Students in all grade levels will have age-appropriate lessons in the following areas:
Self- Awareness
Identifying Feelings
Identifying Traits
Social Awareness
Recognizing others feelings
Empathy
Disagreeing with others
Respect for other people’s feelings and belongings
Self- Management
Monitoring Stress and coping skills
Growth Mindset - Developing Grit
Showing Self Control
Goal Setting
Responsible Decision Making
Communicating
Appropriate behavior
Following rules
Safety
September
Students in 2nd grade have been focusing their counseling lessons on ways to help a friend and ways to help others.
One of my favorite books to read to students in 2nd grade is titled what if everybody did that? Students are able to laugh at the silly situations in the book showing what would happen if all people broke small rules. For instance, when you see a wrapper on the ground... ask yourself, what if everybody did that? If you see someone feeding an animal some cookies at the zoo, think about what would happen to those animals if every visitor did that. After reading the story, students love to illustrate and share their own idea for what if everybody did that. My favorites are always ones like: "what if everyone had a friend' "what if everyone listened to their teacher' ' what if every made sure others were not lonely at recess.' These kids have hearts of gold!
October:
Did you know that October is Anti-bullying Month? During October we focus many of our lessons on inclusivity and acceptance for FIRE (Foundation for Inclusive Religious Education) but also include tricks and tools to prevent and stop bullying behaviors in our school. Students learn ways that they can notice bullying behaviors, both overtly and through more subtle clues. Students also practice ways to notice clues that a friend is sad or lonely and help to check in on friends in a kind and thoughtful way.
Students listened to the story, The Invisible Boy by Trudy Ludwig. The Invisible Boy is a touching story that poses moral questions about acceptance, belonging, and friendship. Students explore not only how we can learn to accept and acknowledge others, but also ways we can show courage to stand with classmates who may feel "invisible". Using a jeopardy-style game, small groups were challenged to explore ways to accept others and acknowledge the gifts we have been given. As we explore further the impact of bullying behaviors, we want to encourage students to be brave, confident and kind.