In kindergarten our last lesson of the year was on mindfulness. I started by asking students if they know what mindfulness means. Many students hit it spot on! Mindfulness is all about being aware of your self and your emotions, being present. When students are feeling big emotions, it's important for them to recognize what is happening in their body in order to take control. I found this great, kid-friendly video that helps students recognize what happens to their body and uses a smart analogy of a bottle of sparkles being shaken up inside their brains. After the video we discussed how their bodies feel when they are having a big emotion and what tips the video told us on how to regain control. Then we practiced these strategies using two great videos on GoNoodle. Both "Flow" and "Safe & Calm" guides students through the relaxation process. Students enjoyed getting to lay down and close their eyes on the carpet!
Parents! You can create a free, all access account on GoNoodle to do at home over the summer! Check out the following information:
Each time spring rolls around the topic of our standardized test, STAAR, begins to enter the conversations of our students at Lee Elementary. Since we have some resident experts on the ins & outs of what the STAAR test is really like, I thought it would be a good idea for them to impart their knowledge onto our newest test takers: 3rd graders! I typed up a list of all of our 3rd graders and then our 6th graders picked 2-3 to write an encouraging letter to. They could write encouraging words, test taking tips, confidence boosters and any idea that they thought would help lower their anxiety about testing. We had a great conversation about empathy and tried to remember back to when it was our first time taking the STAAR test or even how we feel now about it. Once all of the letters were all written onto colorful bordered stationary, I put them into an "Special Delivery" envelope from the White House (also our nickname for the house beside our school that 6th grade is housed in) and delivered them to their homeroom teachers for students to receive before the test.
In kindergarten, just like any other grade, things start to rev up in the spring. Expectations are raised, demand increases and the pressure to be prepared for the next grade starts to affect our students. With this shift in the classroom environment comes the likelihood of children have to learn to adjust to everyday changes. This can look many ways, and for a few of our students, they are showing their frustration and anger in more physical approaches. Hence, here I come to try and save the day! We read When I'm Feeling Angry written by Trace Moroney. This short and simple book is great for helping students recognize anger in their bodies (the cover alone opens up a lot of discussion) and teaching them appropriate ways to cope with anger.
The book does a nice job of sharing that it is okay to feel angry which I really enjoyed. It is okay for all of us to experience feelings, and we do! Many children hold the belief that adults will not "let them" be angry. Clarifying that we all have feelings and finding helpful ways to calm ourselves down is a great start to breaking down this myth. This is where the "Anger Rules" come in:
I found this great poster on Pinterest that I immediately printed out to post in each of the classrooms I was visiting. We brainstormed ideas that we could do when we felt angry, using inspiration from the book, and then got to work on picking out what would work best for us. Each student received 2 printouts, one that was part of a Calm Down Kit TeachersPayTeachers and the other I created in Word. Students cut out ideas they could use to help them feel better when experiencing strong emotions. I explained that for me, playing another game doesn't help because I'm still feeling too upset. However, crying is a great release and I always feel better after. A favorite for many was learning that you could go to the recycling bin and take paper out of it to rip up...instead of their own paper at their table (because that would be destroying property).
One of our 5th grade students came up with such a creative idea that I had to share! We were talking about some of the other silly animal pictures with puns I have outside of my office and how it'd be fun to find one about Grumpy Cat seeing the counselor.
A few days later a large poster arrived in my office, created by the same 5th grader I had chatted with previously, and I was amazed by her creativity and initiative. Check out what is now hanging outside my office:
As part of our SEL curriculum through Second Step, students learn about the S.T.E.P. method for solving their everyday problems. The last 7 lessons in 4th grade are all about problem solving.
In these lessons students learn that following steps can help you solve problems and be successful at school. When you say the problem without blame and take responsibility for their part, problems can be resolved in a respectful way. Some solutions to problems are complicated and need a plan. Plans help you break down a big ask into smaller, more manageable parts. You are better able to resolve conflicts when you are able to calm down and use the Problem-Solving steps.
Students were placed into small groups and each described the steps they would use to solve common problems that occur during their school day. Here are the posters they created:
Over Spring Break I was able to attend one of Pam Dyson's trainings on "Play Therapy for Grieving Children" through the DFW Center for Play Therapy Training. I was truly inspired by all the directive techniques I could add to my toolbox for students at our school. One such idea was the incorporation of the game "Don't Break the Ice" in such a simple and easy way. Inspired by Sueann Kenney-Noziska's idea on Play Therapy Corner, Pam created an activity for children that helped open them up about their grief. Children knock pieces of ice out of the ice rink and answer questions based on which ice piece fell. At this training the game was targeted at children opening up about their grief and loss, but I thought I could easily tweak it for my anxious kiddos.
