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Social and Emotional Learning Form updated

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Neff ELC Parent Teacher Communication Log-March

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When we teach mindfulness to kids, we equip them with tools to build self-esteem, manage stress, and skillfully approach challenges. Explore our guide on how to introduce mindfulness and meditation to your children—at any age.

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This is the chrome extension that I use in my classroom to remind us to stop regularly throughout the day to practice mindfulness.

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A bell that reminds us to breathe and be mindful of our body and mind.

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Self Care: Desk Stretches to do while at work :)

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Self Care: Desk Stretches to do while at work :)

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Smelling Flowers & Blowing out Candles Breathing Technique

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Smelling Flowers & Blowing out Candles Breathing Technique

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Candle and Flower Breathing – Relaxing Mindfulness & Deep Breathing Exercise for Calm & Focus

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Social Emotional Learning Student Check In 

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Social Emotional Learning Student Check In 

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Social Emotional Learning Digital Check In

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Social Emotional Learning Digital Check In

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Sometimes life can be overwhelming and it can be hard to work through difficult times. This Virtual Calming Room was designed to assist in identifying different strategies for managing emotions. We hope these tools will provide helpful outlets and practices for when life gets tough.
Disclaimer: The following resources are curated using information and links from a variety of local and national organizations. This information is purely for educational purposes and not meant to diagnose or treat any medical condition nor intended as psychological interventions or as a substitute for psychological treatment. If you are in need of psychological help you should seek the consultation of a licensed mental health professional.

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Virtual Calming Room - Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196

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Virtual Calming Room - Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196

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Are you working on a calm down kit for your classroom this year? They are a great way to help students when they need to take a break, breathe, and calm down so they can continue their day. These are especially helpful for students with sensory processing needs. We have pulled together some creative, helpful, and teacher-approved products that will start or complete any calm down kit needs.
Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!
Sure, there are sensory bin hacks and DIY versions of these products, but if you're pressed for time, this is a nice option at a good price. The kit comes with water beads, water lava bubbles, color-changing silly putty, a narwhal, and a stretchy ring. Grab a few kits and your students will be on the path to calm in no time. You can also get more fidget toy ideas here.

This is part project/part stress relief. When you assemble the stress balls, you'll have an opportunity to sneak in a quick science lesson: How do the beads expand? How long will it take? How many water beads will fit into each balloon? Once the stress balls are made, each student will then have their own go-to calm down toy.

Some classrooms have banned them, but you may want to consider keeping a fidget spinner or two in your calm down kit. They help soothe the mind and settle a fidgety student.

These stretchy bands are the perfect tool to encourage mindfulness. Dubbed fidget strings or monkey noodles, the noodles are ideal for children with ADHD or anxiety, and the tough material can withstand all sorts of pinching, stretching, and other manipulations. As a bonus, twist a few bands together to pull and you've got yourself a good arm exercise.

Sandboxes are often marketed toward younger children, particularly toddlers, but magic sand can be the perfect addition to encourage mindfulness. Students can easily become mesmerized by the way the sand flows and stays together. It's a great activity for helping students forget about their stress and simply relax. Stow the sand in a box or plastic bin for easy clean up.

There's a reason stress relief balls are still popular: They work! Stress relief balls double as a calm down method and a therapeutic sensory toy for students with ADHD or anxiety. Plus, these stress balls are just plain old fun to mush around in your hands! There are so many options out there, but we're a big fan of these emoji ones. Or learn how you can make your own in this DIY stress balls article.

Sometimes calming down isn't about doing something to calm down; sometimes it's about not doing. If a student is feeling stressed and overwhelmed, these noise-canceling headphones can provide a quiet sanctuary in the middle of a busy classroom.

Expanding balls make a great addition to your mindfulness bin or chill-out corner. Toss a ball back and forth between friends or use it as a solitary toy to encourage and visualize slow, deep breaths. This set comes with two balls that both expand up to 12 inches.

