It has been another busy week! In Kindergarten we learned the difference between good surprises and bad secrets. We read a book called Do You Have a Secret? and played a game where students decided if secrets were good or bad. The students used one of my Kimochi friends, Cloud, to tell me if secrets were good or bad. If they were good Cloud was happy but if they were bad, Cloud turned into a storm cloud because he was upset or uncomfortable. Good secrets make everyone feel happy but bad secrets make you feel sad, bad, worried, uncomfortable etc. The only way to get rid of a bad secret is to tell a trusted adult. Students identified the trusted adults in their lives and completed an activity sheet in which they drew an X over pictures of bad secrets and colored the pictures of good secrets.

In first grade we talked about personal safety and watched a video with Safety Sam the Fire Man and his dog Rescue. We learned 10 super safety rules and the children colored their own Rescue Dogs and brought home a handout with all of the safety rules we learned.

In second grade we learned that rules have a reason when we watched a video on safety. We learned there are safety rules at home, at school, on the bus and in the car, and really just about anywhere you go. We learned that we not only have to respect the rules and know that they are there for our safety but we also have to respect those who's job it is to enforce the rules. The children worked on an activity sheet in which they identified rules that they have at home, school, in the car and other areas as well as completing a safety word find.

 

In Mrs. Lenz's fifth grade class the students watched a portion of the movie Bully. We watched some scenes with a boy named Alex. He was 13 and being bullied at school. The children journaled about what they would do if they saw bullying like this happening or what they could do if they were being bullied. I have been impressed with many of the responses so far!

 

 

Beginning tomorrow, we start talking about Abuse Prevention. The students cover this topic every year as a district wide program. We talk about abuse in terms of comfortable and uncomfortable touches. The chilren identify examples of each kind of touch and we teach the kids the Rule of 3 so that if someone ever touches them in a way that makes them uncomfortable they know what to do.

 

Rule of 3: 1. Say No!

2. Get Away!

3. Tell a Trusted Adult!

 

Kindergarten students read a book called Uncle Will's Tickles while students 1-5 watch developmentally appropriate videos. A pink handout is sent home the day your child watches the video discussing what was covered in class. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Thanks so much and I will update the blog again after abuse prevention lessons are finished!