Like many teachers, you probably have a great morning ‘formula’ you’ve baked up to hit all the right categories and agenda for the day. 

At Happy Sad, we love morning routines - so we appreciate the many creative routines that teachers use in the classroom.  From FALL coloring activities to asking a kiddo to be the ‘leader’ of the agenda for the day, there are all sorts of wonderful, mindful ways to create and transform a kid’s experience, first thing in the morning. ☀️

Below, we’ve written a daily checklist for a few ways you can integrate a Social Emotional Prompt into your morning check-in routine.  If you’re using our app for each student to identify and track their emotion of the day, that's a great start. The below activity is an additional checklist guide for your morning routine and for kiddos to get to know one another.

Each of the below components is essential for social and emotional development. They work together to support a positive sense of self-worth and connection to their peers.

The SEL Checklist - Covers 25 Daily Check In Prompts

(Print me & mark off one SEL item per day)

Social Emotional Learning Categories This Checklist Covers:

• Self Awareness

• Social Awareness

• Self Management

• Relationship Skills

• Responsible Decision Making

Self Awareness: the ability to understand one's own emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

• Who here would like to share something they did recently that was super kind? Perhaps you helped a neighbor or a friend? 

• Who here would like to share something they thought about recently that was a great thought? Perhaps something about a pet you love or a friend you enjoy spending time with? 

• Who here would like to share something that happened recently that might be sad? 

  • Follow on: Wow! Great share, can someone think of a way to support (enter student name that shared sad story)?  What could you do to be a great friend?

• What is your favorite thing about yourself? 

• What is your favorite thing about your family or a friend? 

• What do you love the most about the weekend? 

• What do you love the most about the school day? 

• What’s your favorite game to play with friends?

Social Awareness: the ability to understand the emotions, thoughts, and behaviors of others.

• Does anyone here know what it means to “put yourself in someone else’s shoes?”

  • (You might then explain that it means to understand someone else's feelings or experiences). 

• Have you had a friend get upset lately? How did you support them?

• How do you know when a friend is happy? 

• How do you know when a friend is feeling down? Maybe they are sad or angry

  • (After they answer…ask them how they help to support their friend)

• Is it okay to not agree with your friends all of the time? What do you think?

  • (After they answer, explain that all relationships have ups and downs and the important thing is to act like you're in a boat together! You can navigate high seas, storms, and calm sunny days together. Teamwork is true in the classroom, at home, and in friendships!) 

Self Management: the ability to regulate one's emotions, thoughts, and behaviors.

• Can someone give me an example of a time when they made a good choice when a difficult situation happened?  Perhaps on the playground you felt angry and made a good choice? Or you got frustrated with a friend? 

• What’s a good way that you use to settle yourself down when you get upset or frustrated or angry? 

• When you have a thought that might not be true like, “Nobody likes me” how do you talk yourself out of this type of thought?

  • Follow-on with: you have the power to change your mind! How amazing is that.

• Does anyone know what an affirmation is? (Printout an affirmation and put it on the board for the day! We have some fun ones on our Instagram highlights) Encourage the kids to tell themselves this affirmation 5 times today and how this can support them as they become more confident people in the world.  

Relationship skills: the ability to communicate effectively with others and build positive relationships.

• How do you explain to a friend when you're frustrated?  What might you say? 

• Who here has told their friend that they care about them lately? Maybe told them that they are awesome? (Raise your hands!) If you haven’t, today is your day! 

• Have you ever had a tough situation with a friend that you moved past and stayed friends with after you talked about it? Can you explain how that situation happened and what you did to continue your friendship? 

• Responsible decision-making: the ability to make choices that are based on ethical, social, and emotional considerations. 

• Imagine a friend is so upset they don’t talk to anyone for a whole day. Wow how sad! How could you try to talk to your friend? (Offer up a personal experience! Help the students relate to the fact that everyone has a tough day and that’s okay.) 

Responsible Decision Making: the ability to make choices that are based on ethical, social, and emotional considerations. 

• Have you ever found something somewhere that didn’t seem to belong to someone? But it was something you really loved like a new basketball or a cool hoodie? What did you do? 

• (call on a student). Explain the difference between knowing that something is ‘lost’ vs. taking something not belonging to them, and how to make that decision. Ask them what they could do to make the right decision… Could they ask around? Leave a note? Turn it into lost and found? (Confirm responses that are ‘responsible decisions.’) 

• How do you make a decision to focus on something like building a new lego or trying something new?  What do you do to get moving?  

• Anyone here today care to help me understand, how do you define a great ‘friend’? How do you know when you’ve found a great friend?

Go ahead, ask one each morning for a week or two and share your feedback with us on social media for a chance to win a Teacher’s dropbox! Just tag us @Thehappysadcompany on Instagram with the hashtag, #SELMorningRoutine

Written By David Zeitler, Happy Sad’s Chief Resident Psychologist & Previous Teacher

*Image courtesy of Tim Mossholder, Unsplash.