SEL lesson for second grade week of 5/26

Hi second grade friends!

Today you will be learning about some new friends:

Superflex & The Unthinkables 

You might remember the poster of our therapy dog Stella using her flexible thinking and defeating Rock Brain when outdoor recess was canceled. Click the link below to hear a story about Superflex beating the Unthinkables!

Superflex & The Unthinkables Read Aloud

(Click the link and scroll down until you see the video pictured below, enjoy!)

 Have a Superflex week!

Xoxo Ms.Darsch

SEL lesson for kindergarten week of 5/26

Hi friends!!

Today you will be hearing the last social thinking book with Evan, Ellie, Jesse, and Molly. Our last book’s title is Sharing an Imagination. This is something you do everyday! Sharing an imagination with friends is lots of fun. In school, you did this a lot during recess. Now at home, I bet you are using your imagination by yourself and with your family. 

Sharing an Imagination Read Aloud

(Click the link above and scroll down until you see the book title, click and enjoy!) 

Try sharing your imagination with family this week! Maybe you’ll pretend to have an ice cream store at your house or a dinosaur in your backyard! Have fun! 

Xoxo Ms. Darsch 

How to help your child adapt to wearing a mask

As our communities are starting to open up I though this may be helpful as your children begin to resume activities.

SEL Lesson for Grade 1 -Week of 5/26

Hello First Grade Friends!

We are going to do a project today!  You will be making an All About Me Portrait!  This will be easy and fun!

See the video below for instructions :)

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OuaYWyL3xrQP-2jq0OI3dZ2sTXlCk17O/view




I'd love to see your portraits either in the comment section below or you can email them to me at apestilli@sandwich.k12.ma.us.


Have a great week friends :)

Love,

Mrs. Pestilli

SEL Lesson for PreK Week of 5/26- Read aloud with Mrs. Pestilli

Hello PreK Friends!




I have recorded a story for you this week.  It's called "Llama Llama Mad at Mama!"  Little Llama is in the RED ZONE because he DOES NOT want to go shopping with his mama!  Let's see how he handles his feelings.....



https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dvzs78uvksBsdzH1bdACl-_R4931C-H4/view





Discussion questions:

How did you know Little Llama was getting angry?  What did his face look like?  What did he do when he got angry?

What did Mama Llama do to help calm him down?

What did Little Llama do to make things better?

What can YOU do when you feel angry?



Great job boys and girls!  Have a great week :)

Love, Mrs. Pestilli

SEL lesson for second grade week of 5/18

Hi Second Graders!

Today you will learn 5 simple steps to help yourself control your anger that you feel in the Red Zone. Remember, it is OK to feel angry but it is really important to learn how to control it so you don't do unexpected things that you later feel bad about like hitting your brother or sister when they are annoying you. Click the video link below to learn these 5 steps. 

Now it is your turn to try at home. The next time you feel angry use these steps:

A- Awareness

B- Breathing

C- Counting

D- Distance

E- Express Yourself

Have a nice week friends!

Love, Ms. Darsch <3

SEL lesson for kindergarten week of 5/18

Hi Kindergarten Kiddos!

It is time for our next social thinking book. The title of this week's book is Smart Guess. I think you guys will like this book because the kids have a snow ball fight! Take the time to listen and learn about how to make Smart Guesses. We make smart guesses at both home and school. 

Smart Guess Read Aloud

(just click the link and scroll down a bit until you see the book titled, Smart Guess, give it a click & enjoy)

Try making some Smart Guesses this week.

Look, Listen, Think, GO

Love, Ms. Darsch <3

SEL Lesson for PreK and Grade 1 Week of 5/18- Part 2

Hello Friends!  

This is the second part of the Self-Regulation lesson. Remember last week we talked about how YOU have the POWER to get back to the GREEN ZONE when you feel upset, worried or angry.  Practice the calming strategies below and PICK 2 that you plan to use when you need to calm down.  

"I Am With You"- At home with Olaf

Happy Monday boys and girls!

We thought you would enjoy this video and wanted you to remember that WE are with you in your memories and your hearts even though we can't be together right now.  We miss you so much and cannot wait until we can all be together again!

Love,
Mrs. Pestilli, Stella,  and Ms. Darsch

Wearing a Mask - A social story

Hi!

Click the video link to watch a quick social story about wearing masks.

How to implement Size of the Problem at home - A caregivers post

Hi All!

Your kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd graders all have some knowledge of Size of the Problem. With everyone being stuck at home together, more problems are happening. Take a look at the short video below to give you some ideas on how to implement this at home. I like the example she gives saying that her child viewed no goldfish at the store as a big problem - this is our reality right now. Helping your kids gain a sense of awareness of their reaction size is a really great life skill to learn at a young age. 

Stella loves sunshine

We have been having some nice weather and Stella LOVES being outside!  Long walks are her favorite!

Look at how happy she looks :)

Stella likes to carry her own leash sometimes....silly Stella!

Stella needs to rest after a long day of fun just like you!

What have YOU been doing outside in this beautiful weather?  Comment below and let Stella know!

SEL lesson for second grade week of May 11th

Hi 2nd Graders!

Oh how I miss you all!!

In today's lesson we will be talking all about breathing. I know, it might sound silly but controlling our breathing helps us get back to the calm & happy Green Zone. When we take short fast breathes, it tells our mind to be worried, scared, or mad. When we take slow, long, deep breathes it tells our mind to feel calm, safe, and happy. Try doing at least one of the breathing techniques from the link below each day. A nice place to practice might be laying in your cozy bed. 

