My kindergartners are a group of curious little people with a lot of feelings inside – feelings they don’t know quite how to express or explain yet. They can go from being excited one minute, to being frustrated or angry, and are learning how to make sense of it all. They are also at a stage where they begin to learn pertinent social skills like cooperation and self-regulation, skills that have a big impact classroom culture and the overall academic and social environment not just in kindergarten, but throughout their schooling.
Through a wide range of books on feelings and diverse social skills, my students will learn how to express and manage emotions appropriately and how to work cooperatively, make friends, and learn from their mistakes.
One of my favorite books that touches on feelings is When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang. This book is great because it models for children different strategies--like going for a walk-- that Sophie uses to calm down when she is angry. This perfectly ties in with our "Calm Down" corner and the strategies I teach like breathing techniques, stretching, or counting when upset.
For teaching cooperation, How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney is fantastic! In this silly story, the Sun and the Clouds have a fallout. A box of Crayons are determined to work together to have the Sun and Clouds amend their friendship (and create beautiful rainbows again)! With this book, I can discuss real world situations where they would work together to accomplish a common goal, like how to clean up during center time or how to work as a team during a hands-on math investigation.
About my class
My kindergartners are a group of curious little people with a lot of feelings inside – feelings they don’t know quite how to express or explain yet. They can go from being excited one minute, to being frustrated or angry, and are learning how to make sense of it all. They are also at a stage where they begin to learn pertinent social skills like cooperation and self-regulation, skills that have a big impact classroom culture and the overall academic and social environment not just in kindergarten, but throughout their schooling.
Through a wide range of books on feelings and diverse social skills, my students will learn how to express and manage emotions appropriately and how to work cooperatively, make friends, and learn from their mistakes.
One of my favorite books that touches on feelings is When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry by Molly Bang. This book is great because it models for children different strategies--like going for a walk-- that Sophie uses to calm down when she is angry. This perfectly ties in with our "Calm Down" corner and the strategies I teach like breathing techniques, stretching, or counting when upset.
For teaching cooperation, How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow by Monica Sweeney is fantastic! In this silly story, the Sun and the Clouds have a fallout. A box of Crayons are determined to work together to have the Sun and Clouds amend their friendship (and create beautiful rainbows again)! With this book, I can discuss real world situations where they would work together to accomplish a common goal, like how to clean up during center time or how to work as a team during a hands-on math investigation.
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