December 11th - 15th

It's hard to believe we're already halfway through the year! This week, we hosted our regular Mentor/Mentee Monday and Tutoring Tuesday. Then, we explored Negativity Bias.

Some lovelies who wanted to help show off our Negativity Bias posters!

We began this conversation by recalling negative predictions other people have made about us, which then led into stories of negative beliefs we hold about ourselves. This was extremely difficult for some scholars and so we approached one another's tales with compassion and respect, as well as a healthy dose of confidentiality. I particularly enjoyed teaching this lesson because we practiced a skill that can be routinized by anyone. Here's how it goes: Think of one negative belief you hold about yourself, then write it down. Next, think of three positive beliefs you have about yourself and write them down. Lastly, marvel at how the good outweighs the bad, even though you may not acknowledge that fact much of the time. I'll be encouraging my students to perform this ritual at home over break with the hope that they will feel self-love while they are away from me. :-)

Happy Holidays to you and yours. Thank you for reading!

December 4th - 8th

Last week, we began like any other: With Mentor/Mentee Monday. I cautiously asked the mentors if they were interested in teaching a lesson about emotions, knowing that many middle school students are terrified of public speaking. Surprisingly, a large number of scholars volunteered for the job! I absolutely love how enthusiastic they are to share their talents with their peers. During our YESS lesson on Wednesday and Thursday, they did an outstanding job of presenting the lesson with grace and confidence! I'll continue to allow students to take the helm throughout the second semester, as it's an excellent way for them to practice communication skills and leadership.

The greatest kids are Scott Carpenter kids!

On Tuesday, we tutored. We've set a goal to reduce our missing assignments to as few as possible (some kids are rather far behind and it would be unfair to ask them to get down to zero). In that light, they worked very hard and I'm glad when we log into Empower and I hear statements like, "Miss! I had 12 missing assignments and now I only have 9!" To make Tuesday even better, our newest YESS Program Manager, Alejandro Jiminez, came for a visit. He will be leading the new program at Westminster High School and the kids loved having him as a guest.

Our YESS lesson this week was called Emotions (Day 2) and it centered on a website, which is endorsed by the Dalai Lama. You can check it out here, if you wish. It's really great, but a little tough for this age group. Due to that fact, I created a handy user guide for the students and had my "mini teachers" lead their peers through the activities. I was worried that some students would be disengaged because the content was tough, but they stuck with it and worked with the partners to complete the assignment.

This team was the first one to get to five!

We played a team-building game called "Hex Nut Challenge" on Friday. The students were given a set of hex nuts and some sticks. Their goal was to stack the hex nuts in whatever fashion I told them to. This was extremely difficult and the tallest stack of the day was 9. To wind down, I asked the students to create a picture with their hex nuts that would make someone smile. My favorite one of the day was a picture of my daughter. Have a great week, everyone!

So engaged. I love these kids!

November 27th - December 1st

Do you remember how we studied the structure of the brain a few weeks ago and the scholars were asking, "Miss, why are we doing this?" Well, they got the answer this week! We utilized all that base knowledge of the brain and its functions to analyze our emotions and how they influence behavior. It was great. I love tying the loose ends together and seeing "light bulb" moments!

Of course, we began the week with Mentor/Mentee Monday and Tutoring Tuesday. Most everyone did a great job of working hard on their assignments, but there were a few kids who resisted and neglected to uphold the expectation. While it's common this time of year, I'm grateful that we have a strong classroom community and the students help hold one another accountable.

We began our lesson on emotions by creating a circle map with as many emotions as we could think of. I was impressed with the kids' ability to come up with so many various feelings!

Once we completed our circle map, we moved the conversation into the 6 Core Emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, fear, surprise, and disgust). We enjoyed discussing how the Limbic System in our brain is rather similar to the brains of our cave-dwelling ancestors and how babies exhibit the Core Emotions, regardless of gender, socioeconomic status, race, etc... Next, we chatted about the concept of "Fight, Flight, Freeze." To drive these concepts home, we listened to songs and identified the emotion then viewed a short film called "The Quiet" and looked for the characters' "Fight, Flight, Freeze" response. 

On Friday, we played a couple games. First, students participated in Puffball Races by blowing puffballs on their desks. They had a great time competing in this activity. Then, back by popular demand, the scholars played Rattled (my favorite word scramble game).