In kindergarten our last lesson of the year was on mindfulness. I started by asking students if they know what mindfulness means. Many students hit it spot on! Mindfulness is all about being aware of your self and your emotions, being present. When students are feeling big emotions, it's important for them to recognize what is happening in their body in order to take control. I found this great, kid-friendly video that helps students recognize what happens to their body and uses a smart analogy of a bottle of sparkles being shaken up inside their brains. After the video we discussed how their bodies feel when they are having a big emotion and what tips the video told us on how to regain control. Then we practiced these strategies using two great videos on GoNoodle. Both "Flow" and "Safe & Calm" guides students through the relaxation process. Students enjoyed getting to lay down and close their eyes on the carpet!
Parents! You can create a free, all access account on GoNoodle to do at home over the summer! Check out the following information:
In kindergarten, just like any other grade, things start to rev up in the spring. Expectations are raised, demand increases and the pressure to be prepared for the next grade starts to affect our students. With this shift in the classroom environment comes the likelihood of children have to learn to adjust to everyday changes. This can look many ways, and for a few of our students, they are showing their frustration and anger in more physical approaches. Hence, here I come to try and save the day! We read When I'm Feeling Angry written by Trace Moroney. This short and simple book is great for helping students recognize anger in their bodies (the cover alone opens up a lot of discussion) and teaching them appropriate ways to cope with anger.
The book does a nice job of sharing that it is okay to feel angry which I really enjoyed. It is okay for all of us to experience feelings, and we do! Many children hold the belief that adults will not "let them" be angry. Clarifying that we all have feelings and finding helpful ways to calm ourselves down is a great start to breaking down this myth. This is where the "Anger Rules" come in:
I found this great poster on Pinterest that I immediately printed out to post in each of the classrooms I was visiting. We brainstormed ideas that we could do when we felt angry, using inspiration from the book, and then got to work on picking out what would work best for us. Each student received 2 printouts, one that was part of a Calm Down Kit TeachersPayTeachers and the other I created in Word. Students cut out ideas they could use to help them feel better when experiencing strong emotions. I explained that for me, playing another game doesn't help because I'm still feeling too upset. However, crying is a great release and I always feel better after. A favorite for many was learning that you could go to the recycling bin and take paper out of it to rip up...instead of their own paper at their table (because that would be destroying property).
Our SEL Coach, Angela Bailey, and I hosted a training at our campus about the importance of Peace Areas. We started with an informational PowerPoint that reinforced how easy it is to set one up in your classroom, then we finished with a Peace Area "Buffet" where teachers received all the materials needed to set up their very own Peace Area!
For our last lesson of the year, I reviewed the 3 different ways we respond to conflict. With our older students I go into the brain stem and our reptilian brain's fight/flight/freeze, but in the lower grades I found a great alternative that is much more developmentally appropriate from The School Counselor's Chronicle. I started by showing them this hilarious video on conflict, compliments of Sesame Street and Robin Williams:
Then I introduce the 3 ways we respond to conflict as human beings: like a mouse, like a monster, or like me. We wrote down examples of how each would respond to a conflict in our flip book. For example, a mouse might ignore, stay quiet, etc. A monster might yell, push back, etc. Me might be assertive, use I Message, etc. We created flipbooks to help learn about each of our possible reactions and discuss which works the best.
After we had a clear understanding of each of the 3 types of responses, we acted them out. I printed out large masks of a mouse and a monster for students to wear to show the different ways we might respond.
Last year the cup stack was one of my FAVORITE team building activities (see post here). So, naturally, I wanted to give it another shot! The Cup Stack is a fun, yet challenging activity that promotes team work. The supplies are basic: cups, string, rubber bands. I go ahead and tie the string to the rubber bands so it is ready to go. I make a few for groups of 4 and a few for groups of 5, this way no matter what the numbers are in the classroom I can make it work. I start by asking students what teamwork is. What does it look like? sound like? feel like? We brainstorm a list of ideas that I hang in the classroom for students to refer to. Each class comes up with a variety of ideas, but they all center around the same theme.
Then I introduce their challenge. I start off my admitting that this will be a frustrating activity. We discuss ways to handle our stress and feelings that arise when others make a mistake or don't do what we want them to do. I model that they will each be given 6 cups and a rubberband with strings attached to it. Their job is to stack the cups into a design by only holding onto their individual string.
I demonstrate that when everyone pulls on their string the rubberband opens wider, and vice versa. I also show them the challenges of picking up a cup that has tipped on its side or fallen on the floor. No matter what happens, they must follow the one rule: YOU CAN ONLY TOUCH YOUR STRING. No touching the rubber band, no touching the cup, and no touching other group member's strings. I reinforce how communication is so important in order to reach the goal. Then I set them off. Here are some videos and pics.
After about 10-15 minutes, we pause and reflect on our experiences. I ask them to rate their group on how well they worked together using the ideas we wrote at the beginning of the lesson. I ask them what went well for their group. I also ask them what didn't go well for their group. We talk about different strategies and ways we an handle ourselves when things don't go the way we want them to. Throughout the activity I walk around and facilitate positive communication, so I usually have a few examples to help springboard the discussion.
