Two Trainings & A Bulletin Board

So I'm going back and forth between recapping my day while I veg on the couch and crawling under the covers for a one-hour power nap ... obviously the couch spud post is winning this volley. I'm happy to report that I survived my official first-day back. It was great fun, actually, because I got my office somewhat organized, conducted two trainings and made a bulletin board. First things first:

As you may know, Texas is not a Common Core state, but it shocks me nonetheless to read that there's isn't a bit of character education woven into those standards anywhere, so I covertly put the Common Core in this interactive bulletin board because, in the end, Character is our Core!

The two one-hour trainings were a blast for me. One was at North Pointe Elementary, a 2013 National School of Character. It's my third visit there, and I worry that they might one day sort of groan when they see me coming. But this staff is so warm and welcoming that I always feel right at home and they're so respectful and attentive while we're working together. It's part of my NSOC outreach to do some pro bono sharing but I came away with a red

Keep Calm & Show Good Character shirt.

The second training was a short introduction to our character education framework for our newest Friendswood ISD employees. I enjoyed a light lunch with them, then walked them through our Six Pillar framework and Capturing Kids' Hearts classroom management system. We had fun connecting and collaborating.

For both groups, I posed the question: Who was/is your character role model? After a pair 'n share, a few volunteers told the whole group aloud whom they'd chosen and why. Once they talked about their special person, I asked them to ball up those model character traits into an imaginary ball and toss them into the empty lunch bag that I was holding. I would pretend to catch them and together we were filling the bag with virtual values and virtues. It's an engaging activity that also gives participants a reflection piece and would springboard nicely into a discussion about character and reputation. 

When I got back to the office, I made this video clip so that you can see what I'm talking about and give it a try if you'd like.

It'd also be fun to use with questions like this: 

What ingredients do you want/need for a friendship?

Or in another curricular area:

What safety items do we need in a Science lab?