We had another great afternoon at TMH Juniors yesterday! We are noticing that friendships are developing and the kids are genuinely excited to catch up on what has happened at home and at school during the week.

The focus of the afternoon was reading people’s expressions to understand how they are feeling. We did a brief review of feelings and emotions by playing a game of Mystery Emotion. Using flashcards with a variety of pictures/emotions, we played a game of charades. The kids were social detectives and figured out what emotions their friends were acting out. We also spent some time talking about people's expressions to figure out how they are feeling.

The concept of Big Problems versus Small Problems was introduced next. Big problems were talked about as really serious problems that can cause a big reaction. Some of the examples the kids gave were falling and breaking a bone and a having a fire in your house. Small problems were explained as things that can be easily fixed and should have a small reaction. Another term used for small problems was "no big deal". Some examples we shared as small problems were not being able to play with the game you had in mind, not getting a certain snack or having to wait your turn with materials. We will continue to explore this concept and work on solving problems throughout the semester.

Each week we love to wrap-up the afternoon with a hands-on craft activity. This week, we used different kinds of pastas to design faces on paper plates. Once each student completed their face, they had an opportunity to explain the emotion that they had created and share a time that they had felt that way. It was very fun to see how creative they are as well as to give the children an opportunity to share personal stories with friends.

This week's book at the end of the program was Sometimes....written by Christopher Silas Neal. The message of the book was to explore how many feelings we all have and to learn about the kinds of things that might trigger certain feelings and reactions.

Next week we will be decorating Halloween cupcakes! Please let us know if your child has any food allergies or if you would prefer to send along a cupcake from home that they can decorate with the group.

We hope to see you all at our parent gathering next Tuesday night! Please RSVPif you haven’t already.

Regards,

Meghan and Sondra