Children’s Mental Health Week at DECAL is May 6 – 10, 2024!
DECAL is excited to celebrate the fourth annual Children's Mental Health Week, May 6–10 this year. Once again, we have many fun activities planned, and we look forward to recognizing the importance of children’s mental health not just this week, but every day!
Children develop social and emotional skills—mental health—through strong, nurturing relationships with the adults in their lives. There is a window of opportunity in early childhood to establish the foundation for a child’s emotional wellbeing throughout life. During Children’s Mental Health Week, we promote activities that help children develop social emotional skills. We also celebrate the profound impact of early learning professionals and all caregivers on the emotional wellbeing of young children.
How to participate in Children’s Mental Health Week:
Sign up for a virtual puppet show:
Register 3-year-old and Pre-K classes below for a FREE virtual Mental Health America of Georgia Puppet Show about FEELINGS!
Virtual Puppet Show Registration
(4 Shows Available)
- Wednesday, May 8 at 9:00am: Register here
- Wednesday, May 8 at 10:00am: Register here
- Thursday, May 9 at 9:30am: Register here
- Thursday, May 9 at 10:30am: Register here
New: Teachers, if you fill out a quick survey after the puppet show you will be entered into a drawing for a self-care gift card provided by GEEARS (Georgia’s Early Education Alliance for Ready Students). See more details below!
Space is limited so please register for one show only. If you are unable to register for a puppet show this week, you can schedule a FREE show throughout the year by contacting Lorie Summers at Lorie@mhageorgia.org or visiting the Mental Health America of Georgia Webpage: https://www.mhageorgia.org/kids-on-the-block/
Read a book to your class:
Use Leo’s Road Trip, a book provided by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA), to talk about emotions and identify how to express feelings. Check out DECAL’s social media to view DECAL’s Commissioner Amy M. Jacobs reading Leo’s Road Trip and share with your classroom! We will also have a Spanish version posted on DECAL social media this year!
See the Resources tab below for a PDF of the story and check out CHOA’s Strong4Life resources here: https://www.strong4life.com/en
Saturday by Oge Mora, a story that focuses on the power of relationships, is our 2024 Children’s Mental Health Week book. DECAL partners, including Georgia legislators, state child-serving agency representatives, community behavioral health providers and many more, will be reading the story to children in early care and learning settings across the state the first week of May.
For a list of books supporting children’s mental health for all ages, see Resources tab below.
Create a calm corner in your classroom:
A CALM CORNER is a safe and comfortable place in the classroom where a child can go to regulate their emotions and calm down when overly emotional. A Calm Corner helps a child avoid meltdowns and prevents disruptive behaviors by providing a specific space to assist with emotional regulation. A Calm Corner is preventative, it is NOT to be used as a time out or punishment. Use this space when a child is feeling overstimulated, dysregulated, and needs help to calm their body and/or mind. Here’s a list of resources to create your own calm corner:
Calm Corner In Your Classroom
Learn how to take a breath:
CALi is demonstrating Rainbow Breathing:
- Take a deep breath in as your arms and hands move up above your head
- Breathe out slowly as you bring your arms down into a rainbow motion.
- Repeat slowly 3 times.
See CALi demonstrate Square Breathing below:
CALi will demonstrate the Square Breathing technique that helps children (and grownups) calm themselves when they’re feeling overwhelmed, mad, sad, anxious, or upset. You can watch CALi teach Square Breathing here or check out the PDF in the Resources tab below, available in English and Spanish.
Celebrate Children’s Mental Health Week with daily classroom activities:
DECAL’s Infant Toddler, Pre-K, Inclusion and Behavior Support and Nutrition and Physical Activity Specialists, designed classroom activities especially for Children’s Mental Health Week. Check out the Activities and Resources tabs below for age-appropriate activities for Mindful Monday, Talk It Out Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Thoughtful Thursday, and Feelings Friday!
Take Care of Yourself:
The emotional wellbeing of caregivers has a substantial impact on children’s ability to develop social and emotional resilience. Be sure to check out the self-care resources under the Teachers tab at the bottom of the page and see below for more information on how to win a self-care gift card!
We’re giving away self-care gift cards for teachers!
Once again, our partners at the Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (GEEARS) will provide self-care gift cards for early learning teachers and providers.
Post a photo of your class engaged in Children’s Mental Health Week activities with the hashtags
#littlekidsbigfeelings, #KidsMindsMatter, and #DECALCMHWeek2024 on social media. You will automatically be entered into the drawing. Please ensure that you have family permission
to post pictures of children and include the teacher’s location and name.
Feelings Friday:
Dance on Feelings Friday, May 10th:
On Feelings Friday, we’ll wrap up the week with a dance party.
Join CALi to celebrate your mental health with this video: https://youtu.be/z3Ljm4DyoWQ.
Free Your Feels (FYF) is our Social Media Sponsor for Children’s Mental Health Week Feelings Friday 2024:
Add the #FreeYourFeelsFriday hashtag alongside #FeelingsFriday, #DECALCMHWeek2024, and #KidsMindsMatter,
when you share your Feelings Friday dance party on social media, which will be used for giveaway purposes as well as FYF content throughout the month of May.
Please ensure you have family permission to post pictures of children. Submissions will serve as an entry to a prize drawing sponsored by Voices for Georgia's Children.
Learn more about Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH):
Learn more about Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health and the Georgia Association for Infant Mental Health: Birth to Five: https://aimh.gsu.edu/ and find resources specifically for early care and learning professionals here: https://aimh.gsu.edu/resources/
Community Resiliency Model (CRM): developed by the Trauma Resource Institute in Claremont, California, introduces a paradigm shift in how individuals understand their own responses to stress and trauma. CRM includes six wellness skills: Tracking, Resourcing, Grounding, Gesturing, Help Now!, and Shift and Stay.
https://www.resilientga.org/iec-professional-development
Register for free trainings offered throughout year from our partners at the Child Welfare Training Collaborative at Georgia State University – School of Social Work and receive DECAL approved training hours: https://peprogram.gsu.edu/programs/child-welfare-training-collaborative/child-welfare-training-calendar/
https://peprogram.gsu.edu/programs/child-welfare-training-collaborative/child-welfare-training-calendar/
Thank You for Promoting Children’s Mental Health This Week and Every Day!
A special thank you to DECAL’s Children’s Mental Health Week 2024 Planning Committee:
Jerry Brown
Kayla Little
Heather Riddle
Veronica Bustos
Catherine Lotspeich
Audreana Todd
Morgan Chapman
Tina McLaren
Susan Simpson
Savannah Ennis
Bridget Ratajczak
Activities and Resources: