Murray Avenue School Counseling - Social/Emotional Activities & Resources

The resources and activities listed below are meant for Murray Avenue families to use to help their children navigate social and emotional situations and develop life-long coping, problem-solving, and executive functioning skills.

Books

Reading and talking about books with your child is a great way for them to connect with characters in the story and learn valuable life skills and lessons. Below are links to some of my favorite children's books!

⟡ We're All Wonders by R.J. Palacio

⟡ Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller

⟡ The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister

⟡ My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss

Coping Skill Activities

Coping skills are used to manage intense emotions and difficult experiences. Students benefit from knowing coping skills so that when they are experiencing an intense emotion, they know how to respond to it in a healthy and productive way.

Coping Skills:

⟡ Acknowledging the feeling (Identify the trigger, name the feeling, brainstorm a coping strategy)

⟡ Brain Breaks (Distraction and short play times can help students refocus)

⟡ Coping Tools (Breathing Cards, Drawing, Fidgets, Journaling)

⟡ Deep breathing (Square Breathing, Sensory Breathing Prompts, 5-Finger Breathing)

⟡ Mindfulness & Relaxation Strategies (Imagining your favorite place, listening for specific sounds)

⟡ Movement Strategies (Going for a walk, lifting a weighted item, exercises)

⟡ Sensory Strategies (Listening to music, using a calm-down corner/sensory space)

Activities to Help Your Child Develop Coping Skills:

⟡ Create an at-home calm down corner or at-home coping toolbox

⟡ Encourage your child to write or draw about how they are feeling to help them acknowledge it

⟡ Help your child identify triggers so that they can prevent them or develop coping strategies to use when the triggers occur

⟡ Model healthy coping skills so your child can see skills being used and share your go-to coping strategies with your child

⟡ Practice collaborative problem-solving skills so that your child has ideas for how to resolve problems they can use during future situations

⟡ Practice taking deep breaths when your child is feeling calm so that it can become a go-to strategy when they are experiencing an intense emotion

⟡ Talk about different emotions so that your child can learn to accurately describe his/her/their feelings

⟡ Write a list of coping skills your child can use at home and at school

Games & Activities

Cooperative games and activities provide children opportunities to practice pro-social skills (like taking turns and using kind words and actions), as well as self-regulation, communication and problem solving skills.

Some fun and traditional games that don't require any materials and help children practice and build their self-regulation skills include:

⟡ Red Light, Green Light

⟡ Simon Says

⟡ Freeze Tag/Freeze Dance

⟡ Hide and Seek

⟡ Musical Chairs

Some fun games that help children practice and build their self-regulation skills, communication skills, and cooperative play:

⟡ Jenga

⟡ Simon

⟡ Headbandz

⟡ Bop It

⟡ Operation

⟡ Yeti in my Spaghetti

⟡ Chutes and Ladders

⟡ Ker Plunk

Using Games to Enhance Social & Emotional Learning

⟡ Make sure everyone playing the game is aware of and has agreed to play by all of the same rules BEFORE you start playing.

⟡ Consider challenging yourselves by playing the same game by one set of rules one day and then playing with some new/different rules another day.

⟡ Consistently enforce the rules that were agreed upon for this game on this day.

⟡ Model healthy coping strategies when the game goes in disappointing or unexpected directions.

⟡ Provide frequent positive feedback during game play regarding rule-following, sportsmanship, problem solving, and bouncing back from disappointing or upsetting outcomes.

Executive Functioning Skills

⟡ What is Executive Functioning? Executive function is a set of mental skills that include working memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. We use these skills every day to learn, work, and manage daily life. Trouble with executive function can make it hard to focus, follow directions, and handle emotions.

⟡ Main Areas of Executive Functioning: Working Memory, Flexible Thinking (Cognitive Flexibility), and Self-Control

⟡ Main Executive Functioning Skills: Attention and focus, organization, planning and prioritizing, starting and completing task, perspective-taking skills, self-regulation, and emotional regulation

Websites/Articles:

⟡ Center on the Developing Child (Harvard University): Executive Function & Self-Regulation

⟡ Child First: Executive Functioning

⟡ Childmind Institute: Executive Functioning

⟡ Children's Resources Group: What Is Executive Functioning?

⟡ Education Revolution: Age Appropriate Executive Functioning Skills

⟡ Hill Learning Center: 7 Executive Functioning Skills Your Child Should Have

⟡ Pathways: Executive Functioning Skills

General Tips & Tricks to Help with Executive Functioning Skills:

⟡ Be consistent

⟡ Promote problem-solving

⟡ Practice forward thinking: planning, estimating, and creativity