Teamwork: The Crayon Box That Talked

This week in kindergarten we read The Crayon Box That Talked written by Shane Derolf.  In the story the crayons are having a difficult time getting along and they say some pretty unkind things to each other.  A young girl buys the unhappy box and takes them home with her, eventually showing them that when they work together and get along they create some pretty amazing things.  This book was a great springboard for our activities on teamwork. 

The first activity we did was the hula hoop pass.  I asked students to stand in a circle holding hands.  The goal of the activity was to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle without letting go of each others hands.  After we accomplished this the first time, I asked students what helped them to be successful.  We talked about which strategies helped them get through the hoop faster.  Then I posed a second challenge for them.  We were going to do it again, but this time we were going to pass the hoop in the opposite direction and try to beat our first time.

The second activity we did was a collaborative drawing.  I told students that each group would only get one large piece of paper to create a picture.  Everyone had to participate and have input on the drawing.  I explained what cooperation and collaboration meant, and many students decided they would make a plan before they started drawing.

Now this did not happen without some conflict and compromising!  I circulated around the room to facilitate conflict resolution and touch base with their feelings when I noticed frustrated body language.  Most groups were able to come up with an idea that everyone agreed on and had their own part.  There was one unique group that came up with a plan, but only one student at a time would add their part.  This group watched one person begin, then passed the paper along through them, each adding a new piece.  Here were some of their final products:

Screen Free Week

I found this great website with 50 ideas you can do as a family instead of watching tv!  Check it out:

Screen Free Week is May 5 – 11!
 
This annual, international initiative was created in 1994 to encourage families, schools, and communities to embrace screen-free entertainment for a week. Hundreds of organizations such as the American Medical Association, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America and the YMCA, support the movement.
Here are some fun ways to shut off the screens and have a blast — outside or inside — with your family.  These ideas are also good to think about as we all begin planning for summer! 

1. Get the imagination going by helping your kids write & illustrate their own book.
2. Take a ride and ask the kids to paint what they saw.
3. Go for a family bike ride.
4. Gather some yummy goodies and take the family on a picnic.
5. Take your kids to read to patients at nursing homes.
6. Visit the local humane society to give love and attention to the animals waiting for new homes.
7. Draw out your family tree.
8. Spend an afternoon sorting through old clothes and toys that can be donated to a shelter.
9. Play cards! 
10. Prepare and plant a garden – even if it’s just in pots! 
11. Go on a nature hike & have your kids journal what they see.
12. Learn about your local culture and history.
13. Attend a local event, play, or musical performance.
14. Spend some time at a local bookstore.
15. Visit a new restaurant.
16. Visit a museum.
17. Create costumes out of old clothes and craft scraps. 
18. Build a blanket fort and tell camp-style stories.
19. Play hopscotch or freeze-tag.
20. Draw portraits of each other.
21. Go on a nature scavenger hunt.
22. Play in a creek and discover what lives there.
23. Help your child complete random acts of kindness.
24. Go tree climbing.
25. Visit a “pick your own” farm.
26. Visit a local farmers market and get to know the farmers.
27. Go bowling.
28. Visit a local park and help pick up trash if you see any.
29. Put on a play.
30. Help the kids plan a meal that they can make.
31. Play board games.
32. Take an art class.
33. Plan a living room ball and dance the afternoon away.
34. Make mud pies.
35. Create crafts from upcycled items like toilet paper rolls, milk cartons, etc.
36. Go camping. 
37. Blow bubbles.
38. Build a sandbox.
39. Explore local landmarks.
40. Spend an afternoon picking wildflowers.
41. Grab a blanket and watch the clouds – what shapes do they see?
42. Get up early, grab a cup of tea, and watch the sun rise.
43. Prepare a freezer meal for a neighbor, new mother, or pantry in your area. 
44. Jump rope (and teach your kids the classic songs and rhymes).
45. Rearrange the furniture.
46. Build a town with blocks or Legos.
47. Roll down a hill.
48. Organize a classic neighborhood game like tag, capture the flag, or Red Rover.
49. Take a boat ride.
50. Go on a nature / critter walk before bedtime with a flash light.

Upstander Tool Belts

In second grade we read the inspirational story, One by Kathryn Otoshi.  This story illustrates very simply the bullying of the color blue while the other colors stand by and do nothing.  Then "one" comes along and shows the other colors how to be an upstander.

After reading the story, we reflected on how each one of us can be that "one" for someone who is not being treated kindly by another.  I passed out a handout with different outlines of tools on it.  We brainstormed tools that we could use to help someone in need, and wrote them on each of the tools.  The students even became creative with hand-picking which strategy should go on each tool.

Afterward, students cut out each of the tools to wear on their "Upstander Tool Belt" (sentence strip, paper clip, library book pocket).

GoNoodle ROCKS!

I came across this AMAZING site on Pinterest when looking for brain breaks.  It is free & easy to navigate and SO MUCH FUN!!!  You create an account and can make different classes, which is perfect for me as a counselor.  For each class you pick an avatar that grows and changes the more time you spend doing brain breaks.

There are so many options available depending on your class needs: calming, energizing, just a break, refocusing, anger management, de-stressing, etc.  Some of the videos coached you through different moves, some were karaoke style, others tested listening skills, and some facilitated free styling.  I tested out a bunch with my kindergarten classes and we had a blast.  I first started with a discussion of personal space bubbles.  Students learned that if they bent, stretched, kicked, or flailed their arms in any direction they should not touch anyone.  If we accidentally popped someone's bubble, we were to apologize and then move where you could have more space.  Then we all moved to our dancing positions and began!

I had pre-selected different brain breaks and watched them ahead of time to see if they were appropriate for my goal.  The ones we did were Freeze It: Emotions, Exercise Like a Rock Star, Dancing Robots, Dinosaur Stomp, Ants in Your Pants, Happy, and Let It Go.  Here are a couple shots of us in action:

The Power of our Words

In first grade we are reviewing the power of our words.  This is a great theme to reinforce repetitively throughout the year, as it is so easy to fall back into our old ways.  With only a month of school left students are beginning to show the signs of exhaustion of a year of hard work, rising outdoor temperatures, adjusting to the closure of first grade, and the anticipation of summer break.  Patience levels seem to decrease as frustration levels increase, causing students to resort to their unhelpful ways of resolving conflict such as name-calling.

I began by reading Mr. Peabody's Apples written by Madonna.  We learn how our assumptions about others can turn into a hurtful experience if we aren't accurate with our words.  This is also a great story to illustrate the effect rumors have in a community.  We have to be careful with what we say because it is not so easy to take it back afterward.

We played the telephone game to see how easy it is for rumors and gossip that is untrue to be spread.  Then we watched Kid President's hilarious video on words we should say more often:

 
http://youtu.be/m5yCOSHeYn4

(We had to watch more than once, they loved it and couldn't stop laughing!!!)

I explained that it's important for us to THINK before we speak, and hung this poster in their classroom to refer to:

 
Piggy-backing off of Kid President's challenge, I had students think about how they could be more kind in their words.  "If you can't think of anything nice to say, you aren't thinking hard enough," says Kid President.  Then I asked them to think about something nice they could say to someone who usually pushes their buttons.  Find something specific to compliment that student with, something that would brighten their day.  They wrote this in the speech bubble and then drew a picture of themselves saying it.  Their challenge is to actually do what they illustrated on their paper by the end of the week.

 (these two were referring to me, I can assure you...lol)

Summer Reading Camp

Check out our own PE coach in a local YMCA commercial, Coach Huff!