FEELING CARD GAME

In this video, Liana Lowestein explains a card game that she change to use it for the identification of feelings.

This way she becames learning each feeling a game and children get to know the feelings a joyful way.

I think that it's a very interenting method because it aboids the long explanation of the teacher letting children discover by themselves.

NEW INFORMATION

Today, I’m uploading a link with different material to work on our feelings. I found a website in which there are very useful and interesting activities; I didn´t have time to analyze them deeply, but for the moment I saw some activities that could help understand where our feelings come from. That´s way I recommend you to give a look.

http://www.sheffkids.co.uk/adultssite/pages/communicrateworksheets.html

EXPERT INTERVIEW

1. How do you work the coexistence project at school?

It’s been 10 years since we started a coexistence project in the Ikastola. The main goal was to improve the coexistence among all those who shape our Ikastola. For that, we organised four spaces.

1-Procedures to avoid problems

Social skills (basic skills, assertiveness, empathy, “I” messages, active listening) apart from working this in all the levels, we activated many procedures to solve problems: relaxing corners (Infant School), agreespots (Primary School 1-4), and mediation point (P.S. 5-6). The aim is to enhance the respectful environment among students, and to solve problems talking.

PUTTING IN PRACTICE

Before Christmas I put in practice different activities for my project as I said in the last post.  This time, I tried with the faces. 

For this activity, I used 9 years old group. I gave three faces each, which mean sadness, anger and happiness. I said them that they had to choose one of the three faces to express how they felt before beginning with the class. After that, I looked to all the faces I gave the class taking their feelings in mind.

After the class finished we did the same exercise again and we analyzed if there had been any changes in their selection.

I think that this is an easy and practical way to know how each student feels and to know if anybody had any problem. As we do in other activities, it is important to repeat the exercise at the beginning and in the ending; because students can change their feelings and we can analyze the evolution.

I feel very satisfied with this activity and the results I got. I think that this is a very useful method because they can identify their feelings easily and the teacher can notice easily if there was any problem. Also, if the teacher sees it necessary more expression faces can be added.

LANGUAGE CHALLENGE

During the last three weeks I´ve been working with my English teacher to improve the language. Since I need to read many articles and write many posts in English, she is helping me with my reading and writing skills. For that, she sometimes prepares specific reading exorcises so that I analyze the article and answer some questions. She also reviews the writings I do for the blog.

Thanks to these work, I get to know my weakest points and my teacher prepares grammar exorcises to improve them (preposition, word formation...).

That´s why I am positive about my language challenge because I am seen a development in my English expression. Day by day, I feel I can explain things better.

REFLEXION

In this post I will write about reflexion I have done since yet.

·        INFORMATION I HAVE FOUND

I think that this is a topic who needs a lot of time to analyze and you always have things to improve or change.

Even so, I am happy with the information I collected and with the activities I am preparing based on them.

·        PRACTICE I HAVE DONE

I think that the only way to see if the project is useful is putting it in practice. I am really satisfied with the practice I have done so far and I think it is a good way to make progress both, as a teacher and personally.

Knowing how each child feels is easier to connect with them and so, get good results. Also, if you get change your student´s feelings and if you make them feel better, you get a motivation to keep working.

·        “ INSIDE UP“ VIDEO

I think that is an interesting way to give information about feelings. Changing the format can be a good idea sometimes, and this film is especially well done for children.

SELF ASSESSMENT

SELF-ASSESSMENT: CRITERIA FOR ASSESSING THE PROCESS

DATE: 2015-12-15

1.      Have you made any progress [since last time]? Show evidence.

If you have not made any progress, or very little progress, explain why.

Yes, I have made some progresses on my work. I design some exorcises to put in practice and I work these with children.

I am preparing the post to upload to my blog where I explain how my experience is and how it goes. Also, I had done the interview programmed and I am preparing it to upload.

2.      Have you come up with anything that you hadn’t foreseen on your learning contract?

Yes. When I began thinking how I can put in practice the methods I design, I realized that this week are chrisms holidays. I thought that there wasn´t enough time to do all the activities so, I decided to do what I have planned but with my dance group children.

