Long time no post!
I have been in the fog of the start of the new year, and as such it has taken me until now to post about the books and activities and other good stuff I am using with the kids over at Giles. It's been a great couple of weeks, and the students have finally settled back in to most of their routines.
I thought I would share two things that were successful in the past month, and give you a link to a book I really like.
First, back to before winter break. Two days before school let out, I was in a 4th grade classroom having been charged with the task of talking to children about families. I was supplementing the health textbook, which asks that we explain the ways that families can change, and gives the examples of divorce, birth of a sibling and death of a pet. The teacher was concerned in part because of the make up of her students. A little over half of the kids in her room are from families that are what I prefer to call non-nuclear. Many of them had experienced divorce, including one student whose parents are in the midst of the divorce process right now. She was concerned that bringing up the topics of family changes may be difficult or marginalizing for many of these students, and wanted my help discussing it with her kids.
I thought about this the way I imagine many social workers would. The curriculum calls for a discussion of families, and many of these students have probably at one point or another experienced some amount of pain, sadness or emotional discomfort regarding how their families have changed. So why not normalize family change? Talk about it in a way that makes it feel like they can share what they have felt because they will be understood.
I put together a lesson plan that used the concept of the family tree, in the sense of a cartoon tree with family members listed as different branches. Instead of just family trees, however, I used the idea of a "family forest." The students each got one tree to start with, but I explained that family trees are different from regular trees, because when a branch falls from a family tree, sometimes it makes a new tree all its own. That is how we get family forests. When branches leave our family tree and make new trees, we collect them together in the intricate way that human family is created. This is our own, dense family forest.
Some of the children really seemed to light up when I talked about their families this way. They were excited to add new trees to their forests and to show how big and beautiful their families are. I recommend finding ways like this to help students who may need assistance reframing their experiences and improving their outlook. Sometimes just changing the discussion a little and normalizing their lived experience is all it takes to really improve a kid's day.
Shifting gears a little bit, I wanted to share another great book I've been using. It's time to talk about the Mad Monster.
The Mad Monster comes out of this really great book called Sometimes I Like to Fight but I Don't Do It Much Anymore. It's a long title and long book, and it's all about a boy named Douglas who needs help dealing with anger.
I happened upon this book a few months ago in a thrift store when I was picking up a ton of social-emotional learning books for my room. It was a total gem of a find, as I have been working closely with a student this year who struggles significantly with anger management.
Douglas is introduced to the Mad Monster by his school social worker (ha!). The Mad Monster is the "thing that makes us mad at people who are just trying to help us." It is the part of us that says something snide to our significant other when they make a helpful suggestion or the voice inside some kids who mouth off to a parent that tells them to do their homework. Douglas' social worker says he should direct his anger at the Mad Monster instead of those people who care for him, and try punching a pillow or a blanket to show the Mad Monster just how mad he is.
I have started implementing this with my aforementioned student. When he comes to my office we talk a little bit about who might have made him mad that day, and while he talks I give him the chance to punch a pillow or stuffed animal. We work through why he is feeling this way, and I have gently started helping him redirect this anger at the Mad Monster inside him. He now requests the pillow or stuffed animal before we start talking, and is gradually getting used to the Mad Monster as a focus point. I think the symbolism is really helping him start manage his more abstract anger as well, and it's a nice coping mechanism for him. I definitely recommend the book for any student who needs help with anger and aggression.
That's all for now! Will post again soon.
Take care,
-Ms. OJ
I have been in the fog of the start of the new year, and as such it has taken me until now to post about the books and activities and other good stuff I am using with the kids over at Giles. It's been a great couple of weeks, and the students have finally settled back in to most of their routines.
I thought I would share two things that were successful in the past month, and give you a link to a book I really like.
First, back to before winter break. Two days before school let out, I was in a 4th grade classroom having been charged with the task of talking to children about families. I was supplementing the health textbook, which asks that we explain the ways that families can change, and gives the examples of divorce, birth of a sibling and death of a pet. The teacher was concerned in part because of the make up of her students. A little over half of the kids in her room are from families that are what I prefer to call non-nuclear. Many of them had experienced divorce, including one student whose parents are in the midst of the divorce process right now. She was concerned that bringing up the topics of family changes may be difficult or marginalizing for many of these students, and wanted my help discussing it with her kids.
I thought about this the way I imagine many social workers would. The curriculum calls for a discussion of families, and many of these students have probably at one point or another experienced some amount of pain, sadness or emotional discomfort regarding how their families have changed. So why not normalize family change? Talk about it in a way that makes it feel like they can share what they have felt because they will be understood.
I put together a lesson plan that used the concept of the family tree, in the sense of a cartoon tree with family members listed as different branches. Instead of just family trees, however, I used the idea of a "family forest." The students each got one tree to start with, but I explained that family trees are different from regular trees, because when a branch falls from a family tree, sometimes it makes a new tree all its own. That is how we get family forests. When branches leave our family tree and make new trees, we collect them together in the intricate way that human family is created. This is our own, dense family forest.
Some of the children really seemed to light up when I talked about their families this way. They were excited to add new trees to their forests and to show how big and beautiful their families are. I recommend finding ways like this to help students who may need assistance reframing their experiences and improving their outlook. Sometimes just changing the discussion a little and normalizing their lived experience is all it takes to really improve a kid's day.
Shifting gears a little bit, I wanted to share another great book I've been using. It's time to talk about the Mad Monster.
The Mad Monster comes out of this really great book called Sometimes I Like to Fight but I Don't Do It Much Anymore. It's a long title and long book, and it's all about a boy named Douglas who needs help dealing with anger.
I happened upon this book a few months ago in a thrift store when I was picking up a ton of social-emotional learning books for my room. It was a total gem of a find, as I have been working closely with a student this year who struggles significantly with anger management.
Douglas is introduced to the Mad Monster by his school social worker (ha!). The Mad Monster is the "thing that makes us mad at people who are just trying to help us." It is the part of us that says something snide to our significant other when they make a helpful suggestion or the voice inside some kids who mouth off to a parent that tells them to do their homework. Douglas' social worker says he should direct his anger at the Mad Monster instead of those people who care for him, and try punching a pillow or a blanket to show the Mad Monster just how mad he is.
I have started implementing this with my aforementioned student. When he comes to my office we talk a little bit about who might have made him mad that day, and while he talks I give him the chance to punch a pillow or stuffed animal. We work through why he is feeling this way, and I have gently started helping him redirect this anger at the Mad Monster inside him. He now requests the pillow or stuffed animal before we start talking, and is gradually getting used to the Mad Monster as a focus point. I think the symbolism is really helping him start manage his more abstract anger as well, and it's a nice coping mechanism for him. I definitely recommend the book for any student who needs help with anger and aggression.
That's all for now! Will post again soon.
Take care,
-Ms. OJ
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