Weather Wise Crew

Today, our group engaged in a number of activities. See what we did, below!

• Group Greeting: Sunshine, Cloud, Rainbow

  • The purpose of this activity is to intentionally notice and appreciate the good alongside the difficult—is a core principle in the field of positive psychology and directly addresses a cognitive phenomenon called the negativity bias. 

• "Would You Rather"  - relationship building, rapport, and fun

• Pre-Survey - the student surveys provided key insights into their thought processes, helping us prioritize next steps.

Sharing Emotions & Building Connection
Having children share emotions with each other is important for:

• Normalization of Experience: Hearing that peers feel similar emotions—such as anxiety when plans change or excitement about a break—helps a student realize their feelings are normal and they aren't alone. 

• Building Empathy: Listening to a friend's feelings helps students practice empathy, learning to see things from another's perspective and respond with care.

What is Stress?
Stress is a natural response to challenging, difficult situations. Everyone experiences stress and stress is a normal part of life. Stress can be both helpful and unhelpful. 

• Helpful/Positive Stress helps you get ready, focus, and achieve a goal. For example - you have a big soccer game coming up so you practice extra hard. After the game you feel proud and happy.

• Unhelpful/Negative Stress feels overwhelming and lasts for a long time. For example - feeling worried about family problems, or if you're feeling scared or sad for many days. This stress is too heavy, and you need a grown-up's help to feel better. 

Today, students were presented with different, common stressors that children might experience and ranked these stressors on a scale from 1 (no stress) to 5 (unmanageable stress). We will use these answers, moving forward, to talk about what is in our control and out of our control.

What is a physical sensation?
A physical sensations is a message your body sends to your brain about how it feels or what it needs. It is important for children to begin to notice and name these signals so they understand which tools can be helpful.

Today, students used outlines of bodies and picture symbols to describe how different parts of their bodies felt when encountering a stressful situation (examples we used were: when plans change unexpectedly, when you are called on to answer in class, and when you have to meet someone new). They then explained how their heads, hearts, muscles, etc. might be feeling. For example - "When I meet new people my hands feel sweaty, my belly has butterflies, and my brain feels like it's a tornado!"

What is a physical sensation?
A physical sensations is a message your body sends to your brain about how it feels or what it needs. It is important for children to begin to notice and name these signals so they understand which tools can be helpful.

Today, students used outlines of bodies and picture symbols to describe how different parts of their bodies felt when encountering a stressful situation (examples we used were: when plans change unexpectedly, when you are called on to answer in class, and when you have to meet someone new). They then explained how their heads, hearts, muscles, etc. might be feeling. For example - "When I meet new people my hands feel sweaty, my belly has butterflies, and my brain feels like it's a tornado!"