Francis X. Hegarty Elementary

Class Announcements

• Behavior Lesson - Controlling your anger

  What are some things that make you angry? (make a list)

  Write down 2 times is it okay to be angry. 

  Some strategies you have learned to deal with your anger are - deep breaths, counting to 10 and asking for a break.

  Think about how you might react in these situations.

  1. You get out in a game and some kids laugh.

  2. You lose your favorite toy on the bus. 

  What strategies have you learned that you could apply to these situations?

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Positive Thoughts

  Do you know what self-talk is?

  Self-talk means:  the act or practice of talking to oneself either aloud or silently.  Think of it as that little voice you hear inside your head.

   

  What we think to ourselves when something makes us feel bad or upset can really hurt us more or make us feel better.  For example, if you found out you weren’t invited to a friend’s birthday party how would that make you feel?  We have the power to help ourselves feel better by using positive self-talk.  For example, the next time something like that happens, say to yourself “it’s OK, I know I’m a great friend and I’ll get invited to other parties.”

   

   On this worksheet below, you’ll see  a list of positive self-talk phrases on one side and on the other side are different feelings.  Take your time to read each of those feelings.  Then draw a line to the positive phrase you can tell yourself.  Everyone may do this a little differently and that’s OK. Let’s do one together: “When I feel nervous”….I can say to myself….”I can get through anything.”

  https://media.centervention.com/pdf/Positive-Thoughts-Worksheet.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Get out and move!

  Movement is great for your mood and happiness. If you can't get outside, try these GoNoodle videos to get you moving!

  https://app.gonoodle.com/activities/touchdown-dance?s=category&t=Workout&sid=42

  https://app.gonoodle.com/activities/madison-keys-jump-squat-turn-around?s=category&t=Workout&sid=42

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Calming Activity- Deep Breathing

  Deep breathing can help you calm down when you are upset, angry, or anxious.  Watch this video to see how to use this method of deep breathing, then try using the worksheet to do it at home. 

  https://vimeo.com/320838135

   

  • Lester-Deep-Breaths-Emotion-Regulation.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Using Kind Words

  Kindness matters!

  Why is important to use kind words to others? Can you remember the last time someone said something that hurt your feelings? I bet you can remember it well. What could they have said that would have been nicer? Think about how you can use kind words to make someone feel good today. Use the worksheet to write a few kind words to people you know. I bet you can brighten your the day of someone in your family or a friend!

   

  • Kind-Words-Worksheet.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Expressing your feelings

  This communication activity shows students examples of expressing feelings in an argument without blaming the other person.

  There can be a lot of tension surrounding expressing feelings, especially if you or the other person lack certain communication skills. We all can have a tendency to blame the other person for causing our hurt feelings.

  While this may very well be true, outright blaming a friend, colleague, or significant other for hurting your feelings can lead them to be defensive and escalate an argument. This is especially important because we can sometimes make assumptions about the other person’s intent and feelings at the time that may not be accurate.

  A better strategy for our students (and us) to learn and practice is explaining how we feel and what made us feel that way without blaming the other person.

  I recently had an argument with a friend over a game I lent him.

  He was hosting a game night at his house and as if he could borrow my Codenames game. I had only used the game a couple times myself since I bought it, but it’s a game meant to be played so I was happy to lend it to him.

  When he returned the game, some of the cards were sticky and stuck together. It was clear that a drink must have been spilled on the table while the game was being played.

  Instead of asking what happened or if he even knew that some of the cards were damaged, I just assumed he was careless and called him out on ruining my new game. What could have been a calm conversation quickly turned into an argument. Had I used better communication strategies, I would have handled the situation a lot better.

  Try this worksheet to see if you can choose the best way to communicate to others without blame or arguing. 

  • GRIN-Communication-Arguing-Scarab-Beetles.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Wearing a mask and gloves

  Wearing a mask and/or gloves is new to everyone. Parents, use this social story to explain it to your child in a child-friendly way. You can print it and read it to them. There is also an activity at the end. As always, please contact me if you have any questions or concerns. 

  jsarrocco@islandparkschools.org

   

  • FREE-Printable-Masks-and-Gloves-Social-Story.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Melt or Freeze

  Impulse Control, or self-control, is the ability to control your behaviors and feelings.

  When you struggle with impulse control, you may have issues thinking before you act.  For example you might call out in class instead of raising your hand, run in the hallway, or hit, kick or push as an impulsive angry reaction. Sometimes you may  have  trouble in conversation by interrupting friends.

  There are two options in these situations: go along with your impulse, or stop and exercise self-control.

  This activity labels these options as MELT (impulsive choice) and FREEZE (thoughtful choice).

  Think about the games Freeze Dance or Freeze Tag — you freeze when you are using self-control. On this impulse control printable, students will think about how they could “freeze,” or stop to make a good choice, in real-life situations. They’ll also think about what the impulsive choice would be in that situation – when they would “melt,” or give in to their impulses.

  On the worksheet, describe what the MELT and FREEZE choices would look like in different situations. For example, your mom is on the phone when you get home from school, and you want to tell her about the A+ you got on your paper. The MELT choice would be running up to your mom yelling about your A+ and/or waving the paper in her face. The FREEZE choice would be to wait until your mom gets off the phone, then share your excitement about the A+ with her.

  Lesson adapted from centervention.com

  • Melt-or-Freeze-Impulse-Control-Worksheet.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Dealing with Disappointment

  Disappointment is a feeling we have when things don't go as expected, or the way we want them to. Both kids and adults experience disappointment at times, and it can be hard to deal with. 

  How we react when we are disappointed, can really help our mood and help us to continue to go about our day. 

  On the following worksheet, write down something that made you feel disappointed.  It could have happened today, yesterday or a long time ago but you still remember it.  You may have a few things that have made you feel that way. Write them in the sand where the sandcastle has fallen down. 

  What can you do to help build back up that sandcastle and overcome your disappointment?

  Take a deep breath? Use some kind words? Do something that makes you happy? What other ways can you come up with?

  Next, write a few ideas into their sandcastle to “build it back up.”  Explain how the way we react in times of disappointment can really help our mood and how we go on with our day.  

  • Dealing-With-Disappointment-Worksheet2.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco

• Gratitude

  Every day, things happen that make us smile, make us feel good or even make us laugh.  By stopping to think for a few moments about something that makes us happy, and either writing it down or saying it loud, that’s called showing gratitude. 
  
  Gratitude means showing thanks, being thankful and showing your appreciation for something. We’re going to practice exactly that today.

  Stop for a minute and think about today.  What’s one thing about your day that made you happy (or will make you happy)?

  Here’s why I’m happy:  I’m happy because the sun is shining today!

  Take a moment to draw a picture of something that makes you happy!

  https://media.centervention.com/pdf/Gratitude-Worksheet.pdf

  Ms. Sarrocco