This month we are giving away a copy of Coloring Book and Reflections for Social Emotional Learning (in English or Spanish) to five lucky readers. Kids can reflect, relax, and focus with 36 mindful coloring activities.
To Enter: Leave a comment below with your best tip for integrating social and emotional learning in the classroom.
For additional entries, leave a separate comment below for each of the following tasks you complete:
Each comment counts as a separate entry. Entries must be received by midnight, January 24, 2020.
The winners will be contacted via email on or around January 27, 2020, and will need to respond within 72 hours to claim his or her prize or another winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way affiliated with, administered, or endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram. Winners must be US residents, 18 years of age or older.
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© 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. The view expressed in this post represent the opinion of the author and not necessarily Free Spirit Publishing.
We use mindful moments in the classrooms every morning and throughout the day to help center children and calm their minds as well as their bodies.
I work as one of the Bilingual Family Advocate in our Early Head Start and Head Start program. Our staff uses a program called Al’s pals to help children discuss feelings and there causes. Also our program also has social emotional as part of the curriculum. The center I help in serves multi cultural families, Hispanic and English; I would love to have this to add to ideas and events our staff use to help children to gain knowledge of feelings and how we deal with them to become successful in public school and every day life as they mingle and face new challenges.
Schedule in time every day to reset and refocus.
Discussing different feelings throughout the day, how some are comfortable or uncomfortable. Drawing & talking about how different feelings look. What happens to make us feel they way we do. Sing songs, move how we feel. Creating a class book compiling the children’s art work. Second steps feeling cards, feeling match game. Basing the activities on the child’s individual needs.
Social Emotional Skills are vital. Academics will come over time, but learning how to socialize, how to problemsovle how to self regulate etc. are skills that can help not only the child during childhood but through life, as well as the community. We have lost so many valuable skills with social media, and we are seeing the effects of that. We integrate social skills and emotional skills throughout our day. I would love to win and be able to share these with students but also their families.
I work with students who have hearing loss from p3-21, across 10 different schools. Every Dhh student that I’ve taught throughout my years have felt isolated and if they’re the only student who has a hearing loss. So, I incorporate SEL into each lesson with my students. We have good relationships and my students know that they can speak to me about whatever their issue of the day is. I recently stumbled upon CASEL and would be thrilled to have some material that I could use in my 30 minute sessions.
My opinion is that a culture shift is the best way to integrate SEL into education. I think some teachers are aware of the impact of SEL on students and their learning. However, I think many also feel as if their plate is full with academic requirements. I believe that to truly integrate SEL, it must come from the top down and be reflected in every aspect of the school day from the moment students walk in the door. These efforts should become part of the culture of the school over time versus being another initiative or activity.
I love to begin each day with a morning meeting. Students can share what they wonder about and ask questions instead of give answers.
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As the children enter I take time to greet them by name and have a short conversation with each one as they begin their day. During large group we welcome each other to school, share how we are feeling for the day and talk about why we feel the way we do. I encourage friends to work together, choose a friend, and solve problems together using our solution kits.
To help students we always greet each other and personally address them by name. They also have time to share something with the whole class virtually to make them feel as if we are all together.
Love it! I would love to win Spanish or English.
I am a inclusion Sped Teacher
In my role as a Child and Youth Counsellor, I am invited into classrooms daily to integrate SEL into students everyday lives in tier one programming.
I would Love this coloring book for my students! If I don’t win please let me know how I can get a copy.
God Bless,
Marilyn Alonso
I would love to be able to give each teacher on the SEL task force a copy of this coloring book along with colored pencils as a thank you for their resilience and both continuing to be a light of hope in their buildings.
I would love to have your books, because it helps us teachers teach our students how to deal with life lessons. Believe or not we impact our students life every day..
God Bless,
Mrs. Alonso
Spanish Teacher
Holy Spirit Regional Catholic School
SEL and Equity are embedded in every lesson I teach via teamwork. There is an opportunity for them to contribute via my curious questioning and as well as support their classmates with encouragement and partnerhsip, which ignites the fun of learning and dulls their sense of dread (I hope- it usually works!)
