This week, we’ve used Jonah’s three days in the belly of the big fish as an opportunity to talk about when we need time by ourselves, to take a break and feel calm.
We made Feelings Charts, and thought about how it feels to be “full of emotion” and then to feel calm again.
These children are feeling 1 or 2–calm, relaxed, and in control:
These two are around a number 5–unhappy, getting towards angry. One child reminded us, “I actually don’t have feelings that are numbers. I have words frustrated, not happy, and happy.” He told us that our “3” is his “happy.” Here he is “not happy”
Finally, these children are a 10: fully of emotion, angry, upset, or frustrated.
We also built a “מקום שלום” (makom shalom, peaceful space) where we can go to be alone and calm down, just like Yonah.
We wanted to decorate it with things that made us feel calm!
Girl: I still can’t think what to draw!
Boy: I’m done!
Morah:Boy, can you help your friend think of what she can draw?
Boy: Ok! What makes you feel calm?
Girl: I don’t know!
Boy: Being alone? A blankie?
Girl: I already drew that!
Boy: Your room?
Girl: I don’t know!
…..Some time later…… Girl: Is relaxed the same as calm?
Morah: Yes!
Girl: Then I want to draw a rainbow, because unicorns are too hard.
After a lot of brainstorming, here is the decorated inside of our Makom Shalom, with someone modeling relaxing and being calm inside!
Putting it all together, this morning when one boy went into the Makom Shalom, he came out and said “I’m feeling the calmest right now.” Another boy looked at him and said “I’m think you’re at a number 2,, that’s a pretty good number to be!”
