In our second lesson of September, we learned about responsibility. Not just want it means to be responsible, but rather to take responsibility for our choices and mistakes. We discussed blaming others vs. taking responsibility and reflected on some of our personal experiences. We read "But It's Not My Fault!" and practiced changing blaming statements into responsibility statements.

At-Home Extension Questions:

1. Why do people often blame others for their mistakes? Does placing blame solve the problem or cause new problems?
2. We are all human and make mistakes! Can you think of a time you blamed someone else? How could you have taken responsibility?
3. Tell me about a time you took responsibility for your actions. How did it feel?

We kicked off bullying prevention month by reviewing conflict vs. bullying, the four types of bullying (physical, verbal, emotional & cyber), and what to do if you find yourself in a bullying situation (Stop, Walk, Talk).

At-Home Extension Questions:

1. What are the key differences between a conflict and bullying?
2. Can a bullying situation turn into a conflict? If so, how?
3. What are the 3 steps to stop bullying at school?

BULLYING PREVENTION

We concluded bullying prevention month by reviewing what to if you see someone else being bullied. A bystander sees bullying and doesn't know what to do. An *upstander* sees bullying and chooses any of the 4 upstanding options to help: Be a buddy, interrupt, speak out, or tell someone! We watched the NED Show's Upstander video, linked above. We also read "The Juice Box Bully" and discussed what might lead a student to bully. We learned how a classroom can to work together to bring a stop to poor choices.

At-Home Extension Questions:

1. What is the difference between an upstander and a bystander?
2. Why do you think it is often difficult to be an upstander?
3. Which upstander strategy will you choose if you see bullying?

In December we talked about conflicts and healthy, positive ways to be heard, listen to others, and settle conflicts peacefully. Some examples include "I feel" statements, active listening skills, releasing tension and compromise. In a camping-themed lesson, we also emphasized why it is important not to "fan the flames" in a conflict and what actions may cause the conflict to grow.

At-Home Discussion Questions:

1. Describe one way someone may "fan the flames" in a conflict?
2. What is one way you can peacefully resolve conflicts at school?
3. What is one way you can peacefully resolve conflicts at home?

In January, we learned and practiced a new coping skill called "mindfulness". Mindfulness is all about paying attention in a new way...paying attention to ourselves! When we are mindful, we pay attention to our what our brains and bodies are doing right now in the present moment. By taking deep breaths and thinking calm thoughts, our brain can spread a feeling of peace to the rest of our bodies! In this mindfulness activity, we used our imaginations and pretended we were in a snowglobe. We thought about people, places, or activities that bring us a sense of peace and calm, or "settle our snowglobes".

At-Home Extension Questions:

1. When you are mindful, who or what do you pay attention to?
2. What "shakes up your snowglobe"? (causes a feeling of chaos, stress, or worry)?
3. What "settles your snowglobe" (brings you a feeling of peace and calm)?

We are now halfway through the year and it is a great time to reflect and review! We played a jeopardy review game to ensure we all remember key points from this year. Question topics included conflict vs. bullying, how to be an upstander, stop-walk-talk, the role of the school counselor, and how to ask for help.

At-Home Extension Questions:

1. How is bullying different than a conflict?
2. What are the three ways to stop bullying at Pinebrook?
3. Which upstander strategy are you most comfortable with and why? (choices are Interrupt, Be a Buddy, Speak Out, and Tell Someone)
4. Name one adult you can talk to about bullying at school.

We kicked off our February Kindness celebration with a fun small group log cabin building activity, which showed us that the foundation of our school community truly depends on kindness. We explored the question, "How do students feel valued and important in our school community?" We each "built" our own cabins with our ideas for answering this question. Please on the lookout for the Counselor's 28-Day Kindness Challenge (pictured above) and information on Kindness Spirit week that will come home after this lesson!

At-Home Extension Questions:

1. When have you felt valued and important at home? At school? How can you share that feeling with family and friends?
2. How does it feel to complete an act of kindness?
3. What are examples of acts of kindness you can complete at school?

We kicked off our career exploration unit by talking about career interests. It is important to be interested (or "like") your future career so that you can be happy each day at work! We completed a super fun "scoot" game where we quickly checked off whether or not we found 30 different activities/hobbies "interesting" or "not interesting". We then scored our game card and reviewed possible careers that matched our interests.

At-Home Extension Questions:

• What are your current interests, hobbies, and favorite subjects?
• How can your current interests help you choose a career? Why are interests an important consideration when planning for your future?
• What are some possible careers related to your interests?

In our second career exploration lesson, each student was explored the "Kid Search" feature of the Virginia Career View website. We completed a rough draft of our 4th grade Academic & Career Plan Portfolio artifact by researching 2 careers of interest. For each career, we identified job duties/responsibilities as well as related school subjects. The 4th graders loved this kid-friendly career search tool which can also be accessed from home!

At-Home Extension Questions:

• What is one career related to your current interests/hobbies/favorite subjects?
• What is one duty/responsibility of someone in that career?
• What is a school subject related to that career?