One of the best ways I’ve found to integrate SEL into the teacher preparatory and graduate classes I teach is to model or share a targeted skill and then unpack my thinking (meta-cognitive reflection) for my students. This is than followed by opportunities for them to do the same.
Be an example of enjoying who I am and what I am doing, even though I make mistakes.
I use SEL throughout the day and in every subject. In order to teach, one must model.
I create hands on highly engaging lessons to integrate social and emotional learning. Building is an excellent alternative entry point for learning. Many of these are art based lessons.
In our Afterschool Programs, we implement SEL through Afternoon Circle meetings!
As a new elementary counselor, I’m in the classroom once/month. Recently, I’ve found students enjoy doing a little bit of roll play to practice the skills we are learning.
My class enjoys sharing how their feeling each morning. They give a thumbs up, down, or sideways after our “Good Morning” song each day. They then share with the class or a partner how they’re feeling.
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Starts the minute they enter the room. Asking how they are doing that day and developing a connection with each child.
I find that when your excited about the lesson my students are engage and enjoy it as well. I also include fun learning activities to follow up the lesson.
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Love storytime, singing songs, doing crafts, and coloring along with our book lessons.
i work for a school district and any ideas in how to implement best practices on SEL are extremely welcome. Thank you for providing resources that help create opportunities for our students.
Books, games and puppets help with children expressing their feelings/emotions.
We are doing circles to build community during SEL time. I would love some resources in Spanish for our foundational classrooms!
Although it may sound primitive an introduction to my class starts with the rule that there are no dumb questions. I work with students with learning issues who have been scarred by asking questions and being rebuked. I elaborate on this by saying that I can explain things in many ways until we reach an answer that works. This has become an invaluable step in rebuilding trust.
Teaching children how to recognize feelings and introducing key vocabulary around problem solving, solution building and emotions. We use the PATHS curriculum and it is amazing!
In my preschool class we have the children flip their pictures every morning and add a colored stick for how they are feeling (happy, sad, scared or angry) they do this with their parents and it starts emotional discussions and also helps us know where they are at first thing.
I am currently working with Pre-K and K students on the SEL competency of Self-Awareness by reading stories that deal with identifying emotions. I started with the book The Way I Feel by Janan Cain.
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We have morning meetings in each of our classrooms. SEL is a primary component of these activities. Since we began this, the students have shown an increase in empathetic behaviors and problem solving skills.
We are engaging our students in cross grade family meetings this year. Students have opportunities to talk about how they feel and learn about our school core values with staff members as family leaders. It is beautiful to see connections students are making with each other.
I use a few techniques and resources to help build social emotional skills: Morning Meeting, daily meditation practice in the morning and after lunch, setting up a calm down corner, and having a compliment circle before we go home at dismissal time.
Greeting students and parents at the door made all the difference in the world in my classroom. It started the day off with a positive connection and made everyone feel welcome.
What a great opportunity to see your materials.
Enjoy the information I have received and used thus far.
Thank you!
My tip for integrating social and emotional learning in the classroom is to have a “Cool Down Corner” for students who need a moment to feel and release their emotions in a safe, quiet place. Once they are at peace, they can re-join the classroom. This helped my son tremendously in his SEL journey and taught him how to re-direct himself.
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My best tip for integrating social and emotional learning in the classroom is to do a morning meeting which would include:
– something new that was learned or seen
– something they may have done out of their comfort zone (best for middle school and up)
– sharing something from their weekend
– after sharing open up the circle to 2 questions to further learn about a topic, what happened, or for more information in general in order to allot for enough time for all/all those that want to have time to share
– recap what we may have learned earlier in the week that has excited us to explore more on our own through reading independently, looking at items on the web or watching nature videos on the subject
These all together not only strengthen the family feel of the students but also enable those that may be quieter or shy to have an opportunity to open up at their will and become more comfortable within the classroom that will eventually lead to the confidence to speak within larger groups.
I do it through class lessons and curriculums, such as Second Step and Emotional ABCs.
As a school nurse I work with students who would benefit from this book.
i will integrate it into my practice.
