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Our bodies are like car engines and our emotions affect its performance. Some emotions rev us up while others cause us to run a bit sluggish. There are emotions that run our bodies at optimal performance, but the question is how do we turn our revved up or sluggish emotions into those of optimal performance? As a society, we have never experienced anything like this before, so it is natural for us to feel a wide range of emotions. It may be difficult at times to identify exactly how we are feeling, especially for students. The activities listed in this article will help your children build their emotion vocabularies, identify which emotions are their current driving force and offer ideas on how to run their emotion engines at optimal performance.

Emotional Engine - What is your current driving force?

• • Emotions can be a bit tricky to identify. For younger children it may be easier (ex. My sister took my toy and I’m mad), but as we get older and the situations get more complex it might not be as easy. You may have to first start with identifying how your engine is running then think through the emotions involved in the situation.

Are You?

Sluggish

• • • • Sleeping too much

      • Unmotivated

      • Unable To Complete Work Assigned

      • More Time Spent Online For Non-School Related Activities

Compared to last week

• • • • Avoiding Others

      • Eating too much or skipping meals

Revved Up

• • • • Angry

      • Yelling

      • Short-tempered

      • Crying

      • Can’t sit still

      • Too much energy

      • Bothering others

Running At Optimal Performance

• • • • Calm

      • Happy

      • Peaceful

      • On track with school work

      • Confident

      • Social -Introverts & extroverts will have different definitions of Social

Running At Optimal Performance

Activities to Add Gas to Your Engine

• • • • Stick to your regular schedule

      • OR if you feel like you are a little stuck in your schedule mix things up.

        • Ex: afternoon activities in the morning and morning activities in the afternoon

      • Go for a walk

      • Go on a bike ride

      • Exercise

      • Do something creative

      • Call a friend

      • Listen to energizing music

      • Make a list of the things you are grateful for

Activities to Calm Your Engine

• • • • Yoga

      • Mindfulness

      • Go for a walk

      • Exercise

      • Deep breathing

      • Take a break

      • Listen to calming music

Integrating the theme into the Home:

Emotional Vocabulary

Use the chart below to help build your child’s emotional vocabulary.

• Ask your child to identify how they are feeling at the moment.

• Something to keep in mind is that our emotions can change in an instant, especially during times of stress. The emotion we are currently feeling may change though the situation has not. It is common for emotions to be all over the place. This idea is where the term “emotional roller coaster” came from. If you or your child are experiencing the “emotional roller coaster” right now know that you are not alone.

Emotional Vocabulary Chart

Emotional Connection

• The more aware we are of our emotions in different situations the more we can connect them to current things happening. Below is a great game to play with kids of all ages to build emotional connections.

Emotions Game - English

Emotions Game - Spanish