3rd Graders and the Unthinkables

The third graders worked VERY hard to create their own Unthinkables. Check out the drawings below and at the bottom of the post, a letter sent home to the parents explains what the Unthinkables are. Also included: Miss Wheeler's holiday door decoration: What Would the Unthinkables Want for Christmas? The 3rd and 5th graders brainstormed all of the ideas and created all of the "gifts."

3rd Grade New Unthinkables:

Silly Willy: Makes you silly at inappropriate times

 Rotten Ralph: Makes you not want to brush your teeth

 Mat Man: Makes you act like a doormat

Icee Iguana: Makes you pretend to be sick so you can stay home from school

Candy Eater: Makes you eat too much candy

 

 Music Box: Makes you hum or sign at inappropriate times

Funny Funster: Makes you make jokes at inappropriate times

Bored Billy: Makes you bored during class

Sleepy Me: Makes you fall asleep in math class

Beauty Judy: Makes you only focused on your looks

 

And those are just a few!

Here is the letter that was sent home:

December 11, 2012

Dear parent(s)/guardian(s),

As we are nearing the end of 2012 and approaching the beginning of 2013, I just wanted to give you an update on the class council lessons that I have been teaching in 3^rd grade so far this year.

We started off the school year identifying and noticing expected and unexpected behaviors. Using Social Thinking curriculum, we have considered how our behavior affects how others think and feel about us. Most importantly, the students have learned that they can change how other people think and feel about them by changing their own behavior.

For instance, at school a teacher might say, “It is unexpected for you to be talking to your friend while I am teaching. I am feeling uncomfortable because it seems like you are not listening to what I am saying. If you can be quiet while I am talking, I will know you are doing your best to listen and learn.” This language could be used at home as well, if you are interested in utilizing it.

Each child also identified at least one unexpected behavior that they sometimes do and created an Unthinkable to go along with that behavior.  The students learned that the Team of Unthinkables are imaginary characters that get in your brain and try to take control of your thinking. Superflex is the superhero who provides kids with strategies to “defeat” their Unthinkables.

For instance, DOF (Destroyer of Fun) makes people too competitive. A Superflex strategy to defeat DOF is to tell yourself, “If I stay calm and remind myself, ‘It’s just a game,’ then people will think I am a good sport and will want to play with me again.” The 3^rd graders were very creative and together thought of over 40 NEW Unthinkables that you can see displayed on a bulletin board near the front lobby.

After we return from the holiday break, we will begin a unit on conflict resolution. If you have any questions or concerns about your student, please feel free to contact me anytime either at the school phone number or by email (wheelera@hartfordschools.net). I am really enjoying getting to know your children; they are a great bunch! 

Sincerely,

Amy Wheeler

School Counselor, Grades 1, 3 and 5

Unthinkables Door Decoration:

 

First Graders Finish I-Care Cat Unit

Well, it's been quite a while since the school counselors have had time to blog. 2012 turned out to be a very busy year! We are in the process of catching up on posting, so in the meantime, we thought we would share some letters that have gone home so far this year for various grades with some examples of completed work. 

First up: 1st grade! Unfortunately, I didn't remember to photocopy any examples of the first graders I-Care-Cat books, but hopefully if you are a first grade parent, you saw them when they came home with this letter way back on November 14^th.

Dear First Grade parent(s)/guardian(s),

I hope the beginning of the school year has been great for you and your child. I have really been enjoying getting to know all of them and work with them to improve their skills. I have seen every child during class council lessons once a week in their classroom, most children in small lunch groups, and some children individually, based on their needs.

In class council, we are just finishing up our I-Care-Cat unit. During the past few weeks, the first graders have met the I-Care-Cat puppet, learned his five rules, and created a book to help them remember the rules. The students should have brought their books home with this letter. You can ask them to explain what each rules means, and how it helps make them a better friend. The rules are:

1)      We Listen to Each Other

2)      Hands are for Helping

3)      We Use I-Care Language

4)      We Care About Each Others’ Feelings

5)      We are Responsible for What We Say and Do

If you can help to reinforce these ideas at home, that would be very helpful. The children all have this language now and can be prompted to remember, “Which I-Care-Cat rule should you be following right now?”

