(cheerful music) - [All] Hi!

- Welcome to Room 9, our region's largest classroom.

That means the kiddos, just like you from all over our area are tuning in each weekday to learn and grow their brains with us.

This is... - Mason.

- I'm Emma.

- And I'm Mrs. Williams, the woodland creature teacher.

When I'm not here teaching and learning with you in Room 9, I'm teaching it Windsor Elementary.

That's in the Windsor C-1 school district in Imperial, Missouri.

Imperial is a little bit south of St. Louis, just to give you an idea of where I'm at.

Where are you at?

Awesome.

Well, no matter where you're at, I'm glad that you're here with us today.

This lesson is designed for pre-K through second grade and it's a social-emotional lesson so all about feelings.

But, of course, any learners are welcome.

We're happy to have you.

So if you have a friend, a neighbor, a cousin, aunt, uncle that you think would like to learn with us, tell them to get on in here and have a seat.

We're happy that you're here today.

Before we get started on our lesson each day, we like to do a zone check.

So zone checks are all about feelings and checking in and seeing how your body and brain are feeling because super smart scientists that know a lot about brains taught teachers that calm, happy brains do the best learning.

So here with our zone check for today is Emma.

- Okay, so if you are in the green zone, this is your hand signal and you're probably feeling happy and ready to reach your daily goals, help others and complete your work.

If you are in the blue zone, this is your hand signal and you are probably sad, sick or tired.

So you might need to think happy thoughts get a hug or draw a picture.

If you're in the yellow zone, this is your hand signal and you might be feeling anxious or excited but not in green zone.

So you might need to talk to an adult, get a hug or take a deep breath.

And if you're in the red zone, this is your hand signal and you are probably feeling pretty mad.

So you might need to take a break, check the size of your problem or take a deep breath.

- Thanks, Emma.

All right.

So we talked a little bit about some strategies that might help you out if you're feeling outside of the green zone.

Now it's completely normal for you to feel any or all of these emotions because humans feel all of these things: happy, sad, frustrated, anxious, angry and that's totally normal, but we know, that it's not really a good thing to stay outside of green zone for long periods of time.

So it's okay to feel those emotions and experience those things.

But then at some point you need to calm yourself and get back to green zone and ready to face your day.

So if you're feeling outside of the green zone today, show me your zone.

How are you feeling?

Are you green?

Are you feeling a little low and slow?

Are you a little bit too anxious or excited or have you flipped your lid?

All right, well, if you're feeling in blue zone, I've got a friend to help you out today.

We know that jokes and laughter can help us to get out of the blue zone.

So here is Chicken Man with your joke for the day.

- My joke is what kind of cats like to go bowling?

- [Mrs. Williams] I don't know.

What kind of cats like to go bowling?

- Alley cats.

- Alley cats.

(laughs) Get it?

You go to the bowling alley, alley cats.

Super silly.

Thanks, Chicken Man.

Now, if you were feeling sad, a little bit of laughter might help you to get out of blue zone.

But what if you're feeling super sleepy?

We know that exercise or getting your body moving can help us to get out of blue zone.

Let's go ahead and do 20 jumping jacks to get our bodies and brains moving.

So if you are a super-sleepy tired blue zone friend today, let's go ahead and get those bodies moving.

Here we go.

Ready?

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10, halfway there.

11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20.

Awesome job.

Well, if you were feeling sleepy and a little slow, hopefully your body and brain are a little bit more rubbed up and ready to go.

Now, if you're in the yellow zone, sometimes what you need to do is walk away and take a break.

So if you were in yellow zone, frustrated or anxious and not quite ready to settle and learn, you can walk away and get a drink.

I've got my drink here.

It's okay to take a break if you're feeling frustrated or anxious and not ready to work and learn.

So taking a pause to get a drink and just walk away for a second could be a great yellow zone strategy for you.

Now, if you are feeling in the red zone, you might need to squish something.

Maybe you've got a little bit of clay or dough and you can squish.

Now, while you squish, breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

Usually we try to do 10, but sometimes you might need more.

Here we go.

(inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) (inhales then exhales) So when you're in red zone, you might be feeling really, really anxious, frustrated, angry or upset.

So taking those deep breaths and focusing on something else like squishing your dough or if you don't have dough to squish, you can squeeze on a stuffed animal or a lovey or a pillow.

Any of those things will help your body and brain to settle because if you're in red zone, you might be feeling really revved up and frustrated.

Your face might be red.

Your heart might be beating really fast.

So that will help you to bring it down a little bit.

Now, if you remember the last time we were together, we talked all about red zone and Sophie getting angry.

And we made a list of the things that sometimes could make us feel in red zone like losing at a game.

We said taking some deep breaths could help.

We said cleaning our room is super frustrating.

We don't like to do it but counting each item as we clean could help and then we see how much progress we've made.

And we also said, the third thing that might upset us is if someone messed our things up.

So getting a hug and talking to a trusted adult to check the size of our problem could help out there.

Remember that it's okay to get help from a trusted adult to help you check in and see how big of a deal your problem really is.

So now that we've talked a little bit about our zones, it's time to get down to blue zone business for today.

So when you're in blue zone, you know that you may be feeling sad, tired, bored, the things that you might be doing are moving slowly maybe laying your head down, feeling sluggish or maybe you're sick.

So let's go ahead and check in on our "Blue Day Book".

This is called "The Blue Day Book for Kids".

And it's a lesson in cheering yourself up.

This is by Bradley Trevor Greive.

And he is a New York Times bestselling author.

This book was published by Andrews McMeel Publishing.

Have you ever had a blue day?

Show me the blue zone signal.

A blue day is a day where nothing goes right and you feel kind of lousy.

Everybody's had those kinds of days before.

You might feel grumpy or lonely or really shy or just plain pooped.

Oh, look at him.

He's exhausted.

Basically, you're not much fun to be around.

Uh-oh.

Other people may not understand how you feel.

In fact, on blue days, it might seem like everyone is ignoring you, aw.

Or picking on you.

Uh-oh, that big dog looks like he is getting after that poor little squirrel.

A blue day can sneak up on you when you least expect it.

Someone might say or do something mean that hurts your feelings.

Aw, he looks so sad.

Look, he's got his little paw over his nose or you might make a silly mistake and feel weird about it and trying to cover it up only makes things worse.

What do you have to do if you make a mistake?

You have to say sorry and try and fix it.

Hiding your head in a little bucket definitely won't solve your problem.

Your parents may be mad or even yell at you or you might get put in time out at school.

That is the sure way to have a blue day.

Aw, sad.

Have you ever been forced to share your favorite toy or snack when you didn't really want to?

Grownups don't always understand that it's hard to share or you had to eat Brussels sprouts for dinner.

Bleh!

How come nobody makes you share your Brussels sprouts?

That's a good question.

Do you like Brussels sprouts?

I do.

But some people don't.

Does it ever seem like you're too big to play with the little kids but too little to play with the big kids.

Feeling like you don't fit in can really bring on a blue day.

Aw, look, he's a little cat; all in this group of pigs, he's the only lonely kitten.

Which is like being sick but without knowing what hurts.

Everything seems impossible on a blue day.

Aw, look at this little tiny guy trying to lift that great big weight.

I bet that does seem impossible to him.

You don't feel like playing or laughing.

Oh, look, his whole body looks sad, but he's so cute.

Or even talking on a blue day, it's like you're stuck in a deep hole and can't climb out.

Well, listen up, kid, you can get past that blue day.

There are lots of ways to do it.

Sometimes just a little nap can make you feel better and help you to see things clearly.

Thumbs up in a wiggle if you've ever taken a nap and woken up to feel much better.

Sometimes that's a strategy that will help you if you're sleepy.

But if you don't feel like resting, try singing your favorite song as loud as you can.

Oh, they look like they're having fun.

They're using a little silliness to get out of blue zone.

And while you're at it, break out some dance moves.

Oh, look at him shaking it.

I bet he's not gonna be in blue zone for long.

If you don't feel like hanging out with friends, you can have some fun on your own.

Try to stand on your head.

It's a great way to see the world differently.

More grownups should try this.

I'm gonna put this on my list of blue zone strategies and try it out.

By the way, did you ever stop to think that everyone on the other side of the world is actually hanging upside down?

Weird, huh?

No, they're not.

That's so silly.

Another great way to beat a blue day is to be creative.

Get out the paints, crayons and spaghetti sauce and cut loose.

