Week of 8/26/19
This week in social work group...
Welcome to PM Social Work Group!
This week in group we read a story that the students helped me write called, What is School? We practiced giving a greeting and using the names of the people in our class. We practiced using our listening skills; Eyes Watching, Ears Listening, Voices Quiet, Bodies Calm. These are the Listening Rules from Second Step. We will be using Second Step to help teach the students about friendship, feelings, and emotional regulation. You can get more information by going to SecondStep.org and using the Activation Key SSPE FAMI LY68. We also talked about the 3 B’s we use at school: Be Kind, Be Safe, and Be Ready.
We are working on getting used to being (back) in school and being aware of other people in the class. Ask your children about the friends they are making. See if they can tell you about some of the things we do at school.
Please send me your e-mail address if you are new to Jefferson, or if your address has changed, so I can send you parent group notices and other information via e-mail. My address is esewell@d64.org. Call me if you have any questions about classroom group, parent group or other social developmental topics. Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell, LCSW esewell@d64.org 847-318-5435
Week of 9/2/2019
SOCIAL WORK GROUP-where we learn about feelings and being a good friend
This week in group we continued to work on getting to know the people in our class. We read, Making Friends, by Fred Rogers. We played a game identifying how objects are the same/different, then how people are the same/different. It is wonderful to see the students finding ways they are similar to their classmates and understanding that different isn’t bad; it’s just different (a theme that comes up a lot). Talk to your child about the people in school. Use names whenever possible. See if your son/daughter can tell you something about the kids in class.
We have also been learning our school rules. We talked about the skills of a good listener, which include: Eyes are Watching (the speaker), Ears are Listening (to the speaker), Voices are Quiet (when it is not our turn), and Bodies are Calm (stay in our own space, hands to self).
Our first Parent Group will be 9/23/2019. I hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell, LCSW
847-318-5435
12/2/19
This week in social work group
Where we learn about feelings and being a good friend
This week in group we talked about feelings again. We talked about people having different feelings about the same thing. For example, some kids are happy when there is a babysitter because the sitter plays fun games. Some kids are sad when there is a babysitter because they miss their parents. We also made feelings spinners to use at home. There are ideas for how to use the spinners at home on the back of them. Talk about your feelings with your child, and help him identify how others may be feeling. Thanks for your help teaching feelings!
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell
847-318-5435
P.S. Our next parent group is December 16, 2019. I hope to see you there and/or at the winter sing in the 18th.
January 16, 2020
Welcome back! I hope you all enjoyed your winter break! This week we talked about things being done on accident, and how to handle those situations using some strategies from SecondStep. The children were taught that an accident is something that you do when you didn’t mean to. When you do something by accident, it is important to say it was an accident so others don’t think you did it on purpose. When children assume that others did something on purpose, they are more likely to respond aggressively. If we do something on accident, we learned to say, “It was an accident. Are you okay?” This week, try to notice when your child does something on accident, and remind them to say and do the right thing. Model for your child by using the above ideas when you do something by accident. Tell your child when you see him/her handling an accident in a positive way.
Our next parent group will be Monday, January 27, from 9-10 am. We will be talking about play development and enhancing play. I hope to see you there. Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell, LCSW 847-318-5435 esewell@d64.org
Week of December 9, 2019
SOCIAL WORK GROUP
Where we learn about feelings and being a good friend
It’s the season of caring and giving. When you feel empathy for someone, you can show them you care. You can show you care by saying something kind, or doing something helpful. Today in group the kids talked about ways they are nice. It is important that they learn they can give a good feeling to someone else. Sometimes those acts of kindness are the best presents of all! Maybe you’ll be the lucky recipient of a hug, a smile, a clean room, or an “I love you”. I hope so!
Our holiday sing is coming up on December 18. I hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell
January 23, 2020
This week in social work group…
Where we learn about feelings, and being a good friend
This week we talked about feeling feelings in our bodies. We learned to use the clues in our bodies to identify feelings. Some feels are comfortable; others are uncomfortable.
One of the new feeling words we talked about was WORRIED. When people are worried, they might feel uncomfortable in their head, heart, stomach, or legs. We identified where we feel a variety of feelings.
We also learned that telling a grown-up when you are uncomfortable is important. Talking about your feelings helps you feel better. Be ready for them to talk to you about what worries them. SecondStep.org has some great tools for learning more about feelings.
Our next parent group will be Monday, January 27, from 9-10 am. We will be talking about play development and enhancing play. I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell, LCSW
Week of January 27, 2020
This week in social work group…
Where we learn about feelings and being a good frien
This week in group we talked about feeling frustrated. We read, Try and Stick With It, by Cheri Meiners. We discussed times we feel frustrated and what we can do about it. Frustration is one of those strong uncomfortable feelings we want to name and mange. We can take a deep breath, ask for help, keep trying, talk about it, or take a break. Today we practiced putting our hands on our tummies and taking a deep breath. Have your child show you how it’s done. The kids told me about things they’d like to learn, such as how to pump a swing or go across the monkey bars, and how hard that can be. We identified why we need to stick with the hard stuff if we want to learn it.
Elisa Sewell, LCSW
Week of February 3, 2020
This week in social work group
-Where we learn about feelings and being a good friend-
This week in group we talked about more ways to calm down when we have strong feelings. We already learned to say “stop” and put our hands on our tummies, where we may be feeling the strong feeling. Today we talked about NAMING THE FEELING. It is sometimes difficult for people to name an uncomfortable feeling, or the feelings may be mixed up a little. Also, SecondStep reminds us that simply naming a feeling can help make the feeling less strong, because it engages the thinking part of the brain. This is a helpful strategy for children when they are upset. It also helps children if they talk to a grown up when they are sad, or scared, or frustrated.
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell
847-318-5435
PS-Our next parent group is February 24 from 9-10 in Room 126 at Jefferson. I hope to see you there!
February 13/14, 2020
This week in social work group...
Where we learn about feelings, and being a good friend
This week we talked about things we love and why we love them. We played Valentine’s Bingo and Perfect Match. Ask your child what he loves and why. Tell him what things are on your “love list”. Thank you for sending in all of the hearts for the Kindness and Caring Tree. Your children are very sweet and helpful. The tree is so full! Pictures will come home soon. Have a happy Valentine’s Day!
Our next Parent Group is February 24 from 9-10:00. I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,
Elisa Sewell
847-318-5435