friendCHIPS Tips

If you would like to create more positive relationships then we have some tips for you!

Watch our videos where we create scenarios and tips to help you.

Releasing stuck emotions

If you are overwhelmed with emotions or feeling down then here are some quick tips for releasing them and getting back to who you are.

Activities: 

• Practice these moves. When you get full of emotions try shaking it out and throwing it out and see what happens. 
• Imagine positive things that open your heart and bring a smile to your face. Have you a pet you cuddle and feel love between you? What else? Put your hand on your heart, close your eyes, breathe slowly and imagine those thoughts. Feel the beating of your heart and feel what happens to your body. ( heartmath.org)
• Draw a ''before" picture of you when you are full of emotions. Colour in your emotions and show where they are in your body. Do these moves and see how they change. Then draw an "after" picture. Compare with other people. What do you notice?
• Inquiry - Try these moves out for a week and notice if it makes any difference. 
• Create  - Make up your own moves that help you shift stuck emotions or help you to feel balanced. Share with others.

What can you do if you have no friends?

Sometimes it is very hard to find people to be your friends. In this video Daisy asks the Grand Poobar of Wiseness for help.

Activities:

• Brainstorm - What other suggestions could you make to Daisy?
• Act it out  - Do you notice people who are lonely? What could you do to make them feel included? Practice with a partner.
• Inquiry - find someone who looks alone at recess or lunch and smile and ask them to play.
• Write a letter - Do you have a concern? Write a letter to the Grand Poobar of Wiseness.

How to make friends from SCRATCH

If you meet someone new, what do you say to them? This scratch animation gives a few tips. Coming soon

Change Meanness into friendCHIPS

Sometimes we are mean without thinking. Pause, tune into whether it feels right or not. Imagine how the other person feels. Think about what can make it right. And don't be afraid to admit your mistake and apologise.

Activities

• Notice - Think about a time when you were mean. How did it feel? What were your emotions? How did it feel in your body? Do your emotions and body tell you when you are doing something that isn't nice? Work out what a YES and a NO feels like.
• Drawing  - Imagine what it feels like when you are the self you like being - you feel a BIG YES.  Draw a picture of yourself on one half of the page with  colours, words, feelings, actions that describe what it is like to be the self you like being. On the other half of the page draw a picture of the self that feels wrong - a BIG NO in the body.
• Discussion - What do we hope for when things go wrong? What does the person who has been harmed hope for? What does the person who has harmed hope for?
• Inquiry - for one week pay attention to your emotions and body when you do things. What is the signal that you are not who you want to be? What does it feel like when you are who you like to be? How can you make things right?
• Act it out  - In a group make up a scenario of something that happens at your school and find an ending that you like.

How can we stop anger from getting bigger?

You often see people fighting and it gets out of hand quickly. When can you intervene? Is it safe? What can the people in the fight do to stop it getting bigger and when is a good time?

Activities:

• Brainstorm some things that the boys in the video could have said to stop the fight getting bigger.
• Graph it - Think of a time that you were in a fight with someone. Do a graph to show what happened. What do you think you could have done to stop it before it got bigger? 
• Inquiry - for one week notice when things start to get bigger. Try to say or do something that can stop it getting bigger.
• Act it out - Use a make it bigger circle to try out what happens when you start with a frown, or a smile and pass it on so each time it is made bigger. Try different things.

Discuss your problems in circle time

Circle time can be a great way to talk about issues. But it can also get angry and heated. Find out how to run a circle time with your peers to help resolve issues. Print out circle time instructions and cards here.

Activities: 

• Brainstorm  - What do you think are important rules and values for running a circle time? What would you like to have happen if you were in the wrong?
• "I messages" - Come up with sentence starters that you think might help people share their concerns. (e.g. "I hope for....")
• Experiment - run a small circle group where some people want to bring issues and see what happens. 
• Inquiry - if you see a disagreement on the playground can you call a circle time?

What animal are you?

When there is a conflict we can take on different animal roles. Some of us are like turtles who like to avoid conflict. What do you think a teddybear, owl or shark would do? 

(No animals were harmed in the making of this video - Folkmanis Puppets)

Activities:

• Notice - Think about the different disagreements or fights you get into with different people. What different animals do you think you turn into for each case?
• Discuss - When can an animal power be useful or not useful? Look at the strengths and weaknesses of different animals. What animal powers would you like to draw on? (Teacher handout)
• Inquiry -  try out taking on a different animal power to what you usually do and see how it changes situations.
• Act it out - create a scenario with a partner where you are in disagreement. Try each of you taking on different roles and see how the situation changes.

How would you treat someone who is bullying?

Fighting and bullying behaviours are not good and we want to stop them. But the way we do this is important. Check out this video and choose what you would do to stop Billy from bullying.

Activities: 

• Discussion - Pause the video on each scenario and have a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of each approach. Consider from different people's perspectives.
• People who turn into bullies usually try to have power over someone else.  They do this because they are feeling powerless. They feel they have no control in some part of their life. Which solutions do you think give some control back to Billy?
• Draw it - think about a conflict situation you have been in and draw the different people, showing the colours and emotions and thoughts behind what they are doing.
• Act it out - do a role play where one person uses bullying behaviours on another person with some bystanders watching. What could each person do in the situation? Try out different scenarios and see how they play out. Which one is your prefered ending?
• Inquiry - notice in the playground whether anyone is using bullying behaviours. What can you do to help the situation. What further skills do you need?