December 2015 - Grade 3: Doing the Right Thing

December  is a month that Americans are giving conscious thought towards giving thanks. Along those lines,  our social-emotional lessons are focusing on thinking how our behavior and interactions affect those around us.  Third graders are viewing a program called Doing the Right Thing: Building Character. This program was designed to help children understand that there is a desirable way—and an undesirable way— to behave in various situations. The program presented scenes in which children had to decide what would be the right thing to do.

Ask your child what he or she learned from watching this program. Discuss how these examples of doing the right thing apply to situations in your home. Reinforce some of the points that your child learned in the program.

—Be responsible. If people are counting on you to do something, do it.

—Be honest. When you don’t tell the truth things that you don’t expect can happen.

—Be considerate. Treat others the way you would like to be treated.

—Don’t be afraid to stand up for a friend who is being treated unfairly.

Talk to your child about situations in which he or she is having trouble deciding what is the right thing to do. By discussing these problems, your child will be better able to distinguish right from wrong and make decisions about the “right” way to behave.

Suggested Reading

These books may help facilitate a discussion with your child about the importance of always trying to

do the right thing.

My Big Lie - by Bill Crosby.

The Bird Who Cried Wolf - by Kitty Richardo

December 2015 - Grade 2: Resolving Conflict

This December, 2nd graders are viewing a short video titled: We Can Work It Out: Conflict Resolution. Classroom conflicts may arise over material things, over specific needs, or over values. For young children who are still adjusting to the school experience and to the interaction with peers, these conflicts may seem overwhelming because they may not yet have the tools with which to handle them. Here are some ways you can help your child use the ideas he or she learned for working out a conflict.

• Discuss what conflict means: when two or more people disagree or argue or want to fight about something.

• Ask your child to tell you about the program. Here are some things he or she learned to do when there is a conflict.

• Ask questions and listen to get the facts.

• Use your words to tell the other person how you feel about  the situation without hitting, calling names, or blaming.

• Work with the other person to come up with ideas for solving the problem and choose one you can agree on.

• Ask for help if you can’t settle the problem yourself.

• Help your child use these ideas when you see him or her in conflict with someone else.

• Set a good example for your child by using these ideas yourself whenever you can.

Reading with your child is a perfect way to reinforce concepts and to make a connection between literature and life lessons. The following books may help open a dialog: Baker, Barbara. Digby and Kate. New York: Dutton, 1988. Fujikawa, Gyo. That’s Not Fair! Grosset & Dunlap, Inc, 1983. Hoban, Russel Conwell and Lillian Aberman Hoban.The Sorely Trying Day. New York: Harper & Row Publishers, Inc. 1964.

This book may help you talk with your child about solving conflicts: Schmidt, Fran and Alice Friedman. Creative Conflict Solving for Kids. Miami Beach: Peace Education Foundation, 1983.

December 2015 - Grade 1: How Would You Feel?

For our 1st grade lesson this December, children viewed a program called “How Would You Feel?” Learning About Empathy. Designed especially for young children, this program introduces kids to one of the most important skills for establishing and managing social interactions and relationships: how to look at a situation from another person’s point of view, to imagine how one would feel in another person’s place. Here are some suggestions you might use to further encourage your child to develop a sensitivity to, and compassion for, the feelings of others.  You might begin by talking about the way people feel in certain circumstances. For example, you might say, “Your brother was upset when you borrowed his new CD without asking. How would you feel if he did the same to you?” Or you might suggest that when your child breaks a playdate with a friend, that she imagine how she would feel if her friend did the same to her.

Here are some points about empathy that your child learned in the program:

• When someone is unhappy, imagining yourself in that person’s place can help you decide what to do.
• Asking yourself how you would feel in that situation helps you see it from another point of view.
• If you want to make it clear you understand how someone feels, try to say something that makes the situation better, not worse.
• Imagining how someone else feels and responding in a caring way makes you a better friend.

Reading books about empathy together can reinforce your child’s understanding of how best to respond to other people’s feelings. Here are two suggestions:

McBratney, Sam. I’m Sorry. HarperCollins, 2000.

Tolan, Stephanie. Sophie and the Sidewalk Man. Simon & Schuster, 1992.

December 2015 - Kindergarten: Instead of Hitting...

   

This month in Kindergarten, we’ll continue to work on self-awareness. Helping students understand their feelings is the first step in developing self-regulation skills necessary to get along in the world.

As part of this lesson, your child’s class viewed Ten Things to Do Instead of Hitting.  For children in grades K-2, the focus of their social world has been steadily shifting outward from home to school. Along with this major transition comes new demands to cooperate with other children, to work and play in groups, and to exercise self-control over socially unacceptable impulses like hitting, yelling and throwing things. For many children of this age, their emotions are fragile, and it is not  

uncommon for them to have explosions in the form of tantrums, verbal attacks, or outbursts of tears. Therefore, children need to learn strategies for recognizing and dealing with their angry feelings before they get out of hand. Here are some things that you can discuss with your child when he or she seems angry.

• Help your child become aware of what is causing the anger.

You might say, “Tell me how you are feeling. Why do you think you are feeling this way?” and “What are some other ways you can think of to solve your problem?” Here are some alternatives to hitting that your child learned in the program.

• talk about angry feelings                                                • squish clay  

• cool off by counting to ten, say the alphabet, etc.    • draw a picture

• use up angry energy by working hard                         • pound a pillow

• write about angry feelings                                            • release energy by blowing up balloons

• do something active – run or jump        • dream about some favorite things to do

Practice alternatives that your child can use in actual situations when he/she is trying to avoid hitting or other unacceptable reactions. Model appropriate ways of dealing with anger and frustration at home demonstrate it’s ok to get mad, as long as the response is appropriate.

Suggested Reading : Feagin, Clairece Booher. Angry Feelings. Chicago: Contemporary Books. 1990. Leonard, Marcia. Angry. New York: Bantam Books, 1988.