September : Respect

Kindergarten: Students will review what it means to show Respect. They will learn about others’ different experiences, then practice Whole Body Listening and Respect for each others’ differences.

First: Students will see how words and actions affect others through a whole group activity using paper hearts.

Second: Students will learn about the Tree of Choices and practice recognizing the difference between small and big conflicts.

Third: Students will learn about how to shift their focus. Then, they will practice focusing on the good in others through a partner activity. Finally, we will reflect on ways we can remind ourselves to look for the good in each other.

Fourth: During the activity, students will move throughout the room to distinguish their level of like/dislike of certain things. This activity will also help us practice Respect for people who have different opinions than ours.

Fifth: First, we will discuss the impact of our words and learn the 3 to 1 rule. (It takes 3 positive statements to replace the harm of one negative statement.) Then, students will work together, using sticky notes, to outweigh the negative messages on an empty chair with positive messages.

November : Gratitude

Kindergarten: Students will understand emotions associated with Gratitude and practice Gratitude through a variety of prompts.

First: Students will learn that all feelings are normal and throughout the day many of our feeling friends come visit us. We will make a plan for how to respond and act when certain feelings come visit us. During this time we will revisit our strategies of move it out, breathe it out and talk it out.

Second: Students will understand how feelings of Gratitude can help them balance out big emotions. We will use the analogy of a balloon. When our balloons get filled with big emotions they will pop. We will focus on pressing pause, placing our big feeling on the outside of the balloon and filling our balloon with gratitudes. When we have a big feeling we can breathe in accepting the feeling and breathe out focuing on a gratitude. Repeating this will help us calm our minds and bodies so that we can think clearer.

Third: Students will understand how they have control over big emotions and can advocate for help. We will use a circle of control worksheet to think about events that may cause us big emotions or stress. Students will determine what we can control and what we can't control and understand that switching our focus on what we can control, rather than what we can't, will help us be better problem solvers and handle big emotions.

Fourth and Fifth: Students will learn to use positive self-talk to put Gratitude into practice. We will practice flipping negative thoughts into positive ways of thinking about things. We will also try to focus on adding gratitude thoughts as well. Students will learn that when we press pause and focus on the positive and gratitudes, it can change our whole mindset.