Hello families!

Today, the Superpower Club met for the first time. This first group focused on exploring our secret mission: to reduce the feelings of worry and stress, and to feel more free and confident. Each child received a manual that they will build during each group to grow their Superpowers. This week, we focused on identifying feelings of worry, where we feel it in our bodies, and using the feelings thermometer to describe how big the feelings can get. The group will continue with lessons that build Superpowers such as relaxation, noticing worry thoughts, positive self-talk, and problem solving. We will then put our skills to practice by facing some of our fears and using our skills. The group will end with a celebration of the skills they learned and then they will bring their manual home to share.

Below are some hyperlinks to resources that you can use in your home:

• Feelings Thermometer: Feeling thermometers are a great way for children to identify how big the feeling is and identify specific strategies to help reduce the feelings. They can be helpful for discussing feelings, building emotional knowledge, and guiding ways to find balance with feelings.

This week we focused on relaxation as a way to reduce the intensity of worry and anxiety. We used a few techniques from the book "Coping Skills for Kids Workbook" by Janine Halloran. This resource has a ton of different ideas on how to help children cope with big feelings. This week we focused on Square Breathing and I would recommend practicing every night by going around the square 6 times. We also practiced 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Technique to bring our minds away from worry thoughts and back to the physical sensations around us. I encourage you to take a closer look at the above workbook for additional ideas on how to help your child cope with big feelings.

This week we continued to discuss relaxation strategies, especially when worry rises above a 4 out of 10 on the feelings thermometer. We practiced the Progressive Muscle Relaxation video on the left and a Body Scan video also by Janine Halloran. We also discussed using temperature change (cold drink, ice packs, cold water on face) to help when our worry is 8 out of 10 or higher.