Thoughtful Thursday

September 22, 2022

Belly Breathing & Gratitude

Belly breathing with the breathing ball and gratitude for happy memories at school.

September 29, 2022

Mindfulness All Around Us

Practice being mindful and take the time to notice the beauty around us every day.

October 6, 2022

Bullying vs. Conflict

Exploring the difference between bullying and conflict.

October 13, 2022

Problem Solving Steps

Walking through the problem solving steps to resolve conflict with peers.

October 27, 2022

Including Others

Wrapping up our bully prevention month with a discussion about inclusion and seeking out people who need to be included.

November 3, 2022

Mindful Listening

Silence isn't all that silent!  

Practicing mindful listening and hearing the sounds around us that we usually don't notice.

November 17, 2022

Mindful Eating

Practicing mindful eating and noticing the details of the texture and taste of our food as we eat it.

December 1, 2022

Mindful Feeling

Practicing mindful touching/feeling and noticing the details of texture that are similar and different.

December 8, 2022

5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise

Learning about mindful smelling and then tying mindful seeing, mindful feeling, mindful hearing, mindful smelling, and mindful tasting together into the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise.  This exercise uses our senses to help ease anxiety and stress.

December 15, 2022

Bright Spots

Choosing to intentionally focus on "bright spots" can change your perspective on life.  By focusing on the things that go well rather than the things that don't, we are able to have a positive and optimistic mindset.

January 12, 2023

Golden Rule vs. Platinum Rule

This explains why the platinum rule shows more empathy than the golden rule.  By treating others how THEY want to be treated, we are thinking about others' wants and needs and not just our own.

January 19, 2023

Introducing Size of the Problem

We learn about how there are small, medium, and big problems.  This focuses on small problems being things that we can fix ourselves in a short amount of time.

January 26, 2023

Medium Sized Problems

We learn that medium sized problems are things that we cannot fix on our own and we need to ask an adult (parent or a teacher) for help.

February 2, 2023

Big Problems

We learn that big problems are an emergency that requires help from a special adult like a police officer, a firefighter, or a doctor.  We also learn that it is expected that our reaction size matches our problem size and it is unexpected to have big reactions to small and medium sized problems.

February 9, 2023

Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs)

We learn about the importance of paying attention to our thoughts and noticing if they are positive (helpful) or negative (unhelpful), especially when we are worried.  We also learn about how Automatic Negative Thoughts (ANTs) can be changed by replacing them with helpful thoughts.

February 16, 2023

The Triangle - Worry

We learn about how our thoughts, feelings, and actions are all connected.  When we are worried and we have an Automatic Negative Thought (ANT), we can change how we feel and what we do by changing the ANT into a helpful thought.

March 2, 2023

The Triangle - Anger

We learn about how we can use the triangle to help us when we are angry.  We can use helpful thoughts to change our ANTs and calm down.

March 9, 2023

Laddering

We learn about how we can take something that feels really big and overwhelming and break it down into smaller steps.  Take one step at a time to reach your goals and do hard things.

March 16, 2023

Problem Solving Steps Part 1

We review the first two problem solving steps: Say the Problem and Think of Solutions.  We use these steps to discuss common problems at recess.

March 23, 2023

Problem Solving Steps Part 2

We review the third and fourth problem solving steps: Explore Consequences and Pick the Best Solution.  We also learn about what to do if the first solution we picked doesn't work.

April 6, 2023

The Benefits of Boredom

We learn about how being bored is good for our brains.  While it doesn't always feel good to be bored, it helps us calm our brains, be fully present, and gives us a chance to be creative.

April 13, 2023

The Benefits of Being Outside

We learn about the benefits of being outside as much as possible.  It helps our bodies and our brains to move and get fresh air.

April 20, 2023

Calming Strategies for Testing

We review belly breathing, square breathing, lazy 8 breathing, and 5 finger breathing.  We learn how dogs "shake it off" and how shaking it off can also be helpful for us to reset our brains.

April 27, 2023

Care for Self and Others

We learn about how caring for both ourselves and others is helpful to everyone.

May 11. 2023

Perseverance

We learn about perseverance and how important it is to try hard things and never give up.

May 18, 2023

Career Fair

We learn about the 5th grade career fair and start thinking about things that we like and things that we are good at.  When we are at school, we are practicing the skills we will one day need in our jobs.

May 25, 2023

Whole Body Listening

We review whole body listening and how it is important to continue focusing attention and ignoring distractions during a busy time of year.

June 1, 2023

Mindful Moment Frame

We review how to make a mindfulness walk bracelet and learn about using a mindful moment frame to practice being mindful and take mental pictures of things that you see that are beautiful or interesting.

June 8, 2023

Summer Challenge

I encourage everyone to get outside and read as much as possible.  Devices are fun, but it's important to spend lots of time getting fresh air and keeping our brains sharp by reading every day.