Resiliency Parent Workshop

Homework Habits

1. Routine

➢ Step 1: Set up a location to do homework
Quiet, distraction free area with good lighting

➢ Step 2: Create a “homework center”
Materials needed for homework: pencils, paper, timer, crayons, etc.

➢ Step 3: Same time every day; best before dinner
The longer you wait, the more tired your child becomes; best to start homework soon after s/he gets home to keep the momentum going

2. Communication

➢ Know what’s going on in the classroom
➢ Communicate with teacher
➢ Read linkbook and write to the teacher if needed
➢ Check website, blogs or newsletters for school and classroom updates

3. Create a positive family culture

➢ Plan homework schedule around family activities
Alleviate stress by planning the day so homework is neither rushed nor squeezed in

➢ Be mindful of appropriate sleep needs and healthy snacks
A good nights sleep is more important than any homework activity

➢ As you work with your child on homework
• Let them teach you something
• Discuss their ideas
• Celebrate their accomplishments
• Do think alouds as you work with them through problems
• Be supportive and encouraging, avoid criticism and punishment

Parent Workshop: Positive Discipline

Parent Workshops Coming Up!

Second Step – Impulse Control and Problem Solving

Dear Families,

All students in grades 1 through 5 will soon start Unit 2 of the Second Step Guidance Curriculum. This unit focuses on impulse control and problem solving.

"When is impulse control hard?" "When we are angry!" Grade 5 use tableaux to answer questions about impulse control.

 Impulse control means slowing down and thinking rather than doing the first thing that pops into your head.

Problem solving is a strategy for dealing with problems we face with other people and as individuals.

How can we share? Grade 1 roleplay problem-solving for daily issues!

Calming down techniques are taught to give children the skills to compose themselves so that a given problem can be solved more effectively.

"When you finish the body outline, start putting on the calming down techniques. Perhaps you could write, 'Go for a walk' on the foot......'"

Your children will learn and practice steps for calming down and solving problems. You can help by practicing these new skills at home with your child. For example, reinforcing calming-down skills at home might go something like this:

Your child comes in upset about a younger brother or sister playing with their new toy. You might choose to comment that you can see they are very upset. Then you might suggest they try taking three deep breaths, then counting backwards slowly (with you if they are young) before they decide what to do.

After your child has calmed down, you might then help them practice the Second Step problem-solving steps by having them tell you what the problem is and then thinking of some ideas that might solve it. Then you can help them go through each of their possible solutions and ask: Is it safe? How might people feel about it? Is it fair? Will it work? Once they have chosen what they think is a good solution, suggest they give it  a try. If it works, great! If not, then encourage them to try something else.

You will find copies of the posters Claming Yourself Down and How to Solve Problems at the end of this post. We will be using these posters during Second Step lessons; feel free to post them at home.

In this unit, your child will also practice using such skills as apologizing, ignoring distractions, and dealing with peer pressure. These steps to problem solving are not absolute rules; rather they are guidelines for being safe and fair. If your family uses different steps, do please discuss these with your child.

Please contact the Counseling Team if you have any questions about impulse control, problem solving skills or the Second Step Curriculum

Sincerely,

Nicki Lorenzini (teaching Second Step in grades 1 and 5)

nlorenzini@istafrica.com

Kate Kersey (teaching Second Step in grades 2 and 4)

kkersey@istafrica.com

Glen Blair (teaching Second Step in grade 3)

gbalir@istafrica.com

KG Works On Tattling

Tattling vs. Reporting:  What’s the big deal?

Our Kinders can answer this question!  They know that there is a difference between tattling and reporting.  Reporting is when a child tells an adult about a problem to help keep others safe.  Children report big problems, which are scary, dangerous, or someone could get hurt.

Tattling is when a child tells an adult about a problem to get another child in trouble, or when children tell adults about small problems, without trying to solve the problem using Kelso’s choices.  All IST students know that if they have used two of Kelso’s choices and the problem still persists, then they know how to tell an adult to get help in solving this problem as it has changed from a small problem into a big problem.

As a conclusion to our unit on Kelso’s choices, the KG classes played a game that showed their understanding of not only how to differentiate big problems from small ones, but also their understanding of Kelso’s choices and how they would choose solutions to match problems.

The game was simple and very fun:  students volunteered to come to the front of the class while the counselor read a scenario of either a big problem or a small problem in which a child either tattles or reports to a teacher about the problem.  Students had to determine whether the scenario was a reporting situation (big problem) or a tattling situation (small problem) by choosing a smiling face or a frowning face.  The most fun part is that students were blindfolded while taping the faces on the board!!