Which Thinking Putty will you try? The Cosmic Thinking Putty comes with a glow charger, but this isn't the only super cool putty. There is magnetic putty, glowing putty, color-changing putty, and optical illusion putty. Grab a few tins, and your students will be relaxed and peaceful in no time.

Ideal for students who can read independently, the Cards for Calm game doesn't just distract your students; the cards actually teach them how to practice mindfulness and manage any stress, anxiety, and negative thinking. It can be played with multiple students or as a single-player game.

Who says all squishy stress relievers have to come in ball form? This unicorn squishy is so cute! Bonus: This unicorn doesn't have plastic smell that many polyurethane toys have ... and did we mention it's tear-resistant?

Weighted blankets are well known for their ability to help children (and even adults) calm down. This blanket would make a great addition to your reading corner. What's better than a book and blanket to just chill out? Available in 15, 20, and 25 pounds.

Don't want to invest in a blanket? A weighted lap pad can also do the trick. These colorful pads also have different textures to further extend sensory benefits.

Adult coloring books are all the rage, and for good reason: They help adults relax. However, adult coloring books aren't just for adults. Older students (who already know how to color within the lines) will also benefit from these types of coloring books. You'll want to keep lots of colored pencils (grab a 72-piece kit here) on hand for these projects.

Sometimes you need something really visual to help you take a break and get yourself centered again. These are similar to glitter jars you can make yourself, but this one is all set and ready to go.

These are great for general fidgeting, but they're also good for those who like puzzles. They come with a set of four that can be broken apart and snapped together again, to give students a bit of a brain break.

Here's another kit that is worth a try. If you're unsure what your students will respond to, this has plenty of options! You get 19 pieces in all, and they're all great for fidgeting or as part of a calm down kit.
What are your favorite things to put in a calm down kit? Come and share in Plus, check out these fidget toys to try. 5 our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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15 Great Ideas for Your Classroom Calm Down Kit

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Are you working on a calm down kit for your classroom this year? They are a great way to help students when they need to take a break, breathe, and calm down so they can continue their day. These are especially helpful for students with sensory processing needs.

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Teaching preschoolers how to regulate their emotions and deal with difficult situations is one of the most important goals for children to work on before going to kindergarten.

The Calm Down Binder is a great tool for any early childhood learning environment. It can be easily added to an existing calm down or quiet space or it can be tossed into a teacher bag to be used anywhere. Easily take it with you on any outing or out to the playground.

The activities inside this binder will walk the child through a variety of calming techniques such as: deep breathing, and gentle finger exercises.

This 15 page .pdf file includes the following calming activities and pages:

How are you feeling?: Children can use the images to identify how they are feeling

Blow out the Candles: Children pretend to blow out each candle one at a time

Pop the bubbles: Children pretend to pop each of the bubbles

Bunny Trail: Children Trace the trail from the bunny to the carrot

Smell the flowers: Take a deep breath to smell the flowers

Finger exercises: Make your fingers into ball, and press your fingers against the paper

Snowflake Tracing: Trace the path of the snowflake from the top of the page to the bottom

Lily pad Hop: Using their finger children hop to each pad from the top of the page to the bottom

Yoga: Children can practice the yoga positions on the page

Counting Stars: Children count each of the stars

It also includes a "When I feel.." poster with suggestions on how to handle the big emotions of being angry, sad, and scared.

This pack also includes: TOS, Graphics Credit, and Directions

Add the binder to your calm down space to support children when they are feeling upset.

Children often experience big feelings when outside of the home or classroom.
​Keep a copy of your Calm Down Binder in a bag to have handy in the event it is needed.

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Teaching preschoolers how to regulate their emotions and deal with difficult situations is one of the most important goals for children to work on before going to kindergarten. The Calm Down Binder is a great tool for any early childhood learning environment.

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This calm down corner works with google classroom. Students assess their mood with a feelings check in. Next they choose coping skills to regulate their emotions. Be sure to keep the sound on to hear the calming sounds for each page.All ages will love this one! (including adults)-----------------...

