Weekly Guidance Videos
Hello Feelings Detectives!
I miss seeing you in my classroom for Guidance. While we are home from school you can find me here. Visit on Mondays - I will have a new video for you each week. Lou the Llama, Puppy, and Snail are home with me and they are excited to say hello to you as well! After you do your activity for the week I would love to hear about it! You can write me an email or send a picture or video to ndean@rsu1.org.
Love, Ms. Dean
Guidance at Home #1: We Are Still Connected
Hello Feelings Detectives! Today we will learn that we are still connected even when we are far apart. We will read The Invisible String by Patrice Karst. Who do your invisible strings connect to?
Activity: Draw a heart map. Start by drawing a heart in the middle of the page. Write your name or draw a picture of yourself inside. Now think of all of the people that you care about and who care about you, and write their names or draw pictures of them around your heart. Draw lines connecting the names or pictures to your heart. Don't forget to include your school family!
Guidance at Home #2: Feeling Good
Hello Feelings Detectives! Today we read The Feel Good Book by Todd Parr and we help puppy who is feeling bored and grumpy. There are lots of things we can do that help us feel good - how many can you think of?
Activity: Make a plan to help yourself feel good today. Think of one thing you can do that is good for your body, one thing that is good for your brain, one thing that is good for your happiness, and one thing that is good for someone else. I would love to hear your plans for feeling good - send me an email!
Guidance at Home #3: Talk It Out
Hello Feelings Detectives! Today we read Bye Bye Pesky Fly by Lysa Mullady. Puppy and Snail are getting on each others nerves after spending so much time together. They learn how to take charge of their own feelings, calm down, and talk it out using calm and kind words when they are feeling bothered.
Activity: Make your own Talk It Out speech bubble and use it to practice if you feel upset this week.
I feel ______
When you _______.
Can you please _______?
Guidance at Home #4: Listening Walk
Hello Feelings Detectives! Today we read The Listening Walk by Paul Showers. Snail is an expert at morning mindfulness. Today snail learns that mindful listening doesn't have to be so still, and we learn how to go on a listening walk. Focusing on what you hear right now can help you let go of worries.
Activity: Go on your own listening walk. It can be a hike in nature or a walk around your yard. Pay attention to the sounds you hear. When you come inside, write a list or draw a picture of all the sounds you can remember.
Check out the video Mr. Carter made on his nature walk here. What sounds do you hear? What will you discover when you pay close attention to nature?
Guidance at Home #5: 3 Good Things
Hello Feelings Detectives! Today we will practice gratitude and focus on the good parts of our day. We'll read The Thankful Book by Todd Parr for some ideas. When we focus on the good parts of our day we are training our brain and the more we practice the easier it gets! This is especially helpful if you are having lots of uncomfortable feelings right now, like feeling sad, angry, or worried.
Activity: Start a "3 Good Things" gratitude journal. Every day, write or draw 3 good things from your day. Notice how remembering these things makes you feel. Do this every day this week, or to really train your brain, challenge yourself to do it for a whole month! You can think of your 3 good things by yourself or it could be a family activity.
Guidance at Home #6: A Rainbow for Your Window
Hello Feelings Detectives! Today we think about rainbows as a sign of hope, and learn how children all over the world are making rainbows to put in their windows to spread hope and cheer while we stay home. We are in the middle of a stormy time. Remember that your cloudy, uncomfortable feelings, and your sunny, comfortable feelings are all OK - even though having different feelings at the same time can be confusing!
Activity: Make your own rainbow. Hang it in a window where you and others can see it to spread hope and cheer. Take a photo of your rainbow and email it to Ms. Dean at ndean@RSU1.org. I will post the photos here on the website and show them on my video next week!
Guidance at Home #7: Safe, Kind, and Responsible Online
Hello Feelings Detectives! Our school rules - be safe, be kind, be responsible - are still important while you are learning online at home. Today we will learn new rules to stay safe online and practice trusting your gut to visit sites and games that are just right for you. What is your favorite just right sight to learn? What about just for fun?
Activity: Today for your activity you will play a traffic light game with Ms. Dean in the video. The rest of the week practice the safety rules and the traffic light!
Parent Resources:
Family Tips - Privacy and Security
Family Tips - Balance and Well Being
Common Sense Media Ratings and Reviews - A trusted source for finding appropriate apps, websites, video games, and movies.
Guidance at Home #8 - Getting Back Up After a Fall
Hello Feelings Detectives! Have you ever wondered what happened to Humpty Dumpty after he fell off the wall? Today we will think about being brave, getting back up, and trying again. Your brain is made for learning, and with hard work, practice, a little help or new strategies, you can reach your goals! You can do hard things, and we will get through these hard times together.
Activity: Make a goal puzzle.
1) Think of something you want to do that is still hard for you and that you can't do as well as you want to YET.
2)Draw a big egg on a piece of paper. Draw you doing the thing you want to do inside the egg. (If your goal is to learn to ride your bike without training wheels draw yourself riding that bike super fast!)
3) Cut the egg shape out.
4) On the back of your picture, write or draw a few things you can do to help you meet your goal. (Practice, ask for help, try again a different way, don't give up, etc)
5) Draw lines to make cracks on the egg so that each idea has it's own piece of shell.
6) Cut along each line so that you have puzzle pieces.
7) Have fun putting your puzzle together!
I would LOVE to know what you are practicing and working hard on at home. Maybe it is math or reading and maybe it is bikes and cartwheels. You can email me a note or a photo of your puzzle so I can cheer you on and celebrate with you when you reach your goal!
ndean@rsu1.org
Guidance at Home #9 - Your Many Different Smarts
Hello Feelings Detectives! Did you know that there is not just one way to be smart? There are so many different smarts! Today we learn about the different smarts that you have and that you are growing, especially when you practice doing challenging things.
Activity: Think of a favorite activity that you love to do and that you are really good at. Now try to figure out all of the different smarts you are using when you do that activity. You can draw a picture, write a list or story, or explain it to someone. I would love to celebrate your smarts with you! You can email a picture of your drawing or writing to me, or if you would like to explain it to me your grown-up can email me so we can set up a video chat(:
The smarts we learn about in today's book are:
* BODY smarts
* WORD smarts
* MUSIC smarts
* PICTURE smarts
* NUMBER smarts
* SELF smarts
* PEOPLE smarts
* NATURE smarts
What other smarts can you think of? Try to notice all of the smarts you use as you do different activities today!
Guidance at Home #10 - Spreading Kindness
Hello Feelings Detectives! This is our last Guidance at home! Let's celebrate all of the learning you did in Guidance this year and head into summer with a challenge to keep practicing one of the things you are very best at - being kind. We all could use a little extra kindness right now, and this is one way YOU can really help.
Activity: Make a kindness jar (or bowl, or box). Throughout the summer, when you do something kind write it down or draw a picture on a strip of paper and add it to your kindness jar. How many kind things can you do? When the jar is full, take out all of the notes and celebrate all of the kindness you helped add to the world. Anyone in your family can add to the jar. How do you feel when you are kind?
Have a safe, responsible, and KIND summer vacation, and have FUN! I can't wait to see you soon.
Love, Ms. Dean