Kelso's goal is to teach students several positive ways to deal with small problems that arise from normal disagreements among children. His 9 strategies are listed below, and also appear on a half-page note that will come home to you when I do the lesson in your child's classroom.
Kelso's 9 Choices
1. Talk it out
2. Share and take turns
3. Ignore it
4. Walk away
5. Tell them to stop
6. Apologize
7. Make a deal (compromise)
8. Wait and cool off
9. Go to another game
We'll learn that kids are smart enough and strong enough to use these choices to handle "kid-sized" or small problems, such as another child taking their crayon or making annoying noises. If they try 3 strategies and the problem still isn't solved, they should get help from an adult. Kelso also teaches that big problems (those that are scary, dangerous, or can result in someone getting hurt) should be taken to an adult immediately.
In our lesson this year, we'll play a whole-class game of tic-tac-toe that requires students to think about which problems are big and which are small, and practice choosing appropriate actions for different problems.
Please feel free to put the note up on your fridge and start using these ideas at home too! We'd love your support in reinforcing them, and hopefully you'll find that they help settle disagreements and discourage fighting among siblings or friends as well. The more practice kids get, the better equipped they’ll be to use these problem-solving and conflict-management skills when they need them... in primary school and many years to come!
This week I'll see Childers, Ray, Dockery, Thomas, L. Foster, Durrett, Brown, and Turner's classes. All other 1st grade classes will take place next week.
Thanks for reading! We are glad you are here!
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