What Do You Love About Yourself?

What do you love about yourself?

We often ask children what they love about people in their lives. What about themselves?

This is a fun idea for a morning meeting discussion topic, a writing prompt, a homework assignment, or just a casual question. It's a great idea to get the kids to search for their own personalities and build some self-esteem.

It's a good idea to start off by giving a good example. Get them to think about specific personality traits, and encourage the children to celebrate themselves!

What do I love about myself? 

Here are a few things:

1. I am a team player.

2. I always do my very best.

3. I am loyal and caring.

4. I am sensitive to the needs of others.

5. I am a survivor.

What do you love about yourself?

What's Your High and Low?

I have a little tradition in my classroom that I've been doing for years at the end of the day. It's called "High/ Low". (In some circles, it can be called "Rose and Thorn.") It's when we reflect on our day and decide what was the best part of the day and what was the most challenging part of our day. 

I got the idea from an old romantic comedy starring Bruce Willis and Michelle Pfeiffer called The Story of Us.

 It was a cute movie about a married couple with two children who were struggling with their marriage. Every evening at dinner the family would share their high of the day and their low of the day. That got me thinking about ending the day in the classroom the same way. I tried it, and it worked out better than expected!

 

Sometimes people ask me why I let the kids focus on their low of the day... don't I want them to be positive? Well, yes, of course I want them to be positive, but sometimes they have something that is bugging them, and it makes them feel better to get it out. (Just like the rest of us!) Besides, it helps me know what's going on in the classroom. (And even though they don't mention names, I usually know exactly who they're talking about, and can address it privately later!)

In the beginning, there's usually plenty of modeling on my part. My high might be about a success the class had that day, "I was proud when the class got a good report from the art teacher," or "Everyone caught on to adding hundreds today!"  Sometimes, it's an individual success, "John turned 8 years old today," or "Mary has a brand new baby brother."

I'm particularly careful to model what a low would sound like, since I don't want this to be the focus, and I want them to know I care about them. It might sound something like this, "Fred was out sick today," or "Fran got hurt on the playground today," or maybe "Someone hurt George's feelings." More than anything, it's important to model positive feelings. This is when you learn about your students and build those important relationships.

High/ Low of the Day usually works best at the end of the day. However, it can be used in the morning for special events, such as High/ Low of the month, High/ Low of vacation, High/ Low of a holiday, High/ Low of a test, and so on!

Here's another blog post about how I do High/ Low by having the children hold a Beanie Baby when it's their turn, then tossing the Beanie to the next person: How to Have Them Happy When They Walk Out of the Classroom.

How to Have Them Happy When They Walk Out of the Classroom

It's important to have the children leave happy for so many reasons. 

For one, you want them to feel good about school so they'll want to come back tomorrow. 

Maybe even more important, if they're feeling bad, that's how they're feeling when mom asks, "How did school go today?"  This can lead to bad feelings and/ or bad communication, which we just don't want to happen. 

I start my day on a high-energy note (see my previous blog post:  How to Have Them Ready to Learn When They Walk Into the Classroom) I prefer for the kids to leave on a calm, reflective note.

I play soft music as the children are packing up. (They tend to have trouble focusing by the end of the day, and the music calms them down and helps them focus on their responsibilities.) We meet in a circle for "High Low" when they are all packed up. While they are waiting for the others, they reflect on their school day.

When most of the children are ready, I usually start "High Low". I pick up a beanie baby. (Whoever is holding the beanie is allowed to speak.) I tell the class my high of the day and my low of the day. It might sound like this: "My high of the day was how everyone enjoyed the story I read. My low of the day was that someone hurt Susie's feelings at recess." As the children decide their high/low, they raise their hands. I'll pick one child and toss the beanie to them. And so it continues.  

A few procedures I've followed during "High/ Low".  

• No one can be raising their hand while someone is talking. 
• Don't raise your hand until you've planned what you're going to say.  
• Say the person's name BEFORE you toss the beanie.  
• No one has to have a low, you can do two highs instead. If you want to participate, you have to have at least one high.  
• No mentioning names if it's not good news, just say "someone". If it's good news, use names!  
• Don't toss the beanie to the same person every day. 

Often people wonder why I even do a "low" for the day, why focus on the negative? Well, I've found that sometimes things bother the little ones and it's important to let it out. As long as it's anonymous, letting it out is a good thing. I also find that when I tell my low, it gives the children an idea of how much I care about them. My lows usually have to do with someone who is absent or someone who got hurt. A lot of thought and "modeling" go into my "high/ low".

I do find the children love it, and it's a great motivation for them to finish packing up so they can participate. I also find it's a great way to learn what is important to the children. And, of course, sometimes I find out things I didn't know were going on in the social circles of my classroom. 

This is all valuable information for me!