I have different groups so I have the opportunity to work with different ages.

Other change I have done is the interview form. At first, I supposed that I would record the interview bat at last, I had a chat with Marisa and we wrote together the answers. I did this change because she preferred to do so.

PUTTING IN PRACTICE

Last week I put in practice a method to express feelings with my dance group children. They are six and I used with them the “numbering feelings” method.

As I have explained in another post, this method consists in putting numbers to our feelings, so that, if the teacher sais to number from 1 to 5 each student has to think which number to put for their feelings each day.

They understood without any problem what they had to do and I think that it was very useful. I have done it twice and noticed changes between the first one and the second one.

On the first, the bigger number of the students said the same number and they didn’t take it seriously; but in the second one, the method went better.

So, I get the conclusion that this method needs a continued process and to get the objectives I want, it will take time.

Finally, I realized that “ numbering feelings “ method helps me a lot realizing how  each of my students feels and also, it helps them realize how they feel.

INSIDE OUT

Inside out, is a film which shows us how our mind can act when we feel each emotion and what each one means.

These characters are designed for children so, is easy and entertaining for them. There, I will put some examples for different parts and feelings.

GOOD ENERGY SONGS

This is a song which shows a positive way to see positively the diary life.

The song is in Basque. It is sung by Maialen Lujanbio and the lyrics also, are written by her.

INTERVIEW

These are the questions I sent to the teacher responsible in Irura for the coexistence project. Next week, I will put these questions with the answers she gives me.

1.      How do you work the coexistence project at school?

2.      Do you have different methods for Infant school and Primary school?

3.      Can you explain some methods you use for children to express their feelings?

4.      Do you notice any changes since you began using these methods?

5.      Are new projects in precess?

ADAPTING FEELINGS

In this entry I will adapt the feeling expression exercise for Primary school. As we used the three expression faces in the calming down corner, each child will have the three faces in his/her desk.

They will have to value their feeling three times per day (morning, after the break and after lunch) .

As in Infant education, the aim of this technique is to understand everyone is feeling.

The point of doing it  three times per day is that if bad feelings appear  they can notice what the reason was or what made them feel angry or sad.... Thanks to this, teachers can help working on those feelings. The same happens when good feelings show up; they can get to know what makes them happy.

CALMING DOWN CORNER

Today I will present the calming down corner. This is a technic used with children from 3 to 5 and it`s very simple.

It consists in letting the children go to this corner when they have something to express.

Once there, children have to choose one of the three faces that are glued in the corner. One of the faces, represent an angry feeling. The second one means " I am sad " and the third means " I am good but I need to be alone ".

Children identify easily what they have to do and they begin using the calming down corner in everyday situations.

When we see that children have the possibility to learn more feelings, we can insert the faces we feel necessary.

LANGUAGE CHALLENGE

In this learning process language is being another challenge for me. Since I am working a new material in my third language it is taking me some time to develop my work. As long as I am writing and working in English, I am improving my grammar and my spelling little by little.

Even so, my main goal is to improve my listened and read understanding. For that, I will work on those skills with my English teacher, using different listening and reading articles.

ADAPTING THE TIMELINE

This is the timeline I have designed for the learning contract. Is a very specific timeline and now when I am putting it in practice I have realised that it needs some changes. In a learning process all new inputs should be welcome, and therefore, the timeline should have suppleness.

For example, for this week I was supposed to interview a teacher who has experience using these methods but now is the valuating week for them and she called it off. I hope to interview her later but for the moment it led me to change the timeline.

So, this week I am looking for more information and I am designing an activity that I will upload on Friday.

-        November 16-20: Look for information in different website and ask to the specialist about different methods.

-        November 23-27: select the information I think interesting and useful and do a scheme. I will also create a blog and I`m going to start uploading there the information I have selected.

-        November 30-04: Start creating my own project, thinking a group of activities to different cases. First, I will begin creating activities to work with anger, which is the most common feeling in children. After that, I will begin with sadness and nervousness.

