October 2016 - Kindergarten

For our October Social-Emotional Learning lesson, kindergarteners viewed a short program called I Can Follow Rules by Sunburst  Visual Media. This topic is one that is import to all age groups because rules are a part of our everyday lives. It is especially important to discuss this topic with your child, because failure to follow the rules can often create unfair, unkind, or unsafe situations. This video tied in nicely with our first SPaRK assembly addressing "S" for Safety. Here are some questions you can ask your child to help open a discussion:

• What are some of the rules that you have to follow in school?
• Are there any rules that you don’t understand? What are they?
• Is it hard for you to follow any of the rules? Which ones, and why?

Here are some tips about following rules that you can reinforce through discussion of this topic with your child:

• Rules are important because they help to keep things fair for everyone, they help keep us safe, and they remind us to treat each other with respect.
• People who break the rules may cause harm to others as well as to themselves.

Reinforce with your child the techniques that were suggested in the program to make it easier to follow rules:

• Talk to yourself about why you should follow the rule.
• Use self-control and wait your turn.
• Pay attention so you can follow directions.

Let your child know that you are always available to talk about any problems he or she may have with a particular rule – why it is important, whether or not it is fair, how best to follow it.

Books you might read with your child: Doug Rules by Nancy E. Krulik, Horton Hatches the Egg by Dr. Seuss.

September 2016 All School Lesson!

Welcome to the 2016-17 School Year!

In September, as we start off a new school year, I like to do the same lesson for all grades and classrooms. Virtually all Social-Emotional themes span the years and vary only according to the developmental growth of children and their increasing ability to process feelings.

Finding a singular tool that lends itself to multi-grade adaptability can be a little challenging, but that's part of what makes it fun to do a unified lesson! Moving from kindergarten through 4th grade with the same book is enlightening and rewarding as I listen to student feedback.

This year, I chose this book by Dr. Seuss:
In true Dr. Seuss fashion, he rhymes his way through a complicated concept and makes it relatable for even the youngest students.

Some children had read the story, many had not but all were able to connect the colors to feelings, as the book intends.

Social-Emotional Intelligence includes the ability to define and describe the wide variety of feelings we humans experience. This book is a wonderful primer for that purpose!