Self-Awareness
This section defines the key concepts covered in this chapter. These are the central themes upon which the activities are based.
♦ SELF-KNOWLEDGE
This concept includes identifying feelings and emotions, discovering self-perception, recognizing strengths and building a sense of self-confidence and self-efficacy. Teachable in an age-appropriate way, these skills provide context for and a deeper understanding of self-awareness.
♦ SELF-CONFIDENCE
Believing in our own self-worth makes us less reliant on others’ views for our own valuation. People with self-confidence have an intrinsic motivation for learning and growth. They are more successful, able to present themselves well, and possess the courage to stand out from the crowd and make decisions true to their values. Self-confidence increases with introspection.
♦ SELF-COMPASSION
Dr. Kristin Neff, an expert on self-compassion, defines this concept as simply treating yourself as kindly as you would a close friend when they’re having a hard time. This helps us to recognize that we are all part of the same human experience and we all have shortcomings and will fail at times. In this chapter, we incorporate self-compassion as the first step of heartfulness, when our heart is full of the present, as we build awareness of how we talk to ourselves.
♦ PRACTICE USING ANCHORS
As described in Chapter 1, this is called a ‘practice’ for a reason. Continued lessons utilizing the various anchors will build a level of familiarity into this work, which is often new for students. In focusing on self-awareness, generally students will gravitate to one of the primary anchors as most comfortable by the end of this chapter.
♦ INCREASE AWARENESS
With a goal of increasing self-awareness, we first have to build the capacity of awareness. Practicing mindfulness increases awareness, and many of the lessons in this chapter further cultivate this skill. By harnessing an innate curiosity to investigate what is happening around us, we can then shift that focus to oneself, the theme of this chapter.
♦ IDENTIFY AND NAME EMOTIONS
Building on self-awareness, we help students put a vocabulary to their feelings and emotions. As Dr. Dan Siegel says, “Name it to tame it!” This concept helps students build a vocabulary for feelings and emotions so that they can identify what they are feeling in certain moments rather than being run over by it. This empowering act comes with maturity and with increased awareness, a focus in Chapter 2.
♦ RECOGNIZE INNER VOICE
We all have an inner voice. Sometimes it is loud and clearly recognizable; other times it is quieter and harder to identify. Activities in this chapter work toward developing a clearer picture of the thoughts we think and teach us to find a little space for perspective. Because we tend to identify with our thoughts, this extra space can be helpful when attempting to discover whether or not they are true.
♦ DEVELOP ACCURATE SELF-PERCEPTION
Self-awareness can help students know themselves better. When we are able to slow down or insert a pause between stimulus and response, we can see a bigger picture that will grow and develop over time. Modeling various check-in questions by saying out loud “When could you ask yourself how you are feeling?” or, “I notice that I am mad right now. I wonder where that is coming from?” or, “What can I do when I start to notice that I am feeling frustrated?” can help remind students how to develop this introspective ability.
The questions on the Chapter 2 Teacher Reflection Form are listed below so you can keep them in the back of your mind as you progress through the chapter.
1. Do students have an awareness of thier inner voice?
A. If yes, please share an anecdote about this.
B. If no, what was missing or prevented this from happening?
2. Have students developed a comfort with their use of anchors?
A. If yes, please share an anecdote about this.
B. If no, what was missing or prevented this from happening?
3. Are students developing a vocabulary to identify emotions?
A. If yes, how have you seen this demonstrated?
B. If no, what was missing or prevented this development?
4. Do students have a beginning understanding of how their brain works?
A. If yes, when have you seen this demonstrated by your students?
B. If no, what was missing or prevented them from developing an understanding of how their brain works?
5. Do students display self-confidence?
A. If yes, how have you seen this demonstrated by your students?
B. If no, why do you feel your students are not self-confident?
6. Is there anything additional you would like to share with us?
Click here to complete the Chapter 2 Teacher Reflection Questions form.
Centering
These activities are designed to help you and your students can quickly and easily find your center. They can help during transitions between activities, tasks or lessons, and before testing. They can also be used at home with families. Over time, these activities will become comforting and most familiar for students.
