A Little More Perspective (Taking)

How do you like this?  It's Monday and I'm writing the blog!  Wahoo!

We will be continuing our unit on perspective taking this week by embracing a couple of social thinking concepts from the social thinking "guru" Michelle Garcia Winner.  The first concept will be "All About Me versus Thinking About Others" and the second will be "Good and Weird Thoughts".  The first concept takes what we learned last week about understanding a situation from another perspective and makes it more personal---how does my behavior reflect if I'm thinking about myself or if I'm thinking about others?  And from there moving into "does my behavior give other people good thoughts about me or weird ones?".  I know "weird" is kind of a hot-button word, but we never use it to describe a person, just that awkward, uncomfortable feeling we sometimes get if things feel funny.

To practice these concepts, we'll role play and talk about different scenarios that happen on a regular basis and decide as a group whether the situation reflects a person thinking about themselves first or others.  From there we'll do a sort of "affirmation circle" in which students will write down or draw something that each person in group does that gives them a good thought (i.e. being a good listener, laughing at jokes, taking turns, etc.).  The emphasis will be on improving on behaviors that make people want to be friends with us.

As I write this, it sounds like a tall order to fill, but the kids are awesome so I think this will be a fun learning week.  Enjoy the sunshine and keep your fingers crossed that warm weather comes our way soon!

Perspective Taking

Well this week has certainly zipped by quickly!  Aren't snow days great?  It wouldn't be a Minnesota winter without them, even if we do have to wait until the end of March for them to come....  And I'm vowing now to get back on track and post these updates on Mondays again, but in the mean time, better late than never!

This week in group we worked on the difficult skill of perspective taking.  This skill is part of the mindfulness curriculum, as well as our social thinking curriculum, and it harnesses the pre-frontal cortex's ability to process through new information by comparing it to existing knowledge, then make good decisions.  Yes, even as adults we're constantly working on this skill!  However, the ability to view a situation from another person's point of view improves interpersonal relationships, quells anxiety, helps with impulse control, and gives us the opportunity to predict how to respond in different situations.  In general, perspective taking builds the brain's ability to make more reflective, conscious, appropriate responses.

We read a great story called "Hey, Little Ant" by Phillip and Hannah Hoose and then did a drawing activity to reinforce different perspectives.  Next week we will continue with our unit on perspective taking and move from "how do other people feel in this situation?" to "how do other people feel about me in this situation?".  Have a great weekend!

Mindfulness Wrap-Up

Where has the time gone?!?  I apologize for the lack of update last week; I was sent home sick with the flu by our school nurse last Tuesday and it all went downhill from there….  This winter has been brutal, hasn’t it?  We’re ready for spring!

I am definitely glad to be back to a regular schedule this week with groups back to normal before we head into spring break.  We are finishing up our Mindfulness unit this week with a review of all we’ve learned about the brain, its functions, and how we can bring mindfulness into our everyday lives---listening, seeing, smelling, tasting, and moving.  My hope is that students feel empowered by learning more about how their brain and body work together.  By becoming more mindful students are better able to learn at school, build relationships with peers, and be met with more success each day at home and school.

Because students have worked so hard on this unit and there’s no better way to celebrate a job well done, we’re having a “game day” this week in group.  Energy levels are running high with the anticipation of our upcoming break, so letting each group choose a game and let loose has been a great practice in building social skills in a very “organic” setting.  It is always fun and interesting to watch!  When we return from break we’ll be transitioning into our unit on perspective taking---building those “social thinking” skills. 

It was great to see so many parents at conferences last Thursday and Friday!  I am continually grateful to have a job where I get to know such amazing parents and children.  (And it was also fun to hear that my mom isn’t the only one who is reading this blog!)  Enjoy your spring break!