M o o d M e t e r
A t C e n t u r y
Controlling your emotions can be a difficult task, especially for a child.
Century Elementary has come up with a method of increasing their students’
social and emotional intelligence, called the “Mood Meter.”
“We’ve been using the mood meter for a couple of years now in the
classrooms and the kids understand its importance. They know that blue is
sad, green is calm, and they know that they really need to be ready to learn
that we want them to get to green to be ready to learn,” says Century
principal, Cara Blevins.
Understanding and communicating how you feel is the first step to success in
learning. Through this program, students identify what they need, how they
feel, and how to properly communicate that with others in order to interact
in a healthy way.
Since more and more students are coming to school unable to regulate their
emotions, the school has put this in place to help them learn this vital skill.
Kindergartner, Hadyn Henderson, says that when you are frustrated with
someone it is important to “walk away and take some deep breaths. Then
when you’re calmed down and you go back and say sorry.”
In addition to their mood charts, Century students also have small groups
where they can talk about their feelings and emotions. If a student does not
need to come to the group anymore, they can always leave the group and add
someone else.