Smart Choices

At school & in life, the choices we make matter. Making smart choices means pausing to think, considering our options and their consequences, and choosing what helps us take care of ourselves and the people around us. 

Smart Choices at school can look like:

• Pausing before reacting or making a decision

• Thinking about different choices before deciding what to do

• Considering what might happen next because of a choice

• Making safe, respectful, and responsible decisions

• Choosing what to do even when emotions are big

• Asking for help when you aren't sure what to do

• Making your own choice when others are pressuring you

• Recognizing what is and isn't within your control

• Learning from choices that didn't turn out the way you hoped

• Understanding that a smart choice isn't always the easiest or most popular choice

Why do Smart Choices matter?

• Helps students slow down and think before acting

• Builds problem-solving and decision-making skills

• Helps students understand that choices can have consequences

• Strengthens self-control and emotional regulation

• Encourages students to take responsibility for their actions

• Helps students handle peer pressure and outside influences

• Builds confidence in making decisions independently

• Helps students learn from mistakes and make a different choice next time

• Creates a safer, more responsible, and supportive school community

How Mrs. Tammen promotes Smart Choices

Classroom Lessons: Teaching age-appropriate lessons that help students practice decision-making, problem-solving, self-control, and thinking through possible consequences.
Pause & Think: Encouraging students to slow down before reacting and consider their options instead of immediately acting on a feeling or impulse.
Choices & Consequences: Helping students recognize that choices have outcomes and think about what could happen next before deciding what to do.
Problem Solving: Practicing how to identify a problem, consider different solutions, and choose a response that is safe, respectful, and helpful.
Managing Big Feelings: Helping students understand that all feelings are okay while learning that we still have choices in how we respond to those feelings.
Handling Influence & Peer Pressure: Helping students recognize when others may be influencing their decisions and build confidence in making choices that are right for them.
Focusing on What We Can Control: Teaching students to recognize the difference between what they can control—such as their words, actions, effort, and responses—and what they cannot control.
Collaboration with Families & Teachers: Partnering with adults to reinforce positive decision-making, problem-solving, and responsibility across different settings.
Student Support: Meeting with students individually or in small groups to work through decisions, problems, peer pressure, consequences, and strategies for making thoughtful choices.