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50+ Simple Social-Emotional Learning Activities for All Ages

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Teach self-control, emotional awareness, and more by incorporating these easy social-emotional learning activities into your daily routine.

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Kids and young adults need social-emotional skills to be successful at school, home, and for the rest of their lives. These are the skills that help kids build confidence, understand their own strengths and weaknesses, collaborate with others, navigate social situations, develop strong relationships, and make better decisions. Without a doubt, these are critical skills for all learners.

In my years as a teacher, I know there is just not enough time for everything. So often, social and emotional learning gets put on the back burner to other important skills like reading, writing, math, history, and science. While these skills are certainly important, I would argue that it's even more important that kids develop their emotional intelligence through social emotional learning activities. Simply put, if kids are mentally and emotionally healthy, they are better equipped to face the challenges life brings. We just have to make the time to teach, discuss, and practice these skills! Best of all, there are many ways to integrate social-emotional learning into what you are already teaching.

Below I share 25 strategies for integrating SEL instruction and activities into the day. Of course, if you're looking for a solution that targets these skills more explicitly, I created a yearlong curriculum for elementary social emotional learning and middle school social emotional learning to help all kids learn these skills.

Just a note that these strategies were originally written for use in the classroom. While many of the techniques can be used during distance learning, I also recently wrote an article all about integrating social emotional learning during distance learning.
Here are 25 ways to integrate social emotional learning into your classroom:
1. Use Journal Writing. You can use daily journal prompts to help kids think about social-emotional skills in all areas. For example, you might ask kids, "When was a time you used self-control? What was outcome?" to focus on self-management skills. After writing, it's helpful to have students share their responses with a partner and with the class as a whole. Kids will be practicing writing, partner work, group discussion, and SEL skills all at the same time. I love this yearlong Social Emotional Learning Journal for just a few minutes of writing and discussion every day.

2. Use Read Alouds. This is one of my favorite strategies for integrating SEL into everyday learning because it is something educators do so often already. While reading, spend time talking about how some of the characters might think and feel. Use this time to highlight that this is perspective-taking, a skill we use to understand others' emotions and thoughts. Best of all, it can be done with any text you are already reading. Grab this free read aloud list for social emotional learning to get you started with some ideas.

3. Do Daily Greetings. Kids and young adults need connection! One positive and simple strategy is to start your morning with daily greetings. You can do this as kids walk through the door or during the first few minutes of class. If you are teaching online, greetings can even be virtual. Use this printable greetings poster to get started.

3. Hold Class Meetings. You can choose to hold a class meeting once a day as a "morning meeting" or just once a week. The purpose of a class meeting can be to boost each other up, to help solve problems, and plan class events together. Having this space for community can help promote a positive climate for all kids. Use this morning meeting set to get started.

4. Incorporate Art Activities. Art can be a powerful way to target social and emotional skills. Creating a self-collage can help kids develop better self-awareness about who they are. Painting and drawing can serve as positive coping strategies to manage stress. Having partners work together on a shared drawing can increase collaboration and relationship skills. There are lots of opportunities for learning with art!

6. Talk About Managing Emotions. No matter what age, all kids and young adults need practice managing their emotions. This is another skill that can be weaved into literature as you talk about character's feelings and needs. You might say, "How did Theresa feel when her mom left? How did she manage her emotions? Do you think it was a healthy way to manage them?" Additionally, be open with kids about how to manage their own emotions and give strategies for what kids can do in your classroom. For example, "If you are feeling nervous about the test today, remember to use positive self-talk. Tell yourself that you've got this!"

7. Give Responsibilities. Giving kids responsibilities and jobs helps build their sense of self-worth and gives the message that we are all part of a larger community. It's important that every student has some type of responsibility, whether it is a class librarian, lunch counter, or part of a "clean up crew".

