National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference 2024

Raines, A and Dellifield, J.
Social-emotional learning (SEL) standards focus on five domains (self-awareness, self-
management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making) and
classroom educators find it difficult to incorporate social-emotional learning into an already full
course load. The 4-H project book Your Feelings Matter was published in 2023 to address the
need for SEL activities that could be used in the traditional 4-H model or within a group setting.
SEL helps young people acquire and apply skills and knowledge to develop healthy identities,
manage emotions, achieve goals, feel and show empathy, establish and maintain supportive
relationships, and make responsible decisions. The integration of SEL learning can help youth
become self-aware and socially-aware citizens.

Your Feelings Matter 4-H project book (YFM4-H) provides seven learning activities in two
areas. The two areas are “Connect with Your Emotions” and “Support Your Emotions”. The
learning activities are: “Name It!”; “Learn Your Temperament”; “Understand Your Reactions”;
“Use Your Words”; “When Feelings Get Hurt”; “Calm Your Mind and Body”; and “Resilience
Scavenger Hunt”. Each project area concludes with a reflection section called “Talking It
Over”. YFM4-H can be utilized by youth and educators in a variety of ways. It was written for
children ages 9-12 with a hands-on approach for learning and doing.

The book meets educational standards from the National Health Education Standards (NHES)
from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’ School Health Education Resources. It
addresses the need in our communities, schools, and families to help youth integrate SEL
principles into daily living. Talking about feelings and emotions and relating to others is not
easy. Equipping our youth, their families, and educators is a priority for building stronger
communities and addressing basic human needs.

The authors have used this resource to build SEL activities into 6-week classroom based clubs,
at day camps, with camp counselors and will share insight on program replication.
This project book was blind peer-reviewed by youth, colleagues, and mental health
professionals. and received National 4-H Peer Review status (quality indicator). From January
2023 to January 5, 2024 this project book had distribution of 2185 copies throughout the nation.
In the first year, 180 youth took this as a traditional 4-H project and 69.98% of sales were out-
of-state.

The session objectives are: (1) participants will gain knowledge of an SEL framework; (2)
participants will learn strategies to implement the activities YFM4-H through hands-on
activities; (3) participants will identify community partners for social-emotional education