We live in a society today that is very different than what I group up in as a 1970’s baby. I used to ride all over town, alone on my bicycle as young as 8 or 9. I navigated busy streets, rough bike paths that used to be railroad tracks, and braved short cuts behind neighborhood houses. Next to home, school was the safest place to be. In my elementary school the doors were always left unlocked and the main office was in the lower level of the building, a flight of stairs away from the main door so no one even monitored who came in or went out. It was just assumed that visitors would follow the signs and sign in at the office.
Today’s world feels so dangerous and stressful. As a former elementary school teacher and a current substitute teacher, I see a lot more anxiety in kids today than when I was a student. Even without the dangers of today’s society, I was a naturally anxious kid. I was afraid of everything even though there wasn’t rationally a lot to be afraid of. I can’t imagine how that anxiety would have played out in me in today’s world. Yikes!
This is why social and emotional learning is so important to me. Children today need the skills to recognize and manage their emotions so they don’t get the best of them, and they need to be able to navigate social situations and know how to build healthy relationships. This is one of my goals, to create resources for students to learn these skills and more. I absolutely love creating, and making resources is one of my favorite ways to do so. As I share my story through this blog, and share my resources, I hope the passion I have for social and emotional learning and educating children on this topic comes through at that it benefits you and the children in your life.
Below is a link to one of my free social and emotional learning resources. It’s a 6 page activity to help increase students’ self-awareness. I hope you enjoy it.
