As we continue in the season of Lent, I can't help but feel a little excited, maybe because of the warm weather!  This is one of my favorite times of the year!  Easter is coming soon!  I have always thought that Christmas is great, but Easter is even better!  Christmas is just the beginning of the story.  Without Easter, without Jesus dying for us on the cross and rising from the dead, Christmas would be the equivalent of "Once upon a time......" with nothing following it.  The Paschal Triduum is such a sorrowful time wheen we remember all the horrible things that Jesus experienced on this Earth.  But it was all done with love and mercy for us.  For me.  For you.  As the song goes, "What wondrous love is this."  I hope everyone has a Blessed Easter and can experience the love and mercy that was given to us.
      "What do you want to be when you grow up?"  We have all asked this question and have been asked this question.  April's lessons will focus on careers.  The lessons will introduce them to many different careers.  The older students will learn how personal preferences effect the career a person can choose.  I have not covered this topic before, but there are some great lessons planned for the students.  The third grade students will have an interactive power point that asks them to choose from six different activities, with each activity being color coded.  For instance if a person prefers learning about math equations, then that student will go to the red center.  They will be asked to do this through ten different slides.  After going through all the slides they will decide which color they chose the most and then go to that color/area.  From there they will learn about the specific career cluster they chose, including the various careers in that cluster.  For example, Business Services is one career cluster that lists the following careers: entrepreneur, delivery driver, chef, bank clerk, accountant and sales agent.  Each career poster lists the daily tasks, work place, tools, skills, work values and education that is related to that specific career.  The second grade students will be doing a similar activity where they have to choose their preference of activities, as indicated by the interactive power point.  Their activity also is color coded.  At the end of the power point they have to determine which color they have the most and then return to that color/area.  They will then be asked to solve the following problem: "Your class is needing supplies (pencils, books, crayons, etc.)  In your group, create a plan for how you could the get the supplies needed." They will then develop a plan from the mindset of the career cluster, in which they were placed.  An example would be a gardener from the agricultural sciences career cluster, could sell plants to raise money for the supplies.  The first grade students will watch a "Safari Career Day" power point and discuss various skills and interests of the careers in the story.  They will then think of their own interest, skills and possible career choices.  The kindergarten transition class is watching a power point about careers and then playing a go fish game or a dominoes game that is career focused.  The kindergarten classes are doing centers that focus on community helpers and safe/healthy choices.
     In putting all of the lesson's together, I did a little research about careers.  Having once seen a video called "Shift Happens," several years ago, I googled "Shift Happens 2019."  The video for 2018 popped up.  Here is the link if you have a moment to watch.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwtS6Jy3ll8   It is fascinating.  The video talks about how fast our world is changing in regards to information, education and careers.  Here are some of the quotes form the video:
     -Many of today's most in-demand jobs didn't exist 10 years ago.
     -Researchers predict that 65% of today's grade schoolers will hold jobs that don't yet exist.
This one is mind boggling:
     We are currently preparing students for jobs that don't yet exist using technologies that haven't been invented, in order to solve problems we don't even know are problems yet!

     I'm not certain of the fact checks on the videos, but the video is intriguing and can get a person thinking about what is coming or could possibly occur.  Hopefully some of the concepts I teach in the guidance classes will still be helpful for students as they grow!
     As always, please let me know if I can be of any assistance or can help in any way.  (270) 684-7583 or kim.bennett@owensboro catholic.org
                                           I hope you have a very blessed and happy Easter!

    