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In teaching 2nd grade, one of the best ways I’ve found to integrate SEL into the classroom is through read alouds. We read books like The Most Magnificent Thing and talk through the Zones of Regulation as we read many different stories.
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Role play with a puppet or puppets is always a great way to model appropriate and inappropriate responses and emotions with students. It gives a third point of reference for everyone to discuss. The kids also seem to really relate to the puppets and feel like they can “teach” them when they get something wrong, reinforcing the SEL learning for them!
I think the best thing we do it build relationships and model good, healthy relationships!
The best way for integrating social and emotional learning in the classroom is to engage the children in play. The children should be free to explore interact with each other learning how to share individually and in groups. Social emotional is an important part of children’s learning because it helps them regulate their own emotions and behaviors identifying their feeling of being happy, sad, etc. As an educator I feel that social-emotional is a major component of a child’s learning at an early age which will extend in their growth over years leading into positive relationships in adulthood.
One of the best & easiest tips I give to teachers/providers to encourage children’s social emotional development is to validate and acknowledge children’s feelings and emotions.
We complete random acts of kindness as an assignment so that students can begin to understand the importance of being kind towards others. Sometimes what goes around comes back and we can have a boost for us too!
One of the best ways to integrate SEL is to have morning meetings in the classroom. This not only creates a sense of community, but can be used to address different issues that arise as a class constructively.
Write students sticky notes praising behavior you want to see. Don’t make every communication with any student negative. Look for those positive moments, even if they are rare.
MODEL the behavior you want to see in students. Move through your own day with compassion and empathy.
Sincerely greet each student, each day.
Try to use the student’s name as much as possible. It let’s them know you care about them.
Start building healthy habits such as a quick breathing exercise at the start of class.
Relationship building and connecting with each of the students is a must. Becoming a community which builds off of each other.
Make SEL a part of nearly every lesson. Talking about sharing, being kind, relating it to characters in a story, etc. It should be across the board not an add in.
Jane
Retired School Counselor
Now
Kearny Prevention Coalition
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We start our day with brave breaths and a choose love thought for the day. We also remind students every day that we respect ourselves, others and our community. This is such a nice way to start the day, the students are able to take a moment to think about what it means to be a member of our community.
Our preschool educators and paras received 1000 Petals Yoga training. It is a great way to teach self regulation.
One of the biggest ways to integrate social and emotional learning is building relationships with students. Getting to know them and what they like and don’t like. We have a focus time set in our schedule for in the morning and at the end of the day just to check in with the students to see how their day starts and how it finishes.
I enjoy using books to help teach social skills. You have many great books that help with this. Thanks,
Building relationships with students AND teachers! I love teaching SEL lessons, but I need to involve the teachers in the lesson so they can carry it through the rest of the week!
Every child matters- all the time. You have to make them feel loved and important from the very first time you meet them. Sharing stories, laughing together, and being silly with them will help you make strong connections. Setting up your expectations and boundaries from the start is a must and helping children who come to your classroom with trauma or with little experiences need to taught how to act and using social stories, cue cards, and specifically teaching social skills daily is a must.
We incorporate SEL into our classroom by building community through our daily morning meetings as well as utilizing different books to help the students understand what feelings are and how we can handle them. We have also started introducing mindfulness and breathing exercises.
I like to incorporate the “Learning Ready Brain” check in every day, before I start my classes.
I try to have a one on one moment with each student every day. This builds trust and a relationship where the student feels they can come to me with their problems.
I work with students in an after school program and we spend a lot of time teaching kids SEL skills through dealing with conflict, sportsmanship, and learning about different values such as generosity and kindness.
We use “Take a Break baskets” within the classroom to encourage social-emotional learning and normalize a space for regulating without having to leave the room. Students take ownership over having different coping skills right at their fingertips!
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Counseling Classroom Lessons: facilitate SEL research-based programs into the School Counseling curriculum, help students learn self-regulation and calming down techniques, help students learn and manage their own self-mindfulness through counseling related books and activities.
Integration must happen throughout the daily curriculum. Not only at specific points in the day. Children also need to see what is being taught modeled. If adults are not practicing the children will not develop the necessary skills.
