Emotional Check in’s with Students

Coming to school is no longer just about learning core subjects and going to specials. For so many students, it is a safe place that provides love, warmth, food, and safety. Due to this, it is more important than ever that teachers develop relationships with students. When relationships are developed, students know they are cared for and supported. Ultimately, this will greatly help them focus on the content while knowing they have a caring adult providing support. In order to combine academics and relationships, checking in with students is vital! While there are many things to accomplish daily, emotional check in’s with students’  will be some of the most valuable time spent. 

 

Reasons Teachers Need to Use Check-Ins 

Truly, there are so many reasons why it is important to use check-ins. 

• Understand the Needs of Students 

Many times, students cannot learn if they are overly stressed, sad, or angry. Therefore, a quick check-in will allow teachers to better understand the needs of students. For instance, using this daily check-in form will be a great way to help students express their feelings.

Furthermore, it will help track any trends students may be having. For instance, are there consistent days the child comes in angry? Or, really sad? Therefore, check-ins will allow teachers to help students handle different emotions. Additionally, they can also help children get counseling or other services, if needed. For other incredible freebies, be sure to join the Engaging Early Learners email list.

 

• Help Students Channel their Emotions 

When children are little, they have a hard time handling all of the emotions they feel! Therefore, check-ins help children learn to articulate how they are feeling. For instance, teachers can use the FREEBIE emotion posters in order to help students identify how they feel. 

By having different pictures that display emotions printed, students can practice matching their mood to the actual emotion. Additionally, if the posters are hung up, students can consistently read common emotions. Thus, they will be in a better position to articulate how they are feeling when asked. 

 

Furthermore, combining the emotion posters and the daily check-in form helps children explain the reasons behind their feelings. Even better, this can be a great time for teachers to teach techniques in handling different emotions, such as deep breathing. 

 

Ultimately, students need time and practice at identifying emotions to describe their own. Thus, another great tool to use involves the FREE emotions task cards!

Here, students will be able to describe how someone may look when experiencing certain emotions. For example, students may have a picture of a person frowning. Then, they will use the word cards to match how that person is feeling. In this case, the person is feeling sad. Truly, students will be able to work on channeling their own emotions after being able to describe common ones. 

 

• Build Relationships 

When students have time to meet with the teacher one-on-one, they feel special, loved, and cared for! Thus, check-ins allow time for the teacher and student to work on building a lasting supportive relationship. Therefore, morning check in pages and emotions posters can lead into great morning meeting conversations! Even better, when students start the day with this conversation, they can begin with a ready-to-learn mindset.

 

 In order to ensure time in the morning is well organized, Morning Meeting Slides will bring in FUN and EXCITEMENT! Additionally, a classroom morning meeting will help everyone become supportive, caring classmates. There are over 350 editable Slides that will spice up the morning. Students will learn routine, build a classroom community, and be ready to learn with these no-prep Slides! For more suggestions on creating a morning check-in routine, come join the Engaging Early Learners on Instagram! 

Oftentimes, students may be hesitant to open up during a check-in. Do not take this to heart! This is due to the fact that students may have never had the opportunity to articulate how they are feeling. Therefore, they are unsure on what to even say! Hence, it is so important to have extra tools and resources in order to help students learn to process their feelings and emotions. Truly, any of the resources above will be incredible ways to help students feel comfortable sharing their emotions. 

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