Stay and Play Activities to Build Healthy Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Skills at Home

Stay and Play Activities to build healthy social, emotional, and behavioral skills at home

A SAMPLE OF STARR COMMONWEALTH’S 40 WEEK SOCIAL EMOTIONAL CURRICULUM

Break through the barriers of learning by teaching children about the body’s response to toxic stress and trauma, new coping skills for everyday triggers, and reinforce resilience and positive behavior.

Dear Parents and Guardians,

During any break from school, social, emotional, and behavioral skills can still be practiced and rein- forced in the home setting. This is often a natural environment to practice skills in a fun and engaging way.

Included in this packet you will find the following activities, pulled from our Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week program:

• Visuals of healthy tips, problem solving skills, social skills, and coping skills to use when playing games.

• Life skills packet to practice general healthy habits related to hygiene, nutrition, and physical activity.

If you do not have a deck of cards handy, see if a local store would be willing to deliver a pack or hop on Amazon. Or, work with your child(ren) to make your own unique set!

Although this can be a time of anxiety and uncertainty, it can also be a time to build resilience. Time spent together can promote bonding through positive relationships and time for open communication. Time for fun and enjoyment can still occur during times when students are out of their normal rou- tines. Daily opportunities to work on daily life skills and problem solving activities can reinforce and improve the use of coping skills and social skills. We wish you and your family the best during this difficult time!

Sincerely,

Starr Commonwealth

BEFORE PLAYING

1. Wash hands

2. Clean game pieces

WHILE PLAYING

Keep hands away from mouth 1. and nose

Take breaks to wash hands after 2. sneezing or using a tissue

AFTER PLAYING 1. Say “good game” with words, thumbs up, or “air high five” (high five without touching)

2. Wash hands

3. Clean game pieces

SETTING IT UP

DETERMINING ORDER

Roll Dice Rock-Paper-Scissors Pick a Stick Flip a Coin Draw a Straw

BEING A GOOD SPORT

Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week Lesson 4.3 – Poster

GO FISH 1. All players get 5 cards 2. Hold your cards so no one can see them 3. Put down all pairs (set of 2 matching cards) 4. Each player takes 1 turn (even if you get a match) 5. Taking your turn: Say “(Person’s Name), do you have a ______?” If the person has the card: If the person doesn’t:

You will get the card You will hear “Go Fish”

Say “thank you!” Pick up a card 6. If you run out of cards, pick up 2 more cards 7. The person who has the most pairs at the end, wins

Remember to Use Friendly:

Eyes Voice

Face Words

WAR 1. Deal the cards to all players until cards are gone 2. Keep your cards in a pile in front of you (facing down) 3. Work with your team to flip your top card at the same time 4. When it is your turn: • Look at your teammates • Say: “1, 2, 3, flip” or “ready, set, flip” 5. The player with the highest card keeps all of the cards 6. If there is a tie, the players who tied: • Put down 3 more cards (face down), and flip one more card • The person with the highest card keeps all of the cards 7. Keep the cards you take in a separate pile 8. When you run out of cards, use the separate pile 9. Play until: • Only 1 person has all of the cards OR • When time is up 10. The person with the most cards, wins the game

Remember to Use Friendly:

Eyes Voice

Face Words

OLD MAID

When playing with a regular deck of cards: Remove all of the cards in two of the suits (playing with half of the deck will make the game shorter) Remove one of the aces. The remaining ace is the Old Maid.

1. Deal the cards to all players until the cards are gone 2. Hold your cards facing you so no one can see them 3. When it is your turn, ask the player next to you for a card 4. Taking your turn: • Say “(person’s name), may I please have a card?” • Wait for a response • Take 1 card and say “thank you” 5. Put down any pairs you get (set of 2 matching cards) 6. Each player takes 1 turn (even if you get a match) 7. Keep playing until all the cards are gone 8. The person who has the old maid at the end says “oh maid”

Remember to Use Friendly:

Eyes Voice

Face Words

UNO If you don’t have UNO cards, Crazy 8s is a similar version of the game. The rules for Crazy 8s are: Deal 7 card to each player. The remaining cards of the deck are placed face down at the center of the table. The top card is then turned face up to start the game. Players must match either the suit or the number of the card on top. If a player is unable to match the number or suit and does not have an eight, they draw 1 card from the stockpile and play if possible. When a player plays an eight (similar to a Wild card in UNO), the next player must then use the chosen suit or play another eight. The first player to get rid of all of their cards, wins the game.

1. All players get 7 cards 2. Hold your cards so no one can see them 3. Put all of the extra cards in a pile in the middle of the players 4. Flip over the top card 5. When it is your turn, put down a matching card • The same number OR • The same symbol OR • The same color OR • Wild card (use this if you can’t use a different card) 6. If you can’t put a card down, pick up one card and play if you can 7. Follow the rules on the back for the special cards 8. When you only have 1 card left, say UNO 9. The first person to use all of cards in their hand, wins the game

Remember to Use Friendly:

Eyes Voice

Face Words

Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week Lesson 4.3 – Poster

Tip for a Strong and Healthy Body:

Exercising

Hug it out

Tree climbers

Mountain climbers

Sprint/fast feet!

Relax and feel proud of your hard work!

I can exercise when I: • Feel tired and I need a boost of energy • Feel stressed and want to feel calmer • Feel bored and I need something to do • Am watching TV or commercials

Tip for a Strong and Healthy Body:

Taking Showers or Baths

1. Get my whole body wet

2. Use a quarter size of shampoo

3. Rub the shampoo into my hair

4. Rinse it out

5. Use soap to cover my whole body

6. Rinse off all body parts

Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week Unit 4 – Tip for Body Packet

Tip for a Strong and Healthy Body:

Brushing My Teeth

1. Use a thin layer of toothpaste

2. Brush up and down on every tooth

3. Clean the front and back of every tooth

4. Brush your tongue

5. Sing the alphabet in your head 1 time

6. Brush at least 2 times a day

Tip for a Strong and Healthy Body:

Mindfulness and Body Scan

1. Check in with my thoughts: are they calm or swirling?

2. Place my hands on my heart: is it fast or slow?

3. Place my hands on my stomach: is my breathing fast or slow?

4. Check in with my muscles: are they tight or relaxed?

5. Take a deep breath

6. Tell myself, I am OK (no matter how I answered all of the questions) Take the time to be present. Notice how your body is feeling right here and right now.

Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week Unit 4 – Tip for Body Packet

Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week Designed for elementary schools, adaptable to fit any setting

This packet is a sample of Starr Commonwealth’s 40 week social emotional curriculum Courageous Classrooms: Skill of the Week. Learn more at starr.org/sotw.

Starr believes that when you treat a child Starr Commonwealth with dignity and respect, it changes a operates programs across the country and child’s heart. And that, in the end, is globe. Starr offers community-based pro- what changes a child’s life. It’s a power- grams, residential treatment services, ed- ful story, and we hope you will be part of ucational and behavioral health services, writing the many success stories that are and professional training and coaching waiting to be told. to heal trauma and build resilience in all children, adolescents, and the profession- We are driven to heal. And together, we als that serve them. are building a bright future for all.

DRIVEN TO HEAL