One of the best tools that I’ve found with SEL is to simply have students “find their breath.” Take 30 seconds, have them close their eyes, hand over their heart, feet flat on the floor and just breathe. It instantly brings calm.
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I integrate SEL learning into all moments by acknowledging emotions, discussing social problems and solutions, incorporating direct teaching, role play, and books.
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We do yoga brain breaks assessing how they are feeling throughout the day. We also use literature whose characters explore different emotions and reactions.
I love to promote social interaction through the use of educational games! Sharing, turn taking and being a good winner and good loser are all important skills to learn and I believe it’s done best through experience. 🙂
Monkey see Monkey do. It’s important for educators to practice identifying their own feelings, discussing range of emotions and modeling appropriate ways to handle frustration. Teaching children basic skills like, getting a friends attention, deep breathing and problem solving can really enhance a child’s social/emotional development. Practice also makes perfect and through the use of visuals and role play, children are more likely to feel comfortable with doing the skills they have learned.
The best way for integrating social and emotional learning in the classroom is to build positive relationships with your students. Daily “Morning Meetings” definitely help to build community and a sense of belonging. Service learning projects, as well as designing curriculum activities in ELA can address social and emotional issues. Themed Read alouds, mindfulness sessions, brain breaks, and art definitely are ways to implement SEL, too.
Building relationships, social skills and community through Morning meetings.
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For each letter the Kindergarten classes are reviewing I share a feeling word with the class and we learn that feeling word. So a new feeling word (or more) each week. Some weeks the classes then practice drawing how that face will look on a blank face under a page protector so they can change the face. Helps with learning to recognize feelings.
Recognizing one’s own feelings (which leads to recognizing and controlling one’s own behavior) is key first. Then teaching empathy and tolerance, while showing respect for self and others comes next. “Feelings faces “charts (can tie to emojis) help the child identify words that are acceptable, (Angry, lonely, sad, confused, worried) and how they vary in degrees. Acceptance is key, moving out of a funk may or may not be the choice or a possibility, but each step towards self knowledge and identifying with others is key.
At our inclusive preschool we use Kimochi’s, which is a social emotional curriculum. Our inclusion specialist goes into the classrooms 1x/wk to teach a new emotion/feeling, a new social skill, how to be a kind friend, etc. Then each day in circle time the teachers review what was learned practice the new skill or model the feelings/emotions. Every day we see the children utilizing the skills they learn from Kimochi’s! They soak up the information so quickly and easily which is so fun to watch and be apart of! Thank you for providing such wonderful resources that not only help us teach our children, but help us become better teachers!
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My Morning Meetings focus on SEL. As a 3 – 5 Division, we meet once a week and have a SEL focus Division Meeting. This has helped our division really bond as a community.
We start our day with a morning yoga, those who wish to participate and those who don’t do a little meditation 🌞
We are learning how to use the Mood Meter – great way to think about emotion management. Can do this at the beginning of a class to help set the tone.
We use books and games and we talk about emotions daily. We use your books and send the books home so they can read them with their family.
We sing our names/classmates names every day at circle time. It’s a way to learn each other’s names and it is nice to hear your classmates sing your name!
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some children don’t know how to express their feelings. One reason can be that they where not taught or they are scaried to express how they feel. Each day I try and express and show how we can feel happy, sad angry and never to be afraid to tell someone how you are feeling
I like to integrate it with books! You can identify the feelings and actions of characters to help students make connections.
Dedicated time for focused SEL instruction with reinforcement during everyday activities.
We have a calm down area. Students can recognize their emotions and self manage.
In my classroom we use the second step program. One part of this is the use of puppets. The children get to see them interact together, solve problems and express their feelings
One way I like to integrate SEL in the classroom is through morning meetings.
In addition to peace corners in every room it’s important to have a larger space where young people can deescalate. Coloring books can help in those spaces!
It appears that all ideas shared so far are part of social emotional learning! At the core of all great ideas is a teacher who understands the development of the young child and can create a learning environment that is positive and affirms each child in who they are. One idea I have used is the Way-to-Go! Mailbox. Each child makes their own mailbox. The teacher and the students can add mail to any child’s mailbox affirming something they see a child do or say that supports the classroom community. A lesson is provided before the mail begins to talk about what builds a classroom environment. Everyday, the teacher asks children who received mail to share something from their mailbox. The teacher then discusses these positive attributes, writes the attribute on a sentence strip and adds it to the bulletin board called; We are a Caring Community. Through this experience they teacher needs to be sensitive to all children, making sure all children are affirmed through mail each month!
