Week 1:

Welcoming: This week we worked on many ways to welcome someone new to class. We spoke about how welcoming is a way of showing someone you care and it helps other children feel that they belong to the class. During this time we worked on introducing everyone by going around and saying our names. Building children’s welcoming skills creates a sense of connection and comfort in the classroom community. This allows children to participate fully in classroom learning experiences. Having a positive experience of belonging in the early learning setting helps children look forward to belonging to the learning communities.

Week 2:

Listening: Following Listening Rules helps everyone learn. Listening is an important Skill for Learning that helps children participate successfully in school. Having clear Listening Rules helps children listen to the teacher and improves their ability to pay attention during group times.

When you listen, your eyes, ears, voice and body each have a special thing to do.

• Eyes are watching. (Point to the corners of your eyes.)
• Ears are listening. (Cup your ears with your hands.)
• Voices are quiet. (Put your finger to your lips.)
• Bodies are calm. (Hug your body with both arms.)

Week 3:

Focusing Attention: Focusing attention uses your eyes, ears, and brain. Practice helps you get better at focusing your attention. To succeed in school, children need to be able to focus their attention. All learning requires that children pay attention to what is important in the classroom. Paying attention to peers in play situations helps children get along with others.

This lesson teaches how to use an “attent-o-scope” to focus attention. Children cup their eyes with their hands to form binoculars. Their hands prevent them from seeing anything to the side and help them focus on the object they are looking at.

Week 4:

Self-Talk: Self-talk is talking to yourself in a quiet voice or inside your head. Self-talk helps you focus and pay attention. Self-instruction, or self-talk, is an important tool children can use to help them listen, focus attention, and learn. Most young children talk to themselves much of the time as they are doing activities or playing with friends. Over time, children typically internalize self-talk and no longer speak out loud to themselves.

Week 5:

Following Directions: Listening and following directions help you learn. Using self-talk and repeating directions help you learn. Practice and repetition are necessary for children to remember and use the skills taught in this program. This week children learn to follow directions by practicing listening, attention, and self-talk skills.

Week 6:

Asking for What you Need or Want: In this lesson the children worked on skills they need to use when asking someone for something they need or want. The first part is to face the person you are asking and use a respectful voice. It is important  for children to be able to ask for help when they need it. For many children, this requires speaking up in a strong, respectful way. Speaking up in this way (being assertive) also helps children get along with others.

Week 7:

Identifying Feelings: A good way to identify a persons feelings is to look at their faces and their bodies for clues to help you tell how they feel. Some different feelings that we spoke about were happy, sad, mad, and excited. The children will be able to identify the feelings happy and sad when presented with physical (face or body) clues. Children who know how to identify emotions tend to have better social skills and be less aggressive and more accepted by peers.

Week 8:

More Feelings: During this lesson we focused our attention on what is happening, or the situation, and how it can help you tell how someone is feeling. Some feelings we labeled were surprised and afraid/scared. The children will be able to name the feelings surprised and scared when presented with physical and situational clues. They will also be able to identify how others feel in response to scenarios. Children who know how to identify emotions tend to have better social skills and be less aggressive and more accepted by peers. This week children learn another important part of empathy: understanding typical causes of emotions. Paying attention to situational clues, or what is happening, is a way to identify a person’s feelings. When possible, help children understand what’s causing their emotions.

Week 9:

Identifying Anger: When identifying anger we spoke about how everyone feels angry sometimes. It is not okay to be mean or hurt others when you feel angry. Some emotions to label with anger are mad or angry. Children will be able to identify the feeling mad/angry when presented with physical clues. This lesson helps children improve their ability to identify anger in themselves and others. Being able to read the feelings of others and identify their own feelings accurately is especially important for children who interact in an aggressive manner. Children often think it is not okay to feel angry. Emphasize that everyone feels angry sometimes. It is natural.