CharacterEducation:PromotingaPositivePrimary

SchoolEnvironment

JointPTAMeetingDecember4,2017

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Maya Angelou

Whydoweneedtoteachchildrenaboutappropriatebehaviors?

Childrenneedtobereadyandavailabletolearn.“Kidsdowelliftheycan.”RossGreene

Children,atthisage,tendtobeegocentricandweneedtohelpthemlearntothinkofothers.

Teachingchildrenskillswillhelpthemlearntomakefriendsandbefriends.

Childrenatthisagehavehadlimitedlifeexperiencesandneedguidancetonavigatesocial

interactions.

Howdowepromoteapositiveschoolenvironmentthatisinclusiveofallchildren?

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Givestudentsthelanguagethatwillhelpthemexpressthemselves:

HowamIfeelingrightnow?It’sokaytofeelangry,sad,lonely,frustrated.Usecolorassociationstohelpthemidentifythe

intensityoftheirfeelings.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Providestudentswithstrategiestoaddresswhatishappeningintheirworldatanygivenmoment.Ifeel_______________when___________.Ican___________.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

NavigatingSocialSituationsExplainpersonalspace:Teachchildrenwhyit'simportantforeveryonetohavesomepersonalspacetofeelcomfortable.Practicesocialovertures:Teachchildrentheproperwaytostartaconversation,getsomeone'sattention,orjoinagroupofkidswhoarealreadyplayingtogether.Goovertakingturns:Teachandpracticewhatitmeanstowait,taketurns,andshare.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Teachingchildrentothinkabouttheirfeelings*SocialThinkingfocusesonhelpingchildrenfigureouthowtothinkinsocialsituations.Childrenaretaughthowtoobserve/thinkabouttheirownandothers’thoughts/feelings.*Theyalsolearntheconnectionbetweenthoughts,feelingsandbehaviors.*Thefocusonthinkingcanhelpkidsunderstandhowtointeractmoreeffectivelywithothers(i.e.,expectedvs.unexpected).

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironmentCopingStrategies

Howdowehelpchildren(andourselves)calmdown?Breathingtechniques.Givethemtimeandspace.Takeabreak,countto10,givewaittime.Validatetheirfeelings.Giveanopportunitytoexpressthemselvesiftheywantit.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

CopingStrategies

*Individualizedapproach–learnwhatiscalmingforyourspecificchild*EncourageArtisticExpression

coloring,drawing,journaling,performing,etc.*Calming/sensorytools

Theraputty,playdough,Squishballglitterjar,finditbubbles,pinwheel

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

EmpathyEmpathyistheabilitytounderstandandsharethefeelingsofanother.Empathyencompassesperspectivetakingandcompassion.Childrenwhoareabletoconsiderthefeelingsandperspectivesofothers,showmorepro-socialbehaviorsthanchildrenwhohavedifficultywiththisskill.Empathicchildrencreateanatmosphereofharmonywithintheclassroomenvironment.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironmentHowcanwecultivateempathy?

Childrenarebornwiththecapacityforempathy,butitneedstobenurturedthroughouttheirlives.Learningempathyisincertainrespectslikelearningalanguageorasport.Itrequirespracticeandguidance.Regularlyconsideringotherpeople’sperspectivesandcircumstanceshelpsmakeempathyanaturalreflexand,throughtrialanderror,helpschildrengetbetterattuningintoothers’feelingsandperspectives(MakingCaringCommonProject,HarvardUniversitySchoolofEducation).Makingcaringcommon.org*Positiverolemodeling-Demonstrateconcernforothersorparticipateincommunityactivitieswhichmodelcareforothers.*Zoomin-Usetheanalogyofamagnifyingglass.Beingkindmeanstakingacloselookathowothersarefeelingandwhattheyarethinking.Encouragechildrentodothiswithmorefamiliarandlessfamiliarpeople.*Uselanguagesuchas,‘Howwoulditfeeltowalkin______shoes?’*Practicerelaxationstrategies.Whenchildrenfeellessstresstheyaremoreabletodemonstrateempathy.*Helpingchildrenidentifyandmanagenegativefeelingslendstotheexpressionofempathy.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Thesearereinforcedintheschoolsonadailybasis.*BucketFillerTheme*SecondStepProgram*Literatureacrossthecurriculum*SpecialProgramsintheSchools

*UnityDay*ArtsinEducationprograms

*Yoga*JumpUpandHaveaGoodDay*LouDelBianco:MakeaGoodChoice

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Whatcanyoudoathome?Usecommonlanguage*Bucketfilling.*Bigdealvslittledeal.*Makeagoodchoice.Providespecificpositivepraise“Ilikehowyou_____________.”

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Whatcanyoudoathome?

*Verbalizeyourownfeelingsinfrontofyourchild,andhelpthemtoidentifytheirfeelings.*Modelcopingstrategies(i.e.talkoutloud).*Whenconflictarises,helpthemworkthroughsocialproblemsolving.*Buildempathybyaskingthemhowtheymightrelatetoastorybookormoviecharacter.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Whatcanyoudoathome?*Playboardgamestoencourageturn-taking,frustrationtolerance,goodsportsmanship,etc.*Playgamesthatinvolvefollowingdirectionsand/orstoppingimpulses(Simonsays,redlight,greenlight)*Allowfordowntimetobuildpatience,creativity,problemsolving,toleranceforboredom,etc.

PromotingaPositivePrimarySchoolEnvironment

Thankyou.

Anyquestions?