-Our first lesson was all about getting to know each other. I read them a little "book" about what a School Counselor does, we played School Counselor Hokey Pokey, and I worked on learning names.
-Our second lesson was about safety! We met puppy who told us a story about finding some "candy" in the bathroom. We learned our 3 Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report and used them to recognize that eating something we find might not be safe, we told ourselves "no," and we thought about adults who we could report to. We heard another story about a little boy who found a gun and was showing it to his sister. We talked about how to use our 3Rs to figure out what they should do.
First Grade- safety: We met Puppy who told us a story about wanting to cut up an apple, but needing to ask for help from an adult to use a sharp knife. We talked about the 3 Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report and used them to think about what to do if we saw a strange dog. We also reviewed the 8 Never Never Rules and the Always Ask First Rule (see posters below).
Second Grade- safety: We talked about the 3 Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report and reviewed the 8 Never Never Rules (see poster below). We used these rules to think about what to do if someone brought a gun to school to show other kids. We also talked about the Always Ask First Rule and why it would be important to ask before going somewhere with someone other than the adult in charge of you.
Third Grade- safety: We read some practice scenarios and decided if they were safe or unsafe situations. We read a scenario about a boy bringing a gun to school to show other kids and used the 3Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report to decide what to do. Then we heard another story about a boy who goes to the park with his older brother and his friends. The brother's friend wants the boy to drink something he calls "special juice" and we discussed using the Always Ask First Rule before taking something from someone.
Fourth Grade- safety: We talked about adults who can help when a situation is unsafe and what to do if they are alone or in charge of someone else (like a younger sibling/cousin). We heard about a kiddo at home with his younger brother who has an accident trying to change a light bulb. We talked about using the 3Rs: Recognize, Refuse, Report and who to call in an emergency. We then heard another story about a girl at chess club who wants to go with the college helper for extra practice after school, but needs to ask for permission first!
Fifth Grade- safety: We talked about adults who can help when a situation is unsafe, but that as they get older they will be on their own more often and will need to also make safe choices for themselves. We talked about two boys who take a shortcut to school and get hurt and how they get help for themselves. Then we heard a story about a girl who wants to stay after softball practice to get extra pitching help from a college helper, but needs to ask for permission first!