Throughout the year, but in particular the last few weeks, we have been thinking about good and bad choices that we make in school. Lately friends have been making a number of choices in school that make teachers and other friends sad. Today during our meeting, we had a class conversation about choices that make us happy (good choices) and choices that make us sad (bad choices). Some examples we came up of good choices that friends can make include: taking turns, cleaning up, eating lunch/snack, and listening to teachers. Some examples of bad choices that friends can make include: hitting, screaming, pushing, not listening, and grabbing. We spoke as a class about whether or not each idea they came up with was something that made them happy or sad.
This conversation also fits in with our social emotional curriculum of relationships with others. Some ideas we will be exploring as a school include: What are the different ways I can communicate? How do I develop and express empathy? What does it mean to be compassionate? The children are learning that a friendlier way to communicate with their peers and teachers is to use words rather than resorting to physical confrontations. We are also working with the children to develop empathy toward their peers and teachers. When they do something that upsets their friends, we have them check in, notice facial expressions, and ask their friends how they are feeling. When friends share that they are upset, or they don’t like something, it causes the child doing the action to stop and reflect on what they have done. We are working hard to build an empathetic classroom community, and by discussing and thinking about good choices we can make is a step in this process.