      “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”  This reading from the gospel of Matthew goes on to say, “If anyone cause one of these little ones-those who believe in me, to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”  This bible verse comes to mind as we, as parents, teachers and staff are faced with a newest fad to race through the internet.  I am talking about the Momo challenge.  This new challenge is like a bad car wreck, in some aspects.  You know you shouldn’t be looking at it but at the same time you can’t pull your eyes away.  This challenge, that encourages children to do harmful things to themselves (some even cause death), has been around for over a year, but has recently emerged because it is targeting very young children, through YouTube Kids.  The people, who are implanting this message in various internet sites, have circumvented the many parental blocks that can be put in place.  Just imagine the incredible things that could be accomplished by these highly intelligent people creating this hot mess, if they would only put their intelligence toward the good, instead of such evil.  October’s guidance lesson focused on internet safety.  One of the rules that was taught was the following: if you see something that makes you feel scared, sad or unsafe, you should tell a trusted adult.  We discussed that “Uh-oh” feeling that kids can get sometimes, letting them know something is not right.  Should they have that feeling, then they should tell an adult.  On March 1st, I visited the 2nd and 3rd grade classes to remind them of internet safety rules.  I also stressed that should they come across something that specifically tells them not to tell a parent/adult, that they should definitely tell a parent/adult.  We also talked about how they have some power and control in this situation, which was to turn whatever they were watching off.  They do not have to look at it!  And then tell an adult, who can help keep them safe.  Notifying the website may be an option, however keeping them safe on our end of things will have immediate effects.
     On to the guidance lessons for March.  The focus this month is friendship.  The kindergarten students will be playing a game where they have to pay a lot of attention to how they are treating the other students in the class.  First graders are doing friendship centers..  The second grade students have a power point presentation and then play a kahoot game on the iPads.  The third grade students are doing a friendship escape room, which is one of my favorite lessons!   
      We are at the beginning of the Lenten season.  I read a very good article examining what a person should do or give up for Lent.  The article approaches Lent as an invitation that Jesus is sending us.  So often we look at Lent as a dreaded time of year where we go without a lot of our comforts.  However, this article challenges the reader to view the season of Lent a little bit differently.  Here is the link if you want to check it out! www.foxnews.com/opinion/three-questions-to-ask-yourself-before-practicing-lent-this-year
     As always, please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help..  I can be reached at kim.bennett@owenborocatholic.org or (270) 684-7583

     And just like that, we are into February!  Responsibility is the theme for most of the guidance classes this month.  This is such an important pillar for character!  There are so many other characteristics tied to it, as well.  I hope you notice your student making an extra effort to be responsible.  Kindergarten transition will have a power point called, "That's Not My Cape."  They will then play a game reinforcing what they have learned in the power point.  First grade will have a power point from their safari friends that demonstrates the importance of being responsible.  They will then play a game of musical chairs.  Whenever a student is out, they will draw a card and decide whether that card demonstrates a responsible behavior.  Second grade has a power point that lists behaviors that will help a person be responsible.  Then they will play a game where they are divided into 4 teams.  Each team has to decide if the case scenario read aloud in showing responsible behaviors or not.  If the behavior is responsible one student from each team will race to get a pineapple card.  The team with the most cards at the end wins.  Third grade is playing a power point game where they determine responsible behaviors.  Kindergarten is focusing on tattle telling.  We have a dinosaur story to review and then will be playing a game to determine if certain scenarios are a "tell" or "don't tell" situation.
      Teaching our kids to be responsible is an ongoing situation (at least in my home it is.)  As I may have mentioned before, laundry is the usual hot topic when it comes to chores-as in bring your laundry to the laundry room.  I wish I had a dollar for every time that I have said, "If it's not in my laundry room, then it doesn't get washed."  I would be independently wealthy!  My statement doesn't seem to have much meaning until there is an immediate crisis, such as no clean underwear!  There is a phrase that states: "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part."  Ouch!  That is a rough way to learn a lesson.  Yet there are those kids that will make that mistake over and over.  Yes, I have one of those living in my home.  Sometimes it does seem like I am talking to a concrete wall, but I'm not going to stop because I feel that way.  I hope you don't either.  Here is an article from the Focus on the Family website that gives suggestions for age appropriate chores.  There are some hyper links within the lists that offer suggestions to implement that particular chore.
www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/parenting-challenges/motivating-kids-to-clean-up/age-appropriate-chores
     As always, please let me know if there is anything that I can do to help.  I can be reached at kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org or (270)684-7583.

     Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had a wonderful break filled with many blessings!  January is usually a time when we reflect on the past and set new goals for the future.  Personally, I have never been very successful at doing this.  I seem to set my mind to doing something at random times.  Sometimes it's the beginning of the school year.  Sometimes it's in the middle of some random week that's not really related to anything.  But which is more important: setting a new goal at the beginning of the year or just setting a goal and working towards it?  Maybe it depends on the particular goal or the motivation to reach it.  Either way, I have found a great article for setting a goal regarding prayer.  I think it's a good one to read at the beginning of the year and then reread as needed.  Since it talks about "asking Him to wreck your plans and to replace them with HIS," I will probably reread it weekly and sometimes daily.  So set your goals!  Work hard to reach them.  If you mess up just pick your self back up and keep going.  As I have told the students repeatedly, no one is perfect except God.  And remember the phrase, "We plan, God laughs."  Oh, He can have a very amusing sense of humor at times!  Here is the link to the article: https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/how-to-pray-even-bigger-in-the-year-ahead
     It is hard to believe that the first half of the school year is over. The students are getting back into their routines and the learning continues.  This month in guidance class, we are learning about coping skills.  In the guidance world, this is sometimes referred to as "mindfulness," which is knowing where your body is in space and time as well as what you are feeling and doing.  Often times, when a child gets upset, we will tell a student "You can't do that" or "You can't do this."  My goal is to teach them what they CAN do when they are upset, angry, sad or however they are feeling.  Now does that mean that they will automatically using these skills when needed?  The answer is "No."  That is where we, as adults-parents, teachers, coaches, youth ministers, etc. have to help guide them.  Think about your New Year's resolutions.  Are you doing your resolutions naturally, with no reminders?  My guess is "No."  If you were, they probably would not be considered New Year's resolutions?  My hopes are that we, as the adults, will remind them of whichever skills they need to/want to use.  And when I say remind them, I mean over and over and over...I think you get the picture!  So here is what we are learning.
     *Kindergarten will be reading the "Worry Mammoth," learning about "bubble breathing," drawing about their concerns and using "worry eggs" to store their worries.  "Bubble breathing" is slow, deep breathing as if the person is blowing bubbles.  The longer and slower the breathe, the bigger the bubble.  (We might even be blowing some actual bubbles!)  A "Worry Egg" is an Easter egg, that can be decorated and can "hold" worries for a person.  By writing/drawing the worry down and putting it in the egg, it is giving the person "permission" to not think about the worry because it is safely stored in the egg.  They can come back to talk about the worry, at an appropriate time.
     *Kindergarten Transition will talk about the Incredible Hulk and what happens to him when he gets really mad.  Then they will learn breathing exercises that can help them calm down.  We will use a cartoon illustration of the Hulk to identify what happens to our bodies when we get upset.  We will learn and practice deep breathing and "bee breathing," which is making the sound of a bee when exhaling.
     *First Grade will learn and practice four different coping skills, taught by their safari friends, that can help them when they are upset.  There is "buffalo breathing, giraffe journaling, parakeet positivity and chimp chatting.  "Buffalo breathing" is a deep breathing technique.  "Giraffe journaling" is imagining that you are high above the situation and looking at it from a different perspective.  "Parakeet positivity" is using positive affirmations to help overcome the situation.  "Chimp chatting" is talking with a trusted family member, adult or friend about the situation causing distress.
     *Second grade will be doing coping skills centers where they will learn about various ways to cope with stressful situations.  The stations are listed below:
          -Helicopter View-Looking at the situation from a different viewpoint.
          -Imagery-Visualizing a calm and peaceful place and immersing all your senses into that image.
          -Art-Creating art as a way to express feelings.
          -Grounding-Using your senses to pay attention to your surroundings.
          -Body Scan-Learning how to figure out how your body is feeling at that moment.
          -Breathing Deeply-Practicing breathing using bubbles and pinwheels.
     *Third grade will learn specifically about anger, what triggers angry feelings and what to do when feeling angry.  The students will play a "scoot" game to help determine what triggers their anger and then skills to calm down, which are the following:
          -Counting backwards
          -"Hocus Pocus" breathing
          -Pushing on a wall
          -Squeezing a stress ball
          -Listening to music
          -Writing in a journal
          -Doing some exercises
          -Picture a peaceful place
I think all of the lessons will be fun and interactive for the students.  Make sure to ask you child/children what they learned in guidance class!
      May God bless you and your family throughout the year!  As always, please contact me if you have any questions or need any help.  kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org or (270) 684-7583

