Who's Ready for Summer!?

Summer is a great time to have fun with family and friends.  While having fun, it is also important to remember summer safety whether you are at the beach, playing at home, or taking a vacation.

Below are some summer safety tips for you and your family.  Enjoy your summer safely :)!

http://kidshealth.org/parent/_summerspotlight/

Give up? Or Keep Trying? Which direction do you take?

Do you ever wonder why two people can face the same adversity but handle it completely different?

Find out why!   Click the link below.

http://mentalhealthnews.org/resilience-why-one-kid-gives-up-while-another-bounces-back-infographic/842777/

Worries Worries Worries

As the school year begins to wind down, children may show their emotions in different ways.  Below are some great tips on helping your child deal with anxiety.

http://mentalhealthnews.org/dealing-with-child-anxiety-9-things-you-can-try/842633/

A Little Gratitude Can Go a Long Way...

A great article on the connection between gratitude and overall happiness.  What a great way to head into the holidays by telling someone you love..."Thank you."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHv6vTKD6lg

"THAT" Kid

Open-mindedness, kindness, empathy, and support.  An amazing article about how teachers and parents can change their perspective about "THAT" kid.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2014/11/14/teacher-to-parents-about-that-kid-the-one-who-hits-disrupts-and-influences-your-kid/

Improving "Social Smarts" at Greenbrier

Since the beginning of the 2014-2015 school year, Ellen Hajek, Speech/Language Pathologist, and I have begun teaching all of the students at Greenbrier the Social Thinking Curriculum by Michelle Garcia Winner.  There are many elements to this curriculum.  We started the school year with Whole Body Listening, which teaches specific behaviors related to successfully participating in a conversation or listening situation.  We have begun to move into the Social Detective piece that teaches "expected" vs. "unexpected" behaviors.  Our classroom groups will incorporate practice with analyzing situations and identifying behaviors that are socially acceptable ("expected"; encourage others to feel calm or possibly even pleased ) and not as common ("unexpected"; encourage those who witness the behavior to feel stress or possibly become upset). A student’s ability to observe, evaluate and adapt to a situation can help to change their behavior in that situation.  We believe that integrating the program into all of the classrooms will benefit all students and teach common language that can be used throughout the school day.  Additionally, the curriculum connects to the Superflex character from Social Thinking who is part of our school-wide superhero theme this year.  We are very excited to be teaching this program in all of the K-5 classrooms and watching the students' "social smarts" grow each day.

"Like a girl..."What does that really mean?

Below is a great ad I found that makes you think...what does it mean when people say "like a girl?"

Check it out!

http://m.fastcocreate.com/3032424/this-always-ad-asks-what-it-means-to-do-something-like-a-girl