From the Office of School Counselor, Mrs. Trem

School Counselor Lesson Recap: Mental Health

Hi everyone, and happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a good week. For this week’s newsletter, I wanted to do a lesson recap from my December school counselor lesson, which we did not highlight before we left for Christmas break. Our December theme was mental health, and the lessons were differentiated for 5th and 6th grade. Read on for a summary of each grade level’s activities! 

For 5th grade, we focused on coping skills. We started things off with a memory game where the students took turns trying to match different coping skills together. We had a friendly competition to see which class could complete the game the fastes (congrats, 5B!), and we talked about the different coping skills throughout the game. The students learned that coping skills help us get through hard times, and while these strategies might not take the problem away, they can help us to bring the temperature on our “feeling thermometer” down, so that we can be in control of our feelings instead of our feelings controlling us. 

After our game, the students worked on a “box breathing” activity where they combined two helpful coping skills: deep breathing and positive affirmations. Each student was given an index card where they wrote breathing exercises (“breathe in, pause, breathe out, pause”) along the sides. They then wrote their favorite Bible verse or positive phrase in the center of the card and decorated it however they wanted. The idea is that when the students are feeling stressed, they can take their breathing card and trace their finger along the sides, taking some deep breaths, and recite their Bible verse or positive affirmation to themselves. We talked through some situations where these breathing cards could be helpful, along with some ideas of where to store it so we can access it when we need it!

For 6th grade, we had our first introduction to mental health lesson. We learned what mental health is and how we all have it. The students learned that just like we take P.E. class to keep our bodies strong, we can do different things to keep our minds healthy and strong. We talked about coping skills and positive support people who we can lean on when we go through tough times, and they played a game of “coping skills charades.” The students realized that there are a lot of coping skills they are already using, like getting good rest and exercise, and having fun with their friends! 

We also talked about the difference between “everyday feelings,” such as happiness, sadness, and anger, and “overwhelming feelings,” such as despair and hopelessness. While everyday feelings come and go and are a result of the different situations we experience in our lives, overwhelming feelings linger for a long time and affect our daily lives, stopping us from doing the things we want to do. The students learned about the warning signs of overwhelming feelings and the positive they can talk to if they identify these signs in themselves or their friends. 

All in all, I thought the mental health lessons were a success and led to some good conversations in class. I hope the students enjoyed learning about some coping strategies and how to identify and respond to stress in their lives. We took January off from our school counselor lessons, but I look forward to joining them in class soon for our February lesson. That’s all for today!  Let me know if I can help you with anything in the meantime, and have a great weekend!

Blessings,

Mrs. Trem 

htremitiedi@grovecitychristian.org 

614-875-3000 #2211