As an educator, you may feel overwhelmed by the thought of adding one more classroom routine to your day. But we’re here to share that emotional check-ins may make your room run smoother, instead of feeling like just another box on the to-do list. Daily emotional check-ins for students are filled with scientifically proven benefits, and they’re quite simple to conquer.

Let’s dive into the benefits and a few great integration ideas.

The Benefits of Daily Emotional Check-Ins for Students

‍The most significant benefit of daily emotional check-ins for students is the consistency it brings. Not only does the action help teachers create a solid routine, but it also ensures SEL is a part of everyday learning. When you have your students check in on how they’re feeling regularly, the positives are amplified due to this consistency and recurring exposure.

Some of the concrete and proven benefits of daily emotional check-ins for students include:

• A safe space for emotional regulation
• Stronger self-awareness skills
• Widespread mindfulness at the start of each day
• Normalization of talking about feelings
• The ability to discuss emotions deeply, thanks to increased emotional vocabulary
• A proactive way to solve problems and introduce SEL skills
• A deeper understanding of who students are on the teacher’s side of the classroom

In short, consistent check-ins allow students time to review how they’re feeling and the necessary skills to share those emotions. They also allow teachers to understand what learners are going through, to better support them throughout the days, weeks, and months to come.

Ideas to Incorporate Daily Check-Ins In Your Classroom

‍The most important aspect of emotional check-ins is consistency. So no matter how you incorporate them into the classroom, it’s helpful when the method can be reproduced often.

You may consider:

• Passing around feelings notebooks
• Breaking into small groups to discuss how students are doing each morning
• Or having kids write a small note or sign on their assignment to let you know how they’re doing, and if they need additional emotional support.

Each of these methods can have great impacts on your students’ SEL skills as well as their general education. But if you’re ready to go deeper (and make things simpler) YouHue may be your best bet.

YouHue is a virtual check-in tool for classroom use. It can be used by children of all ages, from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The check-in process looks like this:

• Opening up the app, students are asked, “How are you feeling?”
• They see a set of emojis with emotional labels to choose from, including happy, confused, anxious, excited, loved, angry, calm, and more.
• The student is then guided to dig deeper. They can click “causes” for their feelings, from “family, “friends,” “school,” or “other.” They can also adjust their emotion if needed, and enter a description for the teacher to see.

And perhaps the biggest difference that YouHue boasts over competitors is the ability to follow through. Everything entered is saved in the students’ “log,” which serves as educator communication as well as a journal for learners to look back on for self-reflection.

• When students log certain emotions, they are guided through age-appropriate ways to work through those feelings.
• When teachers see emotion logs, they can follow up with students to provide any additional support they may need (as well as adjust the daily workload and/or expectations to suit the learner).

No matter how you choose to use daily emotional check-ins for students, it’s sure to make a positive impact in your classroom. We’re proud of you for taking this great step, and we’re here for you if you happen to need any help at all.

‍