SEL Lesson Week of 4/27 ALL GRADES

Hi Forestdale Friends!

This week we will be having you watch a video about feelings.  The book is called "The Way I Feel" by Janan Cain.  We thought this was a good one for all grades because after hearing the news of not returning to school we know there are lots of feelings about that.  Are you feeling Disappointed? Frustrated? Are you Thankful for your time with your family.  It is okay to have different feelings about this.  We want to make sure that you talk with a trusted grown up or sibling about your feelings.
We want you to know that we miss you and love seeing you in your morning meetings and will continue to post videos, stories and Stella updates for you!

Love,

Mrs. Pestilli and Ms. Darsch

Flipping Your Lid

Hi All!

Flipping your lid is an expression used when people lose control of their anger. This happens to everyone! Check out the video below to learn what happens in your brain when you flip your lid. Very interesting!

STELLA and LUCIA

Here is Stella and her little sister Lucia enjoying the sun after they both got clean and brushed!  Now let's hope Miss Stella doesn't find any muddy puddles that she likes to jump in! :)

EARTH DAY!

Hi Forestdale Friends!



Today is Earth Day and I wanted to share this video with you!

Here are some ideas of ways you can make our Earth a better place!

Turn of lights when you leave a room.
RECYCLE
Buy items with recyclable materials
Plant a garden
Take shorter showers
Unplug your devices when you are not using them
*Use reusable bags at the grocery store
Clean up trash in your neighborhood, parks and playgrounds
Feed the birds

*Due to the Corona virus we cannot do this right now, but it's a good tip for the future.


YOU CAN HELP MAKE OUR WORLD A BETTER PLACE !

SEL Lesson for PRESCHOOL Week of 4/20

Get cozy my friends and please enjoy this video of me reading this story to you!  Do you remember what ZONE the feeling scared is? 

Yes! It's the YELLOW ZONE!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DhjYAPNrJozjHHq7x8L63mkKFFoBxtQ4/view

SEL lesson for second grade week of 4/20

Connecting comments during conversations is a social skill.
Watch the video below and notice how the kids feel when their friend does not connect their comments during their conversation.

SEL lesson for kindergarten week of 4/20

Welcome back!

Check out the video below to hear more from Dinosaur Birthday Party and Medium Problems.

SEL Lesson for Grade 1 Week of 4/20

Hi first grade friends!

Today we are going to talk about Handling Disagreements.

When two people don't agree on something BIG feelings can occur.  We may feel upset or angry.  Disagreements happen on playgrounds, during gym, at recess and at home.  We can easily solve disagreements if we use some calm down tools (deep breaths, take a break, walk away, five finger breathing) and follow the advice in the video below!

Remember:

Let the majority rule.

Try a "do over"

Less arguing = more play time

Friends like classmates who can solve problems

HAVE A GREAT WEEK EVERYONE!

Love, 
Mrs. Pestilli

Just for Caregivers: Handling Sibling Rivalry

Now that we have been home for several weeks the fighting among your children may have increased.  This is to be expected!  All of our busy schedules have ended and family members are spending a lot of time together.  While I am sure some of this time has  been enjoyable, I know other times have not.  Here is a helpful article to help some of the sibling rivalry that may be going on in your home.  And always remember....giving yourself a time out to regroup and take a few deep breaths always help ;)
Enjoy the weekend everyone!

https://www.positiveparentingsolutions.com/sibling-rivalry

Monster Meditation

Happy Friday!!

Today you will learn a meditation technique to use when having to wait for something. Lots of kids have a hard time when they have to wait for something, especially something they really want. All you have to do is focus on your 5 senses while you are waiting. You can help your little ones focus on their 5 senses by making it into a fun I Spy game. When focusing on the 5 senses, it helps ground kids which makes them feel more comfortable and relaxed.

In the video below, Cookie Monster is waiting for his cookies to bake. You can imagine this is really hard for Cookie Monster because he loves cookies SO much! Next time you have to wait for something, try this Monster Meditation technique.

SEL Lesson for Second Grade Week 4/13

Hi Second Graders!

In today’s lesson you will learn when to just think things in your mind or to say them out loud. At Forestdale, we use the words Thought Bubbles and Speech Bubbles to talk about what should be said and what should be kept inside. Check out the video below and try to guess which thoughts should stay as Thought Bubbles.