8. Practice Problem-Solving Skills. If students have an issue or challenge to overcome, avoid solving it for them right away. Encourage kids to think about how they could solve their problem and have a 10 minute policy - students can get your help but they need to think about the problem for at least 10 minutes first. Often, kids will figure out a solution on their own or with a friend during that time. You can use these free social problem solving task cards or grab the full set to get started! Again, this is another skill that can be strengthened through literature by discussing characters, problems, and making predictions about solutions.

9. Build Community with Teamwork. For class projects and assignments, have students work in larger teams to complete a task. Teach students to assign different jobs when working in a team, so that all students have important responsibilities.

10. Encourage Positive Self-Talk. Self-talk is voice in our minds that reassures and encourages us. It also helps us control our emotions so we can deal with problems appropriately. Today, kids hear a lot of negative, so teaching positive self-talk explicitly is really important. Model this and encourage this every day. Use this free positive thoughts and affirmations list to get started.

11. Celebrate Diversity. Spend time discussing and learning about people from diverse cultures, backgrounds, and ability levels. Kids need to hear, see, discuss, and understand that we are part of a larger community within our countries and world. Early discussions about diversity can help promote tolerance, acceptance, and inclusion for everyone.

12. Incorporate Hands-on Crafts. If your students need a craft break or activity before a holiday, use that time to promote social and emotional skills. The craft below is a Positive Self-Talk Flower Craft. Kids can add their own positive self-talk statements, color the craft, cut it out, and then keep it to help remind them how to use this helpful strategy. This is just one small example that can help to maximize your learning time by incorporating SEL into activities like crafts.

13. Encourage Reflection. After students complete a task, assessment, project, or assignment, encourage them to reflect about their own progress. This is a critical SEL skill that can be used across all curriculum, such as math, reading, writing, science, history, and more.

14. Practice Mindfulness. Using mindfulness in the classroom can help teach kids how to calm down before a big test, manage their emotions when they are upset, and just feel happier in the moment. Sometimes, kids don't really know how to calm down on their own. Teaching mindfulness can help kids learn breathing strategies, how to focus on just one thing at a time, and relaxing our bodies. You can use these Mindfulness Activities to teach kids these strategies right away.

15. Create a Calm Down Area. Not all kids will use this area, but there are some students who truly need it. Set up a small area in your classroom with a bean bag, a few books, a calm down jar, a few fidgets, and anything else you have that is calming. Students who need this space can sit, use coping strategies, and return back to class when they are calm again.

16. Promote a Growth Mindset. Embracing a growth mindset helps kids and young adults learn that we can accomplish our goals with hard work, good strategies, and persistence over time. Sometimes kids feel they are just as smart as they'll ever be (i.e. "I'm just never good at math, so there's no use in trying). This mindset can be detrimental to student growth, so it is worth investing time into teaching kids to embrace a growth mindset and instead say, "Math is tough but I'm going to study, work hard, and ask for help so I can accomplish what I want to." Use these free Growth Mindset Task Cards to get yourself started!

17. Encourage Kindness. One of my favorite ways to promote kindness is encouraging random acts of kindness. Set up a bin where students can write and add a note when they notice someone else doing something kind or helpful. Once a month, draw from the bin to award a small reward. You can also post the random acts up on a bulletin board so that everyone can see.

18. Play Games. It's helpful to have an assortment of games that focus on social-emotional skills, such as communication, empathy, and problem-solving. Read up more on how you can integrate social emotional learning through games. You can also read my blog post about games you can use to strengthen executive functioning skills, such as self-control, planning, attention, and more.

19. Provide a Daily Check-in. You can do this either through a morning meeting, or just a quick check-in for specific students in need. Have students identify how they are feeling and consider what they might need to improve their emotions in the moment.

20. Discuss Empathy. To me, empathy is one of the most critical skills for kids to develop. It is the foundation for considering about how others think and feel so that we can respond in socially appropriate and compassionate ways. You can practice empathy on its own or through literature by discussing characters and how they might feel in a variety of situations. I also love these social skills task cards to practice the skills when time allows.

