Follow up: Ask your children what helps them feel like they belong in the family. What makes them similar to other family members, and what makes them different? Help them reflect on physical traits, emotions, personality traits, strengths, and vulnerabilities. Talk together about each family member in this way, then reflect on how each person has a unique role within the family. Have your children draw a picture of something that is unique about them within the family, and that makes them feel proud. ”Dr. Jac” is the Director & a Psychologist for The SOAR Program for Psychotherapy & Testing at WBMA, LLC in Chevy Chase, MD. Websites: wbma.cc and soar.care Dr. Jac reads books to children to teach emotional recognition, emotional understanding, social cues, and social skills. Sometimes Dr. Jac shares her interpretations, and other times she asks the children to look, notice, and decide for themselves. Dr. Jac may even revisit the same story a few times, once to ask questions, and then to share observations. If you have the book Dr. Jac is reading, try looking at it even closer. Also, feel free to pause the story to discuss Dr. Jac’s questions and your children’s observations. Dr. Jac tries to keep the pace moving, bur she knows your children may need more time to consider and respond. Thanks for visiting! Story ideas and feedback are welcome.

Follow Up: Ask your children what feelings they are noticing right now. Have them draw what those feelings are like for them. Use adjectives to describe the feelings (e.g., big, small, quick, slow, loud, quiet, rough, smooth, sharp, bright, dark). Talk about how they notice the feelings in their bodies. Discuss that all feelings are ok, and that is important to acknowledge even negative emotions. Talk about ways to help make those negative emotions more manageable (e.g., hugs, kisses, talking, breathing). Talk about ways to hold on to the positive feelings. ”Dr. Jac” is the Director & a Psychologist for The SOAR Program for Psychotherapy & Testing at WBMA, LLC in Chevy Chase, MD. Websites: wbma.cc and soar.care Dr. Jac reads books to children to teach emotional recognition, emotional understanding, social cues, and social skills. Sometimes Dr. Jac shares her interpretations, and other times she asks the children to look, notice, and decide for themselves. Dr. Jac may even revisit the same story a few times, once to ask questions, and then to share observations. If you have the book Dr. Jac is reading, try looking at it even closer. Also, feel free to pause the story to discuss Dr. Jac’s questions and your children’s observations. Dr. Jac tries to keep the pace moving, bur she knows your children may need more time to consider and respond. Thanks for visiting! Story ideas and feedback are welcome.

Follow up: Have your children talk about a time when he or she was too small or too young to do something they really wanted to do. Have them draw or act out how that felt. Discuss the feeling. Is there anything the feel too small, too big, too young, or too old to do right now? If so, have them draw or act out that feeling. Now have your children think about something(s) they are the perfect age and size to do, that they couldn’t so before. Encourage them to think about something that makes them feel proud or accomplished. Have them draw or act out doing that thing/those things. Then, have them share how they feel when they do that thing (or those things). This is also a great time to talk about effort, grit, and sticking with things even when they feel hard. Mistakes are ok, and we have to learn and grow. Remind your kids that you’ll always be there to comfort them and support them as they get back up and try again, and to applaud them when they succeed. ”Dr. Jac” is the Director & a Psychologist for The SOAR Program for Psychotherapy & Testing at WBMA, LLC in Chevy Chase, MD. Websites: wbma.cc and soar.care Dr. Jac reads books to children to teach emotional recognition, emotional understanding, social cues, and social skills. Sometimes Dr. Jac shares her interpretations, and other times she asks the children to look, notice, and decide for themselves. Dr. Jac may even revisit the same story a few times, once to ask questions, and then to share observations. If you have the book Dr. Jac is reading, try looking at it even closer. Also, feel free to pause the story to discuss Dr. Jac’s questions and your children’s observations. Dr. Jac tries to keep the pace moving, bur she knows your children may need more time to consider and respond. Thanks for visiting! Story ideas and feedback are welcome.

Follow Up: Ask your children to think about a time they felt left out. Have them talk about, draw, or act out how they felt. Have your children think about a time maybe they left someone else out. See if they can think about why, and talk about what they might do different next time. Now, have your children think about differences. Have them name a friend or two. Have them talk about what they have in common with that friend. Have them reflect on some differences between them and that friend. Ask, do you have to be just like someone to get along? Reflect on how differences make things fun. Have your kids draw or make a list of qualities that they look for in a friend. Help them see that while some things matter (e.g., kindness), other things do not (e.g., how someone dresses, the color of someone’s skin, hair, or eyes). Have your children reflect on ways they can be a good friend to someone else. ”Dr. Jac” is the Director & a Psychologist for The SOAR Program for Psychotherapy & Testing at WBMA, LLC in Chevy Chase, MD. Websites: wbma.cc and soar.care Dr. Jac reads books to children to teach emotional recognition, emotional understanding, social cues, and social skills. Sometimes Dr. Jac shares her interpretations, and other times she asks the children to look, notice, and decide for themselves. Dr. Jac may even revisit the same story a few times, once to ask questions, and then to share observations. If you have the book Dr. Jac is reading, try looking at it even closer. Also, feel free to pause the story to discuss Dr. Jac’s questions and your children’s observations. Dr. Jac tries to keep the pace moving, bur she knows your children may need more time to consider and respond. Thanks for visiting! Story ideas and feedback are welcome.

Follow Up: Ask your children to talk or write about a time they missed someone, or about someone they miss right now. Have them draw the feeling of missing someone - think about colors, size, shape, weight, and other adjectives to describe it. Have them think about where the feeling is in their body. Next, think about ways of coping with the feeling (e.g,, using a calendar or clock to help track when the person will return, holding/wearing something that belongs to the person, looking at a photo of the person, finding fun activities to do while the person is gone and sharing them with the person later, seeking comfort from a caregiver or friend, talking about the feeling, holding a comfort object). Dr. Jac” is the Director & a Psychologist for The SOAR Program for Psychotherapy & Testing at WBMA, LLC in Chevy Chase, MD. Websites: wbma.cc and soar.care Dr. Jac reads books to children to teach emotional recognition, emotional understanding, social cues, and social skills. Sometimes Dr. Jac shares her interpretations, and other times she asks the children to look, notice, and decide for themselves. Dr. Jac may even revisit the same story a few times, once to ask questions, and then to share observations. If you have the book Dr. Jac is reading, try looking at it even closer. Also, feel free to pause the story to discuss Dr. Jac’s questions and your children’s observations. Dr. Jac tries to keep the pace moving, bur she knows your children may need more time to consider and respond. Thanks for visiting! Story ideas and feedback are welcome.

Follow up activity: Have your children talk, draw, or write about what makes them feel like a wild thing. Then, have your children talk, draw, or write about ways they calm down. Brainstorm together! ”Dr. Jac” is the Director & a Psychologist for The SOAR Program for Psychotherapy & Testing at WBMA, LLC in Chevy Chase, MD. Websites: wbma.cc and soar.care Dr. Jac reads books to children to teach emotional recognition, emotional understanding, social cues, and social skills. Sometimes Dr. Jac shares her interpretations, and other times she asks the children to look, notice, and decide for themselves. Dr. Jac may even revisit the same story a few times, once to ask questions, and then to share observations. If you have the book Dr. Jac is reading, try looking at it even closer. Also, feel free to pause the story to discuss Dr. Jac’s questions and your children’s observations. Dr. Jac tries to keep the pace moving, bur she knows your children may need more time to consider and respond. Thanks for visiting! Story ideas and feedback are welcome.