Xoxo Ms. Darsch

SEL Lesson for Kindergarten Week 4/13

Hi Kindergarten Kids!

In today’s lesson, we start book number 7! You will see Evan, Ellie,   Jesse and Molly with their dinosaur friends. The title of this book is Size of the Problem and today we are focusing on small problems. There will be more videos to come with the rest of the book.

Xoxo Ms.Darsch

Little heros

We believe that social and emotional needs come FIRST for ALL family members!

SEL Lesson for Pre-K Week of 4/13

Name that emotion!

Preschoolers have done such a GREAT job all year understanding feelings and the ZONES of regulation!  Here is a video with Murray from Sesame Street hosting a game called "Name that Emotion!"  Come play along with me friends:)

Love,
Mrs. Pestilli

SEL lesson for Grade 1 Week of 4/13

Expected and Unexpected Behavior!

Let's play one of your favorite games from this year, "Should I or Shouldn't I?"

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-guRVQ4E3echPU0qDQtPr8WFJQuJ8ch-/view

Happy Spring from Stella!

Stella wanted to wish you all a Happy Spring!  She celebrated Easter yesterday with her family.  Another dog friend of hers celebrated Passover with their family.  Another dog friend just enjoyed the warm temperatures this weekend.  Did you celebrate a holiday this past week?
Warmer temperatures are on their way my friends!  Have a great week :)

Love, Stella and Mrs. Pestilli

Zones Check In

In lots of classrooms at Forestdale, students are able to do a zones check in with their class and teacher. Now that everyone is home, we have to get creative in how we can do a zone check in. Sometimes we don’t like saying out loud which zone we are in and that’s OK. Check out this fun way to do a zone check in from home. 

You’ll notice that one LEGO person is in both Green and Yellow Zone. Maybe she is feeling happy and silly at the same time. If you have LEGOs at home, give this a try. If you don’t have LEGOs that’s ok too, maybe you could do this by drawing. Get your crayons or markers, or whatever you have at home and draw which zone you are in. 

Shout out to Ms. Tarintino for sharing this idea!

A message to caregivers AND teachers...

This has not been easy, take a moment to read the message below from the book Heart Talk by Cleo Wade. My Mom shared it with me during this difficult time in the world and now I pass it on to you. I hope you find some comfort in it. XoXo Ms. Darsch


We may not always have the power to control what shows up at our door, but we always, always, always have the power to decide what stays and what goes (Wade, Heart Talk 2018).

No matter how much work we do on ourselves, stress and anxiety will show up. Our work is not to avoid them; it isn't to wrestle with them or "cope" with them. Stress and anxiety are unavoidable visitors. Let us accept that. When they come, acknowledge their arrival, evaluate what invited them in, and recognize that they are guests, not permanent fixtures. They will leave, especially if we don't entertain them or pick a fight with them. No matter how overwhelming the feelings that come with stress and anxiety are, we must always remember that we are human, and though we may not be able to control their arrival, we always have the power to release them. Pause. Breathe slowly and deliberately. Think positively. Remember your strength. These feelings will eventually leave, because ultimately they know they have no home within your sacred self (Wade, Heart Talk 2018). <3

Stella practices social distancing too!

Stella enjoyed the beautiful weather yesterday going on a long walk with her dog mom, sister and friends.  She was practicing social distancing too!
Can you spot Brya in the picture too?  She is the sweet girl who comes to read wth first graders!

Make sure you follow Stella's example and get some exercise and practice social distancing.

BIG Problem

Hi Friends!

So we have talked about Small and Medium sized problems. Now lets chat about BIG problems. Big problems take a lot of time to fix and lots of people to help. It is expected that we have Big reactions to Big problems. That means it is OK to cry and feel scared during Big problems. In school, an example of a Big problem is if there really were a fire in the building. We know that the fire department and police would come and help. 

Right now in the world we are experiencing a BIG problem. Lots of people feel scared and worried. During Big problems it is really important that we support each other. We need to use our coping skills like deep belly breathing to help us feel calm again. 

Check out the video below about Small, Medium, & Big Problems:

How to handle your child's BIG feelings and changing behaviors

Hi Forestdale families!

I am so happy to be hearing from many of you about how your children are processing all of the changes this pandemic has caused.  Changes in behavior is expected and you are not alone!

