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Girl Scouts Know How to Be Friends Indeed!
91913 years
This morning, I had the GREAT honor and pleasure of doing a workshop for about 120 Girl Scouts and their moms (ages 5-11), based on some of the lessons and activities in Friendship & Other Weapons. We focused on specific ways that the girls can become allies to someone who is being bullied both before, during, and after bullying situations. In less than 10 minutes, the amazing girls came up with over 60 ways to be a friend to someone who is being bullied! They also learned that:
It is never OK to do nothing about bullying!
Here are a few of the “How to Be a Friend” and “Stop Bullying” posters they left with me to share with you. Please check the Bullying in Elementary School link to see more and to find out how to schedule a Friendship & Other Weapons workshop for your group of girls.
Better Than You by Trudy Ludwig
32213 years
I first fell in love with Trudy Ludwig’s writing when I read My Secret Bully It was the perfect Read & Discuss student activity to include in my own book, Friendship and Other Weapons: Group Activities to Help Young Girls Aged 5-11 to Cope With Bullying. Since then, I’ve become a avid fan of Ludwig’s books for reading and sharing with kids–including my own daughters, ages 8 & 5.Yesterday afternoon, when our copy of her latest book, Better Than You arrived, we all cozied up on the sofa, eager for another good read. Indeed! Both of my kids are all too familiar with the “Jake-type:” the kid who has an incessant need to one-up everyone else. They both really related to the pufferfish analogy about kids who brag a lot and understood exactly what Ludwig means when she writes, “But when a kid acts like a pufferfish, he takes up so much space that he can also push friends away.” Brilliant. So simple, so clear, and so true.
As a Mom of kids who have been guilty of “puffing” a time or two themselves–particularly with each other–Better Than You was a great conversation starter and powerful reminder of how others perceive puffery and bragging. This book is a must read for kids and a must-share for parents, teachers, counselors, and anyone living or working with kids.
You Don’t Really Feel That Way, Part 2
93413 years
A few weeks ago, I posted an article by a great professional, Blogger, and founder of Kidlutions, Wendy Young. The article was called “You Don’t Really Feel That Way, Part 1.”
Here, Wendy posts Part 2, a follow-up piece that talks about how to validate kids’ emotional experiences and drain off their intense emotions effectively. I love what she has to say and how well she explains the approach. “Drain Off” is my term, not Wendy’s. Actually, it is a Life Space Crisis Intervention term, and marks the first stage of LSCI’s six stage process of helping kids with self-defeating behaviors develop insight into their patterns and improved relationships with helping adults.
I have followed Wendy’s blogs and articles for about a year now and find myself on the same page with her time after time. This is no exception. I hope you’ll check out her work and, if you like it, be sure to also check out www.lsci.org, since our training coincides so well with the kinds of thigs she is writing.
http://kidlutions.blogspot.com/2011/09/you-really-dont-feel-that-waypart-ii.html#comment-form