It's extremely easy to create your own version and add therapeutic value. The first step is taking all of the "ice" pieces and adding a colored sticker to the bottom of them. Pam used those gold foil star stickers, I chose to use bright colored Avery circle labels because I had plenty of those on hand. There are 32 total ice pieces and 1 large ice piece for the skater. I decided upon 4 different prompts for our discussion about worries, so that evenly divided up the stickers into 8 per color. On the large ice piece I put 1 of each color so they could pick. When the ice is turned over for the game, students cannot tell which color is underneath the piece of ice.
Then I created the question card. Instead of making 32 individual question cards, I chose to simplify our discussion to 4 prompts that could easily be answered numerous times. You could definitely make a variety of questions and color-code the stacks of cards. I thought about which 4 prompts would help students share/vent about their worries, discuss what happens in their body, receive validation, brainstorm helpful techniques for coping and also discover that other students had similar experiences. This is what I came up with, you can download a copy here (don't forget to add colored stickers that are on your ice pieces):
The game was such a success we played it numerous times. Students even came up with fun variations on the rules for when more than one ice piece fell. Incorporating games into your work with children creates a safe and engaging platform to help them feel comfortable in opening up. I hope you have as much fun with your children as I did!
In first grade we have been working on social skills. One very important social skill is learning about friendships: what we want in a friend, how to keep friends, what we bring to a friendship, etc. I usually read the book How to Lose All Your Friends written by Nancy Carlson, but this year I found a cute video that reinforces her story. I chose to show the silent movie and I read it aloud so we could pause to discuss at different points. The students found the video hilarious and they quickly understood that this video is all the things NOT to do if you want to make and keep friends. Together we brainstormed a list of what we look for in a friend and what we bring to the table as a friend.
Then we made "Wanted" posters to show and describe what we want in a real friend. You can download the template here.
Our SEL Department developed a Peace Path that students can use in the classroom to help resolve conflict with their peers. You can take a look of how it works as part of our Peace Areas at Lee Elementary here. While this is a great tool for students to use while they're in the classroom, students are left stranded out on the playground when they have conflict. After campuses inquired about how to translate these skills to the outdoor playgrounds, our SEL department created stencils to create a sidewalk Peace Path (thank you, thank you, thank you)! Here is a quick video I took walking through the Peace Path so you can see each of the steps. It took 3-4 hours over 2 days to create the finished product with two people, myself and Joelle Andrew - an amazing parent volunteer/super hero. :)
Our playground Peace Path provides students,
teachers and our entire campus a space and a method that is safe, sincere, and
easy to follow for conflict resolution. It is another effort towards
student empowerment to self-regulate and solve their problems. Ours is
strategically placed between 2 of our playgrounds and has already been a huge hit
with the Roadrunners!
Once completed I took out each class to teach them how to use it. We began by brainstorming common problems that happen with our friends out on the playground:
I had students pair up and brainstorm a "problem" to resolve with their partner, real or fake. Then we headed outside to practice!
Our Peace Path has been a huge success! Not only are teachers on board and helping students through conflict resolution steps at recess, but children are initiating its use during our aftercare program and kids have even been caught & featured on Instagram! Here are some individual shots of each step:
Each time spring rolls around the topic of our standardized test, STAAR, begins to enter the conversations of our students at Lee Elementary. Since we have some resident experts on the ins & outs of what the STAAR test is really like, I thought it would be a good idea for them to impart their knowledge onto our newest test takers: 3rd graders! I typed up a list of all of our 3rd graders and then our 6th graders picked 2-3 to write an encouraging letter to. They could write encouraging words, test taking tips, confidence boosters and any idea that they thought would help lower their anxiety about testing. We had a great conversation about empathy and tried to remember back to when it was our first time taking the STAAR test or even how we feel now about it. Once all of the letters were all written onto colorful bordered stationary, I put them into an "Special Delivery" envelope from the White House (also our nickname for the house beside our school that 6th grade is housed in) and delivered them to their homeroom teachers for students to receive before the test.
It's extremely easy to create your own version and add therapeutic value. The first step is taking all of the "ice" pieces and adding a colored sticker to the bottom of them. Pam used those gold foil star stickers, I chose to use bright colored Avery circle labels because I had plenty of those on hand. There are 32 total ice pieces and 1 large ice piece for the skater. I decided upon 4 different prompts for our discussion about worries, so that evenly divided up the stickers into 8 per color. On the large ice piece I put 1 of each color so they could pick. When the ice is turned over for the game, students cannot tell which color is underneath the piece of ice.
