Emotional Roller Coaster - time to unbuckle, step off and feel in control of the speed and direction you are moving in.
Inside this post: Emotional regulation are skills to be taught. Utilize effective resources for promoting self awareness and emotional regulation in the classroom.
Resources inside this post: MY EMOTIONS: Social Emotional Learning ESSENTIAL SKILLS - a resource complete with lesson plans, student activities, student workbook on EMOTIONS, anchor slides, classroom poster, coloring sheets and more.
You know the feeling of the UPS and DOWNS of an emotional roller-coaster? 😂😭🤪🥴
Ever feel like you have whiplash from the range of emotions from your students?
Well, yeah, because emotions can be hard.
Students are faced with so many tasks, stimuli, challenges, etc...etc... that they don't always know how, why or WHAT they are feeling.
If only there was a simple way to teach, practice and reinforce skills to help with the emotional ups and downs... Sometimes it is happening so fast it's hard to process feelings and emotions at roller coaster speed.
Unpacking emotions allows students to slow down.
To be aware.
To process.
To reflect.
And to make positive choices.
These sound like the types of skills I want in my classroom and counseling sessions!!
And I'm excited to share the tools I'm using to promote these skills...
When you are in control of your emotions, the roller coaster will glide to a stop and you can unbuckle, step off, and feel in control of the speed and direction you're moving in.
Gaining control over emotions is a SKILL to be TAUGHT:
"Emotional regulation is not a skill we are born with... Helping our kids learn to self-regulate is among [the] most important tasks.
Emotional regulation or self regulation is the ability to monitor and modulate which emotions one has, when you have them, and how you experience and express them.
Learning to self-regulate is a key milestone in child development – whose foundations are laid in the earliest years of life.
A child’s capacity to regulate their emotions affects their family and peers, academic performance, long-term mental health, and their ability to thrive in a complex world." - from parentingforbrain.com
Whew.
That's a hefty task.
Where to begin?
Step one: Start with the recognition of feelings.
Recognizing ones feelings is called SELF AWARENESS.
It's another one of those SEL golden tickets ⭐
My sister in law just shared the other day that her daughter was crying. When she asked her what was wrong, her daughter replied, "I don't know!!" 😭The ticket to making progress with feelings and emotional regulation is to first have some AWARENSS about the feeling/emotion.
A little self-awareness here goes a long way. It gives a little map for the individual and an outsider to work together to know how to process the emotions and where to go next. (see more about this process HERE.)
If you take the time to have self awareness you may realize you're feeling grumpy because you are tired and hungry; therefore, getting a snack and some rest will be helpful. 😴🍏
If you're angry and you unpack why, it may be because your feelings are hurt or you feel bothered by the way someone handled a situation - you can decide how to move forward with your hurt and/or how you can address how the situation was handled.
My students and I are using the "MY EMOTIONS" curriculum for introducing and practicing self-awareness.
We are digging deep and acknowledging feelings while exploring what triggers those emotions and what how we can cope!!
Empower your students with an emotional compass to help navigate their feelings!!
🍏Stay Mindful,
Victoria
