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My Feeling Garden

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Lesson Plan

My Feeling Garden

Students will be able to identify different feelings as 'seeds' and understand how to nurture positive feelings and manage challenging ones using simple calming strategies.

This lesson is crucial for developing emotional literacy and self-regulation skills in young children, empowering them to understand and manage their own feelings effectively.

Audience

K-1 Students

Time

45 minutes

Approach

Interactive, Metaphor-based, Hands-on

Materials

Whiteboard or projector, My Feeling Garden Slide Deck, Feeling Garden Activity Sheet, Crayons or colored pencils, and Feeling Flowers Worksheet

Prep

Teacher Preparation

15 minutes

Step 1

Introduction: Welcome to Our Feeling Garden!

5 minutes

  • Begin with a warm greeting and introduce the topic of feelings using the metaphor of a garden. (Refer to My Feeling Garden Slide Deck - Slide 1-2)
    - Ask students: "What are some feelings you know?" Allow a few students to share.

Step 2

Feelings as Seeds

10 minutes

  • Explain that feelings are like seeds. Some feelings are like bright, sunny seeds that make us feel good, and some are like rainy day seeds that can feel tricky. (Refer to My Feeling Garden Slide Deck - Slide 3-5)
    - Discuss how we can help our good feelings grow and what to do when tricky feelings pop up. Use examples like smiling, laughing, or feeling proud (sunny seeds) versus feeling sad, mad, or scared (rainy day seeds).

Step 3

Nurturing Our Garden: Growing Good Feelings

15 minutes

  • Introduce simple strategies for nurturing positive feelings and managing challenging ones. (Refer to My Feeling Garden Slide Deck - Slide 6-8)
    - Lead a brief discussion on actions like deep breaths, talking to a grown-up, or doing something calming (e.g., drawing).
    - Distribute the Feeling Garden Activity Sheet. Guide students to draw or write one positive feeling seed and one challenging feeling seed, and then draw how they can help the positive one grow and manage the challenging one.

Step 4

My Feeling Flowers

10 minutes

  • Distribute the Feeling Flowers Worksheet. (Refer to My Feeling Garden Slide Deck - Slide 9)
    - Instruct students to draw or color different 'feeling flowers' and identify the feeling each flower represents. Encourage them to think about what makes that feeling grow or shrink in their own lives.

Step 5

Wrap-Up: Our Garden Grows

5 minutes

  • Bring the class back together. (Refer to My Feeling Garden Slide Deck - Slide 10)
    - Ask a few students to share their 'feeling flowers' or strategies from their activity sheets.
    - Reiterate that all feelings are okay and that we learn how to care for our feeling gardens every day. End with a positive affirmation about growing a beautiful feeling garden.
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Slide Deck

Welcome to My Feeling Garden!

🌱 What are feelings?
### 🌱 Why do we have them?

Welcome students and introduce the exciting topic of our feelings!

What Feelings Do You Know?

What are some feelings you've felt today?
### Can you name some feelings?

Ask students what feelings they know. Encourage a few to share.

Feelings Are Like Seeds!

Imagine our feelings are like seeds in a garden.
### Some seeds grow into sunny, happy flowers. Some seeds might feel like a cloudy, rainy day.

Introduce the garden metaphor. Explain that feelings are like seeds that grow.

Sunny Seeds: Growing Happy Feelings!

Happy! 😃
### Excited! 🥳
### Proud! 💪
### What makes these feelings grow?

Discuss examples of 'sunny' feelings. Ask students when they feel these.

Rainy Day Seeds: Tricky Feelings

Sad... 😔
### Mad! 😡
### Scared! 😟
### These feelings are okay to have too!

Discuss examples of 'rainy day' feelings. Emphasize that all feelings are okay.

How to Help Sunny Seeds Grow?

Share smiles! 😊
### Play with friends! 👭👬
### Do things you love! ❤️
### What else helps?

Introduce strategies to help positive feelings grow. Ask for student examples.

How to Care for Rainy Day Seeds?

Take a deep breath! 🌬️
### Talk to a grown-up! 🗣️
### Draw a picture! 🎨
### What helps you feel better?

Introduce strategies for managing challenging feelings. Explain they are like 'weeding' the garden.

My Feeling Garden Activity

Now it's your turn to grow your own feeling garden!
### Draw one sunny feeling and one rainy day feeling.
### Then, show how you help them grow or feel better!

(See Feeling Garden Activity Sheet)

Explain the Feeling Garden Activity Sheet. Students will draw/write a good and a tricky feeling, and how to manage them.

Feeling Flowers

Create your own feeling flowers!
### What does a happy flower look like?
### What about a calm flower?

(See Feeling Flowers Worksheet)

Explain the Feeling Flowers Worksheet. Students will draw flowers for feelings.

Growing Our Beautiful Garden!

Every feeling is a part of your amazing garden.
### You are learning to be a wonderful gardener of your feelings!

Conclude by reiterating that all feelings are part of our garden and we learn to care for them. End with a positive message.

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Activity

My Feeling Garden Activity

Welcome to your very own feeling garden! Just like a garden has different kinds of plants, you have different kinds of feelings.

Part 1: Your Feeling Seeds

Draw or write about two different feelings you have. One should be a sunny feeling (makes you feel good!) and one should be a rainy day feeling (feels a little tricky).

My Sunny Feeling Seed:










My Rainy Day Feeling Seed:










Part 2: Growing and Caring for Your Garden

What can you do to help your sunny feeling grow even bigger? What can you do when your rainy day feeling pops up to help yourself feel better?

How I Help My Sunny Feeling Grow:










How I Care for My Rainy Day Feeling:










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lenny

Worksheet

My Feeling Flowers Worksheet

Just like flowers come in all shapes and sizes, our feelings do too! Draw or color a flower for each feeling below. Think about what color or shape matches that feeling best. Then, draw something that helps that feeling grow or helps you when you have that feeling.

Happy Flower! 😃

Draw your happy flower and something that makes you happy.











Calm Flower! 😌

Draw your calm flower and something that helps you feel calm.











Sad Flower... 😔

Draw your sad flower and something you can do when you feel sad.











Mad Flower! 😡

Draw your mad flower and something you can do when you feel mad.











lenny
lenny