Oh my, spaghetti sauce.

I guess you could use that as paint.

Ask your adults first.

Shake up your usual routine and try something that you've never done before.

So do something that's challenging and new or pretend that you're someone else entirely.

Oh, look, he's playing some silly dress up.

Sometimes you can cheer up by talking to your best friends or even just thinking about someone that you really like.

It's true!

Especially if you think about a time that you did something really crazy together.

Oh look, the Guinea pig is in the tea pot and the kitten can't help but laugh.

You see, a smile can sneak up on you just like a blue day can.

And before you know it, you'll be back to your old self.

In fact, if you're not careful, you might smile so much that people will think you're up to something.

Of course, you are up to something.

You're cheering yourself up by changing the color of your day.

With a little imagination, you can change your blue day into a new day, a day where all kinds of amazing things can happen, a day when it's great to be you.

Now isn't that a much better way to look at the world?

Yeah, I think so too.

Oh, look at him.

He's a happy guy.

So thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs in the middle.

How did you like that book?

Awesome, okay, not so good.

I thought that that gave a lot of reasons why you might be feeling blue and a lot of ways to help you to feel better.

So let's go ahead and grab that paper and pencil.

I'll give you a second because it's time to make our list of blue day strategies.

I'm gonna put my paper up here.

And I'm gonna write blue times and I'm gonna use my blue marker.

Because we all have blue times, but what we do about them will help us to get through our day and turn that blue time around.

So let's go ahead and make a list just like we did last time.

Let's do a one, a two and a three.

What are some things, think, think, think, what are some things that make you feel blue?

Maybe not enough sleep.

Well in our book, if you recall, they said to try standing on your head.

And they said more adults should try that out.

So I'm gonna put headstand on my list.

If I'm feeling sleepy, I'm gonna try a headstand.

But remember, we tried exercise and silly jokes.

So what's something else that makes you feel sad and blue?

What if someone says something hurtful?

So I'm gonna put hurtful words.

What would make you feel better if someone used hurtful words when they were talking to you?

I like to read a silly book, like a joke book.

So I'm gonna put joke book on my list.

Think about what might make you feel better if someone used unkind words.

What's something else that might make you feel sad and blue?

What if your friend moved away?

Oh, that would make me feel sad.

So if your friend has moved or has gone away, what could you do to feel better?

What were some of the strategies that we heard in our book?

I have some more strategies for you.

Maybe get a hug, think happy thoughts, exercise, read a book, get a drink or take some deep breaths.

I'm gonna put happy thoughts on my list.

All right, so now we've got one, two, three strategies to help us with some of those things that cause us to have a blue day.

Remember that you are in control of your choices.

So we're gonna do our mantra today.

Say it after I say it.

I am in control of my choices.

You say it.

So each time that you get a drink today or wash your hands, I want you to think I am in control of my choices.

Let's try it in a pirate voice.

(groans) I'm in control of my choices.

This time let's try it in a whisper.

I'm in control my choice.

Third try.

Let's do it opera style.

♪ I am in control of my choices ♪ Because there are times that we're not gonna be in control of the things that happen around us.

And they might cause us to feel outside of our green zone.

We may feel blue or yellow or red, but the choices we make to handle those feelings are gonna make all the difference.

So let's go ahead and do a mindful minute.

So the way a mindful minute works is you take just one minute, 60 seconds, to think about your body and brain and how they're feeling.

And your only job is to listen and be still.

So when I do mindful minute, I like to listen to some nice sounds.

So today we're gonna listen to the sounds of rain and your job is to breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth.

And it's kind of like a zone check.

All right, ready?

So make your body calm and still.

You can sit criss-cross or you can lay down.

You can leave your eyes open or you can close them.

And we are ready for our mindful minute.

Breathe through your nose, in through your nose and out through your mouth.

(raindrops pattering) (beeping) And our mindful minute is up.

Did you find your brain wanting to wander?

Did you draw your brain back to the sounds of the rain and focus on your breathing in and out?

You can see that a mindful minute might help you if your brain is feeling swirly and wolly and kind of all over the place.

So let's move on to our blue zone box.

So you could use a box or you could use a bag, pretty much whatever you have handy and a couple strips of paper.