21. Create SMART Goals. SMART goals are another way to help kids have control over what they want to accomplish in life. You can have students write SMART goals for an academic area that they need to improve or a social area that needs work. Make sure to check-in on these goals periodically so that students can identify if their strategies are working or not, and make decisions about how to change their approaches to make their goals a success.

22. Teach Coping Skills to Manage Stress. All kids and young adults experience stress even when we don't see it. It is so important to teach them actual strategies they can use when they are feeling overwhelmed. It's critical that kids practice these strategies when they are actually calm and don't need them. That's so they can effectively use those skills in the moment when they are struggling with emotions. I love this Coping Strategies Wheel to teach and practice some of these skills in a hands-on way.

23. Highlight Skills Throughout the Day. Just teaching or addressing some of these social-emotional skills isn't enough. When you see them in action in the classroom, highlight and encourage the skill! For example, you might say privately to a student, "I noticed you were frustrated when you couldn't work with the group you wanted and you did a great job using your self-control and flexibility to go with the flow and choose another group. Thank you." You can highlight the skills to the whole class, too. You might say, "Before this test, I want everyone to just stop and use some positive self-talk. Give yourself a compliment."

24. Teach Active Listening Skills. All kids need to learn strong active listening skills for success at school, with friends, and at their future jobs. Kids will use them in your classroom when you are teaching, when they are working with a partner on an assignment, and when they are just chatting with a friend.

25. Teach Group Ground Rules. Group work is an important part of learning in the classroom, but it is not a strength for all learners. Have your kids develop "Group Ground Rules" for what is important when working in a group. Some examples might be: Do your fair share of the work, stay with the group, and give everyone a chance to speak up. Continually remind students of these rules when working in groups or partners.

26. Practice Respectfully Disagreeing. People are going to disagree sometimes, so learning how to disagree respectfully is a critical skill (especially in our digital world). Have students discuss and debate topics, making sure that they actively listen to the other person and respect that opinion even when they don't agree. You can use these Free Communication Skills Lessons to practice!

Remember that a social-emotional learning isn't just one thing. It's an approach that brings all of these aspects into your classroom and supporting your learners every day. I also have developed a yearlong curriculum for elementary social emotional learning and middle school social emotional learning to help all kids learn these skills. Kids deserve to have them!

These are just some ways you can incorporate social-emotional learning into your already-busy classroom. If you have more ideas about SEL, please share!

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25 Ways to Integrate Social Emotional Learning

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Kids and young adults need social-emotional skills to be successful at school, home, and for the rest of their lives. These are the skills that help kids build confidence, understand their own strengths and weaknesses, collaborate with others, navigate social situations, develop strong relationships

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Social-emotional learning (SEL) is one of the most promising frontiers in educational research. Because intellectual and social-emotional development are linked, teaching both is the best way to promote lifelong success. But many schools don't know how to ensure that their social emotional learning activities are focusing on the right skills.

The Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL), a leading expert in integrating SEL into school curriculum, has compiled a list of core competencies for students to learn. These five key skills are:

Self-awareness: the ability to identify and assess your thoughts, feelings, and values, as well as how they intersect with your behaviors

Self-management: the ability to not only identify but regulate emotions, thoughts, and actions

Responsible decision-making: the ability to make positive, constructive choices about your behavior

Social awareness: the ability to take the perspective of and empathize with others, as well as learning social and ethical behavior

Relationship skills: the ability to get along and make meaningful connections with people in their life

Helping your students learn the CASEL competencies can be as easy as reading books about diversity or holding a class service project. Try these fifteen fun class activities to help your students develop strong SEL skills at school.

Self-Awareness

1. Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness, the ability to focus on the present and accept one's circumstances, is a self-awareness skill that can significantly reduce stress and anxiety.[1] To teach mindfulness in class, put on a guided meditation recording or read one aloud to your students. Encourage them to put their thoughts and feelings aside and focus on the meditation as much as they can.

For younger students, try simpler breathing exercises to help students develop mindfulness without overextending their attention span.

