“Big Heart Hug,” an SEL Song for Primary Grades

Here’s an SEL hello song to help primary students start class with calm energy and practice self-regulation. I’ll share some ways to use the song and how you change it up to cater to your class needs.

Inspiration for This Song

As a music teacher always looking for new ways to support my students, I recently found myself inspired by a Trauma Informed Education course I took through the Maryland State Department of Ed over the summer. It opened my eyes to the power of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and mindfulness practices for students. Our final project was to create something in any medium that reflected an aspect of the course. I wrote a hello song with self-soothing exercises to kick off my music classes. The less anxiety students feel, the more they will learn!

Big Heart Hug

Here is the lyric sheet for the song and an mp3 of the melody. The full score, including mp3s are available as a free download here!

During the “breathe in, breathe out” sections, close your eyes and take a big belly breath in and out. Then, do this while giving yourself a big, warm hug. Lastly, breathe while massaging your temples, jaw (my favorite), or any other part of your face or head. The breathing helps with mindfulness, and I also want children to focus on how their heads and hearts feel. They can feel the same or different. It helps for you to provide the words to describe different feelings. Feelings charts are widely available on the web. You can also share with the class how you are feeling. Perhaps your head feels excited, but your heart feels anxious.

What’s With the Hugging?

I’ve included a lot of deep, slow breathing in the song. Why? Below are some benefits that hugs provide, even from yourself.

• Releases feel-good hormones like oxytocin, serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins
• Calms the nervous system
• Lowers heart rate
• Lowers blood pressure
• Reduces the production of cortisol
• It’s soothing
• Stimulates the thymus gland, which improves immune strength
• Relaxes the muscles

What’s With the Massage?

Much like self-hugging, massaging your face or head has soothing benefits. There are many touch receptors around your head, so it can feel good to have your head or face massaged. Massaging your head or face can ease tension, headaches, and stress. It promotes relaxation, releases feel-good hormones, and increases muscle circulation. With increased blood flow comes healthier-looking skin. Here are some areas to try.

• Temples
• Scalp
• Jaw (my fave because it eases TMJ pain)
• Cheeks
• Forehead
• Brow

Change It Up

If you feel like switching things up after students are comfortable with the song, you can ask volunteers to share their feelings. You can ask them to speak how they feel, or you can extend the song. Here’s how I would change the opening lines:

• “How does your heart feel, Ramon?” (Ramon responds)
• Skip the “breathe in, breathe out” that comes next.
• “How does your head feel, Ramon?” (Ramon responds)
• Improvise a short “thank you” to Ramon.
• Ramon can improvise a “you’re welcome” back to you.
• Then sing, “Breathe in, breathe out. Breathe in, breathe out.”
• You can continue to the hugging section or go back and repeat the beginning with another student.

Here are some ways to shorten the song:

• Only use either the first half of the song or the second half.
• Use the second half as a hello song and the first half as a goodbye song.
• Sing only the “breathe in, breathe out” part when the class feels dysregulated.

Thanks for reading and listening to the “Big Heart Hug.” I hope you’ll be able to use these in your classroom!