Please feel free to contact me anytime with any questions or concerns about your child via email (listed below) or phone at the school number. I look forward to working closely with you and your children. Thank you!

                                                                                    Sincerely,

                                                                                    Amy Wheeler

                                                                                    School Counselor, Grades 1, 3 and 5

                                                                                    wheelera@hartfordschools.net

Welcome Back from Your DBS School Counselors!

Welcome back to DBS! The 2012-2013 school year is just about to start and we are very excited to see all our students and their families!

As you may know, the school counselors at DBS stay with the students as they move from grade to grade. This year, Rebecca Lallier will be working with kindergarten, second, and fourth grade students. Amy Wheeler, our new school counselor, will be working with first, third, and fifth graders. We work with ALL students - teaching in the classrooms, running groups, and working with individual students who need some help with feelings, friendships, and/or behavior. Here's some more information about what we do. Click on the image to enlarge.

School counseling today may be quite different from what you remember from your own school experience. Gone are the days when you only saw the school counselor if you were "troubled" or needed to change your class schedule. (And chances are that you called that person your guidance counselor - a term which is no longer used since we now provide a much broader array of services. Please don't call us the "g-word"!) Now we are known as school counselors and we provide comprehensive programs that include prevention, as well as intervention, to help kids learn and be successful in the areas of academics, personal-social skills, and career preparation. Here's a brief (and amusing) video that explains comprehensive school counseling:

Kids will see us often in their classrooms and around the school. They can ask us for help any time by speaking with us or leaving us a note. You can do the same. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns about your child. You can reach us by calling school at 802.295.8647 or emailing us:

Rebecca Lallier (grades K, 2, 4) lallierr@hartfordschools.net 

Amy Wheeler (grades 1, 3, 5) wheelera@hartfordschools.net

Watch here for pictures, student work, and information about our class councils and other school counseling programs. You can subscribe to DBS School Counselor by clicking the email or RSS feed links on the right hand of the top of this page. And stay tuned for our new webpage, coming this fall. We look forward to seeing you at Open House on Tuesday, September 18 from 6:00-7:00pm.

How to Talk to Children About the Recent Shooting

Tragic events like the recent shooting in Aurora, Colorado can be very disturbing to children (not to mention adults). Because going to the movies is such a common activity for kids, the possibility of something similar happening to them or someone they love can seem all the more real. Even if they are not talking about it, it is very likely that they are thinking about it, especially given the amount of media coverage that they have probably seen and heard.

It is important to talk with kids about their concerns, but it's sometimes hard to know where to begin. Here is a link to a guide for parents from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network - Talking to Children About the Shooting.

Brainy Otters

Kids at DBS know a LOT about their brains! In the past few weeks, kindergartners and first graders learned that their brains help them learn, feel, move, sense, breathe, make friends, and solve problems. They made brain hats, which they wore to our Healthy Brain assembly.

Second graders learned about neurons (brain cells) and that healthy neurons have lots of dendrites. (We looked at pictures of healthy and unhealthy mouse neurons!) They also learned about neurotransmission -- how our brain sends electrical signals through our bodies -- and showed how it works by turning themselves into a string of neurons sending a signal. They colored neurons, which now fill two bulletin boards in the hallways.

Third graders reviewed neurotransmission and learned about the parts of the brain and what they do. They assembled brain puzzles that are hanging all over the school.

Fourth graders learned about the brain's left and right hemispheres, and about what happens in the synapses (the spaces between the neurons) to make neurotransmission possible. They also learned about what happens in the brain when a person becomes addicted -- to drugs, alcohol, tobacco, or video games.

Fifth graders reviewed everything they already knew (which is a lot!) and learned about how brains are studied in laboratories. They also learned about the effects on the brain of alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, and stimulants such as cocaine and amphetamines.

In all grades, kids talked about ways to keep their brains healthy -- by playing, being physically active, solving problems, reading, building, doing puzzles, imagining, and creating.  We talked about how too much screentime (TV, videogames, and computer) takes up the time that they could be doing things that are fun AND good for your brain.

