The goal of weekly classroom guidance lessons is to provide a space for students to learn about emotional regulation, friendship, conflict resolution, careers, stress management, goal setting and much more! Here is what we are learning about in the final months of the school year.

april/May - Careers

In our final unit of the school year, we will be exploring careers. Students will be introduced to a variety of career options, and they will gain an introductory understanding of how their God-given gifts, abilities, and experiences may be preparing them for a future career. In our lessons, we will highlight the biblical truths that God has plans for each of us to further his kingdom, possibly through a career (Jeremiah 29:11); that God has uniquely created each of us and given us experiences in order to prepare us for the work he has for us to do (Ephesians 2:10); and that whatever we do, we should give it our best effort and do it for the glory of God. (1 Cor 10:31, Col 3:23). On May 8th, students will have the opportunity to experience Career Day, in which many parents will share hands-on demonstrations of their chosen careers. Career Day is such a fun day and a great way to wrap up our year of classroom guidance lessons! 

MArch - Personal safety and abuse prevention

In the month of March, we will be learning about personal safety. For many of these lessons, we will use a program that focuses on teaching our students about keeping their bodies safe called Circle of Grace. It aims to equip our students by arming them with essential knowledge and skills grounded in the richness of our Christian faith, helping them to understand their own (and other’s) dignity in mind, body, and spirit.

Some sample topics include safe versus unsafe situations and seeking help from a trusted adult. Occasionally, a parent letter will be sent home along with the lesson, explaining how parents can reaffirm or personalize the message. 

See below for a more detailed explanation of the Circle of Grace curriculum. 

What is a Circle of Grace?

The Christian faith teaches that God has created each of us as unique and special. Genesis 1:27 tells us that we are created “male and female in God’s image” and that God saw this as “very good.” In that goodness, we are meant to respect ourselves and everyone else as persons created and loved by God. Adults assist children and young people to recognize God’s love by helping them to understand that each of us lives and moves in a circle of grace. You can imagine your own circle of grace by putting your arms above your head then circle down in front of your body including side to side. This circle, front to back, holds who you are in your body and through your senses. It holds your very essence in mind, heart, soul, and sexuality.

Why is it important to help our children understand the Circle of Grace?

God intends our relationships in life to be experiences of divine love. Respectful, nurturing, loving relationships increase our understanding of our own value and help us to love others. It is never too early to help children and young people understand how very special they are and how relationships in life are called to be sacred. Understanding this can help them to protect the special person they are and to be respectful of others. 

Adults, especially parents, as they strive to provide a safe and protective environment, hold the responsibility to help children and young people understand and respect their own dignity and that of others. A truly safe and protective environment is one where children and young people recognize when they are safe or unsafe and know how to bring their concerns, fears, and uncertainties to the trusted adults in their lives.

How is the Circle of Grace Program different from other protection programs?

Circle of Grace goes beyond just protection by helping children and young people understand the sacredness of who they are and how to seek help through their relationships with trusted adults. 

For more information on the Circle of Grace program, including a curriculum overview, visit https://www.mennoniteusa.org/circle-of-grace/. 

January/February - Friendship

We will begin the new year with a unit on Biblical Friendship. In our lessons, we will explore God’s plan for developing and growing friendships by sharing kindness with others, setting boundaries in friendships, and resolving conflict with peers. We will reflect on many verses from the Bible, including Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, which states: “Two people are better than one. They get more done by working together. If one person falls, the other can help him up.” Students will bring home a friendship folder at the end of our unit to share with their parents.

November and December - Emotions and the God who cares

For the remainder of the 1st semester, we will be diving deeper into a biblical perspective on specific emotions, including anger, sadness, loneliness, and worry. An emphasis will be put on God’s care for us in the midst of our emotions, God’s purposes for emotions, and how to redeem and steward negative emotions. We will see God’s heart for us in the midst of our emotions in Scripture, specifically reflecting on the encouragement we find in Psalm 62:8 to “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (NIV) and in 1 Peter 5:7 to “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” In our lessons, we will use several books from the Good News for Little Hearts series, which can be found linked here. 

October - The Making of Great Classmates!

In the month of October, we will be focusing on what it means to be a great classmate. We will start off by focusing on the character trait of honesty. We will then learn about the difference between tattling and reporting, and when we should refrain from tattling versus when reporting something important to an adult is necessary. Next, we will discuss expectations for interacting with one another on the playground by following our school-wide "Friendship Guidelines for the Playground" (look for these to come home in yellow envelopes or find them on our counseling website here). We will wrap up the month learning about expectations for classmate interactions within the classroom, focusing on working together, communicating well, and learning about expected versus unexpected social interactions amongst peers. At LCCS, we really care about treating each other the way we want to be treated (Matthew 7:12), and we strive to teach our students this biblical truth in each of our classroom guidance lessons.  

September - Zones of Regulation

As beings created in the image of God, we experience emotions. However, God did not intend for our emotions to control us. He instructs us to be discerning of our emotions, self-controlled, and to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit (Jeremiah 17:9, 1 Peter 5:6-11, Galatians 5:22-23). Emotional regulation helps us to recognize our emotions, identify the source, and at times, submit those emotions to God. At LCCS we use an emotional regulation tool called the zones of regulation. The zones of regulation help us to categorize how our brains and bodies feel into different zones. When we understand how our brains and bodies feel, then we are able to better regulate ourselves. Throughout the month of September, we will explore the different zones of regulation and how to recognize when we're in them, how being in the different zones can create expected and unexpected behaviors, how others feel when we exhibit expected and unexpected behaviors, and what tools we can use to regulate ourselves when we are in the different zones.