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To address social/ emotional needs in the classroom, I love to see “cool down corners.” Every student needs a break now and then, and having a place already set up that is inviting and provides needed breaks is just smart teaching.
Using different color sticky notes and writing the “feeling” and putting in on the Me Today board.
I love SEL and this coloring book can assist students in focusing less on externalizing behaviors and focus on self-regulation.
Veronica Lee
Elementary School Counselor
Jacksonville, FL
Wow! This looks fantastic! This taps into the child’s creativity as a source of empowerment and expression. Neat!
I use yoga and breathing activities. I have developed my own style of bringing accessible mindfulness into classrooms especially working in sub separate classrooms k-12 and also at the high school level with students with emotional problems, high drop out or teen pregnancy
My daughter loves coloring she is an especial need child who loves putting her hands on color.
She gets happy and excited.
I would like to win for her it’s help her socially and emotionally to connect with the inner n outer world of her’s
Thank you
I integrate social and emotional learning in the classroom by encouraging teachers to provide and utilize cozy one person areas, feelings charts which take physiological stress response into account, and accommodate children experiencing emotional distress by varying activities to capture their interests and meet their needs. In addition, providing trauma informed and culturally responsive psycho education to parents and teachers in order to improve their understanding of children’s social and emotional needs is critical.
Using a feeling thermometer with coping skills to assist children in recognizing an emotion and choose a coping skill
I have made a chart for the classroom that has pictures of children with all the different emotions on their face. When the children come into the classroom each morning they take a clothespin with their name on it and put it on the emotion that they are feeling at that time. The children have the opportunity to move their clothespin during the day as their emotions and feelings change. Parents have asked me to make charts so they can use them at home.
Integrating animals and humane education reaches more students than anything else, bar none! Visit http://www.CanineCommandos.org to see what our schools do for shelter animals while learning compassion and empathy!
I love using language and stories embedded in content classes along with once a week in SEL classes. Kids learn best through relevant stories and active participation. Middle School, Grades 5 – 8
Integrate SEL into the classroom by modeling it everyday. Create an equitable caring learning environment where student voice is heard and acknowledged. Students are active participants in the classroom and they can learn from each other by their strengths and through character education.
Best way to integrate SEL into the classroom is through the use of classroom community circles, where students have time to check in and connect with one another.
One of the ways we integrate SEL in the classroom is through the use of feeling faces and Calming tools in our Safe Space in each classroom.
Start your day with an emotion check in. It helps to gauge where students are emotionally and helps students to gain skills with identifying emotions. It’s foundational to self-awareness and self-management.
Each day we face the students who are struggling with their own emotions, personal stories, and experiences, that best piece of advice is to begin each day with a smile and hello to our students; it may just change their outlook on their entire day!
I like to start/finish classes with a moment or 2 of quiet reflection. At the end of class, students write a word or 2 about how they are feeling. I can then asses the group and make the next day’s reflection on something relevant.
I feel like its best to incorporate social emotional learning by having an area in the classroom where the kids can calm their bodies and go to if they are having conflicts. This area should be soft, welcoming and peaceful and have books and other calm down materials.
I use all you posters on line to decorate my door. I work with students on their friendships
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Morning meetings are a great way to incorporate SEL
I have a lot of games that build social emotional learning or twists on common games like simon says focused on emotional intelligence or social skills!
I love a good body break to feel the feelings
I integrate social and emotional learning into my English as a Second Language classroom by having students reflect on their weekends through writing and speaking and then sharing with a small group.
I enter these all the time and I’ve never won yet. Pick me, pick me!!
I love your books, because it helps us teachers teach our students how to deal with life lessons. We have a big influence on the children we teach. Sometimes you are it in their life.
God Bless,
Mrs. Alonso
Spanish Teacher
Holy Spirit Regional Catholic School