Social Emotional Learning and Wellbeing

From Kindergarten to Grade 6, as part of our focus on respectful relationships and wellbeing, we are supporting students in their social and emotional development. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, April 28th, throughout the school we use the Zones of Regulation, a social-emotional learning framework created to teach children self-regulation and emotional control. 

Some feedback from early childhood children currently working in a Zones of Regulation group:

“Zones helps me to talk with my mum and dad about how I am feeling?”

“Zones helps me to help my friends when they are in the blue zone”.

“Zones helps me to not do the wrong thing when I am angry”.

One of our key messages is that all emotions are ok – it is what we do when we are experiencing these emotions that might not be ok. To help us to manage our emotions, we need to understand the role that thinking plays in emotions. It might seem that emotions are automatic, but really, our emotions are actually formed by what we think about different situations. If children are often thinking about things in a negative light, then it is likely that their emotions will also be negative.  When children are feeling badly about something, it is a good idea to encourage them to try to look at it in a different way. By helping children to explore their own thinking, we are helping them learn to develop more positive and realistic ways of thinking.  This takes time and patience from us as the adults but our brain is designed to firstly co-regulate with our little ones and then to help them to reflect and learn.

Useful website

https://raisingchildren.net.au/

This is a really useful website and if you search emotional regulation you will find articles, videos full of information to support you in this area.

Our Prep and Prep-1 classes are having a real focus on regulation and wellbeing over the next few weeks using an inquiry based approach to learn more about emotions in themselves and others.  We look forward to sharing what they learn with you.

Lynn Wyllie-Watson