Students then taped smiley faces on the board for reporting situation (smiley face because reporting makes all of us feel safe and good), and sad faces on the board for tattling situations (sad faces because tattling makes teachers and other students feel bad).

If the student felt that it was a tattling situation, they then gave one of Kelso’s choices to solve the problem and said how they would act it out if it was them.

Positive Discipline Parent Workshop

Empathy Parent Workshop

 

EMPATHY

Why children need it

How to help them learn it

 

Monday October 31^st

7:15-8:00 ES Staffroom

This is the first in a series of parent workshops facilitated by the Elementary Counselors.

EMPATHY = knowing & responding well to your emotions & others’ emotions.

Come if you are interested in:

• Learning how empathy is taught through the Second Step Guidance Curriculum – new at IST this year
• Understanding why empathy is central to developing good social skills in young children.
• Hearing about the age appropriate empathy skills you should aim to develop in your own child/children.
• Joining a parent discussion on how empathy skills can be developed at home.
• Receiving a Tips Sheet on activities and opportunities for building empathy skills within your family.

Next Month’s Parent Workshops…

Positive Discipline – Monday November 14^th

Developing the Homework Habit – Monday November 28^th

How Grade 5 Grew in Mikumi

“I’m so proud that I hiked to the top of the mountain”

“My teacher noticed I can help organize other people”

“Before Mikumi I had never carried water on my head”

“My family couldn’t believe I was so brave I slept with elephants right outside”

“Something I learnt about myself in Mikumi is I can survive without my family”

“My friends noticed that I kept them entertained when they got bored”

These are some of the reflections our grade 5 students made during the Guidance Class that followed their Mikumi trip. After exploring the concept that:

We experience personal growth when we try new things… 

…students set about documenting, on sentence strips, the ways they believed they had “grown” in Mikumi…..

…then each student discovered additional ways they had grown during the trip by asking friends, Banda Group members and teachers for their observations…..

…and finally, every individual joined all their reflections together in a long line, which formed the body of their new ‘grown-up’ self….

Come-by and see Grade 5’s VERY grown-up students, hanging in the windows of their classrooms!

Grade 2 learns about Third Culture Kids

The Grade 2 just finished with their Unit, “Maasai and I,”  which is an inquiry into the transdisciplinary theme “Who we are” with the central idea, “We can find similarities and differences among cultures.” We have found that it is important that children not only understand their home culture, but it is important that they understand their place within a larger group of children who are called, Third Culture Kids.  With this purpose, the Grade 2 counselor, Kate Kersey, presented a mini unit of 3 lessons on “Third Culture Kids” (TCK). The intention of these three classes was to give children a sense of belonging  to “Third Culture Kids” (TCK’s) or “Global Nomads”. We use these names for people who have lived in a country other than their parents’ country. They feel they belong more to a group of people with a similar life experience, rather than to a unique nationality. These lessons were aimed at several different ‘types’ of TCK’s:  those who move around the world, and those who have never moved; we consider them TCK’s as they speak several languages, they have friends who move away every year, and they attend an international school.

The children found out that they are all TCK’s, and this is the data we collected that shows us the unique mixture of TCK’s we have at IST:

	2N	2S	2P	2H	Total for Grade 2
Lived in Different Countries	19	19	20	14	72
Parents from different countries	7	10	9	5	31
Don’t live in the country where born	18	15	20	14	67
Speak more than 1 language	17	18	20	15	70
Friends in different countries	19	18	21	18	76
Know how it feels when someone says, “I am moving away.”	18	19	19	17	73
Know how it feels when someone says, “I am new to this school/country.”	18	19	20	19	76
Go to an International School	21	20	22	20	83

During the first lesson, we explained the terms “Third Culture Kid” and “Global Nomad”.   The next lesson focused on what it means to have a multicultural identity. During this lesson, the children drew pictures of themselves and what special traits make them who they are.  We discussed the notion, that although we all are different and drew different pictures, we still have traits in common. Two being, that we are all third culture kids and multicultural. A person who is multicultural can understand and appreciate people with different languages, celebrations, clothes, food, habits.We finished our Third Culture Kid unit by talking about “what is HOME for us” and what helps us to feel safe and comfortable while we are at home. Nomads move with a few things; people, pets, souvenirs and special objects. “Where is home?” is a difficult question to answer for Third Culture Kids; they often say “I am from nowhere and from everywhere”, we want to help them to build a sense of home and belonging.  At the conclusion of this lesson, some Grade 2 students put it quite nicely, “A house is something you can’t take when you move, but a home moves with you.”  “It doesn’t matter what it looks like on the outside, it’s that INSIDE, it feels like home.” “A home is where you feel safe, loved, and comfortable.”