Entering_ I am the pharmacist of the mind of the classroom

Mental Health Questionnaire

Part 1_ When your heart loses strength because of me

[Self-denial] Why was I born so ugly? There's nothing I like about myself.
[Inferiority complex] I feel inferior because of my family circumstances.
[Loneliness] I'm lonely because no one comforts me.
[Apathy] I have nothing to do and I'm depressed. 52

Part 2_ When you cry because of your family

[Parents' Divorce] I'm distressed because it feels like my parents' divorce is my fault.
[Conversation Break] I feel suffocated when I hear my mom nagging.
[Death in the Family] After my grandfather passed away, my mother often cries alone.
[Adolescent Rebellion] I love my mom, but at the same time, I want to get away from her.
[Disabled Family] I have a younger sibling with a developmental disability.
I pretend to be okay, but I'm lonely too.

Part 3_ When Friendships Are Difficult

[Envy] I envy and hate my friend who is popular and good at drawing.
[School Refusal] I Don't Want to Go to School 124
[Words Hurt] It's hard to make friends after being hurt by words.
[Conversation Difficulty] I want to tell my friend something that upsets me, but I end up hurting him and fighting with him.
[Difficulty forming relationships] What if my friends don't like me?

Part 4_ When you want to take a bold step toward the future

[Overcoming Personality Traits] I want to change my timid and introverted personality.
[Value Conflict] Should I give up my dreams for the better life others talk about?
[Future Anxiety] I feel anxious because I feel like I'm the only one without a dream.
[Attitude towards life] My daily life is boring and uninteresting.
How can I live a fun life?

Source of the Heart Medicine Picture Book

“We prescribe the perfect medicine for your worries!”
Picture books are a great remedy for solving children's problems!

Hyunah Lee, an elementary school teacher with 14 years of experience and the head of the Picture Book Research Group, has published a book on picture book prescriptions to heal children's minds.
Picture book prescription means listening to a child's worries or stories and prescribing a picture book along with a letter of encouragement that can help solve the problem.
For the past seven years, the author has been working as a 'mental pharmacist' in the classroom, creating a 'classroom mailbox' to listen to children's concerns and stories.
At 4 p.m., after class, I opened the mailbox and read the stories of the children in the class, sometimes giving them advice, and sometimes writing letters to heal their hearts.
In addition, I recommended picture books that could help solve the problems of each symptom, as picture books are like reading medicine that has no side effects and has long-lasting effects.
To inform people about the effectiveness of picture books and to heal the hearts of young readers across the country, we compiled a 'Picture Book Prescription' and published it as a book.

Picture books can be a wise way to soothe aching hearts and calm inflammation, as they contain deep insights about life in short, concise sentences.
Also, the pictures in picture books gently soothe the troubled heart because they unfold before our eyes the colors and shapes of emotions that cannot be expressed in words.
(Page 8)

Customized solutions for your concerns from children's picture book experts.

When you go to the hospital because you are sick, you tell the doctor about your symptoms and receive advice and treatment based on your symptoms.
If you take the medicine as prescribed for a few days, your sick body will gradually get better.
So, what should we do when our hearts ache? Especially when it comes to young elementary school students? The author is a "classroom mental pharmacist," having counseled hundreds of children for the past 14 years as an elementary school teacher, empathizing with their concerns and offering practical advice.
As the representative of the Picture Book Research Group, which I also enjoy, I continue to research picture books and often set up a “Mind Pharmacy” booth where I listen to the concerns of children and their caregivers and prescribe picture books that are appropriate for their symptoms.
This book, filled with the expertise of such experts, describes the process of resolving one's inner concerns by following the processes of a hospital or pharmacy.
That is, when a child enters the book, he or she first fills out a ‘mental health questionnaire.’
After that, you read the story that matches your symptoms and receive advice and treatment through a ‘mind medicine letter.’
Finally, if you are prescribed 'reading medicine' and follow the 'prescription details', your mental illness will disappear before you know it.

On days when your heart doesn't feel filled no matter how much moonlight you bask in, hug yourself tightly with the 'butterfly hug method'.
It's a useful way to calm yourself down by patting yourself on the back when you suddenly feel scared or anxious.
I'll explain it to you step by step, so do you want to try it now?

How to Hug Me with the Butterfly Hug Technique

1.
Go into a room alone and sit quietly, cross your arms over your chest so that they form an X.
Sometimes I put my hand on your shoulder as if I'm hugging you, but I find it's better to put my hand on your chest to feel your heartbeat and breathing.

2.
Place both hands on your chest and pat your palms alternately, as if a butterfly were flapping its wings.
You will be able to feel the warmth of your palms moving to your chest.
3.
Feel your heartbeat under your right palm as you tell yourself, "It's okay, it's okay, it's okay."
'Thump thump, thump thump.' Here your heart is beating, can you feel that tiny tremble?
4.
This time, take a deep breath through your nose and feel your chest rise under your palms.
You will feel your ribs moving and your breath coming in.
5.
Take a deep breath in for 3 seconds and then exhale with a long 'whoosh', letting out all the loneliness, sadness, and sorrow inside you.
6.
When you inhale again, breathe deeply into your chest, filled with peace, courage, and faith in yourself.
(Page 44)

18 categories of children's stories from 7 years ago

The stories contained in this book, "Knock Knock! I Have a Worry," are a collection of real-life stories received from hundreds of students over the past seven years, as well as stories from all over the country collected through online contests.
Of course, it is impossible to introduce all the numerous stories and concerns, so I have categorized them into 18 topics over 4 parts.
The story in the book about hearing the words, “I’m going to stab you to death,” is a true story, and even worse stories often happen in elementary school classrooms.
So, what should parents or teachers do if their child, or a child in their class, hears something like this from a friend? If you want to offer empathy and comfort to a struggling child but can't find the right words, I encourage you to turn to this book.
This is because the author, who has looked at children with love and shared their concerns, sends a prescription for the heart that will comfort the child's heart.


Let's raise our heads for a moment and look at the sky together.
There are a lot of clouds.
But clouds don't turn day into a pitch-black night, do they? Just as no amount of clouds can obscure the sunlight, so too can words, no matter how horribly evil, obscure the brilliant light that radiates from your very being.
I will hold you tight with more sun than clouds, more green than gray, and more love than hate.
(Page 138)