Lesson 1 - Introduction to Coping Power & Emotions

Welcome parents and caregivers to our first Coping Power Caregivers: Power Up Video. We’re so excited to talk to you today about the Coping Power curriculum that your child is learning at school.

Coping Power focuses on four key areas: managing strong emotions, building communication skills, problem-solving in difficult situations, and navigating peer relationships. In week one of the program, we focus on providing students with an overview of the Coping Power contents and its relevance to their lives, and then we begin to dive into recognizing and managing strong emotions. Students are learning that strong emotions can be important, and even helpful, but sometimes these strong emotions also make it difficult to work through challenging situations or conflicts with friends.

We’ll help students identify not only their emotions, but the intensity of those emotions. Rather than just labeling their feelings as happy, sad, or mad, we want students recognize how they might be content versus ecstatic, disappointed or devastated, frustrated or livid.

The vocabulary surrounding emotions can be tricky, so students will practice using a thermometer image to identify their “emotion temperature.” They’ll explore how their experiences, thoughts, and actions can lead to changes in that emotional temperature. By recognizing the impact of all of these things on their emotions, they’ll be better able to identify strategies to manage emotions and navigate difficult situations.

We appreciate your support as your child begins learning these critical skills. As your child’s caregiver, you are the most important role model and teacher in their lives. To better support you, each week, we’ll provide a few “power practice” ideas and questions to help you continue working on these skills at home. We encourage you to make a plan to check in with your child each week after their Coping Power lesson at school. 

This week, ask your child about their strengths and skills, and tell your child which Coping Power skill will be most helpful for them to learn more about. To review this week’s lesson, you might share an example of an emotion you felt recently with your child, describing the behaviors, thoughts, and feelings that you experienced as a result of that emotion. You might also ask your child about situations that they’ve experienced that cause them strong emotions. Ask them to contrast situations that might be a little upsetting, frustrating, or scary, versus situations that are very upsetting, frustrating, or scary. Ask your child how they can tell the difference in the emotional intensity of a situation using the clues from their thoughts, their actions, and their feelings.

We hope you enjoy these Power Practice suggestions, and we’ll see you next week!