Worries
Jeremy is in his summer between elementary school and middle school. He wants to enjoy his summer and not focus on his worries all summer. What advice would you give him on how to handle his worries over the summer?
Tell him to set up a worry time of day.
Take deep breaths.
Focus on seeing friends, going swimming and being with family.
Reframe his worry thoughts.
Chris forgot to bring his homework folder to school and is worried about what is teachers will say. How can Chris manage his anxiety and what can he do?
Chris can take some deep breaths and remind himself that everyone makes mistakes and can be forgetful at times. He can let his teachers know and see if he can turn his homework in the next day.
Encourage Kyle to look for a friend or two he knows and see if there is a seat available. If he can't easily find his friends, see if he can identify a group of friendly kids who have an open seat at their table. For future lunches, Kyle can talk to his friends about where they are sitting so he knows ahead of time.
Tyler was feeling overwhelmed by getting homework in every class at the beginning of middle school. He decided to not do any of it. Was this a good choice? What could Tyler do instead?
This choice is not good because if Tyler does not do his homework, that could impact his grades. Tyler can pick one homework assignment to start with. He can check off his homework as he does it so he feels like he is accomplishing something.
Jayden is a captain on his hockey team. He has a new teammate this year in middle school who has been bothering some of the other kids on the team. Jayden wants to be a good leader. What can Jayden do?
If Jayden feels comfortable, he can talk with this teammate and get to know him better. He can let him know some of the things he is doing that are bothering other teammates. If Jayden is not comfortable with this, he can ask one of the coaches to help address the situation.
Help reframe this what if thought?
If I go to the wrong classroom, everyone in the class is going to laugh at me and make fun of me all year.
The other kids may not laugh at me and this moment will pass. Other kids won't think about it all year.
Sarah is feeling overwhelmed by how much louder and bigger the lunchroom is at her middle school. What can Sarah do to help manage her feelings?
She can let an adult know she is feeling overwhelmed and ask if she can go take a break in the hallway. She can see if there is a less noisy area in the lunchroom.
Jessica started on a math homework assignment and is feeling very frustrated because she cannot figure out how to solve the problems on the worksheet. What can Jessica do?
Jessica can take a break and come back to the worksheet. She can ask an adult at home for some support with the worksheet.
True or False:
Middle school grades matter a lot more than the grading system in elementary school.
Somewhat true - grades in middle school are important but it is okay not to get perfect grades.
Emily was sitting in her assigned seat in her new fifth grade science class. The student next to her kept kicking his his foot against her chair. How can she handle this situation?
She can ask him politely to stop. If he does not stop, she can talk with her teacher about the situation to get it resolved.
Brett is looking to make some new friends and sees an open seat at a lunch table but when he get to the table, he is told that someone else is sitting there even though that does not look true. How might Brett be feeling and what can he do next?
Brett might feeling upset or confused. He can look for another table with friendlier kids or he can talk to an adult to talk about his feelings.
Help reframe this worry thought:
If I'm late to school in middle school, I am going to get in big trouble.
I will learn what the rules are about being late to middle school. I was rarely late or not late at all in elementary school and I can practice waking up early and getting ready for school so I am not late for middle school. If I am late, I may get a warning.
David noticed some kids in his class who went to another elementary school in his class this year in middle school. He wanted to introduce himself but was feeling unsure how to do this. What can David do to introduce himself?
He can go up to one or more of these students and say hey I'm David. I don't think we've met yet. What's your name? What elementary school did you go to?
Ben is sitting with some kids from his class who he does not know very well at lunch. They start standing on the table and yelling across the lunchroom and encouraging Ben to also stand on the table even though Ben knows it is against the rules to do that. What can Ben do in this situation?
Ben does not have to follow what the other kids are doing. He can make his own choices. He can walk away from that table if he is feeling uncomfortable.
True or false:
I will have so much more homework in middle school and it'll be hard to get it all done after school.
Most likely true.
I may have more homework but I can create a routine so I have time to get in done after school around my other activities.
Cam's new teacher assigned partners for a project. Cam did not know his new partner very well and was feeling nervous about working with someone he does not know well. What advice would would you give Cam to feel more comfortable with his partner?
Cam could introduce himself to his partner and ask for their name. He could ask them a question like what their favorite color is or something they like to do outside of school so he gets to know them better. He could ask them what the best strategy is for getting the project done together.
Alice didn't realize on her first day of middle school that lunch is a shorter amount of time than it was in elementary school. She didn't have time to finish her whole lunch but is still feeling hungry when she has to go back to class. What can she do?
She could talk to the teacher and let them know and ask if she can finish her lunch quietly while class starts.