In my spare time (not that I have much of that!), I've been listening to another great book that was recommended by Mrs. Jolley. The name of the book is "The Secrets of Happy Families" by Bruce Feiler. The author offers many practical and easy to implement ideas that may improve the way your family functions. After listening, I have started using one of his strategies at my house. The second chapter of the book addresses family dinner, which the author acknowledges can be hard to make happen in our busy overscheduled lives. He emphasizes that "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE DINNER; IT'S ABOUT THE FAMILY" and suggests many ways to make meals more meaningful. One of his suggestions includes something he refers to as "Bad & Good" during which everyone has to report on something bad and something good that happened to them that day. We've started that in my family and it's been interesting so far. My oldest son says everything is great (which I know can't always be true) and has a hard time picking out things that could be better. Feiler quotes research that found that games such as this help children learn to deal with the ups and downs of life and also help to develop empathy. We will continue to implement this activity at home and I hope to try others from the book as well. In future blog postings I'll share other ideas and reveal how they are working at the Shute household! In addition, our parent Liaison, Carolyn Curtis-Mahoney is hoping to share strategies with parents as well. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Good Morning! It's been a while since I've written anything which is a testament to how busy life can be when we get back into the routine of being in school as well as starting after school activities with our kids! I have started teaching Second Step lessons in all the classrooms and we have been focused on the ideas of respect, empathy, and positive listening behaviors. This year I will be in all classrooms throughout the entire school year on an every other week basis. Counselors in some of the other buildings have tried this schedule and have really felt it was a positive change to be a presence in each classroom all year. The Committee for Children (the organization behind Second Step) has great resources for parents that help to reinforce Second Step skills at home and I would encourage you to use the codes listed in my June 2013 blog to access that information.
In my spare time (not that I have much of that!), I've been listening to another great book that was recommended by Mrs. Jolley. The name of the book is "The Secrets of Happy Families" by Bruce Feiler. The author offers many practical and easy to implement ideas that may improve the way your family functions. After listening, I have started using one of his strategies at my house. The second chapter of the book addresses family dinner, which the author acknowledges can be hard to make happen in our busy overscheduled lives. He emphasizes that "IT'S NOT ABOUT THE DINNER; IT'S ABOUT THE FAMILY" and suggests many ways to make meals more meaningful. One of his suggestions includes something he refers to as "Bad & Good" during which everyone has to report on something bad and something good that happened to them that day. We've started that in my family and it's been interesting so far. My oldest son says everything is great (which I know can't always be true) and has a hard time picking out things that could be better. Feiler quotes research that found that games such as this help children learn to deal with the ups and downs of life and also help to develop empathy. We will continue to implement this activity at home and I hope to try others from the book as well. In future blog postings I'll share other ideas and reveal how they are working at the Shute household! In addition, our parent Liaison, Carolyn Curtis-Mahoney is hoping to share strategies with parents as well. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
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AuthorAs I wrote on my home page, I have been a Counselor at the South School for over 10 years. I am constantly trying to improve my skills as a Counselor and to learn new strategies that I can pass along to my students. Archives
May 2015
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