3Rs Song

Ways to Stay Safe Song

Prep Senior - Grade 2 Child Protection Lessons

Learning ways to stay safe is an important skill for children.  This week we have been investigating pictures and situations that may be safe or unsafe. Children are learning about the 3Rs when it comes to Safety:

1. RECOGNIZE: Children are taught to think: Is it safe? What's the rule? Is there a rule being broken?

2. REFUSE: If you know something is not safe and someone is asking you to do something unsafe, we say words that mean, NO!

3. REPORT: Tell an adult right away if you feel unsafe! 

Have a look at this photo together and think about the 3Rs above:

Both at school and at home we have adults that will keep us safe. If children are unsure if something is safe they should follow the, "Always Ask First Rule" (this rule means to also ask the adult in charge you are with if they think something is unsafe.  Adults have a very important job, and that is to keep kids safe at all times!

Lazy 8 Breath

Another great strategy for children to be able to pay attention to their breath or to help regulate their own behaviour when they are feeling upset, worried or even over excited.

Prep Senior Learns about Personal Space

What is Personal Space?

Personal space is the amount of space people need to have between themselves so that they feel comfortable.Everybody wants to feel comfortable. When people feel comfortable with the amount of space between you and them, that is known as good personal space. With respect to personal space students are taught to think about:

• How well you know the other person
• What is happening at the moment
• Does the other person seem comfortable?

Children are encouraged to envision an invisible hula-hoop as an imaginary bubble of space around them and that no one should enter into your personal space unless you have given them permission and if you ever do feel uncomfortable with someone in your personal space you should talk to an adult your trust right away. The amount of space needed to feel comfortable can change from person to person and from activity to activity. Good personal space changes depending on who you are, who you are with, and what you are doing. 

More Mindful Breathing Strategies

At the beginning of each of our lessons, we spend the first few minutes focused on the ABCs of mindfulness. The "A" represents our ability to focus our attention and be aware, the "B" represents breathing (focusing on the rhythm, counting our breaths) and finally the "C" caring for ourselves and others. Throughout the year, we will share these strategies through this blog.

Problem Solving Reflections in Grade 1 and Grade 2

Students in Grades 1 and 2 have been reflecting on their problem solving ability this week during our lessons. Your child would have either posted to their see saw or brought home a paper with a reflection of their learning and understanding of the concepts we have learned. Here are a few photos from their reflections:

Problem Solving Grade 3

In Grade 3 students are learning about problem solving. Students have learned that "small problems" usually make us feel angry, frustrated, annoyed or sad whereas "big problems" make us feel scared or worried and require adult attention right away. Students are learning strategies to feel empowered to solve small problems.

Students are learning about the STEP model to help guide them. 

What is the problem? ( I feel...) 

What can you do?

What might happen if? 

What works best?

We have also learned that our reaction to the problem should match the size of the problem. When our reaction is too big, it is unexpected and we should use our mindfulness strategies to calm down so we can use our problem solving steps. 

Mindfulness in Grade 3

In Grade 3 students have been "adding to their toolbox" of ways to help them be better students and friends. The next tool they've learned about is mindfulness.  Sometimes we all need to "take a pause" to focus on the here and now and calm our brains and our bodies. Sometimes things get in the way of students being able to problem solve and use their social thinking skills so learning mindfulness is an important tool that needs to be practiced like all new skills!

At the beginning of every lesson a student is selected to ring the chime and a new breathing strategy is introduced. So far we've done "5 finger breathing" and "candle breath." Ask your kids to show you!

(Picture an imaginary candle with your eyes closed. Focus on the breath and control your breathing so when you exhale with your mouth you don't blow your candle out.)

We will continue to work on our mindfulness strategies throughout the year. These strategies only work if kids practice them!

What's new in Counseling in Grades 3 - 5

In Grades 4 -5 we just completed our unit on Growth Mindset. Students were asked to tune-in to the power of their self-talk to focus attention and tune out distractions, face challenges and influence how we feel about ourselves.  We practiced what "growth mindset self-talk" should sound like. Again, we returned to the idea of making neural pathways in our brain; if we have positive self-talk our automatic thoughts tend to be more positive which will lead to higher self-esteem and academic growth.

Additionally, we started to tackle the concept of self-advocacy.  In other words, knowing yourself as a learner, knowing what you need and how to get it. Do I need to talk to another peer who is an expert in tech because I'm struggling with getting graphics into my blog?  Do I need teacher help because I've tried every model I know but keep getting the wrong answer in math?  Do I need to talk to Mrs. Stone because I continue to have problems with one friend and I don't know what else to try? We emphasize that we want students to be able to speak up for themselves. It doesn't mean interrupting the class every time we have a need but it does mean diligently problem solving and then asking for help. It also means knowing when to say "no" and taking care of ourselves. I gave students the example of when I accompanied the G5 team to Melacca and the teachers asked students or teachers to carry large water bottles. I wanted to be a helper but I also knew that I have a very painful back so I had to say, "I'm sorry, but I can hold the door open for you."  I took care of myself knowing it wasn't okay to carry the load.

For Grade 5 the trip to Malacca was the perfect opportunity to practice our growth mindset skills. Soaring through the jungle on zip lines, becoming tightrope walkers and masters of swinging platforms the students (parents and faculty) faced many new adventures! Some of us were challenged to use positive self-talk as we faced fears and new experiences!

What's next in Grades 4 and 5? Problem solving! We will spend time unpacking the idea of problem solving using the STEP model 

Many of our students know about "I-Messages" but many of our new students may not so we will practice this as one of our strategies which helps with "S step - saying the problem without blame." 

For example: "I feel frustrated when you keep flipping my hat off. Please stop doing that." Have your kids practice this at home when they get into a conflict and see how it works!

Photos from Problem Solving in Grade 1 and Grade 2!

Here are some photos from our lessons this week in Grade 1 and Grade 2!

Size of Problems and Matching Reactions to the size of the problem

Grades 1 and 2 have been working on identifying the size of the problem, and matching their reaction accordingly. You can see in the chart below how children are learning to understand how to match the size of their reaction to the size of the problem. This takes a LOT of practice, as most children feel that small problems are really big! Through role play and discussions we will continue to work on this skill!

Try a few of these examples together!!!!

4-7-8 Breathing to help Focus

Children need lots of different strategies to help regulate their behaviour when they are feeling overwhelmed or have strong feelings about something that might of just happened. Giving children strategies of how to pay attention to the breath can help them to regulate their behaviour when they may be experiencing strong feelings. Try this simple strategy above together, called, 4-7-8
It also is a wonderful strategy to use at night if children's minds begin to wonder and think about the day or what might happen the next day. Happy breathing!

What do problem solvers SAY and DO in Prep Senior?

In PS this week, we have been learning that problems SAY and DO certain things while they are problem solving:
Problem Solvers:
Say: There words in a calm way! They also say their words firmly and assertively!
DO: look at the speaker and they take a deep breath before they try to problem solve if they are really upset!
Listeners:
Say: Okay! I understand you! They also might say, I am sorry BECAUSE (and name the reason why they are sorry rather than just staying sorry!
DO: They LOOK at the problem solver