2. Reflective Writing

Reflective writing not only helps students develop self-awareness but empathy and compassion, too.[2] Start each day by giving students five to ten minutes to write about a prompt that encourages self-reflection. By practicing reflective writing every day, this can help students learn to consider their thoughts and feelings in a self-aware way.

Not sure what questions you should give your students? Here are a few prompts that encourage self-analysis:

3. Emotional Vocabulary Lists

Self-awareness activities are a great way to help students understand emotional cues. Include several words that describe emotions to your class vocabulary lists, like "joyful" or "scared." Whenever you introduce a new emotional vocabulary word, take time to discuss what it means and how students can recognize this feeling in themselves and others.

For older grades, try complex emotional vocabulary words like "jubilant" or "apprehensive" to broaden their emotional understanding.

Self-Management

4. Grounding Techniques

Grounding techniques are a stress management exercise used to orient someone in the present when they're emotionally overwhelmed. By focusing on their senses instead of their thoughts or feelings, grounding techniques can teach students how to calm down and manage their emotions when they are upset. Teach grounding techniques as a class and help students practice them when they feel stressed.

Here are a few grounding techniques for you to try out with your students:

5. Self-Management Party Games

Plenty of popular children's games can teach children how to regulate their behaviors. Turn on some music, sort children into groups, and play any of these well-known games that model self-management:

After playing these games, bring your students back together for a class discussion on what they learned about listening and being respectful to others.

6. SMART Goal Challenge

Self-motivation is an essential component to social-emotional learning. If you're not sure how to self-motivate your students, try challenging them to reach their potential by setting SMART goals as a class.

At the beginning of the month or quarter, work with each student to set a SMART goal for themselves. SMART goals must be Specific, Measurable, Agreed-Upon, Relevant, and Time-Bound. Check in with your students several times throughout the month to measure their progress and support them if any challenges arise.

If your students meet their goal by the agreed-upon end date, give them a piece of candy or other reward. If they don't, offer encouragement and work with them to accomplish their goal.

Responsible Decision-Making

7. Class Contract

One way to encourage responsible decision making is by collaborating with your students to create a classroom contract. An effective classroom contract should contain two things: your expectations as a teacher and your students' own hopes and needs for the school year.

Putting a contract together with your students can help them feel like their voices are heard and that you're willing to listen. To make this activity interesting for your students, you can even include "exciting" information like class parties or rewards for meeting academic goals. It's fun and, more importantly, establishes your classroom environment as one where everyone's choices matter.

8. Student Council

Depending on your needs, you could involve your entire class in student council or have them elect representatives. By bringing your students in to discuss classroom needs and upcoming events, student councils can involve your class in the school community while teaching them responsibility.

If you've never held a council before, hold a discussion with your class to decide which student council ideas would work best.

9. "What Would You Do?" Activity

Practicing how to make tough decisions can help your students learn how their actions affect others. Give your students a list of situations in which they would have to make an important choice. Have them write down an answer to each situation by themselves, then discuss their answers as a class.

Here are a few problem-solving scenarios to get your students started:

While playing with your little brother, he accidentally breaks your favorite toy. What do you do next?

You see a new girl playing by herself at recess. What do you say to her?

You're eating a sugar cookie and your friend asks if he can have a bite. How do you respond?

Social Awareness

10. Classroom Service Projects

Service activities are a fun and meaningful way to connect your students to the word around them. By helping others, a class service project can also help students develop empathy. Here are a few service project ideas you can do as your class to make your community a better place:

11. Listening Circles

To begin this activity that teaches active listening, separate your class into groups of four or five students. Have students take turns answering a get-to-know you question. If any student interrupts the person talking, remind them that everyone gets to a turn sharing their answer.

Here are a few question ideas:

At the end of the activity, come together for a class discussion about what they learned in their groups. To make sure every student feels included, try pairing students up and having them share one thing about their partner after the activity.

12. Diversity Story Time

Teaching diversity in the classroom is an essential component of social awareness. During read-aloud story times, try to pick books about people of different cultures, race/ethnicities, religions, and other backgrounds. After reading one of these books to your students, discuss how differences make the world a better place and ask what they learned from the story.

