My Inner Garden: Growing Our Feelings - Teacher Script

Introduction: Welcome to Our Inner Garden (10 minutes)

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 1: "Welcome to My Inner Garden!")

"Good morning, everyone! Today, we're going on an exciting adventure into a very special place: our inner garden! Just like there are gardens outside with all sorts of beautiful plants, we all have a garden inside us where our feelings grow. Isn't that cool?"

"In our inner garden, some feelings are like bright, sunny flowers, and some might be like quiet, shady trees. All the plants in a garden are natural and important, and guess what? All our feelings are natural and important too!"

"Can you tell me some feelings you know? What are some feelings that grow in your inner garden?"

(Allow a few student responses. Validate all responses.)

"Wonderful! You've named so many different feelings! Today, we're going to explore some of these feelings and learn how we, as the gardeners of our own inner world, can care for them. Just like a gardener takes care of their plants, we can learn to take care of our feelings."

Exploring Feelings: Different Plants, Different Feelings (15 minutes)

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 2: "Our Feelings Are Like Plants!")

"Let's look at some of these 'feeling plants' together. Remember, each one is special and okay to have."

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 3: "Feeling Happy!")

"First up, we have our sunny daisy! What do you think this represents? That's right, happy feelings! When do you feel happy? What makes your 'happy daisy' grow big and bright?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion. Use Our Feeling Garden Discussion Prompts here, focusing on happiness. After a few responses, move on.)

"Those are great ideas for growing our happy feelings!"

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 4: "Feeling Sad?")

"Sometimes, we might feel a little like this drooping willow. What feeling does this look like? Sadness. It's totally okay to feel sad sometimes. What helps you when you feel like a drooping willow? What can you do to care for your 'sad plant'?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion. Use Our Feeling Garden Discussion Prompts here, focusing on sadness.)

"It's good to know we can give our sad feelings some gentle care."

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 5: "Feeling Angry!")

"Uh oh, sometimes a 'thorny rose' might pop up in our garden. What feeling do you think this prickly plant represents? Anger! Feeling angry is a normal feeling, but sometimes it can feel big and uncomfortable. What are some safe ways we can care for our 'thorny rose' feelings so they don't prick anyone?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion. Use Our Feeling Garden Discussion Prompts here, focusing on anger.)

"Taking deep breaths or talking to a grown-up are wonderful ways to tend to angry feelings."

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 6: "Feeling Calm")

"Ah, look at this peaceful lily pad. What feeling comes to mind when you see this? Calm! This is a wonderful feeling. When do you feel calm? How can we help grow more 'calm lily pads' in our garden?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion. Use Our Feeling Garden Discussion Prompts here, focusing on calm.)

"Finding quiet time or reading can really help us feel calm."

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 7: "Feeling Excited!")

"And then there's this bouncy plant, like a jumping bean! What feeling is this? Excited! Excitement is a fun and energetic feeling. How can we share our 'jumping bean' excitement without being too wild or interrupting others?"

(Facilitate a brief discussion. Use Our Feeling Garden Discussion Prompts here, focusing on excitement.)

"Great ideas! It's fun to be excited, and we can show it in ways that are good for everyone."

"Remember, there are no 'bad' feelings. All feelings are natural parts of being human. What matters is how we learn to care for them, just like a gardener cares for all their plants."

Practice: My Feeling Flower Activity (15 minutes)

"Now it's your turn to be the gardener! We're going to create our own Feeling Flower Activity. On your paper, you'll see a flower. In the center, you'll write or draw a feeling you often have. Then, in each petal, you'll draw or write a way you can care for that feeling. Think about what we just discussed."

"For example, if you draw 'happy' in the middle, in the petals you might draw a smile, playing with a friend, or giving a hug. If you draw 'angry,' you might draw a deep breath or talking to a grown-up."

"I'll be walking around to help. Be creative and think about what helps you tend to your feelings."

(Distribute Feeling Flower Activity and crayons/colored pencils. Circulate and assist.)

Practice: Emotion Garden Worksheet (10 minutes)

"Fantastic work on your Feeling Flowers! Now, let's also think about our whole inner garden. I'm going to give you an Emotion Garden Worksheet. On this worksheet, you can draw your inner garden with different plants representing your feelings. You can draw many different feelings! And you can also draw tools, like a watering can for happy feelings, or maybe a quiet corner for sad feelings, or a 'breathing flower' for angry feelings. What kind of garden will you grow?"

(Distribute Emotion Garden Worksheet. Circulate and assist.)

Sharing Our Gardens & Wrap-up (10 minutes)

(Display My Inner Garden Slide Deck - Slide 8: "You are the Gardener!")

"Wow, look at all these incredible inner gardens and feeling flowers! Who would like to share one of their feeling flowers or a part of their emotion garden with us? Tell us what feeling you drew and how you would care for it."

(Invite a few students to share. Provide positive reinforcement.)

"Thank you for sharing your wonderful gardens. Remember, just like a garden needs sunshine, water, and care to grow, our inner gardens need our attention and care too. All your feelings are important, and you are the gardener of your own feelings! You can learn to help your happy feelings grow, and gently care for your sad or angry feelings."

"Whenever you feel a big emotion, you can close your eyes and imagine your inner garden. Think about what that feeling looks like as a plant and what you can do to tend to it. You have the power to care for your amazing inner garden!"

My Feeling Flower

Instructions:

1. In the circle in the middle, draw or write a feeling you have. (Example: Happy, Sad, Angry, Calm)
2. In each petal, draw or write one way you can care for that feeling. Think about what helps you feel better or grow that feeling!

Example Ideas for Petals:

• Happy: Share a smile, play with a friend, give a hug.
• Sad: Get a cuddle, talk to a grown-up, have quiet time.
• Angry: Take a deep breath, count to five, tell a grown-up how you feel.
• Calm: Read a book, listen to music, rest quietly.

My Emotion Garden

Instructions:
Imagine your feelings are like different plants in a garden inside you. Some are sunny, some are calm, and some might need extra care.

Draw your inner emotion garden below! You can draw:

• Different

Our Feeling Garden Discussion Prompts

Use these prompts to guide discussions during the lesson, especially when introducing each emotion.

General Prompts:

• What are some feelings you know?
• Where do you feel [feeling word] in your body?
• Is it okay to feel [feeling word]? Why or why not?

Specific Emotion Prompts (refer to the My Inner Garden Slide Deck):

For Happy (Sunny Daisy):

• What makes you feel like a bright, sunny daisy?
• How can we help our happy feelings grow even bigger?
• What does happiness look like or sound like?

For Sad (Drooping Willow):

• What makes you feel like a drooping willow?
• What helps you when you feel sad?
• Who can you talk to when you feel sad?

For Angry (Thorny Rose):

• What makes you feel like a thorny rose?
• It's okay to feel angry, but what are some safe ways we can care for our angry feelings so they don't hurt others or ourselves?
• What can you do when you start to feel angry?

For Calm (Peaceful Lily Pad):

• When do you feel like a peaceful lily pad?
• How can we help ourselves feel more calm?
• What helps you relax?

For Excited (Jumping Bean Plant):

• What makes you feel like a jumping bean plant?
• Excitement is fun! How can we share our excitement without being too wild or interrupting others?
• What are some exciting things you've done recently?