Building Skills For Big Feelings

Today I'm excited because we're talking about 

one of my favorite topics: FEELINGS.

I love this Mr. Rogers wisdom, that feelings need to be 

mentionable and manageable.

Name it to tame it is how Dan Siegel puts it.

And before his death, Jim Valvano advised that 

we do these three things every day:

Laugh. Think. Feel.

Here's a visual from the Gottman Institute that I regularly share:

All sounds great, but how many of us have trouble emoting?

I know that I'd rather go around them than through them.

So you can imagine my delight when Casey Martin reached out

to tell me about her guidebook to help us help our learners.

Check out reviews {here} and {here}.

Basically, this workbook invites us to actively engage 

in a 12-week session to facilitate social and emotional

coping and growth in our elementary-aged students.

It's a one-stop shop!

There are mindful breathing exercises and

relaxation scripts; there are parent handouts,

kid stretches, and coloring pages. There are lessons

for the circle of control and for finding our triggers.

There's opportunity to practice positive self-talk 

and taking a body scan to identify stress spots.

There's all of this and more, including a

section on sleep and nutrition, and

ideas for mindfulness and gratitude.

If you're looking for a strong resource to help you

as you work with intention to sharpen your students'

emotional-regulation skills, check out this book!

If you do, c'mon back and let us know what you think.

Need more feelings help? Visit these resources:

Gottman Feelings Wheel

Yale's RULER

Zones of Regulation

Become The Boss Of Your Emotions

Managing Your Emotional Reactions

Helpful V. Harmful: Ways To Manage Emotions

Why Do We Lose Control Of Our Emotions?

Here are some books that you might want to add to your shelves.

Before we launch you into greatness, 

this post begs the question: 

How are YOU feeling today?

And what helps you express those emotions in a healthy way 

so that you're leaning in to them instead of avoiding them?