November 2017 Grade 3: Doing the Right Thing

Dear Families, 

November is the 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

November 2017 - Grade 4: Good Friends

During November, 4th graders viewed a short video called  What Does it Mean to be a Good Friend? .   By elementary school, most children are ready to explore the world of friendship in more complex ways. They already know the fundamentals of how to make friends, but often lack the more sophisticated skills that are needed to be a good friend to 
others. 

Showing empathy, communicating clearly, being able to compromise, having patience and demonstrating loyalty to friends are all traits that rank highly among the social proficiencies that children must hone during childhood. Unlike reading, math and science, friendship is not something that can be taught with a textbook. Instead, it is a skill that develops over time, through many life experiences. Ideally, most of a child’s interactions will be rewarding and positive, but there may also be hurtful or disappointing outcomes at times.

Being able to make—and keep—friends is one of the most valuable skills that children can learn. Having friends who care about them and enjoy spending time with them helps create a happy, optimistic, well-adjusted child. Having friends makes life more meaningful, more productive and, ultimately, more fun. 

 What Does It Mean to Be a Good Friend?  was created to help elementary school children understand how friends should behave toward one another and recognize why such behavior is important. Specific guidelines for how to behave in a friendship are described. These skills include listening when a friend speaks, being empathetic or looking at a situation through another person’s eyes, thinking before acting in anger and standing up for their friends in order to show support and loyalty.

The program encourages young people to assess their relationships and their behavior toward others. In this way, viewers are not only educated about the proper way for friends to behave, but they are also motivated to learn new, more complex friendship skills and put them into practice.

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. It’s important to remember that we model behavior for our children, and they watch our interactions for clues on how to treat one another.

November 2017 - Wellness (K,1)

This poster sums up our goal for November Wellness! Children come into school with a wide variety of social-emotional skills. While we would like to think friendship skills come naturally, the often do not. This month we will spend a lot of time discussing the qualities of friendship - listening, sharing, taking turns, apologizing, and of course keeping our hands to ourselves!