Meeting 4: So You Had a Bad Day?
- HippieTeacher
- Aug 26, 2017
- 2 min read
Updated: Jan 26, 2021
We all have those mornings. Just the other day, I was putting off getting out of bed. I hit the snooze four times while planning my wardrobe from the comfort of my bed. Knowing I was going to rush, I finally crawled out of bed. Joke was on me, because when I opened my closet, the shirt I planned to wear was missing. I live with two teenager girls, so this isn’t altogether unheard of. Today, though I was already running late. I ran upstairs to Daughter #1’s bedroom, no shirt. I flew down two flights of stairs to get to the laundry room in the basement. Still no shirt. At this point, I was ready to wake up the whole darn house and demand my shirt! I barreled into Daughter #2’s bedroom and with the light from my phone, caught a glimpse of my shirt on her floor. With a huff, I grabbed it and slammed the door behind me. I pulled on my shirt while stumbling into my bedroom to put my makeup on. Great! Now, where is my blasted mascara??? Lather, rinse, repeat! Needless to say, I was spoiling for a fight after I hit every traffic light between my home and school. I was done with my day and it was 7am.
If I have days like this, you can bet my students have these days. My foul mood, had nothing to do with anyone at my school and neither does theirs!
Meeting 4: What do I do if Someone is Having a Bad Day?
At the beginning of the meeting, I share a story similar to the one above. We talk about those mornings when our parents yell at us, wake us up late, or pick out clothes we hate. The kids take turns sharing harrowing tales of misplaced shoes and burned toast! We talk about how we feel and what we do to calm ourselves down. I share, that sometimes it takes me a little time to feel calm. We talk about whether or not we want to talk to people when we are feeling this way. We brainstorm ideas for how we can help our friends when they are feeling grumpy.
By the end of the meeting, we have agreed:
If someone is upset, we will check on them and then leave him/her alone. We ask, are you hurt or mad?
If someone is bothering us, we will move away from that person.
If someone is having a tantrum, we ignore him/her.
Activity:
Prior to meeting write getting to know you questions on a beach ball. Toss the ball from person to person, the recipient answers the question under their finger on the ball.