Tone Bar
Key Concepts/Goals: Practice Using Anchors, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
The sound of the tone bar will become familiar to students as a way to quickly get centered. This brief activity can be used for transitions, at the beginning or end of any lesson, or as a way to start or end the day.
Glitter Jar
Key Concepts/Goals: Self Compassion, Practice Using Anchors, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This video is similar to the Chapter 1 glitter jar video, but there is one significant change. See if you and your students notice anything different about the glitter jar in this video…
With self-awareness being the theme of this chapter, the glitter jar provides a tangible way for students to see the storm that can often be in their minds and acts as a visual anchor in which to rest, facilitating an ever-important pause. This video can be used any time students need a centering activity (before a presentation, while settling into morning meeting, or after an incident).
Breathing
Breath work is a critical component in regulating the nervous system and is always available to us when needed. There are many ways to incorporate breathing when teaching social and emotional skills that, according to CASEL: help us understand and manage our emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
3-PART BREATH WITH BOTTLE
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness
Format: 3-PART BREATH WITH BOTTLE
Prerequisite: None
This breath practice invites students to get curious about the different parts of their bodies and to learn more about how their breath enters and exits their bodies. As students learn to understand more about how their bodies work, they can develop a sense of self-confidence.
This video allows students to see a visual diagram of how oxygen fills up in their bodies when they inhale and how it is released from their bodies when they exhale.
N: What did they see while they were watching the bottle fill up air (water)?
BREATH COUNTING
Key Concepts/Goals: Practice Using Anchors, Increase Awareness
Format: Audio
Prerequisite: None
This audio recording offers another way to connect to the breath as an anchor. Students may begin to see that they can use these breath practices anytime and anywhere. While focusing on the inhale and the exhale, students will count from 1 to 3 and then from 3 to 1. Many students find that counting helps them stay focused on their breath because their mind is thinking about counting instead of wandering off to other thoughts.
DRAW THE BREATH
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness, Identify and Name Emotions
Format: Video
Prerequisite: The Color Monster, How Do You Feel?, Feeling Faces
When we experience different emotions, our breath changes. For example, when we are scared, we might hold our breath. When we are excited, we might breathe quickly. This video allows students to practice drawing their breath in two different ways. First, they will draw their breath in the air with their pointer finger. Then, they will draw their breath on paper with a crayon or colored pencil. It is a good idea to practice this a few times in the air before doing it on paper. The “Draw the Breath Worksheet” can be found in the Enriching section. When students draw their breath on paper, they will also be asked to pick a different color for each feeling. This allows our youngest students to begin to see a connection between colors and emotions. For visual learners, the image or pattern that the breath makes can be a helpful anchor to stay focused during sitting practices.
N: Ask students these questions:
– What does their breath look like when they are mad? Sad? Frustrated?
– Was their breath slow? Fast? Bumpy?
– Did they draw the same shape every time?
– How did this feel?
– Could they see the shapes they were drawing in their minds?
PALM BREATHING
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Recognize Inner Voice, Practice Using Anchors
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This video shows students how to combine their breathing with the physical sensation of moving their finger up and down the inside of their palm. Try it with them as you all connect your inhale with the movement of your finger from the center of your palm up to the tip of a finger, then exhaling as you move your finger slowly back to the center of your palm. See if you can make the movement of your finger away from center last the full length of each inhale and the movement of your finger back to center the full length of each exhale. Practice palm breathing using both the dominant and non-dominant hands, allowing students to strengthen their fine motor skills in both hands.
RAINBOW BREATHING
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness
Format: Audio
Prerequisite: None
This breath practice lets visual learners imagine that they are drawing a rainbow over their heads. If you practice this breath without the video as a guide, it is helpful to mention that rainbows are rare and we don’t see them very often, so that’s why we exhale with a sigh because it’s like saying, “Oh, there goes the rainbow — it’s disappearing.”
After students have practiced doing this breath practice in the air, they can use the “Rainbow Breath Visual” found in the Enriching section, which will give them a hands-on approach to this breath practice and an opportunity to feel and see the pause between their inhale and exhale.
