DAY 3: EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION

Length of Session: 20 – 40 minutes

VIP facilitators may choose to combine the Day 2 and Day 3 curriculum to make one 40–60-minute presentation.

Introductions

Take a few minutes to remind the class who you are, where you are from and why you are back in the classroom.

• Acknowledge the traditional territory you are on.
• Thank the teacher for the invitation to the classroom.
• Discuss additional housekeeping matters and review the plan for kids who may want or need to take a break from the material. Remind the students to take care of themselves and that you will be available after class if anyone needs support or has questions, including wanting support because you know someone else is having this experience.

Dialogue to Introduce the Presentation

Today we are going to talk to you about F-E-E-L-I-N-G-S.” “Does anyone know what feelings are? Can anyone list some feelings?”

“Everyone has feelings, and all feelings are okay. Feelings are a message from our body to our brain to pay attention to what is happening. It’s healthy and sometimes challenging to put our feelings into words. Today we might practice talking about some of our feelings.”

“Feelings can create energy in our bodies, like being excited, scared, sad, and they can make us feel different. It is important to allow this feeling energy to move and to get this energy out in a safe way that
makes us feel better and is not hurtful to anyone.”

Activity

“Let’s make a list of all the feelings we have felt in our body before.”

Consider sharing with the class that there are no bad feelings, however, certain feelings are more uncomfortable than others and that can feel hard.

“Feelings do not equate to certain behaviours. For example, there are many things we can do if we feel happy or sad or frustrated. What are some safe things we can do if we feel frustrated? And, what might be
some unsafe behaviours you have seen, or experienced, when people are frustrated?”

Grounding Exercise

Talking about feelings can create sensations in the bodies of young children. Staying attuned to your audience and shifting to a grounding exercise in a timely manner is an effective way to keep kids engaged
and listening.

Activity – Watch & Discuss a Video

Please note that there is a choice of videos to watch for this lesson.

Video A – Riley Fights with Her Parents scene

This clip is from the movie “Inside Out”. This video clip explores the feelings of the three main characters in “Inside Out”, Riley and her parents. It illustrates how feelings and emotions can affect behaviour.

Dialogue to Introduce Video A

“Who here has watched the movie “Inside Out”? We are going to watch a clip from it today to introduce and explore the topic of feeling.”

Video B – Kids Want to Know. (March 12, 2017). Why Do We Lose Control of Our Emotions?

Dialogue to Introduce Video B

“This video explores our emotions and what can happen when a person loses control of their emotions. It also helps to teach us about our brains so that we can understand what happens when big feelings are present. Let’s watch the short video and we will have a discussion afterwards.”

Closing

Remind the class that with practice, all emotions can be safe to have in our bodies. It is what we do with feelings when they happen in our bodies that matters.

Thank them for being a wonderful class. Please let the students know what information you will be sending home with them, such a VIP post cards, VIP wallet cards, agency brochure, PEACE Program brochure, and any other additional resources. This may vary for each VIP site.