Treasures

For a couple of months, we've been learning about ideas for dealing with bothering and bullying.  Since a new strategy is introduced in each lesson, I've taught the children to pretend that they have a treasure chest in their minds, one that's overflowing with gold coins and jewels.  Each of the life skills I teach them is a treasure in the chest, and these treasures will be with them and useful throughout their lives.  After all, grown-ups sometimes have trouble getting along with people, too!  Throughout their years in guidance class, students have learned peacemaking ideas, ways to calm down strong feelings, problem-solving and decision-making formats, as well as skills for learning.  These are life-long treasures!  Well, to get back to the lessons on dealing with bothering and bullying, we've learned the strategies of ignoring, walking away, saying stop, saying it again, and standing up for others who are being teased.  This week, we're discussing asking for help.

When I checked my mailbox at school this afternoon, I found an envelope addressed to me in a child's handwriting.  Inside was a letter from a wise and kind-hearted first grade girl.  She described with first grade spelling how she'd encountered a boy in the hallway who stared at her and made her feel uncomfortable.  The little girl said, "I used two of my treasures, but they didn't work. I got to number three and wanted to say please stop but didn't know how.  Can you give me some advice?"  I'll check in with this child tomorrow, but my heart was so warmed when I read that she'd used some of her treasures!  I hope others are taking in these life skills and trying them out in the real world, too, and of course I'll be glad to help them along their way as they practice being responsible, caring, peacemaking citizens!