This month's blog will review what was done in October and what we will be doing in November.  October was Bully Awareness Month, which was the focus for the guidance lessons. The students learned what bullying behaviors look like, what they can to stand up for themselves and others and what they can do to prevent bullying situations. The kindergarten classes read Mean Jean the Recess Queen, which focused on bullying behaviors, on the playground.  Then the students made their own "Crown of Kindness" to remind them to be kind to others. The first grade students did the “crumpled heart” lesson, which focuses on how mean words can cause “wrinkles in our hearts” that are difficult to fix. While reading the book Chrysanthemum, the kids passed around a large paper heart.  Every time something mean was said in the book, the student holding the heart would fold it then pass it to the next student.  At the end of the lesson, we unfolded the heart, looked at all the wrinkles and discussed why they were there.  Unfortunately, the statement “Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me” is not always true. Sadly some words do cut deep.  We talked about forgiveness and how to work toward preventing those wrinkles.  The second grade learned about bullying behaviors by playing “Bullying Bingo.”  The third grade classes looked at bullying from a “growth mindset” point of view, which encouraged the  kids to be confident in who they are and stand up for themselves and others.  In all the classes, we talked about the criteria needed for a situation to considered a bullying situation.  We discussed how the behaviors have to be repeated (not a one or two time situation) and how there has to be an imbalance of power.  I also stressed that students need to let us know when situations happen and if the stop or get better.   Here is a link to a video regarding bullying.  Please note, this is not a video that I would show to younger children.  It would be more appropriate for a high school setting.  With that said, it does have some useful information and suggestions.  www.facebook.com/brooksgibbs/videos/10155961324097042/
     November's guidance lessons will focus on feelings and emotions.  Kindergarten will play an "Emotions Bingo" game.  They love interactive games!  First grade will read Today I Feel Silly and have an interactive presentation that will help them identify various emotions by the expressions on a person's face.  The second grade students will watch clips from the movie Inside Out and play a game on the board using the characters from the movie.  The third graders are continuing with the growth mindset curriculum which will focus on how to develop a positive, can do mindset.
     As in my past blogs, I like to offer suggestions for articles that can help us with our children.  Here is an article that was recommended to me, titled "The Scary Truth About What's Hurting Our Kids."  This is a fascinating article that discusses the changes that are occurring in our children since the percentage of children having an iPhone rose over 50%.  The title sums it up best.  What our children are now exposed to is forming who they are becoming, and while technology definitely has its benefits, this article highlights the damages from technology that are evident in the children of today.  I have worked with children for almost 20 years and I can tell you there is a significant difference in the issues that our young people face today than those of 20 years ago.  An example that the article discusses is how different bullying situations have become.  Before social media (aka "back in the good old days") when a bullying situation occurred at school, it was left at school.  Home was a safe place for us (that's not saying that it made the bullying situation better).  However today, the situation can follow a person everywhere they go through a phone.  We didn't know about every little get together that happened between people.  Now, we not only know there was a get together, we know about everyone that was there, what they did, what they ate, etc.   The bad news is that these types of situations effect our kids.  The good news is that there are ways to help our children and possibly help prevent some situations from happening.  The article offers some really good suggestions on how to help our children.  I strongly encourage everyone to read this article!  It is well worth the time!
     I hope everyone has a great month and a Happy Thanksgiving (which is right around the corner)!  I can be reached through email: kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.com or by calling 684-7583.