We had a fun and entertaining Healthy Brain/Screentime Turnoff kick-off assembly, our best ever so far! Mrs. McCullar's 5th grade class did a skit of a game show contest between the Brain Boosters and the Screen Team. Guess who won! The Screen Team had a very hard time meeting the physical and mental challenges, and the Brain Boosters left them in the dust! Mrs. Thompson's 4th grade class performed an epic poem that they wrote as a class called "Want to Keep Your Brain Healthy?" Mrs. Torrey's 4th grade did a skit based on the book Mouse TV, in which a large family of mice finds out that they have more fun doing the activities that they have seen on TV than they do just watching them. Mrs. Vielleux's class presented ideas for fun ideas to do instead of screentime and presented their bright and beautiful banners about healthy brains, which the whole audience read aloud. The Otter and Clifford the Big Red Dog made a special appearance to remind the kids how important it is to read. The second grade led us in singing "Take Back Your Brain." Since it is an annual tradition, the 3rd through 5th graders knew the song too, and the younger kids quickly learned the chorus. The gym was rocking!

Want to listen to it at home? (The kids love it and it's got a GREAT message! Download it here for free!


Brain-O-Mania was a great success (watch for pictures coming soon) and the kids (and some parents, too) were so excited to see the real brains and participate in brain-healthy activities.

All week the kids have been talking about the things they are doing instead of screentime. There has been conversation about hiking, catching frogs, bike riding, fort building, family board game night, arts and crafts, and much more. The wonderful collection in the lobby of recycled sculptures that kids have made at home  grows every day. Kids are earning otters by reading at home in the You Otter Read read-a-thon. Each class is competing to see which one can earn the most otters -- the class that does will win a pizza lunch with the Otter!

Watch for more pictures of the assembly, Brain-O-Mania, and recycled sculptures to come!

Second Grade Bullying Unit

Hello!  I know it's been a long time since I blogged.  Balancing all the roles of a school counselor can be quite challenging! 

Second graders just completed their bullying unit.  They know that bullying is:

On purpose to hurt
Happens over and over

They also understand that:
Bullying= Danger

Second graders role played telling an adult if they are being bullied or, if they know someone else who is being bullied   They understand how hurtful bullying can be!

We also read two really great stories:
Froggy Tames a Bully
The Bully Blockers Club

I especially like the Bully Blockers Club because it demonstrates kids bonding together to stop bullying.  Although we don't introduce the concept of "imbalance of power" in second grade, this book does a great job at showing how kids can take the power away from a bully by sticking together.
 
Here are some of their amazing anti-bullying posters!  I posted some of them on our bulletin board.  We have some really fabulous artists at DBS!

Cyber Safety and Bullying

As part of our bullying unit in fourth grade I conducted a lesson on cyber safety.  For this lesson I used the book Mr. Peabody's Apples, by the one and only Madonna!

The students really enjoy this story.  In the book the character Tommy Tittlebottom witnesses Mr. Peabody taking apples from a local vendor without paying.  Tommy tells his friends Mr. Peabody is a thief.  They of course tell their parents ,who then tell their neighbors, until the whole town thinks Mr. Peabody is a thief.  Mr. Peabody is ostracized because of the rumor.  Tommy discovers that Mr. Peabody pays for the apples every Saturday when he purchases his milk.  Tommy of course feels awful that he judged Mr. Peabody and started such an awful rumor.  To teach Tommy a lesson, Mr. Peabody asks him to bring a pillow filled with feathers.  They cut open the pillow and the wind carries the feathers all through the land.  Mr. Peabody then tells Tommy that each feather represents someone in Happville.  He asks Tommy to pick up all the feathers.  This of course is an impossible task.

After reading the story I asked the fourth graders:

How did people communicate in the story?  Word of mouth
How do people often communicate today?  The internet
What in the this story represents all the different ways to communicate over the internet?  The feathers

This then resulted in a great discussion about how once you post something on the internet it is impossible to get it back.  Fourth graders love talking about this stuff.  I informed them that even if they post something and delete it from their computer, the post is still out there for others to find.  This is especially true if someone has gotten a hold of the post and forwarded on to a friend.  To reinforce the discussion I played this youtube video:

In this lesson I only brushed on the topic of internet safety.  We have a group called Techincool coming in May to have a more in depth discussion about internet safety with fourth and fifth graders.  The internet has become such a large part of kids' lives.  This makes teaching internet safety skills a critical part to their education.  As I mentioned before they love talking about this stuff!  This of course makes my job much more fun. :-)