    "Be kind."  Have you seen all the signs around town saying, "Be kind"?  I love it!  A saying so simple yet so strong and very much needed in today's world.  Kindness is the focus of the guidance lessons for the month of December and a big emphasis for what we are doing during Advent, at the K-3 Campus.  In every lesson, we discuss the "ripple effect" and how each student has the power to cause a "ripple effect" through their kind actions.  Kindergarten will be reading a story about the "Do Good Dragons" and play a game that reinforces showing acts of kindness.  The kindergarten transition through 3rd grade classes will be reading the story "He Was Kind Anyway."  The kindergarten transition class will learn how superheros are kind and villains are unkind.  Then they will play a game where they decide if various actions are those of superheros or villains.  The first grade students will play a game similar to musical chairs but instead of being out when the music stops, they have to draw a case scenario from a cup and decide how they could show kindness in that particular situation and talk about whether or not showing kindness in that situation would be difficult our easy.  The second grade students will do a  little science experiment where they are given a picture of an object and are asked to pretend that they don't know what it is.  (The four groups are given different pictures of pineapples.)  After answering some questions, we talk about how you cannot judge a person by their exterior and sometimes actions, as well,  just as you cannot know the sweet fruit of a pineapple by looking at its exterior.  By being kind, even to the mean, snarky people, we can get to know them and help them.  Third grade students also will do a little science experiment!  The students watch as one drop of food coloring is added to a clear bowl of water.  We talk about what happens to the dye and slowly add more drops of dye.  Very slowly, the water changes color.  We compare acts of kindness to the drops of dye and discuss how our acts of kindness slowly spread more kindness to others.  The students then write two positive affirmation statements on white paper.  They wad up their two sheets of paper and have a quick "snow ball" fight.  At the end, each student picks up two "snow balls" and read the positive affirmations, which makes them feel good!  They then make a "cool to be kind" snowman.  There are some very interactive lessons this month.
     The month of December is always so exciting but always so busy.  It is too easy to get wrapped up in all the programs, parties and other festivities.  I hope everyone (myself included) is able to take a moment and truly enjoy the season and especially Christmas day!  Here is an article to help promote that thought.  (It also touches on the "being thankful" attitude that I mentioned last month.) www.foxnews.com/opinion/mom-didnt-enjoy-her-last-christmas-with-all-of-her-kids-and-thats-ok  Here is another article that tackles focusing on the "miracle and not the material."  www.foxnews.com/opinion/give-your-kids-what-they-really-want-this-christmas  There was a link inside the previous article that had suggestions for random acts of kindnesses that families can do together.  There really are some sweet ideas on the list.  Here is the link: https://courtneydefeo.com/lightemup/
     I hope that you all have a blessed and peaceful Christmas and a New Year that brings even more blessings and peace!  As always, feel free to contact me at kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org or at (270) 684-7583

    

     In a recent reflection from The Word Among Us, the author asked the readers to think about what they would have if they only had what they had given thanks for the previous day.  That stopped me in my tracks!  It was a very effective way to drive home the point that I should be thankful and grateful in all that I do.  Yes that includes even the very trying situations that we face in this life.  A very good friend has been teaching me to find the positive in situations that aren't the greatest.  In truth, these not so favorable situations do have valuable lessons to learn.  Those lessons help gain wisdom that can help me and others down the road.  So yes, I need to be more thankful for the good and the bad.  (Although, there are some situations that I don't know that I would ever be thankful for such as natural disasters and personal tragedies.)  After reading that, I began to think about everything for which I needed to be grateful.  Then I began to think about how I need to teach this to my kids more, as well.  In thinking about the various ways to teach gratitude and looking at different articles that address the topic, the reality is that that this is more than saying "please" and "thank you."  True thankfulness and gratitude includes being appreciative of others and having patience as well as counting your blessings.  The Focus on the Family website has a series called "Training Kids To Be Thankful."  The articles address these issues and offer a variety of practical ways to teach kids how to be thankful in the "me-centered" world.  https://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting/spiritual-growth-for-kids/gratitude/training-kids-to-be-grateful
     This month in guidance classes, we're  focusing on feelings, with a Thanksgiving twist.  Kindergarten students will see a power point about a dinosaur friend named Cryceratop and then create a small "Thanksgiving themed" book about feelings. The kindergarten transition class will be the first to have guidance centers, all focusing on feelings.  Each activity will have a fall/Thanksgiving theme.  First grade has a Safari Friends "Name That Feeling" game (very similar to Jeopardy).  The second grade students will be watching video clips from the movie, "Inside Out" and then playing a Thanksgiving feeling bingo game.  The kindergarten through second grade lessons teach students to look at body language and facial expressions to help determine how a person may be feeling.  The third grade students have a power point from the Hocus Pocus series, titled "Emotions Potions.  Students will learn the steps for voicing how they feel, in a non-confrontive way.  The students will then play a feeings story telling game, using scarecrow feelings cards.
     I hope that everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!  I am so thankful to work with such amazing children and awesome staff at the K-3 Campus.  Please contact me if I can be of assistance in any way.  kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org  or (270)- 684-7583 

