Play Learn Grow Together

Learning Together Joyfully: SEL – Feelings and Friends

Welcome back educators, parents/care-givers and grandparents! Think about the time you have recently invested in managing your own and your children’s emotions. During these uncertain times, maintaining close relationships and support from friends and family, is evermore important. Over the year, many of us have become far more adept at meeting virtually and friendships have been maintained as a result of BC schools remaining open thanks to our dedicated educators. Opportunities, both in the classroom and at home, where children can develop SEL skills such learning to manage their emotions and self-regulate; exhibit empathy and compassion for others; and establish and maintain supportive relationships, are critical to a child’s education now more than ever. The following social emotional activities, virtual and real, are suggestions to explore in your classroom, local community or around B.C.’s lower mainland. This bi-weekly post offers suggestions for you to consider during these remarkable times as you play, learn and grow together to educate the hearts and minds of our treasured children!

1.  Read and Sing together 📚 

Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” – Aristotle

BOOKS ABOUT FEELINGS

Sharing books creates opportunities for adults to share and discuss the range of emotions everyone feels. Books can stimulate discussion about many different feelings such as kindness, empathy and compassion and share ideas of how to deal with challenging emotions like anger, fear or embarrassment. Consider purchasing or borrowing these books from your school or public library.

• The Feeling Book by Todd Parr vibrantly illustrates the broad variety of moods and feelings we all experience.
• Big Feelings by Alexandra Penfold explores feelings and potential solutions for children to consider when things don’t go to plan.
• Eagle Boy: a Pacific Northwest Native Tale by Robert Lee Vaughan tells how an orphaned child whose love of eagles has made him an outcast from his people.
• Share and read these recommended books together by clicking on the video links below:
  • One by Kathryn Otoshi (4:18 mins.) In this book, young readers learn about numbers, counting, and primary and secondary colours, they also learn about accepting each other’s feelings and differences.
  • I am so embarrassed by Robert Munsch (5:07 mins.) Read about Andrew’s dilemma with his mother – he can’t take her anywhere!
  • When We Are Kind by Monique Gray Smith  (4:27 mins.) celebrates simple acts of everyday kindness and encourages children to explore how they feel when they initiate and receive acts of kindness in their lives.

BOOKS ABOUT FRIENDSHIP

“Relationships are the context for well-being and learning.” – B. C. Early Learning Framework Principles

Maintaining relationships and friendships are lifelong skills that often require managing emotions and feelings. These recommended books can stimulate discussions about friendships that may assist children navigate the sometimes turbulent waters associated with childhood relationships. Consider purchasing or borrowing these from your school or public library:

• Friendship is Like a Seesaw by Shona Innes– This book compares friendship to the playground ride – there are ups and downs, but in the end it is all about balance.
• Fish is Fish by Leo Lionni. This book about friendship demonstrates the transformation of a tadpole into a frog in an entertaining way. It is a positive message about change and the way true friendships can withstand change.
• How to Grow a Friend by Sara Gillingham – Enjoy reading a lovely metaphor about how to treat others and make friendships blossom.
• Share and read these books together by clicking on the video links below:                 
  • The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister (6:20 mins.) This book is about the power of sharing with friends and deepening the relationship.
  •  Enemy Pie by Derek Munson (9:50) is a book with an enjoyable twist about how to make a friend and lose an enemy.

SINGING ABOUT FEELINGS AND BEING CALM

“Self-regulation is the awareness of anxiety and our ability to regain a calm centre. Since anxiety constrains intelligence, it’s important for young and old to learn simple self-regulation ways to regain balance.” – Raffi

Singing is an enjoyable strategy to alleviate stress, to relax and regain a sense of calmness. The following are links to joyful songs for singing together with children.

• Take a Breath (2:31 mins.) sung by Raffi, is a calming song that may be used with children to self-regulate and modulate their breathing when their feelings are beginning to overwhelm them. 
• This delightful song Everything is going to be okay (3:13 mins) offers children strategies to manage their stress, anger, and fears. 
• Gillian, an outstanding educator from the VSO School of Music, sings If you are Happy and you Know it. (5:35 mins.) This song is about different feelings and Gillian demonstrates how children can make “feeling” shakers to accompany the song. 

2. Create together: Puzzles, Crafts, Singing, Drawing and Constructing 🧩 

Open-ended projects without a defined end product is most often the best approach for young learners as there are no rules, nor right or wrong ways to create. However, there are times when following step by step directions is also beneficial learning – even if it leads to children feeling frustrated. When adults acknowledge feelings, work through the frustrations, show confidence in the child’s abilities to succeed, and suggest adjustments to complete the task without taking over, children are more apt to persevere, complete the task, and feel a greater sense of accomplishment. Optimism, persistence and confidence are important social skills for a child to learn to become resilient. 

