Social Skills Week Four (Nov.) - Chill Out
In your anger, do not sin…Psalm 4:4a
This is a tough rule to follow! I teach kids that God gave us our emotions, and our emotions help us know what to do. But it can be hard to know how to react when angry! This week we will talk about and practice how to respond when angry. We will also play the “Chill Out” game - microsoft-word-chill-out-game
Cool in School boys (Tues. 11/18) - We read When I Feel Angry. The boys went on a scavenger hunt to find anger management strategies throughout my office. Then we acted out feeling angry and managing the anger by taking deep breaths, counting to ten, exercising, relaxing, and praying. We ended group by playing the “Chill Out” game across my office.
Success as if by Magic (Wed. 11/12) - Students had the opportunity to demonstrate the “cut up banana” trick. We talked about how anger can hurt us inside if we don’t manage it correctly. Students went on an office “scavenger hunt” to find ways to manage anger, several of which we practiced in group - deep breathing, counting to ten, exercising, relaxing, talking about it. We played the “Chill Out” game. Today’s magic trick is to apply the magic penny trick in your own life - students are to work on changing their angry or sad feelings to feelings of contentment.
Cool in School girls (Thurs. 11/13) - We read When I Feel Angry and practiced ways mentioned in the book to maintain self control when angry or upset (taking deep breaths, relaxing, exercising, talking about it, praying, counting to ten). We divided into teams and played the “Chill Out” game. We also played “angry potato”. Whoever had the stuffed animal when the music stopped acted out a way to chill out.
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Safe Touch - Upper Elementary Power Point and Handout
The upper elementary (grades 3, 4 & 5) will receive the Safe Touch training this fall. As you will note from the power point (below), the first session of this curriculum focuses on differentiating between good touch, hurtful touch, and confusing touch. This session also highlights the “uh-oh feeling” - the confused or insecure feeling that people have when something is not right. The important take away from this session is for children to remember that God cares for them and to realize that if something feels “not right” that it is important to tell someone and talk about this.
Session two focuses on feelings and secrets. We discuss the reason God gave us feelings, and review what to do if something feels wrong or weird or strange. (Tell someone!) Different types of secrets are discussed, but the important take away for children to know is that they can tell someone ANY kind of secret. (Perpetrators will often groom children by convincing them to keep good secrets before moving on to hurtful secrets.) This session closes by discussing who children can tell if something feels wrong.
Research shows that the most beneficial aspect of anti-abuse curriculum is that which encourages children to tell someone if something feels confusing or inappropriate. Because sexual abuse is shrouded in shame, and because 90% of such abuse occurs at the hands of someone the child knows, talking about it can be difficult. Maintaining open lines of communication with your children about everything is vitally important.
The curriculum for the younger elementary students is slightly different. This training will be presented to grades K - 2 beginning in December or January. The powerpoint slides for younger elementary will be available at that time.
Upper Elementary Session One: staying-safe-revised-session-one-3-5 (pdf file: microsoft-powerpoint-staying-safe-revised-session-one-3-5)
Upper Elementary Session Two: staying-safe-revised-session-two-3-5 (pdf file: microsoft-powerpoint-staying-safe-revised-session-two-3-5)
Tips for Parents on Ways to Keep Your Children Safe from Sexual Abuse: protecting-your-children-handout (pdf file: microsoft-word-protecting-your-children-handout)
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Social Skills Week Three (Nov.) - Managing Emotions
This sessoin in social skills groups we are transitioning from recognizing emotions to managing emotions. The ability to identify feelings and to appropriately deal with those feelings is one of the most important aspects of emotional intelligence and interpersonal success. This week touches on anger management, self-control and emotional responsibility - issues that we will continue to practice in depth next week.
Cool in School boys (11/11/08) - We started group by reading My Many Colored Days by Dr. Suess. Then we played another round of emotion charades and began working on things we could do to change our emotions from sad, mad, or scared to content (happy). Students were shown and then learned the magic penny trick, in which the penny changes from one emotion to another. They also learned the angry banana trick, in which the banana’s angry emotions “cuts himself up”. This will lead into next week’s focus on managing anger and self-control.
Success as if by Magic (11/5/08) - Group members demonstrated last week’s magic trick - the magic penny - and we discussed ways to change the mad (sad, scared, silly) penny to a happy penny. Then we moved into talking about how our thoughts connect with our feelings. This week’s magic trick is the All Cut Up Banana, which demonstrates what happens when false thoughts take over our emotions. This lesson will move us into anger management and self-control next week. (Parents - the key to this trick is to poke a straightened paper clip through the back of the banana. Then use the paper clip to carefully slice the inside of the banana. The banana will appear untouched, but inside it will be all cut up.)
Cool in School girls (11/6/08) - We read My Many Colored Days by Dr. Seuss. Then students colored pictures of how they felt today, how they feel when sad, when happy, and how they want to feel tomorrow. We played with the magic penny and practiced ways to change our emotions (just like the magic penny).
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Social Skills Week Two (Oct.) - Emotional IQ
Daniel Golman’s (1995) research into emotional intelligence identified key elements that contribute to interpersonal success. By developing and using these elements of emotional intelligence, students have the capacity to increase their emotional IQ. This week (10/27 - 10/29) in social skills groups, we are focusing on the skills of knowing one’s emotions and recognizing the emotions of others. As Bodine and Crawford (1999) wrote, “Emotional self-awareness is…the cornerstone of emotional intelligence, serving as a building block for the other fundamentals of emotional intelligence.”
Cool in School boys (Tue. Oct 27) - Emotional identification is also important for the young children. While empathy (the ability to recognize and understand the feelings of others) increases as children mature, young children are able to learn about their own feelings and the feelings of others. Developing this skill at a young age will positively impact their school experience. We read the book Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller and played emotion charades. Emotion charades is a great game to work on emotional awareness. An instructional sheet on how to play can be retrieved below. We also drew a feeling face.