CROCODILE BREATHING
Key Concepts/Goals: Increase Awareness, Develop Accurate Self-Perception
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
Linking movement and breathing for younger students makes the practice fun and offers a connection to animals. This energizing breath is a good one to do at home or outside at school, where they can practice taking nice big inhales and exhales.
Moving
Dedicated opportunities to move the body can provide a brain break as well as a felt sense of increasing or decreasing energy. Plus, sometimes it just feels good to stretch!
FAST & SLOW SEQUENCE
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness, Develop Accurate Self-Perception
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “Move Your Mood”
Students will return to the sequence that was introduced in Chapter 1, this time experimenting with the speed of the sequence. This video will ask them to occasionally move their bodies very slowly or very quickly, while staying safe, of course!
N: Ask your students these questions:
– How does it change the feeling in their body when they move quickly/slowly?
– Are there other times that they move quickly/slowly?
– Is the speed of their movement helpful?
– Did it feel good doing the sequence really slow or really fast? Why or why not?
SQUEEZE & RELEASE
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness, Recognize Inner Voice, Mind-Body Connection
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Flow: “Melting”
Squeezing and releasing various parts of the body provides an opportunity to notice the contrast between tightening and softening. Sometimes we hold parts of our bodies, like our jaw or our shoulders, very tightly and don’t really notice. This activity can be done standing up or sitting down.
N: Ask your students these questions:
– How do they feel after doing this?
– Do any parts of their bodies feel different?
– When are some other times that “Squeeze & Release” might help you?
MINDFUL WALKING: PART 2
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Self-Confidence, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Mindful Walking: Part 1
In Chapter 1, students practiced balancing on one foot and then the other. Once we learn how to walk, we rarely spend time actually thinking about the way we lift our feet and move as we walk. This video invites students to focus on their breath while walking, breathing in and out with each step that they take.
SIT REACH HAND FOOT
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Increase Awareness
Format:Video
Prerequisite: Fast & Slow Sequence
This is a great listening game that can be a useful classroom management tool when you think you’ve lost the group. It is also an effective activity to release built-up energy. Students will follow these simple actions as they are called out: “sit,” “reach,” “hand” and “foot.” Younger students will need to play this game several times before they get really good at listening carefully to the directions. Watch as the concentration muscle starts working hard!
N: Ask your students these questions:
– What was it like to listen carefully for the next movement?
– What happened when they stopped paying attention?
– How could this be helpful in school or at home?
Practicing
A TRIP TO THE OCEAN
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Compassion, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Curious Noticing
This guided visualization allows listeners to sit back and take a break, imagining they are taking a trip to the ocean. They will be asked to notice what they see, hear, smell, and feel while on this guided “trip.” This simple awareness practice can be a nice break in the middle of a busy day.
NOTICING SOUND
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Develop Accurate Self-Perception
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “Listen Like an Elephant,” Tone Bar
This practice builds on the tone bar activity. Students will first try to identify the sounds that they hear using both their eyes and their ears. After practicing, they will try to identify the sound using only their listening skills. They will need to put all of their attention into their ears while they listen for any sounds they might hear.
N: What sounds did they hear?
H: See if they can mindfully listen to the sounds around them all day. They might even notice some new sounds if they listen carefully.
SOUND ANCHOR
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Practice Using Anchors, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Noticing Sound
Try this guided visualization to strengthen the practice of using sound as an anchor. Students will be asked to notice the sounds they hear inside the room, outside the room and inside of their bodies.
N: Ask your students these questions:
– How was that experience?
– What was it like to just focus on the sounds around them?
– What did they hear inside of the room? Outside of the room? Inside of themselves?
H: Try listening every day for all the sounds they hear.
QUIET PLACE
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Compassion, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Audio
Prerequisite: “Charlotte and the Quiet Place”
This guided visualization practice helps students picture a peaceful, quiet and safe place that they can access anytime they need. Exploring it with all their senses, students will come away with a vivid picture of their quiet place.
H: Find a time to practice going to your own peaceful or quiet place.
