SOCIAL WORK week of June 7th - June 13th: Goodbyes and Staying Connected

Goodbyes and Staying Connected

It's that time of the year again when some of us say goodbye for the summer, some of us move on to middle school, and some of us may transfer to other schools.

Goodbyes can make us feel sad, angry, excited and many other feelings.  However you feel about a goodbye, is ok.

While we sometimes think about goodbyes as "forever," but they aren't.  Every relationship you have becomes part of you.  It changes the wiring in your brain.  So one of the tricks to help with goodbyes, is to find ways to stay connected with that relationship.  Here are some ways that may help!

When connecting with people from a distance (e.g. over the summer, or if someone moves to a different school etc.) you can (with parent permission):

• Ask for their email address to write them an email
• Ask for their home address to send them letters or cards
• Ask for their username on a video chat app
• Ask for a parent phone number to talk to them on the phone

For people who you may not be able to see or talk to again, you can stay connected to that relationship by:

• Telling stories and memories about that person
• Looking at pictures of that person
• Writing a letter or make a card to that person and put it in a special place (e.g. a special memory box)
• Having conversations out loud to that person (and maybe even responding to yourself in that person's "voice"--saying what you'd think they would say)

I hope that you all have a great summer, and I hope to connect with all of you again soon!

SOCIAL WORK May 24th-May30th: Whole Body Listening (And How To Do This Online)

Whole Body Listening (And How To Do This Online)

In this video I review the concept of "Whole Body Listening" with our friend "Whole Body Listening Larry" from Elizabeth Sautter and Kristen Wilson's Social Thinking curriculum. I also explain how to apply "Whole Body Listening" online, when engaging in video interactions online.

SOCIAL WORK May 17th - May 23rd: Gratitude Practice

Gratitude Practice

This week I invite you to create a gratitude practice.  Gratitude is a fancy work for "thankful."  This week, I'd like you to:

• Take a paper and something to write with
• Write a sentence about something for which you are grateful (e.g. "I am grateful for _____ because _____.")*
• Do this once a day for one week (that's 7 days).  Helpful hint: it may be easier to remember to do this if you pick the same time every (e.g. before bedtime).

*If you don't know how to write yet, no worries!  You can ask an adult or sibling to help you.

SOCIAL WORK May 10th - May 15th: Little Monkey Calms Down Book

Little Monkey Calms Down

In this book, Little Monkey is VERY sad, mad, and angry and explores several ways to help himself feel better.  After watching this video, see if you can answer these questions:

1) What are some things that help you feel better when you are sad?

2) What are some things that help you feel better when you are angry?

3) For each category, list one thing that makes you feel better that you can:

• Touch
• Listen to
• Look at
• Smell

SOCIAL WORK May 3rd - May 9th: Zones of Regulation and Using Music to Move Your Energy

What the Different Zones are Good For and How to Use Music to Move Your Energy

I've heard people say that the "Green Zone" is the "Good Zone" and that all other zones are "Bad Zones."  This is not true!  All the zones, and our feelings in each zone are important and help us with different things in our lives.  For example:

• Blue Zone can help tell your body that you need rest when you are sick.  Blue zone is also a great zone to try to get to before you go to bed.  If you are in the Yellow Zone before bed, it can be very hard to sleep.
• Green Zone can be great for focusing and doing tasks that require concentration.  When you are doing school work, this can be a great zone for that. Being in the Blue Zone or in the Yellow Zone when you need to sit and concentrate can be challenging.
• Yellow Zone can be great for playing and having fun, particularly running around outside.  It can also be great for Physical Education class.  If you are in the Red Zone, it might be hard to play with other people or follow the rules, and if you are in the Blue Zone it might be difficult to move around and stay focused.
• Red Zone can be great to keep your body safe when you are in danger.  For example, if you are in the road and a car is coming at you, you may feel terrified and run and dive out of the way.  If you are attacked by a wild animal, Red Zone may try and help you fight to survive.  Being in Blue Zone, for example, when your immediate safety is at risk, may not work as well.

Regulation tricks using music:

• To move to a higher energy using music, you can listen to music that has a strong drum beat and fast rhythm.  I recommend getting up and dancing.  This can get your body moving and raise up your energy!
• To move to a lower energy using music, you can listen to music that has a softer drum beat, or no drumming at all.  For example you could sing a soft song or a lullaby, like "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star." This can help lower your body's energy.

SOCIAL WORK Week of April 26th - May 2nd: Feelings Charades

Feelings Charades

Feelings Charades is a fun game to get you familiar with different types of feelings, how they look when other people express those feelings, and how it feels to express those feelings yourself.  It's a guessing game.  

Here's how you play:

• One player picks a feeling (e.g. happy) and acts that feeling out without saying any words.  
• The other person has to guess what feeling you are acting out.  
• Once they guess it, you take turns and then they get to pick a feeling, act it out, and have you guess it.

There's many other ways you can play as well: You can also pick teams (e.g. adults vs. kids; spring and summer birthdays vs. fall and winter birthdays etc.), you can impose time limits (e.g. each team gets 1 minute to guess), you can earn points (e.g. each guess can be worth one point), you can write down a bunch of feelings names and/or pictures and then cut them out individually, fold them and put them in a bowl and each person picks one out randomly.  There are so many different ways to play!  Try whatever seems the most fun!

SOCIAL WORK Week of April 12th - April 18th: "I" Statements and the Three-Part Apology

Using "I" Statements and the Three-Part Apology

Conflict is part of any relationship. Conflict is a fancy word for disagreement. How we deal with conflict with others can make a lot of difference, however. Yelling, hitting, kicking, name calling, and so on can harm our relationships with others and may leave us and others feeling bad. Using our words and helping others to feel better if we have upset them can help our relationships and help us feel better.

In this video you will learn:

• How to use "I" statements to let others know how they made you feel and
• How to use a three-part apology to help repair relationships if we've done something to upset others.

SOCIAL WORK Week of April 5th through April 11th: 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise/Game

The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Game

Here is a fun game/exercise that uses all of your senses!  This is a great exercise to use if your mind is moving too fast, if it is in the yellow zone, or if it is running away with worries.  It helps you to bring your mind back to right here, right now in the green zone using your senses because your body and your senses are always right here, right now.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Grounding Exercise

• Name five things you are seeing right now
• Name four things you are touching right now
• Name three things you are hearing right now
• Name two things you are smelling right now
• Name one thing you are tasting right now

Give it a try!  It's a fun game to use even if your mind is not moving too fast.  One of the great things about this game is that you can do it anywhere at any time because you always bring your senses with you!

SOCIAL WORK: Week of March 29th - April 4th (Energy Thermometer and Moving Your Energy)

Energy Thermometer and Moving Your Energy (Zones of Regulation)

Hello Saccarappa friends!  I miss you and hope you all are well! I made a video that I hope you will find helpful.  In this video, you can:

• Learn about your energy level and feelings, and 
• Learn a couple of ways to help you move your energy up or down.