Below I have attached an article that may be helpful for many parents and guardians.  As the weeks go by you may be noticing some behaviors in your child that are not typical or difficult to manage.  Enough time has gone by now that children (and let's face it- parents too!) are really out of our routines and it is starting to bring up some unexpected feelings.  As adults, we have the ability to handle most of our feelings with little effort and when we become too overhwlemed we know what copinkg skills help us best.  Children need lots of patience and guidance around handling their feelings.  They may not even be able to tell you exactly how they feel or why they are feeling upset.
This is a quick read and may give you some helpful tips.  If you want more information or would like to speak to me directly, please reach out!  I hope you find this article helpful.  Be well!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZwgBfNI4JUkABK3WNvN4PVe12XF7TZAo/view?usp=sharing

SEL Lesson for K. & Grade 2 week of 4/6

Hi Kindergarten and Second Grade Friends!

Our first Social Emotional Lesson is on controlling our worries that we have in the Yellow Zone. 

Worries can be really hard to control sometimes. In this lesson you will learn a really great coping skill that you can use to stop thinking about your worries. 

Try imagining a locked box in your mind. You can picture it as a sunken treasure chest or maybe even a toy chest! Get creative with how you want your box to look in your mind. I like to picture a sunken treasure chest protected by mermaids. 

So when I have worries in my head during the day, I imagine in my mind putting them in my treasure chest for the day. I lock the worry up in my mind until a later time in the day when I can talk to someone about it. 

Try setting up a worry time with a parent. Keep it at the same time every day, maybe after dinner. At first you'll notice you have lots of worries to talk about. But as you practice locking your worries in your box, you will notice sometimes you even forget what your worry was! This is a good thing! 

The idea is to not think about our worries all day because that can make us feel bad. 

Now you try at home! Grab a piece of paper and draw what your lock box in your mind looks like. 

Have a Super Week!

Love, Ms. Darsch <3

SEL Lesson for PreK AND Grade 1 week of 4/6

Hi Forestdale Friends!

What a beautiful Monday; the sun is shining and it is going to be a great day!

Here is a link to our Social Emotional Learning lesson for this week.  This one is great for both preK and Grade 1.

Enjoy!
I miss you!
Mrs. Pestilli

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1d20pks8g28n-XhQcYE9cOa-VGGAZASUF

Medium Problem

Medium problems are a bit bigger than glitches and take more time to fix. When you have a medium problem in school or at home you need help from others especially an adult. When we have medium problems, our reaction size should be medium as well. Here’s an example:

At recess, your friend scrapped their knee and it is bleeding. In order to solve this medium problem, you would need to tell a teacher at recess so they can help. A teacher will most likely bring you to the nurse who will then help your friend. You may feel scared or worried about your friend and that is a normal medium size reaction to your medium problem.

Sometimes medium problems feel big and we feel like giving up. Check out the video below to see how Eve helps Hunter solve his problem by thinking flexible. 

Stella needs love!

Now that we have been out of school for 3 weeks, Stella really misses all of you!

She loves having her family home with her and has been having fun going on long walks and exploring, BUT she is starting to miss her Forestdale friends.  Let's see if we can cheer Stella up! Email Mrs. Pestilli with some fun pictures or stories to be shared with Stella- apestilli@sandwich.k12.ma.us!  Maybe Stella will write back :)

Family Mindfulness- Try it out!

Hi everyone!

Here is another resource from our friends at McLean!  Kidshealth.org defines mindfulness as "paying full attention to something.  It means slowing down to really notice what you are doing and you are focusing in a relaxed, easy way.  "  At Forestdale, we use mindfulness during our week in many ways.   When we want to change our mood as a coping skill, refocus after recess so we can be ready to learn, and when we have been sitting for a long time.

Try some of these activities out with your family this weekend!

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1HAC7bGN93rQwrh2PnO_4V1C3HShTVCnu

Children and Anxiety- A Guideline for Parents

Hi Forestdale Families!

Anxiety is one of the most prevalent diagnoses we see in children today. We have a partnership with McLean Hospital and here is a wonderful resource explaining how anxiety may present in cildren and some suggestions on how to help your anxious child.
Please reach out to me or Rachel with any follow up or child specific questions you may have.
Take care and Be well!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sRpjp6S-vGTzpl9Zg7ALTTnVjh5qbLjD/view?usp=sharing