Worksheet of the Month - April 2024: The Most Important Thing My Kids Do Every Day
We should all be using this colorful tool.
I first learned about the Mood Meter during a Back to School Night at our kids’ elementary school. The Mood Meter is one of the tools developed as part of the RULER approach for social and emotional learning at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. So: cachet. I bought in immediately. But I had no idea just how valuable this tool would become not only for my kids, but also for our family, and for me.
I was intrigued by the Mood Meter. The morning after that Back to School Night, I asked my daughter, the older of my two kids, whether they really did use it in school.
“Ugh,” she scoffed. “It’s so annoying! Every morning when we walk into the room we have to figure out where we are on it.”
“Wait,” I said, wanting to be sure I understood. “So, every day when you start school, you have to choose the emotion that best fits how you’re feeling?”
“Yup. So boring.”
“Actually, love, this is probably the most important thing you do all day.”
“HUH?!”
I tried to explain to her the importance of developing emotional intelligence, but her eyes glazed over almost immediately.
“Just take my word for it,” I relented.
“Ok. Can I go play now?”
“Sure, love.”
Even though my kids were clearly not impressed with the Mood Meter, I was. I printed one out and hung it on our fridge. When my kids got home from school, I would ask them how their day went and try to remember to tack on, “Where are you on the Mood Meter?” This question was usually met with eye-rolling. But when they answered me, it felt like a window into their little hearts. Precious. Imperative. Priceless.
In fact, I liked the Mood Meter so much, I got a little jealous of my kids. Why did they get to reflect on their emotions at various points throughout the day?! Why couldn’t I have been raised with this awesome tool? What a difference it would have made for me! Not to mention everyone else in my generation! Where on the Mood Meter was I, anyway? Peeved. Huh. And right next to “peeved” is “pleasant.” I’d rather feel pleasant than peeved. So how could I get over to that yellow quadrant from the red? Well, if I could use the Mood Meter myself, that would be fun and make me feel good. Oh. I just did.
I have now been using the Mood Meter for years. I use it with my kids, my husband, my clients, and myself. Checking in with our emotions is an invaluable practice that can help us better understand our triggers, our sources of joy, and everything in between.
This month’s worksheet is a printable Mood Meter that you can screenshot and/or print out to help you incorporate this colorful tool into your life. If this is your first time seeing the Mood Meter, I’m giddy at the honor of being able to introduce you to it. If you are familiar with it, I’d love to know if you use it yourself, and what kind of impact it has had on your or your family.
Remember: if you are a paid subscriber, you will receive your worksheet via personal email from me (not Substack). Please make sure you have my email address - jen@joyinduring.com - in your contacts so that you won’t miss it!
For more information on the Mood Meter, you can click here to visit the RULER site or here for a fun YouTube video created by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence.