Every day of our lives, we are on the verge of making those slight changes that would make all the difference. –Mignon McLaughlin
As we wrap up November and our word of the month, empathy, I am reminded that we created valuable learning opportunities for our students to develop empathy through our coat drive, canned food drive, and fire station visit. Thank you to all who attended the Thankful Hearts Feast and made the event possible. I continue to be in awe of this wonderful community and the many ways we give back! These are lessons that will last a lifetime, and our students will continue to build those empathy muscles as we continue conversations about what it means to be a member of a community.
We are steadily marching to the end of 2023 and all the excitement it brings. Appropriately so, the word of the month for December is self-control. If you would like to revisit the trait in Thrivers, it is covered in Chapter 3. Borba argues that self-control correlates highly with success in other areas of our lives, and it can and should be taught at an early age. This is why we help students develop self-regulation skills, build brain breaks and active movement into their routines, and encourage positive self-talk with our students. Borba offers great tips to parents to support the development of self-control at home. Most of the self-regulation challenges faced by younger students are a normal part of development. Later, when children enter early adolescence, parents may find their pre-teen's/teen's behavior baffling. Should that be the case in your household, I highly recommend the book Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain as a supplement to Thrivers.
Recently, we announced the book chosen for our spring parent book club: Fourteen Talks Before Age Fourteen. Though this book might seem geared towards middle school parents, I believe it can benefit parents of children at any age, especially third grade and up. The book club meetings are being scheduled in February, so be on the lookout for details. I look forward to discussing Fourteen Talks with you in February!
For the Head’s Recap for November, click here.
Let’s Fly!
Jenn