Here are a few popular children's books about diversity to get you started:

It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr

Chrysanthemum by Kevin Henkes

The Skin You Live In by Michael Tyler & David Lee Csicsko

Families, Families, Families! by Suzanne Lang

Marisol McDonald Doesn't Match by Monica Brown

Relationship Skills

13. "Make New Friends" Bingo

"Make New Friends" Bingo is a fun and interactive game for developing social skills, particularly verbal and nonverbal communication.[3] You can play it at the beginning of the school year or anytime you want to have a get-to-know-you activity in class.

To play, make a bingo card with generic traits in each box, like "I have a pet" or "I was born in the summertime." Have your students try to find a different person for each square until they get five in a row. Then, ask each student to share something interesting about themselves that correlates to a box with the class.

14. Team Puzzle Game

Put students into teams of three to five and give each one a jigsaw puzzle to put together. Instruct them that to complete the puzzle, they need to work together as a group. For an added challenge that encourages teamwork, try giving your students a time limit for completing the puzzle.

When students work together, even younger grades can put together complex puzzles. Your students will be amazed by how much they can get done with a little collaboration!

15. Conflict Resolution Read-Along

Helping children resolve conflicts teaches them skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. And, thanks to the timeless lessons they teach, fairy tale read-alongs can help your class get a discussion on conflict resolution skills going.[4]

Choose a beloved fairy tale to read as a class, like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, or Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. As you read the story to your students, ask them the following questions:

What is this story's main conflict?

What do the main characters want to happen?

How can the characters work together to make everyone happy?

Then, turn the discussion to recent conflicts students have had in their life. Have your children share about times when, like the fairy tale characters, they felt conflict with another person. Ask them how they worked with that person to make the situation better, as well as any advice they have to share with the class.

Why Teach Social Emotional Activities?

Research suggests that the cognitive processes that control social-emotional and intellectual development are interconnected. This means that providing both SEL and academic lessons in class is the best way to help students succeed. Students who attend SEL programs at school are more likely to:

With the five CASEL competencies as a guide, educators can make sure that they're providing effective and well-rounded SEL programs in their classrooms. Use these social and emotional skills activities to give your students the tools they need to thrive in school and everywhere else, too.
Sources:
Grossman, P., Niemann, L., Schmidt, S., & Walach, H. (2004, July). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 57(1), pp. 35-43.[1]

DasGupta, S., & Charon, R. (2004, April). Personal Illness Narratives: Using Reflective Writing to Teach Empathy. Academic Medicine, 79(4), pp. 351-56.[2]

Mascott, A. (2015, August 17). Meet New Friends Bingo Game. Retrieved from scholastic.com: https://www.scholastic.com/parents/books-and-reading/raise-a-reader-blog/meet-new-friends-bingo-game.html.[3]

The Nemours Foundation. (2016). Personal Health Series: Conflict Resolution. Retrieved from kidshealth.org: https://classroom.kidshealth.org/3to5/personal/growing/conflict_resolution.pdf/.[4]

Hong, S. (2011, March). The Impact of Enhancing Students' Social and Emotional Learning: A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Universal Interventions. Child Development, 82 (1), pp. 405-32.[5]

Zins, J. (2016). Social and Emotional Learning. Retrieved from healthyselfesteem.org: http://healthyselfesteem.org/about-self-esteem/social-and-emotional-learning/.[6]

Coholic, D.H. (2011, January 07). Exploring the Feasibility and Benefits of Arts-Based Mindfulness-Based Practices with Young People in Need: Aiming to Improve Aspects of Self-Awareness and Resilience. Child & Youth Care Forum, 40(4), pp. 303-17.[7]

Aber, J. L., Jones, S. M. Brown, J. L. Chaudry, N. & Samples, F. (1998). Resolving Conflict Creatively: Evaluating the Developmental Effects of a School-Based Violence Prevention Program in the Neighborhood and Classroom Context. Development and Psychopathology, 10, pp. 187-213.[8]

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15 Activities for Teaching CASEL Core Competencies

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With these strategies for CASEL competencies as a guide, you can make sure that you're providing effective SEL programs in your school.

