The first graders worked on playing safely this week with a book called T-Wrecks. The main character learns that he needs to look where he is going, play gently and apologize if he makes a mess. The students were able to put this into practice by having an obstacle course where they had to become dinosaurs and work their way through a maze of other students building without destroying any of the towers. At first it was easy by just walking through, but they were faced with different hurdles that they had to overcome as they were finding their way through everyone’s towers.

Being unique was the topic for the first graders this week. We discussed how having something that sets you apart from the group is a good thing. Owning your own uniqueness gives you power to become more confident in yourself. We watched a Bookflix called Spoon by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. In this book, the spoon is jealous of the other utensils and what they have to offer. But he discovers that knife, fork and chopsticks are jealous of his uniqueness. It is a great lesson on understanding that the grass is not always greener. The students then created themselves out of a spoon and listed some qualities that make them stand out in a crowd.

Similarly to first grade, the second graders focused on standing out in a crowd. We started off with a Bookflix called Exclamation Mark by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. The exclamation mark goes on a journey of self-discovery. When he is faced with other punction marks he wants to be more like them. His deepest desire is to fit in, just like a period. But, with the help of other punction marks he learns that he can fit in and stand out. The students created a cartoon exclamation point to showcase their own unique qualities to be proud of.

Last week we were faced with ways to preserve when things get rough. The students started with discussing what perseverance means and provided examples of times when they had to stick with something even when it gets tough. We then watched a video and discussed the strategies that the character used in order to find success. The students were then challenged with using their nondominant hand to complete a task. Then, standing back to back with a partner and interlocking their arms, they had to discover ways that they could move about the room with all of the obstacles that entailed. We then discussed why giving up comes naturally at times, what it takes to preserve and what strategies we can do to keep us going.

The fourth graders reflected on what they could do in order to make themselves a better friend. To complete this task the students completed a friend report. This showed evidence of what a true friend would do compared to a fake friend. Then the class took on the role of investigators to interview some characters to decide if they were true friends or needed help to be genuine. Based upon their proof they were able to identify who stood up for their friends while the other character let their friends down in at least one way. The students were left with finding something within themselves and their relationships that they could improve.

The circle of control was the focus for the fifth graders this week. The students started off by building something with a pipe cleaner. They discovered that this was flexible and they were able to control it. They were then tasked with building the same thing with a rock. The students quickly caught on that they were not able to do the same with the rock because it could not be controlled. We then completed a sort to decide if real life situations they face are in their control or outside their circle of control. They were able to agree that the things they could control were based upon themselves while the items outside of the circle dealt with others. They were also able to gleam that it is a waste of time to spend their time and energy on the things they have no control over.