What are some fun activities/collaboration between buddy classrooms (3rd and kinder)?

How can you teach empathy in your classroom?

How can I integrate social-emotional learning (SEL) into my daily lessons without it feeling forced or out of place?

How can I weave in quick SEL check-ins with my students during small group intervention?

Are you looking for an easy SEL activity for identifying feelings and emotions? Here is a PDF I created on Canva - use it with playdough, clay, or insert into a heavy duty clear pocket!

When I first started teaching, I had all types of catchy phrases to get students attention (elementary school students loved it!). A few years ago, I read something that changed my direction when it came to this. Instead of trying to get their attention by them responding in some way (verbally or with an action like clapping), I say, "if you can hear my voice, take a deep breath and let it out slowly and silently." Most of the time, after once (maybe twice) of saying this, students are quiet and have slowed down their nervous systems with a deep breath. Even when we're working independently, I will do it. Just to give students a chance to breathe deeply and give their minds a break. Have you tried this? What else do you use to get students attention that has worked well or what have you used to give your students a mindfulness break?

As I was reading an educational article recently, I saw this idea, and I loved it! I will definitely implement it at the start of next year:

Have students write down (or tell you if they are little ones) what they want to hear on hard days. Collect those notes and hand them back out to students when you feel like they need to be reminded.

What are some ways you help students persevere on hard days?