2-MINUTE AWARENESS PRACTICE
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Compassion, Increase Awareness
Format: Audio
Prerequisite: “I Will Be Okay,” “The Boy with Big, Big Feelings,” Quiet Place, Sound Anchor
Starting with a check-in to see how we are doing in our minds, our bodies and our hearts, Miss Shannon offers this noticing practice to help students increase awareness. She reminds students as she goes through each check-in opportunity that anything they notice is okay; and if they don’t notice anything at all, that is okay too.
HEARTFULNESS: PART 1
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Compassion, Self-Confidence, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “I Like Myself,” “Grow Happy,” Feeling Faces, 2-Minute Awareness Practice
This practice is an introduction to heartfulness and self-compassion. When we practice heartfulness, our heart is full of the present moment — what is happening right now. When we practice heartfulness for ourselves, we are practicing self-compassion. This video guides students through two simple practices of self-compassion: a hand on the heart and a self-hug.
H: Encourage your students to practice some self-compassion every day.
Reading
“CHARLOTTE AND THE QUIET PLACE”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
The author, Deborah Soisin, recognizes that sometimes students need a break from the noisy, over-stimulating world. Charlotte and the Quiet Place shows how a child learns and practices mindful breathing on her own and experiences the beauty of silence.
“MY MAGIC BREATH"
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
In My Magic Breath, by Nick Ortner, students discover that they can use their magic breath when they are feeling many different emotions. This book shows students that sometimes they can feel better just by breathing!
“NO ORDINARY APPLE”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This book, written by Sara Marlowe, is a great way to introduce students to mindful eating. No Ordinary Apple offers them a fun and enjoyable way to learn to slow down and appreciate even the simplest things while they are eating.
“RUBY FINDS A WORRY”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Heartfulness: Part 1, “I Like Myself,” “How Do You Feel?”
This book teaches students that when they talk about their worries, it helps them feel better.
“THE WORRY BOX”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Ruby Finds a Worry, Heartfulness: Part 1, I Like Myself, How Do You Feel?
This book describes Murray Bear’s experience making a worry box with his sister. After students read this book, they may want to make a worry box of their own.
“THE COLOR MONSTER”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “I Like Myself,” “How Do You Feel?”
This book is a fun way for young students to begin to understand the idea that they are in charge of their own feelings and emotions. The main character, Color Monster, learns to sort out and define his emotions, gaining self-awareness and peace.
“I LIKE MYSELF”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This simple book encourages students to appreciate everything about themselves, both inside and out, introducing even our youngest learners to the concept of self-esteem.
“THE BOY WITH BIG, BIG FEELINGS”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “How Do You Feel?”
The main character of this book, by Britney Winn Lee, feels the emotions of others as if they were his own. He tries to ignore these feelings but ultimately realizes his feelings are something to be celebrated.
“HOW DO YOU FEEL?”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This simple book introduces young readers to a wide range of emotions.
“LISTEN LIKE AN ELEPHANT”
Key Concepts/Goals: Practice Using Anchors, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This book teaches students to slow down, listen to the world around them, and focus on their minds. They learn a simple exercise that can be done anywhere.
“GROW HAPPY”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
This book teaches students some tools to be happy and resilient.
“I WILL BE OKAY”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Increase Awareness, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
Young students need help understanding and managing their emotions. This book shows them that everything will be okay, even when things don’t go their way.
“1-2-3 A CALMER ME”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Practice Using Anchors, Increase Awareness, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “I Will Be Okay,” Heartfulness: Part 1
Colleen Patterson introduces students to positive self-talk using a simple rhyme. We have included a supporting visual in the Enriching section that can be used for practice and reinforcement.
“MOVE YOUR MOOD”
Key Concepts/Goals: Increase Awareness, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Fast & Slow Sequence, Squeeze & Release
This book gets students up and moving and is a fun way to show that moving our bodies affects how we feel.
“IF YOU'RE HAPPY AND YOU KNOW IT”
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Compassion, Identify and Name Emotions
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
Anna McQuinn’s book, If You’re Happy and You Know It, gets students up and moving while Miss Shannon sings them through the pages of this book.
