MISS BECCA

SCHOOL COUNSELOR
EMAIL: rseymour@whiteriver.wednet.edu PHONE: 360.829.5858
I focus on Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
-Self-Awareness -Self-Management -Relationship -Skills Responsible Decision Making
EMOTION IDENTIFICATION:
What are emotions?
Our internal response to the world around us.
What do those look and feel like?
They look and feel differently for everyone. Some people may yell when they’re mad, others may get
really quiet.
What do those look and feel like for ME?
It takes some time and effort to understand our emotions, but with hard work we can learn about
ourselves and how to manage our own feelings.

EMOTION BINGO
Have your child act out the emotion with their face and body! You can act it out too.
It’s important for them to recognize their emotions and others emotions as well.
Use mirrors to help your child know what they look like when they have big feelings!

EMOTION REGULATION
Where do we feel our feelings? In our mind and our body! Big feelings can show up in our bodies (tummy aches, etc.)
How do we show our feelings? We show emotions on our face, with our body, in our body, and with our words.
How do we communicate our feelings and our needs? We use our words to let others know we need (a break, a hug, etc.)

I do a lesson introducing Mr. Chill and Mr. Spaz to the students. We draw
them together, talking about where we show our feelings on the outside,
where we feel them inside, and how our feelings can affect our minds. Mr.
Chill and Mr. Spaz are actually the same person; all people have these feelings,
but it is up to us to decide how to handle those big emotions.

We also talk about who you would rather be friends with. Mr. Spaz may not
be a great friend because he may hit you or say unkind things to you. Mr. Chill
would be kind and help them. I remind the students that if they want to have
good relationships with friends, they should strive to be the friend that they
would want!

STARTEGIES FOR EMOTION REGULATION

What are ways that we can manage our big emotions? Breathing, movement, yoga, and reset breaks!
Deep Breathing: Increases the supply of oxygen to the brain, calming nervous system and bringing the body back to a calm state.
Movement: Help “unlock” our brain and allow us to full process emotions and trauma. Movement also decreases stress and increases
endorphins, the “feel-good” hormone.
Yoga: Incorporates both deep breathing and calm, intentional movement which can be very healing.
Breaks: Gives the opportunity to let go of the past and move forward into the present.
 SIZE OF THE PROBLEM
What is my problem and how big is it?
What can I do to solve my problems?
How can we match the size of our reaction to the size of the problem?

Small Problem: A problem that only takes one or two people to fix, and is fixed
quickly. Ex. someone cuts you in line, you spilt your juice at lunch.
Medium Problem: A problem that takes more people to fix, and may take longer to
fix. Ex. someone threw up in the classroom, another student threw something at you.
Big Problem: A problem that takes a lot of people to fix, and may take a long time to
fix. Ex. someone broke their arm at recess, there was a fire. Big problems sometimes
need police, firemen, doctors, etc. to help fix!

All emotions are okay to have, but the way we react to a problem is really important!
Big reactions to small problems can cause even more problems. The goal is to have
students be able to identify the size of a problem when it arises, react in the appropriate
way, and understand strategies to solve small problems. We use the Problem Solving
Wheel to help kids remember ways to fix their problem! 

EXPECTED VERSUS UNEXPECTED BEHAVIOR

How should I behave at school? At home? At the grocery store?

EXPECTED: Behaviors that are reasonable, appropriate, and normal.

UNEXPECTED: Behaviors that are out-of-the-norm, inappropriate, and
unusual.

At the ELC, all of the adults in the building are using the language
“expected” and “unexpected” when we’re talking to students about their
behavior. We use that language because each setting is different, and
behaviors may be expected in one but not the other. For example, raising
your hand to speak in class is expected, but raising your hand at home to
speak is not. Walking, instead of running, around the classroom is expected,
but walking around the classroom during instruction is unexpected.

Being explicit about what is expected and what is unexpected, as well as

continuous repetition, is very important for this development age.

GROWTH MINDSET
What do we do when something is difficult and challenging?

Fixed Mindset: Believing that their basic, innate qualities

(intelligence, talent, etc.) are fixed and unable to change.
Growth Mindset: Believing that their learning, intelligence,
and talent can grow with time and experience.

I talk in classrooms about the differences between a rock and

playdough to demonstrate the idea of growth mindset in a
developmentally appropriate way. A rock cannot be shaped
or changed. Playdough can be molded, sculpted, and can turn
into anything that we can imagine. We want our brains to be
like playdough because that’s when we do the most learning.

“I can’t”  “I can’t do it YET, but I will try my best”

“I give up”  “My brain grows when I do challenging work”
“I’m dumb”  “Making mistakes is how my brain gets bigger”