It is hard to believe that it is 2017 already. I hope everyone is off to a great start in the new year. Classroom Guidance has a lot going on as usual.
Jefferson and York Kindergarten:We are learning about calming ourselves down. We are practicing 4 strategies that help us calm down from strong feelings and stay in control. Deep Breaths, Counting, Safe Place, and Self-Talk. We will be going through some of the Second Step Curriculum as we learn and practice how to manage strong emotions. Be sure and ask your children which strategy works best for them. We will be learning all about anger. We will learn about managing our anger and why it helps you to stay in control even when you don't want to. We will learn it is possible to stay in control even when it feels like you can't. We will read the book When I Feel Angry by Cornelia Maude Spelman together. At Jefferson we are also learning about social thinking. Good social thinkers can read other people's intentions, behaviors, and emotions, in such a way that it helps them gradually understand how to become better friends and problem solvers among their peers. It's been a slow process, but we are nearly finished with the 5 book series We Thinkers (formerly The Incredible Flexible You). We will be starting the next 5 book series We Thinkers Volume 2 soon. Students that are better "social thinkers" are happier, make better choices, and are more successful in life.
In First Grade at Jefferson and York we are beginning to work our way through the 5 book series We Thinkers Volume 2 They did not hear these stories in kindergarten and seem to be really benefiting from them now.
At York in first grade we will also talk about bullying. What is it... and where do bullies get their power from? We will learn ways we can work together to take power away from bullies. We will watch part of a video called "Stop Picking On Me!"
In Second Grade at Jefferson we will be learning creative ways to catch ourselves when we are falling into thinking traps. We will learn things we can do to overcome thinking errors that interefere with our lives. We will read the books: Superflex Takes on Rockbrain and the Team of Unthinkables by Stephanie Madrigal. and some of us will be reading and practicing 5 ways to handle teasing with the book, "Simon's Hook: A Story About Teases and Put-downs" Ask your child about going to "Fish School".
At York in Second grade We will be reading the book Bounce Back by Resilience—the ability to recover or “bounce back” from problems, hurt, or loss. This is critical for social and emotional health and helps people feel happy, capable, and in charge of their lives. Students will see examples of resilience and learn that they can move past challenges that happen in our day to day lives and and not be "stopped" by them.
York Third grade students will look back on the The Weird Series that we read before Christmas and learn more about working together to put a stop to bullying. We will also read and discuss the follow up book by Erin Frankel Nobody!
Jefferson Third grade students We will watch the video But Names Will Never Hurt Me by Thomas Brown. We will learn where bullies get their power from, how to safely take power away from bullies, 6 strategies to use with bullies, and when to get help. Students will also make a commitment to do their best to help make our school bully free.
