Participate:
Have you been frustrated, sad, or happy? Probably yes! Everyone has feelings and talking about them helps us to understand ourselves and each other. Children, as well as adults, have dealt with disappointmnets and unexpected changes these last several months. Identifying and naming your feelings will help manage these emotions and individual experiences.
Read a two-minute story from Overdrive titled, Little Monkey Calms Down. Before you begin the story, model using the American Sign Language (ASL) sign for monkey (children probably know how to mimic a monkey). Encourage your child to make the ASL sign for monkey each time they hear the word "monkey" read in the story. This helps the child stay attentive and become an active participant in the story.
ASL hand sign for monkey
Image courtesy of baby sign language.
Connect:
It's okay to have feelings, expressing them is part of social emotional development. Make a game of it by asking each other questions such as, ' how would you feel if _________?' and have your child choose one of the emoji faces to answer the question.
- Sing If Your Happy an You Know It. Using gross motor skills is excellent excercise and reduces stress. Be creative and make up you own verses. For example; when you're mad and you know it count to 10, (count LOUD) or if you're joyous and you know it jump around.
- Take time to relax and color a monkey page together or choose something else to color from coloring.ws
- Tips to manage emotions, one-minute video -Stress Less:Calming Strategies from Florida's Office of Early Learning *
- http://www.floridaearlylearning.com/family-resources/social-emotional/exploring-feelings
Discover:
Resources to foster conversations about feelings along with a few I enjoyed.
Beautifully illustrated, this book simply but accurately degscribes feelings with scenarios a child can relate to.
This Makes Me Scared by Courtney Carbone
Learn to recognize some physical symptoms of fear from the boy in the story who is learning to swim. This book is part of a series Dealing with Feelings.
Some days grumpiness just shows up like a cloud in the sky for no good reason (also available as ebook)
50 Ways to Feel Happy by Vanessa King
Scientifically discover ways to bolster your happiness, "find ways to bounce back" or "be a part of something bigger".
Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Faces by Ed Emberley
Step by step illustrations demonstrate how to draw faces using basic lines to make expressive facial features.
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