Navigating Emotions!

Here is a beautiful short film "Just Breathe" by filmmakers Julie Bayer Salzman and Josh Salzman  examining what our emotions feel like and how it affects us.

For many of my students I find when they are under high stress or become easily frustrated then can quickly go to negative talk or enraged emotions.  I find positive talk so helpful to give them a new narrative to tell themselves. "Yes, I CAN do it! Let me try again!"

This film gives another strategy to "just breathe." One we can use at any age!

Building Fine Motor Skills!

I work with many of my young students around building their eye-hand coordination and strengthening the muscles and dexterity in their fingers.  Even with some of my older students who are having writing challenges I find it important to keep the frustration level low by keeping the fine motor skill building as fun as possible!

Great activities:

• Cutting
• Drawing
• Tracing
• Sorting beads and buttons
• Using play tweezers to pick up objects
• Connect the dots activities
• Buttoning and zipping up objects on clothing 
• Paint with fingers or Q-Tips

My favorite tools/resources:

• Yarn (sticky or regular)
• Macaroni
• Play Doh
• Beads and Buttons
• Wikki Sticks
• Pipe Cleaners
• Finger paint

For older students:

• Tennis Balls (to roll in hand, on table, or along leg)
• Modeling Clay
• Practice "tripod fingers" and rolling clay into small balls
• Chopsticks
• Silly Putty 
• Squeeze Balls
• Legos
• Origami
• Games like Jenga or Operation
• Musical Instruments
• Hair Braiding
• It's also important to take rest/wiggle breaks with the fingers and to even roll the pencil with the palm of their hands before picking it up to start writing again

Lastly, here is a great article on some additional fun at-home ways to Build Fine Motor Skills!

Happy Fine Motor Practice!

Poem in your Pocket!

Today, April 24th is Poem in Your Pocket Day! Usually I like to do "IF" by Rudyard Kipling, but, keeping with the confidence & self-love theme here's my poem for this year:

  

Be Yourself

by Ellen Bailey

Why would you want to be someone else When you could be better by being yourself Why pretend to be someone you are not When you have something they haven't got Cheating yourself of the life you have to live Deprives others of that only which you can give You have much more to offer by being just you Than walking around in someone else's shoes Trying to live the life of another is a mistake It is a masquerade; nothing more than a fake Be yourself and let your qualities show through Others will love you more for being just you Remember that God loves you just as you are To Him you are already a bright shining star Family and friends will love you more too If you spent time practicing just being you