes, it’s even more interesting to hear the feelings that fill them with confusion or are left out completely!
Continue readingOctober is National Bullying Prevention Month, so what better way to get a head start than to do some bullying prevention lessons in our schools now? I don’t know how it is for you, but in my district, we are required to teach our students about bullying before the middle of September.
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