Mrs. Wynne

Preschool: We read the book Interrupting Chicken and talked about what it means to interrupt another person. https://shop.scholastic.com/teachers-ecommerce/teacher/books/interrupting-chicken-9780545391474.html

We watched two Sesame Street videos and discussed why it’s important not to give up or get frustrated when things are challenging or difficult for us (like writing our name, tying shoes, putting buttons together, etc).

Grades K-1: We read the book Have You Filled A Bucket Today? We discussed ways to fill buckets of the people in our lives (family, community members, teachers, etc). Students also completed dot-to-dots, mazes and coloring pages related to the book.

https://bucketfillers101.com/have-you-filled-a-bucket-today/

Grade 2: Students are completing a workbook all about feelings (look for it to come home next week). They have practiced naming feelings, talked about what the face looks like, body feels like and how to calm down from big feelings and emotions. Some of the tools we discussed and practiced include: taking slow calm breaths, using a positive mantra, counting, listening to music and just being alone in a quiet space where we feel safe.  

Grades 3-5: Students are learning about Growth Mindset and the neuroplasticity of the brain. They have watched short clips about growth mindset (https://ideas.classdojo.com/b/growth-mindset). Read scientific articles about proven research regarding the capabilities of the brain and discussed the difference between having a Fixed Mindset and a Growth Mindset. We paid particular attention to our words and what we think and say when faced with a challenge or difficult task and how absolutely important positive self-talk and Growth Mindset statements are to our success in life.  

https://biglifejournal.com/blogs/blog/teach-growth-mindset-kids-activities

Grades 6-8: Students are learning about, practicing and evaluating their own Executive Functioning skills. Each student in grades 6-8 was given a workbook from the Rush Neurobehavioral Center - Executive Functioning Curriculum.  We are completing the workbooks together and they will eventually be sent home. I encourage you to ask your child what they are learning and how they perceive the effectiveness of their EF Skills. 

https://rnbc.org/education-curriculum/

For all grade levels - we continue to practice and talk about:

Active Listening:

1. Looking at the speaker with our eyes

2. Body is still and facing the speaker

3. Listening with our ears

4. Brain is thinking about what the speaker is saying

5. Heart is open and without judgement

Hands to self and being safe with our bodies in our personal bubbles:

Keeping our bodies to ourselves IN ALL SITUATIONS is imperative. School is not a place to be physical in any manner - joking or not. Keeping bodies to self means not touching another person or their personal belongings. This is often a joking matter to the students so any support you can lend from a home perspective is greatly appreciated. We talk about being mindful of a person's personal bubble which you can imagine by putting your hands on your hips and drawing a circle around the body branching out from the elbows.