Over two years ago, I wrote about the importance of social emotional learning and empathy, and also shared a follow up lesson where my students had created calm down strategies in order to help themselves self-regulate. Unfortunately, as I transferred my blog over and bought my own domain, somehow things got lost, including some pictures and videos in several of my older blog posts. Social emotional learning is still one of my favourite things to teach. I believe it is at the core of what we do and I love doing the Big Brain & Little Brain lessons, which Sheila Vick introduced me to, and teaching the Zones of Regulation. Without students who feel safe, loved, and who are equipped to understand and deal with their emotions in a positive way, it is next to impossible to focus on curriculum… Maslow before Bloom.

Earlier this school year, I had a member of my PLN reach out to me saying that she loves to refer back to my blogs with students when her and her staff are doing social emotional lessons. She brought to my attention that old calm down strategies videos weren’t working, so I knew exactly what I had to do! It was time to publish new ones!

If you don’t have a copy of the book Frog’s Breathtaking Speech, do yourself a favour and grab a copy. It is an incredible starting point, and anyone who knows me well knows that I absolutely love picture books to create powerful lessons! After reading this book, students brainstormed different breaths that they could do to calm down. We had fun by making pictures (with Seesaw) to introduce our breaths, and then modeled our breaths and made a green screen video. Here they are! Let us know which ones you like, and if you come up with any new ones!

If you’re looking for more info about how I incorporate social emotional learning in class, or are looking for ways to start with your students, feel free to check out some of my other posts on social emotional learning. I also encourage you to read this full-of-information post by the incredibly knowledgeable Sheila Vick.