 Check out the link below with lots of ways to control your breathing. 

Mindful Breathing Techniques

Have a Mindful Week

Love, Ms. Darsch <3

SEL lesson for Kindergarten week of May 11th

Hi Kids!

We are onto our next book today! So exciting! I do miss reading these books to you very much in your classrooms. Check out the link below to see the next story read aloud. The Title of book 8 is Flexible & Stuck Thinking. You will see the kids go on an ice cream adventure!

Flexible & Stuck Thinking Read Aloud

(once you click the link, on the web page scroll down a bit and you will see a picture of the book below, just click that & enjoy!)

Have a Flexible Thinking Week!

Love, Ms. Darsch <3

SEL Lesson for PreK and Grade 1 week of 5/11- Part 1

Hi Forestdale Friends!

This week will be a two part lesson on self-regulation.  This mean how to use some tools to calm down when we want to get back to the GREEN ZONE. Below you will find some fun movement activities to practice that can be used as tools.  They are called HIIT work out,  meaning High Intensity Interval Training.  This can be used to wake up your body when you are bored, tired or sad in the BLUE ZONE and it can also help you calm down when you are worried , frustrated or mad and in the YELLOW ZONE or RED ZONE.
Try it out and choose which ones are your favorites!  Then you can use these whenever you need to self-regulate or get back into the GREEN ZONE.

Have a good week!

Love, Mrs Pestilli

Reminders for parents/caregivers- Our instincts vs Our Goals: How to help de-escalate situations

We ALL need reminders at times. Many of us have been cooped up with our children for quite awhile now and when emotions are running high we may react to our children by saying things that are not helping the situation or getting us to our intended goal or end result.  This box below is a nice reminder for everyone on how to clean up our verbal responses to our children to quickly diffuse intense situations.

Wearing a Mask

Hi Friends!

Seeing people wearing masks is a bit strange & scary because it it something new that we are not used to. Most of you kids probably have not seen many people with masks on since you are staying home, which is good! You may see your adult loved ones wearing a mask if they have to leave for work or the grocery store. Or you may even have a mask yourself. Even for me, at first I felt surprised each time I saw someone with a mask and having to wear my own mask. With time, I now feel comfortable seeing people with masks and wearing a mask myself. You might just need time to adjust too. This is our new normal for now, and it will probably change as the days go by. Remember to use your flexible thinking during this time of change and just "Go With the Flow". 

If you think about it, wearing a mask is kinda cool! Doctors & nurses wear them everyday and they are like superheros. If you have your own mask, try decorating it and making it colorful. This will make it less scary and help you feel more comfortable. And remember, it is perfectly safe to run and play in your yard. It is actually really healthy to be active and get SUN while social distancing. 

SEL Lesson for PreK- Week of 5/4

Hi Preschool Friends!

You did such a great job this year learning all about the ZONES of Regulation! We had just started talking about tools what we can use when we want to get back to the GREEN ZONE right before the school closure.  Here is a great table showing different tools you can try.

Now work with a grown up or older sibling to draw a picture showing which tool you would use the most for each zone!  Then when you are experiencing different feelings you will have a personal plan to get back to the GREEN ZONE!

SEL Lesson for Grade 1 Week of 5/4 Mindfulness Activity

 This video helps us think about our feelings in a different way.  It shows us that we are separate from our feelings. They come and go - and we can observe them - without getting swept up by them. There's a really clever way of remembering this - our mind is like a pond full of fish. The fish are our feelings. If we remember to Be The Pond, we'll let those feelings just swim by. 

Whenever you feel like your feelings are taking over, close your eyes, take deep breaths and picture a pond full of all kinds of fish.  Think of the wet and cool feelings of a pond, and the sounds of water, the feel of bubbles and get back to being the pond!

SEL lesson for Kindergarten week of May 4

Hi Kindergarten Kids!

In today’s video, we get to see the BIG dinosaur with a BIG problem. With big problems, it is ok and expected that people have big reactions like crying and yelling. With big problems, it takes a lot of help from a lot of people and a lot of time to make it better.

Now that we have talked about each problem size, next time you have a problem, try figuring out which size it is. Then try to match your reaction to your problem size.


Have a wonderful week!
Xoxo Ms Darsch

SEL lesson for second grade week of May 4

Hi Second Graders!

In today's video you will learn how anxiety is actually a good thing! You probably did not know that but when you feel anxiety it is your body's way of protecting itself. When we feel anxious our body goes into what is called - Flight, Fight, OR Freeze. 

Flight means your body is getting ready to run away.

Fight means your body is getting ready to protect itself.

Freeze means your body actually gets stuck and does not even more. 

We all experience these feelings and it is completely normal!

Next time you are feeling anxious about something, try to figure out how your body is feeling. During these moments, tell yourself that these feelings will PASS. Anxiety does not stay with us forever, it comes and goes. Just remember to take some deep breathes to help control it. 

XoXo Ms. Darsch

Friendship Soup!

In our friendships, each one has it's own special qualities. Think about your friendships and what makes them special. Make a list of ingredients in your friendship soup. Some of the ingredients in my friendships are: silly, funny, loyal, happy, thoughtful, & fun!!

Watch the video below and then make your recipe for friendship soup.