This week and last, we have been continuing our unit on friendship. The last time we met, students worked in teams to act out scenes where they asked to join a group and included others in a way that was kind and flexible. For this lesson, we are taking time to think about some of the emotions, or feelings, associated with friendship. Friends have a big impact on how we feel. When things with our friends are going well, we feel happy, safe, and comfortable. When we have problems with our friends, we might feel upset, uncomfortable, even unsafe. As part of our lesson, we reviewed some of the feelings, both positive and negative, that we have throughout the day. We read the book, “The Way I Feel,” by Janan Cain, which uses poetry to describe different feelings.
In the second part of our lesson, we discussed ways to calm our body when unexpected things happen. When we have a problem with another person, we often feel negative feelings, and as a result, can sometimes make choices that make the problem worse. Since this is the last thing we want to do, our first job when we have a problem is to stop, and if we are upset, work to calm our body down. As a class, we reviewed three strategies to calm our bodies. They include:
- Take three deep breaths
- Count slowly to ten
- Think about something you like
If you have a moment, please review these strategies with your children. You can even encourage them to use these techniques when they have a problem and are upset at home.
Thank you for your help supporting this important lesson.
Sincerely,
David Starr
School Counselor, Armstrong Elementary School
PH: (508) 836-7760 Email: [email protected]