Today, I'm excited because my friend and kindergarten teacher Heather Krail accepted my invitation to guest post about a promising practice I recently witnessed in her classroom. Thank you, Heather, and welcome.
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As teachers, we
often witness “cries for help” as acting-out behaviors from our students. This post about a South African practice inspired me to
try something new in my class. Without isolating the students who might be struggling and allowing everyone to get a turn, we started giving
compliments to every Student of the Day during our Morning Meeting time.
Our kindergarten students stand in front of the board and I write down the compliments as the other students give them aloud. This bucket-filling practice has turned out to be
beneficial to the receiver of the compliments as well as to all the givers because we get to practice giving and receiving genuine affirmations.
It has been fun to witness the excitement and
joy on each child’s face as they listen to and hear their peers compliment them, respect them, and cherish them. It helps them feel, trust, and know that they matter in our class. It has also brought a stronger sense of
community as it encourages my students to find and acknowledge the
good in all of their peers, even those who are crying for help.
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Becky Bailey from Conscious Discipline says that often it's connection rather than attention that our struggling students are craving.
Do you have a strong community connections practice you'd like to share?
Leave it in the comments section or contact me to guest post!
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