What started as a DIY flower cart for a graduation celebration has become a traveling “Feelings Cart” that helps Mireles Elementary School students express their emotions.
Eunice Hermann, a counselor at Mireles Elementary School, said her husband originally built the white, mobile cart for their daughter’s graduation.
Last year, when thinking of ways to engage the students, the idea of using the cart rolled into her mind.
“I thought, maybe if I’m mobile, I can go to the class pods and set up there,” she said. “The first time we did it, it was a huge hit.”
This year, Hermann received help from Benjamin Calderon, a counseling intern and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi student. After passing his certification exam, Calderon was hired as a school counselor at Mireles.
Calderon is not new to the world of education. He previously taught at Rose Shaw Elementary School before pursuing counseling.
“I saw my students struggling with mental health needs and social and emotional learning,” he said. “I wanted to take it into my own hands and provide those opportunities for kids.”
When the Feelings Cart visited the first-grade pod at Mireles, Calderon noticed a student crying and went over to comfort them.
Together, they walked to the cart, where Calderon explained how it worked. Students could drop colorful pom-poms into jars to show how they felt that day. Red represented anger, blue represented sadness and pink represented feeling loved, among other emotions.
“It’s so affirming to the kids. Sometimes their parents or teachers or peers don’t have the opportunity to ask them how they are feeling that day,” Calderon said. “It gives us an indicator that we should maybe talk to that student.”
Most students indicated they felt loved, happy or ready to learn, eagerly dropping pom-poms into jars while smiling and laughing.
“I want to get a happy one!” one student exclaimed as he grabbed a yellow pom-pom.
Hermann and Calderon praised students for sharing their feelings and checked in with those who indicated they felt sad or angry.
“The cart gives them a small opportunity to express how they’re feeling without saying it out loud to anyone,” Hermann said. “Sometimes they need to get it out and go back and have a successful day.”