• Friendship bracelets – this video (3:14) demonstrates how to make a simple braided bracelet.. If your child is interested in more complex bracelets kits for purchase are available. Play dough beads can also be made, painted and strung onto wool and gifted to a special friend. 
• Land Art – This article describes how to encourage children to enjoy and observe the outdoors in a different way and create an open-ended art project in nature using leaves, rocks, branches and more.

Virtual activities 

It is good to remember that screen time for children is far more beneficial when adults engage in the activity, focus the learning and manage the amount of time spent online.

• This coolmath link encourages children to manipulate shapes to replicate interesting pattern blocks. This activity has children observe different shapes, look for patterns and develop a greater understanding of spatial relationships.  
• Consider downloading the free Cat in the Hat App, based on the PBS KIDS series “The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That”. There are three engaging games that include simple, fun, hands-on activities parents and children can do together to further develop skills in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).

3. Explore together 🌍

ACTIVITIES TO DO ANYWHERE: (Assuming guidelines allow outdoor activities close to home.)

Activities that focus on acts of kindness or make us laugh, or bring us closer to nature, or envelope us in the warmth and affection of our family and friends, can be calming and reduce stress during uncertain times. 

 “Stand still in nature. Find things one can see but not hear. Find things one can hear but not see. The forest holds answers to questions we have yet to ask.” – healingforest.org/learn

•  Forest Bathing or Shinrin-yoku:  To practice forest bathing with your family or class, spend time in any forest or wooded spot in your area, being mindful of what you see, hear, smell, and touch. This can include slow, meditative walking, or simply sitting calmly in one spot. This video (1:46 mins.) and article may inspire you as it highlights the benefits for everyone’s physical, mental, emotional, and social health. 
• Camping: – As the Springtime with warmer weather approaches, this article sets out relevant safety tips for families and children to discuss as they prepare for an outdoor camping experience anywhere in their area. Explore 50 free BC campsites.

ACTIVITIES AROUND THE LOWER MAINLAND: (Assuming guidelines allow for outdoor activities close to home.)

• Camping near Vancouver — read about 5 places to pitch a tent before packing up the family and their friends for a memorable weekend outing.
• Forest bathing locations in and around Vancouver to enjoy with family and friends.

4. Engage and Interact: 👭

 “A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all their might that which they desire.” ~ Paulo Coelho

ACTIVITIES TO DO ANYWHERE:

• Focus on happiness kindness and empathy: View this mindup video (2:55 mins.) and learn about some simple acts to further develop these emotions at home, at a grandparent’s home or in the classroom.
• Book Clubs: Book clubs promote a love of literature in a positive environment where books are shared to encourage: a deeper engagement with stories; an ability to listen, react to others’ ideas and think critically; and develop teamwork with a community of friends. Having enjoyable and fun discussions about books with friends and family can deepen a child’s understanding of a range of emotions such as empathy, sharing, caring, kindness or even death or illness. Read more about the benefits of book clubs or an excerpt about tips to start up a book club from Vicki Levy Krupp, co-author of The Kids’ Book Club Book:
  • Consider starting a Book Club for kids or setting up a Family book club with family members including grandparents.
  • Join a Vancouver Public Library virtual book club or Surrey Public Library Reading Buddies or West Vancouver Public Library Book Buddies program for young readers.

5. Reflect: Thoughts of the Day about SEL and Learning 💭

Consider the following messages from respected researchers, authors and speakers about ways to guide and support children’s social emotional development. Read more in-depth information from these authors in the Resources section on the playlearngrowtogether.com website.

“Encouraging a child means that one or more of the following critical life messages are coming through, either by word or by action: I believe in you, I trust you, I know you can handle this, You are listened to, You are cared for, You are very important to me.” ~ Barbara Coloroso

“It is essential that we do not confuse self-regulation with self-control. Self-control is about trying to inhibit impulses; self-regulation is about reducing the incidence and intensity of impulses in the first place.” D. Stuart Shanker

Dr. Kimberly Schonert- Rheichl’s, in one of her powerpoint presentations, suggests the following strategies to promote happiness: write letters of gratitude; practice mindfulness; imagine and talk about your best possible self; recall and savor an intensely positive experience and perform acts of kindness.

Next Blog: All About Food – May 14, 2021