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Visual Relaxation - Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196

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Visual Relaxation - Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196

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Sounds & Music - Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196

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Sounds & Music - Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196

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Teachers and Parents

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Mind Yeti is a library of research-based guided mindfulness sessions that help kids and their adults calm their minds, focus their attention and connect to t…

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Teachers and Parents

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Mindfulness strategies- Teacher and Parents

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Teachers and Parents

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Choice board with activities!- Teachers and Parents

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What is Yo Re Mi? Music, movement, mindfulness and imagination. Our teachers go into schools and daycares to share curriculum-based music and yoga enrichment, designing and implementing early education programming for thousands of children in pre-school through grade 5.

Watch this short video to learn about our kids yoga program and its benefits. Subscribe to receive more yoga videos that your family can do at home!

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#KidsYoga #YoReMi #MindfulnessforKids

*Let's Connect*
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ABOUT YO RE MI:

Yo Re Mi is a musical yoga program for children. In each fun-filled session, we journey to new destinations using our bodies, voices, and imaginations. We collaboratively explore nature, geography, culture, rhythm, dance, songwriting and playing instruments. Through Yo Re Mi's unique combination of music, movement and mindfulness, children develop self-confidence, focus, strength, communication skills and mind-body awareness.

Yo Re Mi brings curriculum-based music and yoga enrichment to schools, designing and implementing early education programming for thousands of children in New York City area schools and daycare centers.

For information on workshops and teacher training visit https://yoremikids.com/teac...

Words and Music © 2019 Yo Re Mi. All Rights Reserved. Show less

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"kids yoga" "children's music" "early childhood education" "musical yoga"

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What is Yo Re Mi? Music, movement, mindfulness and imagination. Our teachers go into schools and daycares to share curriculum-based music and yoga enrichment, designing and implementing early education programming for thousands of children in pre-school through grade 5. Watch this short video to learn about our kids yoga program and its benefits.

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Bari Koral: Kids Yoga, Music & Mindfulness

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Bari Koral: Kids Yoga, Music & Mindfulness

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Bari Koral: Kids Yoga, Music & Mindfulness

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Discover a wonderful world of beloved songs and magical activities that make it easy to teach yoga and mindfulness to children through music. Bari Koral is a widely recognized kids yoga expert and popular recording artist. ABOUT BARI KORAL
Every day, thousands of children, parents and teachers aro…

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Please create your credentials so you enjoy access to this vast source of SEL resources.

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Register and Create Your FREE Profile SINGLE SIGN-ON: Once registered, use your login to access any of our Online Learning Portals. Already Registered? SIGN IN SIGNED IN The Harmony Online Learning Portal provides PreK-6th grade teachers with everything they need to successfully integrate Harmonys' social and emotional learning program into the classroom, including training, lessons, activities, videos, stories, games, and songs.

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Start classroom discussions about brain-expanding topics like growth mindset, empathy, and more.

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| Behavior Chart / with photo | Chore Chart / with photo | Sticker Chart / with photo | Potty Chart / with photo |

Change Sticker Chart and Color

Select Background & Add Clipart

Edit/Add Text

Download/Print/Save

1. Select the stickers. You can click on your selection to change the color.

2. Select a background and clipart by clicking on "select background" and then select any image.

3. To add clipart, click on the back button to go back to the categories.

4. Select clipart and drag it to wherever you would like it to appear.

5. Edit text. You can change the font and all the text. You can also add your own text and/or images.

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Behavior Chart Maker - RewardCharts4Kids

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Behavior Chart / with photo | Chore Chart / with photo | Sticker Chart / with photo | Potty Chart / with photo | Change Sticker Chart and Color Select Background & Add Clipart Edit/Add Text Download/Print/Save Select the stickers. You can click on your selection to change the color.