Putting It In Practice

 So, What Does It Look Like?  And How Can We Apply It?

(And what, exactly, do we mean by "it.")

    

     We were very fortunate to recently attend a Conscious Discipline conference here at school.  What do we mean by Conscious Discipline?  The "official" definition is:   Conscious Discipline® is a comprehensive social- emotional and classroom management program that uses everyday life events to teach children and adults self-control, conflict resolution, character development and social skills. Conscious Discipline® has been specifically designed to make changes in the lives of adults first. The adults, in turn, change the lives of children.

     How do we go about this?  How do we, as teachers--and parents--practice self-control, conflict resolution, character development and social skills?  Equally as important, how do we encourage our children to do the same?  (And, to give this over to our children, we need to work on acquiring this ourselves first.) 

     One step is by teaching the children to articulate their emotions.  The children are learning to "name" their emotions.  (Above, Dalia identifies sad and happy; below, Leah works with paper faces with a multitude of expressions.)

 (Below:  Avraham Chaim, and Harper,  investigate our books, people and mirror as they become familiar with a set of emotions.)

    

     The Morahs don't have to reinvent the wheel:  there is plenty of material for us to share with the children.  (Below, Morah Susan reads Shubert's Big Voice to the class. In  this story, Shubert learns that he must speak up when a classmate has intentionally offended him.  His teacher assists by providing him with the appropriate vocabulary.)

 

     This is the second time we have experienced the adventures of Shubert.  In Shubert's New Friend, Shubert's class teases a newcomer to the class.  Shubert's teacher comforts the teased child first, then models empathy, encouraging the class to do the same .  The class then successfully "rewinds" the situation, welcoming the new child appropriately.

     An important step in this process is breathing.  We practice inhaling and exhaling by using S.T.A.R. (Stop, (smile) take a deep breath and relax), Drain, Balloon and Pretzel. (Below, we share our interactive book about emotions and breathing.)

Emmett places his token with a facial expression in the book.

Above:  One of our Conscious Discipline books, I Can Calm which guides us to practice breathing, along with our breathing tool reminder.  

Above:  When I Feel helps us to identify our emotions. It reminds of our breathing techniques, too.  We shared this book earlier in the year; we are now revisiting it in Circle.  Shubert's Big Voice encourages us to be assertive, to make our needs known appropriately so we don't feel frustrated.  

     Want to learn more about Conscious Discipline?  Stop off at our Intown Jewish Preschool front office regularly to get a peek at our little--but mighty--calendar.  For each day of the year, there is some practical advice and valuable thoughts to carry you through your busy day.

The Morahs of Kitah Gimmel