-        December 07-11: Start applying the activities I prepared in the class (Primary school and if I have option in Infant School) I will send a letter to the parents explaining my idea and if I have the possibility to start recording some activities or some rituals that I will prepare.

-        December 14-18: Evaluate the results and improve my method if it´s necessary. After putting in practice my methods and after recording the activities (if it`s possible) I will upload the videos to the blog and there I will ask the students about their opinion. With the improvement that I expect, I will improve my project adapting the activities that work best.

-        December 22: Show of the project.

I didn’t write all the activities I will practice with because I need to be informed first.

Children express their Feelings and Emotions by Voice

This video shows how we can teach the meaning of the feelings. The teacher shows pictures to children, and they have to identify what the name is and which voice they would use if the felt this feeling.

I have doubts if this is a usefull  method to work every day but I think that we can use this exercise to konw different feelings and to identify caracterits each of them have.

TEN ESTRATEGIES TO EDUCATE CHILDREN IN EMOTIONAL INTELIGENCE

 There, I will put a article who give us ten strategies for educate our children in emotional intelligence.

The article is in Spanish so, I will do a summary in English below.

Feeling, thinking, acting are very important three points in our life. Knowledge, comprehension and feeling control are necessary to live adequately in our society.

 https://lamenteesmaravillosa.com/diez-reglas-para-educar-a-los-ninos-en-inteligencia-emocional/

1.      CONTROLLING OF ANGER

After six months children begin to develop their anger. Therefore, it is very important for them to learn how they can control those emotions or how they can correct them. Children understand more than we think and for this reason, we have to teach them speaking.

2.      RECOGNIZING BASIC FEELINGS

After two years, children begin to interact with adults so we can work some exorcises to recognise feelings; happiness, sadness, fear...

3.      LEARNING THE NAMES OF THEIR FEELINGS

Up to five years, it would be perfect for children to be able to name emotions.

4.      KNWING HOW TO FACE EMOTIONS WITH EXAMPLES

Habitually, children are overcome with their emotions. When the huff finishes, we can teach them what they can do before shouting or hitting.

5.      DEVELOPING HIS EMPATHY

Is necessary reason with children constantly. For example, we can use questions like: “How do you think that your grand dad feels after you say this?”

6.      DEVELOPING THEIR COMMUNICATION

Speak with children, make them questions, give examples... We have to let them express their feelings.

7.      THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING TO LISTEN

Children should know keeping silence and paying attention, active listening.

8.      BEGINING WITH SECUNDARY EMOTIONS

When they are 10-11, feelings like love, shame or anxiety begin. With good communication, they can speak about it.  

9.      ENCOURAGING A DEMOCRATIC DIALOGE

The family is the best example of the society and is the best way to learn.

10.   OPENING FOR FEELING EXPRESSION

School and their house are the first´s scenery where they develop their life. If we offer the comfort to express and communicate, they will also do it in other context when they grow up.

NUMERATE FEELINGS

This is a video called "Teaching Kids a Simple Way to Express Their Feelings" done by Steve Reifmand. He is a teacher and he shares in his video blog some of the methods he uses at class. In this case, he depicts a numbering game in which children express how they feel using numbers from one to ten (one being no good and ten being great).

https://youtu.be/vJOrArmzPOE

A positive result of this method is that since children can see who is not feeling good, they try to cheer that child up during the day.

I think that is an interesting method that helps visualize how everyone feels in a simple way.

Thanks to this practice, all the children are involved in helping the rest.

I would like to introduce this technique in my method because it doesn´t take much time and you can apply it with all children that know numbers. I would need to develop a similar technique for children who don´t know the numbers yet.

Although I like the idea, I would like to add other techniques which I would use in case low numbers repeat many days in a row. Perhaps, there might be problems that need deeper work.

CONTROL METHODS FOR CHILDREN´S FEELINGS

This blog is a diary of a learning process in an attempt to design a method to help children control their feelings.

I will weekly upload a summary of the work done each week. The content will be divided in four parts: analysis of theoretical background about already used methods, design of my own method, practical activities  with children to put in practice my method and evaluation of my work.