K- We have continued to talk about being problem solving STARs! We practiced sorting problems into our 2 categories: kid sized and adult sized. We reviewed how to report adult sized problems and talked about who to report to. Then we talked about the "T" of STAR: Think! We can think about different ways to solve the problem. One of the ways we practiced was being assertive: using our strong, respectful words to get what we need, but we brainstormed other ideas, too!
The next week we talked about "A" Act- we have to make the choice that will get what we need/want peacefully. We started to read a story called, What Should Danny Do?, a fun book that allowed us to use our STAR steps to make decisions for Danny!
**Below I included a copy of the parent letter I sent home to summarize these lessons in case you didn't get it!

1st- Life Changes. Talked about big events that change our lives. We talked about how those changes affect us--our thoughts, feelings, and actions. Read We are Best Friends and talked about the change he had and how he felt about it. We talked about how to cope with big feelings and did a guided relaxation script together to practice taking deep breaths, relaxing our bodies, and thinking positive thoughts.

2nd- Diversity. We talked about ways our families and their traditions are different. We talked about why diversity is good and how we should treat people who are different--even if we don't agree we can be respectful! Read How My Parents Learned to Eat and talked about how they could have decided they were too different, but instead decided to learn about each other and respect their differences.

3rd- We reviewed feedback and talked about how it might make us feel. Feedback doesn't mean we are bad-it means we have an area in which we can improve and we ALL have things to improve on! It's okay to need help, to ask for help, and to get help. We talked about strategies for dealing with feedback that doesn't feel good. We also practiced giving positive feedback in the form of compliments to a classmate. We also complimented ourselves! 

4th- Using positive to cope with negative. Building on our conversation from last time, we talked about how life sometimes has "sour" patches. We listed some events that might seem sour to us. Then we talked about adding a little "sugar" to help us cope. We discussed positive coping strategies that help us to deal with those tough times. The positive doesn't take away the sour in this case, but it does make it a little easier to take! We used Sour Patch Kids candy as part of our example :)

5th- Coping Strategies. Building on our self-control lesson from last time, we talked about feelings that have different intensities and needing coping strategies to deal with them all. We also talked about positive note taking strategies--how to know what to write down to remember the key points later. We read Soda Pop Head and took notes about the coping strategies in the book that can help us when we are upset. 

 K- Kindergarten finished up bullying by talking about bystanders. A bystander is someone who sees or hears something happen. We talked about how we can help others if we see bullying (being mean, on purpose, over and over) or any kind of unkindness. If we need an adult we can report. We can also be a good friend to the kiddo who isn't being treated kindly.
We also started talking about how to be STAR problem solvers!! We discussed the difference between kid and adult sized problems: things we can solve on our own and things we need adults to solve with or for us. We talked about the "S" of STAR, which stands for stop! When we have a problem, it often causes big feelings. We need to stop to calm our bodies and minds so we can solve the problem! We practiced "soup breathing" to help us get calm.

1st- Diversity. We talked about ways we are different and being different is a good thing! We read the book It's Okay to be Different and discussed the diversity in the book. We don't have to be the same or even agree, but at Fairview we are always respectful to ALL people!

2nd- Life changes. We talked about what life changes are (big things that change your life), brainstormed examples, and discussed the different feelings people might have about those changes. We talked about some coping strategies to use with big feelings-no matter when you have them! We did a guided relaxation script to help us practice our breathing, relaxing our muscles, and thinking about positive things/memories. 

3rd- Feedback. Feedback is just information! We talked about times we get feedback and how we can use it to improve ourselves. We read Thanks for the Feedback, I Think and talked about the main character's strategies for responding to feedback (both constructive and positive). 

4th- Attitude and feelings. We talked about the ripple effect of feelings-how they can get passed along to others (positive OR negative). We talked about what we can do to stop negative attitude from spreading. When we are negative back, we just get more yuck, but when we are positive it can get rid of the negative.

5th- They decisions and self-control. We talked about who makes decisions for us and what kinds of decisions are made for us. We don't always agree and that can cause tough feelings. Why is self control important? What are positive ways to deal with decisions we don't like? We read a short story about the lasting effects of our behavior and connected that to our Character Connection lessons about reputation.