Margret Stöckler
Autumn is slowly but surely setting in... after an incredible number of sunny summer days and a wonderfully beautiful start to autumn.
Together with Oups, we want to extend the hours of sunshine and let the sun shine in our hearts – even when it's really raining and storming outside and inside.
What to do when you're totally grumpy and in a bad mood, or maybe sad and don't know what to do next? Dealing with "negative emotions" is not always easy, but Oups has the right story for it, which is also wonderful as an introduction to the topic:
In this book, he tells the story of a beautiful field full of sunflowers that show his sad friend how good it feels to turn towards the sun. A wonderful story that can help not only children but also adults find their way out of listlessness and sadness.
After telling or reading the story, which is also available as an audiobook, we think together about what we (children) can do when we are sad or angry. What makes me sad, what makes me angry? Depending on the grade level and "prior knowledge" of the children, dealing with the topic of emotions should of course also be accompanied here. You can find some suggestions in the companion booklet and workbook for "Heart Education with Oups".
What do you do when you're angry? What helps you when you're sad?
We exchange ideas in a joint discussion group. The children learn something very important: I am not alone with my anger, doors sometimes slam elsewhere too. At this point, children can also realize that unpleasant feelings are part of life, yes, it's okay to be angry sometimes, and almost every child knows sadness too.
I deliberately mention this here to the children, because the impression should not arise that we just want to magically make unpleasant feelings disappear. The goal should rather be to learn how to deal with negative emotions. More suggestions specifically on this will follow shortly in separate blog posts on "Hand on Heart" and "Oups and his Anger Vacuum Cleaner."
In the discussion group, statements like: "When I'm angry, I go to my room and build a cave out of blankets under my bed. Then I listen to an audio story there." Or: "When I'm sad, I cuddle with my mom"... So: There's something I can do for myself to feel better. Achieving this self-efficacy is a long journey and it is so incredibly important that we help our children develop this inner strength – this is where addiction prevention begins. :-)
It's best to quickly jot down the children's suggestions and strategies so that the following can be displayed on the wall later:
Afterwards, the sunflower in the workbook can be designed. The ideas of all children can now be entered. A tip from Oups: "From now on, you can always look in your Oups booklet when you're in a bad mood or sad."
In the following video, my former fourth-graders show you how we performed the song "Sunbeams for your Heart" with very simple movements:
And here you can find more information about the music download "Heart Songs with Oups". By the way, there is also a playback version and many other wonderful songs for social learning, including lyrics and sheet music.
In science class, my first graders researched sunflowers at different blooming stages. Together, we also created plug-in sunflowers from photo cardboard, which now decorate our windows for autumn and conjure up sunbeams in our hearts. 
