Emotional Check in - Needs Mat

Before a day starts, it’s important we all know where each other’s mental and emotional state is. Yes including the teachers in the classroom that day. How can any of the staff members, or the children, create a safe supportive environment that breeds success and opportunity if we don’t know what each other need?

Queue this resource - the needs mat. You can use this however you see fit but I like to keep my needs mat on the back of my classroom door. The children and staff members every morning place a peg on the ‘need’ that they need that day. I keep it anonymous for children as they may not want it to be declared to the whole class with their name on in glaring lights. However, staff members do keep an eye on who puts what where. Also staff members have a different coloured peg purposely so that children CAN see what we need for the day.

I have teamed up with Shabnam (@miss.d.prepteacher) to add a delicious bonus to the resource. One of the options of the needs mat you can download includes a mix of essential oils for if you have or want a diffuser for your classroom. The science is there for all to see in black and white - scent has a direct link and effect upon our neural activity so to speed up the process and to add a bit of magic to the room, if the majority of the class land on a certain need then we will put that blend of oil into the diffuser for the day. Safe and natural (healing essential oils and water vapour).

You can either download the resource with or without the essential oil bonus and either as a PDF or WORD doc so you can edit it all.

Enjoy and please do share them with me when they’re up in your classrooms (@mindfullyteaching)