Success (Wed. Oct 29) - We begin this group by reviewing last week’s magic trick - catching invisible stones. Several of the boys are great at this! We then moved on to emotions and the importance emotions play in all of our lives - even the lives of boys. We played “Emotion Charades” (see below for game instructions). Many of the boys were great at acting out certain emotions and guessing the emotions of others. This week’s magic trick is the “Magic Penny” in which students will change the penny’s emotional state. This is a fun trick that draws lots of “oohs and aahs”, but that also has important real-world applications, showing us that we can change our emotions.
Cool in School girls (Thurs. Oct 30) - Many girls, even young girls, are adept at recognizing emotion in others. This is a skill that should be nurtured and around which boundaries should be placed (we control our emotions, no one else’s). We read the book Do Unto Otters by Laurie Keller, played Emotion Charades, and drew a feeling face.
Link to Emotion Charades word document: emotion-charades
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Social Skills Week One (Oct) - Social Rules
This past week in all three groups - Cool in School boys, Success as if By Magic, and Cool in School girls - we discussed the visible and INVISIBLE rules for getting along with others. Some of the invisible (not written down) rules we talked about and role played were: listening, personal space, eye contact, saying hello and introducing self. This was a great week to practice introductions as many of the group members didn’t know one another. Each student had an opportunity to introduce him- or herself to another student, and to then introduce that student to the group.
In Cool in School boys (Tues. Oct. 21) we read the book Listen and Learn. We practiced keeping our ears open and our mouths and bodies quiet so we could listen. We also played Simon Says - a great game for practicing the skill of listening! Each group member practiced meeting another group member and putting their social skills to use. Students were encouraged to meet someone new this week.
In Success as if by Magic (Wed. Oct. 22) the boys also role played initial meetings and discussed written and invisible rules, but they added the magic trick of “catching invisible stones”. The invisible stones represent the invisible rules we all must follow to get along with others. Their homework assignment is to practice this trick. Hold the top corner of the paper bag with one hand. With the other hand, pretend to throw an invisible stone in the air. As the stone falls, pretend to catch it in the bag by snapping your fingers that are holding the bag OR by flicking the bag with your index finger. Timing is the key to this trick - that and remembering those invisible rules!
In Cool in School girls (Thurs. Oct. 23) we read the book Listen and Learn. We practiced keeping our ears open and our mouths and bodies quiet so we could listen. We also played Simon Says - a great game for practicing the skill of listening! Each group member practiced meeting another group member and putting their social skills to use. Students were encouraged to meet someone new this week.
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Bully Free
PARENT WORKSHOP SEPT. 22, 6:30 pm, ENGLISH STATION CAFETERIA
Bullying is an issue that impacts all too many children. Several studies indicate that 75% to 90% of fourth through eighth graders have suffered from bullying. Bullying harms the victim, and it also harms the bully. Studies have shown that children who bully are six times more likely to be convicted of a crime by the age of twenty-four.
Because each person is created in God’s image, we have the responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect. Isaiah 1:17 commands us to, “Learn to do right! Seek justice. Encourage the oppressed.” Christian Academy of Louisville is committed to helping our children follow those Biblical mandates.
While bullying is most prevalent in middle school, bullying prevention programs are shown to be most effective in grades 2 - 5. These programs enhance students’ empathy to one another and stop bullying before it starts.
All CAL students in grades K - 5 will receive an age-appropriate bullying prevention training. Students will also sign a Bully-Free pledge.
While school prevention programs have been shown to be effective, family support is one of the best ways to reduce bullying. A workshop for parents, with more information about bullying and how you can help make CAL a bully-free school, will be offered on September 22 at 6:30 pm in the English Station cafeteria.
Additional resources are available below:
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The Welcome Back Jitters
Back to School…
Some children thrill to the adventures awaiting them at school - new teachers, new friends, new challenges. But for others, back to school time creates separation anxieties that can seem all-consuming. These fears can make the first few weeks difficult for parents, teachers and children. What’s a parent to do when nothing seems to help a child with this separation?
* Pray for your child. Pray that God will deliver your child from any fear that threatens to overtake him or her. God is love…Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love takes away fear. (1 John 4:18). God has not given your child a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:17). Claim these truths for your child. (An excellent resource is Power of a Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian.)
* Pray with your child. Remind your child that God will be with him or her throughout the day and will comfort, guide and protect. Isaiah 41:10; Psalm 27:1; Psalm 91:4-6.
* Send your child to bed early enough that she receives an adequate amount of sleep for his or her age, and wake him or her up early enough so he or she can get ready, have breakfast, and get to school without rushing.
* Feed your child a nutritious breakfast! There is a strong mood-food connection, and children who don’t eat an adequate and healthy breakfast are more likely to be anxious, irritable or depressed.
* Let your child bring a favorite toy or stuffed animal (to keep in his or her backpack) for comfort. Often, a family picture in the backpack or desk can also be a source of comfort.
* Discuss your child’s daily schedule with him or her. Remind him or her of all the fun things he will do throughout the day until school dismisses. I.e. “First you have circle time, then art, then lunch, then recess, then reading, and then it will be 2:30 and time for carpool.”
* Reunite with your child in a positive way at the end of the day. Look at artwork and papers, and ask your child to share (at least) one favorite thing. Keep a list of “favorite things” to refer back to on difficult mornings.
* Invite new friends that your child has met at school to your house for after school play dates. These friendships will strengthen your child’s connections at school and will give him something to look forward to.
* Talk with your child’s teacher and/or guidance counselor. We all want to make school a positive experience for your child, and we will work together to help your child adjust.
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