     Happy Fall!  October is both Bully Awareness month and National Substance Abuse Prevention month.  Here at the K-3 Campus, we used to participate in Red Ribbon Week.  However, we found that many of the students just didn't "get" the whole point of Red Ribbon Week.  Sometimes we got a lot of questions concerning drugs and alcohol because they were unaware of them.  That's a good thing!  Last year we decided to have lessons about bullying during the month of October.  I want to continue the topic and expand it a little more to cyber bullying and internet safety.  While the internet can be an amazing thing to explore, it can also be very scary.  Internet safety is something that I have always tried to sprinkle into lessons, when it was appropriate.  As the number of children on the internet grows, here are some statistics to give some perspective to the topic.  According to growingwireless.com, 56% of children ages 8 to 12 have a cellphone.  Among children 8 years and younger 21% use  smartphones.  38% of children under the age of 2 use a mobile device for media purposes.  According to guardchild.com, 21% of kindergarten to second grade students have cell phones.  70% of children ages 7 to 18 have accidentally encountered online pornography.  65% of 8 to 14 year olds have been in a cyber bullying incident. Children are stepping into a world where they think they can safely play.  In reality, more and more children (and sometimes very young children) are exposed to the dangers of the internet.  I feel that it is an important topic that needs to be discussed.  In their guidance lessons, they will be introduced to some basic rules for internet safety.  The curriculum comes from the NetSmartz Workshop resources created by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.  Guidance lessons will be in the Chromebook lab.  There will be two lessons this month.  In the first lesson, the students will watch a video called, "Router's Birthday Surprise."  The video has fun, age appropriate characters that learn about rules that address what they should do if they:
     *see something inappropriate online
     *are asked to share personal information
     *are asked to meet offline
     *encounter a cyberbully
Students will also learn about four "out-laws," who they may encounter while on the internet;
     *Meet-Me Mack who encourages people to meet face-to-face
     *Look-At-Dis Louie who tries to get people to look at sites, images, etc. that could make them
       feel "sad, scared or confused"
     *Potty-Mouth Pete who encourages people to be mean or rude online
     *Wanta-Know Wally who encourages people to share personal information
After watching the video students will complete some activities to reinforce what they have learned and also be allowed to explore the NetSmatzKids.org website which is a kid friendly website that focuses on the concepts taught in the lessons.  I hope that the lessons create boundaries for kids when they are on line and that these boundaries will stick with them as they grow!
     Parenting with the internet has created a new challenge.  As I tell my kids, my version of snap chat was writing everything on a piece of notebook paper and folding it in a variety of creative ways.  We did not face the challenges that our young people face today.  I encourage you to visit the websites listed above.  There are some excellent resources for parents.  Here are a few more links to some resources for various online topics.  https://www.netsmartz.org/TrendsandTopics  Here is another article about dangerous apps.  https://foreverymom.com/family-parenting/6-dangerous-apps-jenny-rapson/?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Mique&utm_campaign=danger+apps
     As always, please feel free to contact me at kim.bennett@owensborocatholic.org or (270) 684-7583.   I hope everyone has a very blessed and restful fall break!