Handling strong emotions in a productive and positive manner is a skill that takes practice! In this one-time class, students will learn how to keep a feelings journal. Feelings journals are very helpful for identifying and processing emotions. This is a great tool that students can use throughout their lives. 

In this class, we will discuss why writing out our feelings helps us work through our emotions. We will make a list of many different emotions that humans feel. Being able to name our exact feelings can help us to better communicate them with others. We will be discussing age-appropriate feelings and emotions in this class, such as anger, sadness, disappointment, jealousy, exclusion, regret, etc.  We will discuss how to identify the deeper emotions that we feel below the surface and discuss the safe people in our lives that we can share our emotions with, such as parents, relatives, teachers, etc. We will also discuss how and when to use our feelings journals. Finally, we will talk about what to do after we have written down our feelings. For example, once we write in it, who can we share it with? Do we prefer that that person writes back to us or talks to us about our feelings? What are some strategies we can use to calm down? We can draw, take deep breaths, do some physical activity, etc. To fully move on, do we need to apologize to anyone? Do we need to forgive someone?

This is an interactive class and students will be able to get their feelings journal started during class. We will not intentionally be discussing our feelings about specific situations with one another, but will instead be creating the basis for a journal that students can use personally in their lives. 

Feelings journals can be a great way to connect with a child who struggles with verbalizing their emotions to you as their parent. A feelings journal left for a parent to read and respond to in written or verbal form can open communication with your child in a great way! After class, I will provide some follow-up for parents with ways that they can support their children with their feelings journals.