Solving Small Problems With Friends

This week, Mrs. Tatlock came into the classroom to talk about small problems vs. big problems.  See if your child can give you a few examples of what a small problem is and what a big problem is.  After this brief discussion, she introduced us to Kelso and Lily, frog puppets.

We learned where Kelso and Lily live, Willow pond.  We heard about a problem Lily had with the ducks in the pond.  The ducks were chasing bugs away, the pond was noisy, and the ducks were splashing.  All 3 of these issues made Lily feel very frustrated and she was in mud mind! Mrs. Tatlock introduced the children to 4 out of the 9 choices: walk away, tell them to stop, ignore it, and share and take turns.  For each choice, she paired it with a body movement to help the children remember the choices. Ask your child to show you what each of the 4 choices look like using the movements that Mrs. Tatlock showed them.  After, she played simon says with the children, which this video demonstrates.

So the message that is being communicated to the children is if a small problem arises, try 2 of Kelso's choices first before getting help from an adult.  This is a great way to independently build conflict resolution skills, but it's also important to know when to get help from an adult!

Mrs. Tatlock will be sending home a letter and a copy of Kelso's wheel in your child's Friday folder this week.