So I have a blue zone box, but like I said you could use a bag, it could be up Ziploc baggie, it could be a paper bag, it could even be a leftover gift bag, a box, whatever you have, it could even be a jar.

But this is my blue day box.

And a blue day box is something that you save happy memories for another day.

So I said that if someone used hurtful words, I would read a joke book.

If I was sleepy, I could do a headstand.

But if my friend moved away, I might need some happy thoughts to get me through those days when I really missed my friend.

So all you need are some pieces of paper and a pencil and your blue day box or bag or jar.

So the idea is, is that you write things that happen that are great, things that make you laugh, feel silly, things that make you smile, things that happened to you on those green zone days.

So let's just say that one of your happy memories was going to the park with your friends.

Maybe you got to play on all of the equipment.

You even made some new friends, and then you got to get ice cream and you dropped your ice cream but your friend had some extra money and bought you a new one.

So you can put that happy memory into your blue zone box.

Let's just say that another happy time that you have is winning your soccer tournament.

So you would write that on your paper, fold it up and put it inside your blue zone box.

Let's try one more.

Let's just say that you studied really, really hard for a spelling test at school.

And you're really proud of the grade you got.

So let's put on here spelling grade.

And put it inside your blue zone box.

Now when you have those blue times, you can come to your blue box, open it up and read about all those happy times that you had.

So each time something really great happens to you, put it inside that blue box and save it up for a day when you need all of those happy thoughts.

Let's go ahead now and try another silly strategy.

I'm gonna use Emma to help me out on this one.

So the way this will work, it's a silly story game.

So I'm gonna start a story and then Emma is going to add to it.

So I'll say once upon a time, there were two blue frogs and they lived next to a pond.

And they liked to... - Eat tuna melts.

- Eat tuna melts!

What kind of silly blue frogs eat tuna melts?

Okay, so you can see my face is already starting to smile and so is hers.

So now I'm picturing those silly blue frogs by the pond eating their tuna melts.

And when they eat tuna melts, they like to also drink strawberry milkshakes and wear party hats.

Then they... - Then they jumped into the water and got their tuna melts all soggy.

- Oh no, soggy tuna melts!

So the frogs got their soggy tuna melts and a hairdryer and tried to dry them out but then... - Then the hairdryer got wet.

So it didn't work!

- Oh no, the hairdryer got wet and it didn't work.

So they had to put their tuna melts out in the sun.

But while they were waiting for their tuna melts to dry... - Then they found some whiteboards and decided to just start writing on them.

- What did they write on their whiteboards?

These frogs can write!

- They wrote, "We don't like tuna melts anymore."

(chuckles) - They don't like the tuna melts.

Oh my goodness!

Thank you, Emma for this silly story.

You can see by both of our faces, that silly story time is a sure way to help you to feel better and kind of get over those blue days, silly funks.

So I hope that you use some of these strategies the next time you are feeling sad and blue.

I wanna remind you to take your Room 9 rules with you wherever you go today.

Room 9 rules are designed to help you to have a green zone day, to keep you feeling safe and happy and those around you feeling safe and happy.

So rule number one is be safe.

You're gonna keep your hands, your feet and your things inside of your own space bubble.

So make your bubble and stay inside it.

When you're feeling angry or upset, stay in your own bubble, walk away.

Don't hurt someone else.

Rule number two, be responsible.

Take your thumbs and point them at you.

This is who you're gonna take care of.

You're gonna do your schoolwork.

You're gonna do your chores and help out around your house.

And hopefully, do that all without being asked.

Rule number three is be respectful.

If you're being respectful, you're treating other people the way you would wanna be treated.

So you're using nice words and a nice voice, no matter who you talk to.

And rule number four, point to your smile, is make yourself proud.

You're gonna know that you're proud of the choices you're making when you think about the things you're doing and you have a warm, happy feeling inside, you feel good about the things that you're doing in the choices you're making and you wanna share that with people that are close to you, your adults, your friends, your family.

If you start to think about the choices that you're making or you get ready to do something and you feel yucky inside, then stop and make a better choice.

I hope you have a fantastic day and I can't wait to learn with you again soon.

Bye!

(cheerful music) - [Announcer] Teaching in Room 9 is made possible with support of Bank of America, Dana Brown Charitable Trust, Emerson and viewers like you.

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