Visiting Feelings + iSpy feelings

1 more week....!

The countdown is on...1 week left of this school year! I know many schools across the country have already sprung their students for summer vacation, but here in Montana we are still chugging away.

To wrap up our unit on feelings, we utilized the book Visiting Feelings by Lauren Rubenstein.  This is a great book to help kiddos visualize their feelings and learn how to be curious about these feelings rather than overwhelmed by them.  After reading the book with the Cookie Monster kiddos, we played a game of iSpy feelings.  

For this, we simply wrote various feelings on cards and taped them around the room.  Utilizing the "Describing Your Feelings" worksheet, we "spied" feelings that were different shapes, textures, weather patterns, and sounds.  I started the game to give them an idea stating "I Spy with my little eye...a feeling that is soft."  Based on this information, the kiddos had to look at all the feelings and try to guess which feeling might feel soft.  If no one could guess the feeling after the first round, a second clue was given, "this feeling is quiet."  Most of our groups were able to engage in this game proactively with little direction, but it was a little tricky for our younger groups.

The "Describing Your Feelings" worksheet was a great tool to help children think about feelings in different aspects and was a great transition after reading "Visiting Feelings."  For more feelings ideas, check out my Pinterest board!

Kristina

Book Review!

Happy (almost) Valentine's Day!

To celebrate this lovely upcoming holiday, I invested in some book love over the weekend.  A trip to Barnes & Noble never fails to brighten my mood, spark my creativity, and fill my bucket.  And speaking of buckets...my mission in this big, book-loving store was to find books and other tools for teaching empathy.  Good News: I hit the jack-pot!  

Here's a preview of my finds...

• "Have You Filled a Bucket Today?" is a fabulous book by Carol McCloud.  Several schools in our district use this book to encourage positive behavior school wide.  At Hedges, several different classes also utilize this book to teach kids about being a "bucket filler" and a "bucket dipper."  We have already utilized this book in the Cookie Monster room by practicing how to be a "bucket filler."  This week we are practicing saying one kind thing to each member of the group before ending group.  I have heard tough third grade boys say the kindest things this week, and that sure fills my bucket!

• "Stand in My Shoes" by Bob Sornson is a grrrr-eat book to introduce empathy.  I've had my eye on Stand in My Shoes for quite some time.  In a previous job, I was trained in Parenting with Love and Logic.  I think this method is a great tool to use as a parent, teacher, or school counselor.  The entire method of Parenting with Love and Logic is based on...EMPATHY!  So what better way to explain empathy to elementary learners than with a Love & Logic book written just for them? I'm excited to share this book with the Cookie Monster kiddos and become Empathy Explorers!

• "How to be a Friend: A Guide to Making Friends and Keeping Them" by Laurie Krasny Brown and Marc Brown is another fabulous book I added to our collection over the weekend.  What I love about this book: it goes over every aspect of a friendship- from compromising on activities, to handling arguments, to ways to be and not to be a friend.  I'll have more on this book soon...our second graders are working hard on this subject and they have some great ideas on "How to be a Friend."  If you want a quick activity for this book now, check out this post by Scrapbook of a School Counselor!

This last book was a special one just for me.  "The Whole Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child's Developing Mind" by Dan Siegel and Tina Payne Bryson.  If you haven't discovered the wisdom of Dan Siegel, follow the link, I promise you won't regret it. So far in this book, I'm loving the "strategy" sections.  The information is simple but effective and easily shared with families and children.  This is a great book for elementary age kiddos, he has another book titled Brainstorm for insight into the adolescent brain.  I highly recommend both books!  

Kristina