October 2014 - Grade 2: Personal Space!

Dear Family,

This month, second graders are listening to the book Personal Space Camp, by Julia Cook. Personal space is the area of space that closely surrounds our bodies. Generally, you can measure your personal space by extending your arms out—the space between your fingertips and body is your personal space.

Being respectful of someone’s personal space is a social skill. Individuals who have difficulty showing appropriate social skills may unknowingly invade personal space. Conversely, individuals with social-skill difficulties or sensory issues may be extremely opposed to anyone being in their personal space. It is also important to keep in mind differing cultural ideas about personal space.

Some children have difficulty following the rules of personal space. This can present problems in the school setting where children are constantly surrounded by others.  

We discussed that there are several components to personal space in addition to physical proximity. Seeing space incorporates when something/someone is too close, or blocking our view. Hearing space can be violated when we are too loud while in close range. Property space is respecting the boundaries of one another's work space or personal belongings. 
 

There are several strategies to help a child learn the rules of personal space. Here are some examples:

Model good body language – Stand at an appropriate distance from your child and let her see you stand at an appropriate distance from others.

Teach social cues for body language  – Explain and demonstrate facial expressions, eye contact, or body movements someone might make if he/she is uncomfortable with you being in his/her personal space. These can include turning your head, backing away, crossing your arms, etc. Have your child identify these cues and practice responding appropriately to them.

Look at pictures  – View pictures of appropriate and inappropriate personal space. Compare the pictures with the child and have him/her label the body language (e.g., “He is too close,” “That kid looks uncomfortable”). 

Practice personal space – Have your child stand up and hold out his/her arm to “see” personal space.

Have a discussion about personal space  – Explain what personal space is, why it’s important, and how to  respect the personal space of others.

Give breaks to a child who needs personal space  – Allow a child who has sensory issues with others in his/her space to have breaks from groups during the day.

Grades 3 and 4 October 2014 - Bullying Awareness

This month, I will be co-teaching a lesson with our Assistant Principal, Mrs. Fulreader. It is part of our responsibility as a school/district to educate students on the topic of bullying. At the elementary level, we too often hear children using this term when describing every-day conflict, or accidental contact, or a difference of opinion. As we teach these lessons in 3rd and 4th grade, we seek to have students be able to accurately identify the difference and understand what they can do if it occurs. 

A bully is a person who purposely tries to hurt others by:

· Making them feel uncomfortable.
· Hurting them by kicking, hitting, pushing, tripping, etc.
· Name-calling.
· Spreading nasty rumors.

The bully hurts the other person over and over.
The person being bullied feels that he or she can do nothing to stop it:

· He or she might feel smaller or weaker than the bully.
· He or she might feel outnumbered by the bully and the   bully's friends.
· He or she might feel there is no help.
· No one to talk to.
· No one is standing up for him or her.
· He or she often feels very sad, but does not know how to change the situation.

This is the video we are showing to illustrate - made by and for kids:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvuEu8N_KJc

After viewing the video, we have a brief discussion before breaking into groups to discuss and jot down their thoughts. We will be incorporating all the comments/ideas into a poster to display at school.

Grade 1 - October 2014 - Perspective

In first grade this month, we are reading "The Day the Crayons Quit". This book takes a humorous look at perspective, conflict and creativity. The purpose of the lesson is to foster awareness that other people may have a different point of view than our own based on their personal experience.

Clearly, Duncan's crayons had had enough. He opens his art box one day, and he finds not a single crayon, only letters from disgruntled color sticks. Their complaints were various: Some felt overused or misused; others, neglected. Blue, for example, wondered how many oceans he would be obliged to color and Beige despaired that all the good jobs were going to Brown. Yellow and Orange are no longer speaking, because each feels it is the TRUE color of the sun. Green in caught in the middle of his two friends, and just wants them to get along.  

Duncan must consider each crayon's concerns and decide what to do to address them. The children engage in lively discussions about how each crayon felt and why they may have had those feelings.

A great read! 

Kindergarten - October 2014 - Use Your Words!

           Teaching young children to "use their words" is a well-known educational tool aimed at  increasing kids' communication skills and teaching kids how express their feelings rather than resort to physical means (i.e., hitting, biting, scratching, etc.) to resolve conflicts. We encourage children to use their words, and help them in finding the right words to express their feelings. Teaching kids to use their words is also a developmental strategy in the realm of "emotional intelligence," or "emotional coaching," wherein parents and caregivers teach kids how to name  their emotions and learn to deal with setbacks and change.

During a recent Developmental Guidance lesson, your child’s class viewed a program called Share Your Feelings: Use Your Words. This topic is important because young children’s feelings are very real and make up a large part of their world. Their ability to recognize an emotion and say how they feel not only builds self-esteem, but helps them develop social competence.


The program begins by asking viewers, “When something is bothering you, do you walk away and not deal with your feelings, or let your feelings build up inside until you explode?” Through three easy-to-understand stories bracketed by appealing music videos the program shows viewers:


• the importance of using your words to say how you feel.


• that using your words helps you tell others how you feel and what you want.


• why you should use your words when something is bothering you instead of not dealing with it or exploding.


• why you should say what you’re feeling and not expect that others can read your mind.


• why when something scares you, telling how you feel can solve the problem and make you feel better.


Ask your child to tell you about the stories in the program and the lessons the characters learned. Create an opening for discussion by asking if he or she has ever been in a situation like one of those dramatized. The ability to effectively express any of a range of feelings and have it acknowledged often depends on the size of a child’s feelings vocabulary. Here are two books for children that can help in enlarging your child’s repertory of feelings: Delis-Abrams, Alexandra. The Feelings Storybook. Adage Publications, 1998. Parr, Todd. The Feelings Book. L, B Kids, 2005.


Ms. Cahill


Counselor