Hola!
It was great to see some of you logging onto our Team yesterday, despite the technical issues affecting the whole system. Please do connect with us there as and when you can.
Today’s blog post focuses on recognising and managing different feelings.
How do you feel just now? How did you feel when you first woke up this morning? Have you felt more that one feeling today?
This is normal as different things happen during the day and our feelings change in response. It is good to name our feelings – happy, sad, angry, upset, worried – and to learn ways to manage them.
Sometimes visualising our feelings can help us to do this. Here are some different ways to think about what feelings look like.
A. The Colour Monster
Do you remember this story? Do you recognise any of these feelings? When do you feel happy/sad etc? Who can help you when you feel sad or angry? Why don’t you talk about this with your grown-up and draw or write some of the things that help you feel better when you are angry or sad?
B. Mirror, mirror
This song might help you name and discuss a wider range of feelings:
C.
How do you think the deer is feeling? Do you ever feel like that?
What can you do when you feel lonely or bored?
What can you do to feel better when you are sad about missing loved ones?
Why don’t you…?
- Call them to chat
- Send them a funny photo or video
- Make something you can send to them or keep in a special box, adding to it as and when, that you can give them the next time you meet them
- Think about yesterday’s story on our Team (The Same but Different Too) and draw a picture or make a list of what is the same and different about people in your family
D. 
Having spent some time thinking about this, how many different feelings can you name now? Perhaps you could write them down on small pieces of paper and sort them into two groups – emotions that you like to feel and ones that are trickier to manage. Why not keep the tricky ones in a jar and refer to them every once in a while, practising strategies that will help you cope when you meet these more challenging feelings such as anger, frustration or sadness? This will make it easier for you to take charge of your emotions.
E. 
Maybe you could make a basic chart and map out your feelings at different points in the day today and across the week. You could draw simple pictures or name and write the feelings. When you look back at it, it will hopefully demonstrate that we all feel a range of emotions and that’s okay. It might let you spot a pattern of feeling a certain way at the same point in the day or around a certain activity. Noticing and discussing this might help you make small positive changes to your routine.
F. 
Outdoor play and exercise are both excellent ways to help us feel content, happy, challenged and foster self-esteem. Here are lots of ideas:
