This week the kindergarten classes focused on reporting versus tattling. We are continuing to work on being problem solvers when there is a kid sized problem. The tricky part is deciphering when there is a big problem that needs to be reported. We read Don’t Squeal Unless It’s a Big Deal before we played a game to determine the size of the problem. Each class got confused with the scenarios “He is playing with matches,” and “She has medicine in her backpack.” Please reiterate the message at home that when a student has something that an adult should be in charge of that would be a time to report.

The first grader enjoyed a choose your own adventure book called, What Should Danny Do? This is a great book from the Power to Choose series that is fun and interactive. The students are able to lead the main character through decisions that he is faced with in the book and then help him navigate the consequences of that choice. We were able to discuss that each of the choices we are faced with shapes our days and ultimately our lives. This book empowers children to navigate positive choices and shows natural consequences for negative choices.

The second graders were all focused on emotions this week. We watched a fun video that shared some healthy coping strategies that we can utilize when we are feeling any emotion. We also worked on knowing that there are not good or bad emotions, instead having all of the emotions are natural and normal. However, we have to work on self-control when it comes to our reactions to those emotions. After the video, we played a game of four corners in order to share how we can react in a healthy way within a small group.

We had a fun lesson in third grade before break where we identified our personal triggers when it comes to making us angry. During our last lesson we worked on coping skills that we could utilize in order to manage those feeling of anger when we are triggered. We discussed how being angry is completely natural, but we have to learn and practice how to calm ourselves when we have those feelings. We ranked several ideas that would definitely, maybe and not work for each of us. Having the knowledge of what triggers and how to handle anger will benefit students for the rest of their lives.

The fourth graders worked on how to take responsibility for their mistakes. We discussed why it is important to take responsibility and what happens when we don’t. The classes created a list of benefits that comes from taking responsibility versus blaming others. We then played an outside/inside circle game to decide who was the “blame bug” and how to zap it with “bug spray” and take responsibility. We learned that every single one of us will make mistakes – lots of them! Mistakes are part of learning. But when we take responsibility for our actions or choices, it shows others that we are working on being responsible humans!

The fifth graders became detectives this week. They worked a case where three characters were being interviewed in order to discover who were genuine friends and who were being inconsiderate friends in the group. The students were able to identify how each of these types of friends would respond to certain situations. We then discussed how we can prove ourselves to be genuine friends and have healthy relationships. Instead of blaming others for their shortcomings, I encouraged the students to focus on how to improve their own friendship skills in order to be a loyal friend.