Exploring
MINDFUL EATING
Key Concepts/Goals: Increase Awareness, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “No Ordinary Apple,” Me Want It (But Me Wait)
Mindful eating is a practice that allows us to slow down, to attend to the present moment and to build awareness using all of our senses.
N: Ask your students these questions:
– What was it like to eat something mindfully?
– How is that different from eating the way they typically do?
H: Encourage students to find one bite every day when they can slow down and eat it mindfully.
MINDFUL LOOKING
Key Concepts/Goals: Practice Using Anchors, Increase Awareness, Develop Accurate Self-Perception
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
To practice mindful looking, students will use their eyes as an anchor to look at one colored circle at a time. For one minute, they will try to focus on the circle without being distracted by anything else they might see or hear. Eyes drift naturally; it’s when they notice that they have drifted and come back to the present moment that they’re really practicing mindfulness.
N: Ask your students these questions:
– What was it like to stay focused using only their eyes?
– How can mindful looking be a helpful tool for them in school and in other places?
WORRY BOX
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Confidence, Increase Awareness, Identify and Name Emotions, Recognize Inner Voice
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “The Worry Box”
Worry occurs when one’s mind dwells on challenges, concerns, or uncertainty. When we are worried, we are not functioning as our best selves. Being in a constant state of worry can cause increased stress and anxiety. Worry is a naturally occurring feeling, so if we teach young children ways to approach their worries, we can reduce stress and anxiety.
Having a “worry box” to gobble up their worries can be a fun way for students to practice the idea of letting their worries go, even if just for a short while. Sometimes when we write our worries down and get rid of them, they go away. Students can write their worry down or draw a picture of the worry, fold it up and feed it to the worry box. Students could also just whisper their worry to the worry box.
You could make a worry box to have in the classroom, or the students can each make their own to have at home. If using a shared box, be sure to remind students to be careful when adding a worry so that they don’t let anyone else’s worry out. Remember that it is okay if our worries come back, but maybe by writing them down and getting rid of them, we stop worrying about them even briefly.
N: Ask students the following:
– How did they feel after writing down their worry and giving it to the worry box?
– When can they do this in the future?
FEELING FACES
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness, Identify and Name Emotions
Format: Video
Prerequisite: “The Color Monster,” Grover Sings About Feelings, “How Do You Feel?”
Young students will enjoy looking in the mirror and making different facial expressions, which will help them start to identify emotions. Once they can identify their own emotions, then then they will slowly begin to recognize these emotions in others. After watching the video, there is a follow-up “Feeling Faces Worksheet” in the Enriching section for students to practice drawing their feeling faces.
CURIOUS NOTICING
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge, Increase Awareness
Format: Video
Prerequisite: Noticing Sound, Mindful Walking: Part 2
Children are curious by nature, often exploring things with all of their senses. This video asks students to curiously notice things in the world around them. When they are fully present, they can be mindful and notice the world around them with curiosity and non-judgment. This allows them to gain more information about the world and the environment.
MINDFUL OR MIND FULL
Key Concepts/Goals: Self-Knowledge
Format: Video
Prerequisite: None
In Chapter 1, students listened to the book “Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda;” and this video is a follow-up that will explore the idea of having a mindful mind or a mind full mind. Monkey and Panda help Miss Shannon and the students identify the difference between these two types of minds. Students can then use the “Mindful or Mind Full Worksheets” found in the Enriching section to draw both their mindful and mind full minds.
Enriching
Sometimes we offer videos outside our curriculum lessons, or images or coloring pages that help illustrate a concept. The videos are all linked from this section. Images or coloring pages can be easily downloaded for saving and/or printing.
Videos
“Sesame Street: Elmo Shows Emotions with Zoe, Bert and Big Bird”
In this Sesame Street video, Elmo, Zoe, Bert, and Big Bird show you how you can feel different emotions. There are many different types of emotions a person can feel.
“Sesame Street: Dave Matthews and Grover Sing About Feelings”
In this Sesame Street video, Dave Matthews is feeling a feeling that is not a very good feeling. Grover is also feeling a feeling that is not a very good feeling. What feeling is that? Dave and Grover sing a song to figure out their feelings, “I need a word.”
