Let's talk picture books for SEL
Have you read The Good Egg? It's by Jory John and Pete Oswald. This a really great way to get across the idea of self care. See, the good egg is veeerrry good. The egg always tries to be the very best and tries to make every other egg good too. One day, the egg noticed some cracks in the shell! The doctor said it was the pressure the egg was putting on itself! So the egg left to make time for itself. It read books, had massages and went on walks. The egg finally decided to go home but realized it didn't have to be perfect or make sure any other egg was either. An activity you can do with your kids is "It's up to you." Give them an outline of a head. Inside they can write what they have control over: themselves, their thoughts and actions. Outside of the head, they can write things they have no control over: the pandemic, school closures, parents fighting. You can only control what you can.
Next up is I Am Enough by Grace Byers. "Like the sun, I'm here to shine." I love this poetic book about why we should each accept ourselves. It focuses on loving ourselves, respecting others and being kind. A great activity to do with kids is Kindness cards. First we discuss positive personality traits and chart them together. Then students put blank cards on their desks. I play music as we walk around. When the music stops, you put a kind comment on whoever's card you are standing in front of. Once they are filled, I collect them check that they are indeed all kind and then pass them out to the kids. They become something they can always pull out to read then they are having a bad day.