Self-Awareness

Skills like self-perception, self-confidence, self-efficacy

 

As we all settle into new routines – learning from home, working from home (thank you essential workers!), and spending endless hours together in shared spaces – we have a sneaking suspicion you’re experiencing a full range of emotions. We are, too! This is normal, healthy, and expected. So, what better time to intentionally practice – and grow – our social emotional skills?

We’ve put together a list of resources for you and your kids, broken down by grade level. Below you will find a book to read with follow-up questions, discussion prompts for family mealtime, and a hands-on activity – all centered on self-awareness.

We hope that these social emotional resources find a place in your new routine and allow you and your family to have fun while checking-in with each other’s emotional health. #We’reAllInThisTogether

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For Grades K-2

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💡 book to read

The Way I Feel by Janan Cain | Read-aloud version

Four Follow-up Questions:

1. What is a new emotion word you learned from the book?
2. Which emotion could you relate to the most? Share a time you felt a similar emotion and why.
3. Do you have an emotion you feel a lot that wasn’t mentioned in the story?
4. Can you name three positive and three negative emotions?

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💡 Table talk & dinner prompts

Use mealtime intentionally as a check-in time 

• Describe how you felt when you got up this morning.
• How do you feel when you are learning? Playing? Helping around the house?
• What makes you feel__________? (Happy, excited, nervous, scared)

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💡 activity

Show Your Emotion

Goal: Have your child practice drawing how they would feel based on different scenarios
Supplies: Whatever you want to use to express yourself – paper, pencil, crayons, markers, sidewalk chalk, etc.
Instructions:

1. Share a scenario (examples are listed below)
2. Have your child draw their reaction
3. After each round, encourage your child to show off their drawing and explain it
4. Have fun!

Example Scenarios:

• Your friend brings you candy
• You have to cancel your party because of COVID-19
• You are running in the hallway and you trip and fall
• You FaceTime with a family member or friend
• You miss your classmates and have to do your schoolwork online
• You lose a board game
• You see a rainbow

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For Grades 3-5

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💡 book to read

Juna’s Jar by Jane Bahk | Read aloud version

Four Follow-up Questions:

1. What emotion do you think Juna felt when Hector moved away?
2. Have you ever had a friend move away or go to a different school? How did that make you feel?
3. What did Juna’s brother do to try and help cheer her up?
4. When you’re feeling a negative emotion, what helps to cheer you up?

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💡 Table talk & dinner prompts

Use mealtime intentionally as a check-in time 

• What different emotions have you felt this week?
• What situations stir-up positive emotions for you?
• What situations stir-up negative emotions for you?

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💡 ACTIVITY

Emotion Name

Goal: To identify different emotion words using the letters of our names
Supplies: Whatever you want to use to express yourself – paper, pencil, crayons, markers, etc.
Instructions: Have your child write their name – vertically – down one side of the paper, writing one emotion word using each of the letters of their name. If you’re having a hard time coming up with an emotion word for a particular letter, choose an emotion that has the letter somewhere inside the word.

Example:
     Calm
     Hopeful
     Relaxed
     Interested
BaShful