“Sesame Street: Me Want It (But Me Wait)”
In this Sesame Street video, Cookie Monster, the poster-child for someone needing to master self-regulation skills, attempts to explain these concepts while devising personal strategies on waiting to eat a cookie.
Flow: “Rainbow Breath”/Flow: “Respiración de Arco Íris”
This video comes from GoNoodle’s Flow channel. Flow gets kids to relax, think positively, and flow. Learn how to raise your energy and face your day with this rainbow breath in either English or Spanish.
Flow: “Melting”/Flow: “Derretir”
This video comes from GoNoodle’s Flow channel. Flow gets kids to relax, think positively, and flow. Practice melting away that icky frozen feeling you get when you’re scared, frustrated, or angry. This video is available in both English and Spanish.
worksheets
COLOR MONSTER WORKSHEET
This worksheet is referenced at the end of the “Color Monster” video and posted on the Student Site. It can be used as a follow-up activity about feelings and how colors can represent specific feelings or emotions. Children could color a picture of their color monster every day for a week or once a week for a month, as a way to demonstrate their changing feelings and emotions.
DRAW THE BREATH WORKSHEET
This worksheet is used for practicing one of the techniques modeled in the “Draw the Breath” video and can also be found on the Student Site.
DIFFERENT WAYS YOU CAN FEEL VISUAL
This image is also found on the Student Site and will reinforce the “Feeling Faces” video. This visual gives children the opportunity to identify with specific feelings. Young children are still learning how to express their feelings and emotions. We hope this visual will allow them to start to notice how their facial features change when they feel different ways.
FEELING FACES WORKSHEET
This worksheet is referenced in the “Feeling Faces” video and can also be found on the Student Site. It is designed to be used either during or after the children have had the opportunity to look at their face in the mirror. Then, they will draw a picture of what they see in the mirror; and they will name that specific feeling, identifying how it is represented in their drawing. For example, a sad feeling might be drawn with a frown and tears.
MINDFUL OR MIND FULL WORKSHEET
This worksheet is referenced in the “Mindful or Mind Full” video and can also be found on the Student Site. Students will draw what is happening in their mind when they have a monkey (Mind Full) mind and when they have a panda (Mindful) mind. “Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda” should be read and possibly even re-read before doing this activity.
1-2-3 A CALMER ME VISUAL
This image is also found on the Student Site and supports the practice learned while reading I-2-3 A Calmer Me. Displaying this visual in a central location will remind students to practice it when they need a reset or just a few quiet minutes.
RAINBOW BREATH VISUAL
This visual is used practicing one of the techniques referenced in the “Rainbow Breath” video and can also be found on the Student Site.
Enriching
These activities are best done in person. We describe them for you to lead with your students if and when you are all together during the upcoming school year.
THEME DEFINITION: SELF-AWARENESS
The description below is intended to provide context for this chapter and language for you to use to share this theme and its benefits with students.
The ability to see ourselves clearly, to learn about our own view of and feelings about ourselves, and to understand how our thoughts affect our behavior are all components of self-awareness. Developing this competency is the foundation of emotional intelligence and the basis for self-regulation and impulse control. People with increased self-awareness are more fulfilled, more creative, more effective leaders, better communicators, and are less likely to lie, cheat and steal.
Learning about one’s feelings, emotions, and habits of the mind is new for many students and can require many new vocabulary words. In a safe and supportive environment, we present multiple opportunities for students to explore their inner worlds, to name their feelings, and to listen to their inner voice.
Being present to what is there, once we discover it, is challenging work. Psychologists refer to a state of “flow” or “being in the zone” where you are fully immersed in what you are doing, connected to something bigger than yourself, and fully present. This state is shown to increase happiness. (January 2011 Real Simple “The Science of Happiness”)
In covering this first core competency defined by CASEL, we first invite students to notice what’s going on in their minds, their bodies and their hearts. This includes recognizing and naming emotions, recognizing habits of the mind, taking notice of the inner voices that rehearse and replay in their heads for much of the day, making accurate statements about themselves, and learning how they monitor our inner worlds. Starting with the ability just to notice, or build self-awareness, we lay the foundation for deeper work in upcoming chapters.