Mrs. G.'s Chalk Talk: Parents' Page

Character Trait for the Month of October: Self Control

Here are some resources that I found interesting that relate to self control. I hope that you will find these strategies and tips as useful as I did!

Teaching Self Control

7 Ways to Teach Self Control

Teaching Kids Self Control According to Kids Health

Helping Your Grade-Schooler with Self Control

This is a silly video that sings a song about having self control for kids.

Calming Down

When children demonstrate self-control, it's a strong indicator of later educational and economic success. But even for kids who can't resist immediate gratification, self-control is a skill that can be taught. Economics correspondent Paul Solman visits a school in New York where many low-income kids are learning strategies for discipline. You’ll be amazed at what they discovered for the long term effects of having self control.

Resisting the Marshmallow News Report

This video is meant for older kids but it does have some good information in it.

Self Control: Teaching Students About Their Greatest Inner Strength

This is an interesting video about the language involved in self control.

Self Control Psychology: I Can't vs I Don't

Please click on the link below for great ideas for summertime learning!

Great Summer Learning Articles

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Mindful Listening

What Is Mindful Listening?

From the busy sounds of a classroom to the wail of a siren, sounds are all around us. Mindful listening helps us choose which sounds to focus our attention on and helps us to be thoughtful in the way we hear and respond to the words of others.

Why Practice Mindful Listening?

Research suggests that children become more focused and responsive to their environment by participating in mindful listening activities. In fact, training our brains to concentrate on specific sounds helps heighten our sensory awareness. As children monitor their own auditory experience—noting what they choose to focus on and/or respond to—they build self-awareness and self-management skills. Mindful listening also lays the groundwork for social awareness and effective communication. Being able to listen in a focused way to what others say and to hone in on important words and phrases give a young listener more context for understanding what’s being said and a better idea for how to respond. This work helps prepare children for following directions, resolving conflicts through discussion, building friendships, and listening for important details in texts read aloud.

-Information adopted from Scholastic

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Mindful Breathing

Why It Works

Mindfulness gives people distance from their thoughts and feelings, which can help them tolerate and work through unpleasant feelings rather than becoming overwhelmed by them. Mindful breathing in particular is helpful because it gives people an anchor--their breath--on which they can focus when they find themselves carried away by a stressful thought. Mindful breathing also helps people stay “present” in the moment, rather than being distracted by regrets in the past or worries about the future.

Why You Should Try It

Stress, anger, and anxiety can impair not only our health but our judgment and skills of attention. Fortunately, research suggests an effective way to deal with these difficult feelings: the practice of "mindfulness,” the ability to pay careful attention to what you're thinking, feeling, and sensing in the present moment without judging those thoughts and feelings as good or bad. Countless studies link mindfulness to better health, lower anxiety, and greater resilience to stress.

But how do you cultivate mindfulness? A basic method is to focus your attention on your own breathing—a practice called, quite simply, "mindful breathing." After setting aside time to practice mindful breathing, you should find it easier to focus attention on your breath in your daily life—an important skill to help you deal with stress, anxiety, and negative emotions, cool yourself down when your temper flares, and sharpen your skills of concentration.

How To Do It

The most basic way to do mindful breathing is simply to focus your attention on your breath, the inhale and exhale. You can do this while standing, but ideally you’ll be sitting or even lying in a comfortable position. Your eyes may be open or closed, but you may find it easier to maintain your focus if you close your eyes. It can help to set aside a designated time for this exercise, but it can also help to practice it when you’re feeling particularly stressed or anxious. Experts believe a regular practice of mindful breathing can make it easier to do it in difficult situations.

Sometimes, especially when trying to calm yourself in a stressful moment, it might help to start by taking an exaggerated breath: a deep inhale through your nostrils (3 seconds), hold your breath (2 seconds), and a long exhale through your mouth (4 seconds). Otherwise, simply observe each breath without trying to adjust it; it may help to focus on the rise and fall of your chest or the sensation through your nostrils. As you do so, you may find that your mind wanders, distracted by thoughts or bodily sensations. That’s OK. Just notice that this is happening and gently bring your attention back to your breath.

-Information adopted from Berkely.edu

Here is a really great article on why we are starting to teach mindfulness in schools, and why it is needed now more than ever before.

Mindfulness is All the Rage- But Does it Work?

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Character Trait for the Month of October: Self Control

Teaching Your Child Self Control

The Marshmallow Test

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Story of this Life

The Key to Transforming 21st Century Learning: Articl

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My Current/Favorite Education Books

I highly recommend!

Please click on the links to read articles or see videos about these topics.

Growth Mindset- The Power of Yet

What Good Questions did you Ask at School Today?

Parent Guide for 21st Century Learning- Edutopia

Ordinary People can Change the World Books

Parenting Articles that may interest you...

Back to School: Setting Up a Schedule

What happened at school today?

Are you doing too much for your child?

Articles on Teaching Empathy

Taking Risks:

Creating Space for Risks

Eutopia: "People shy away from risks because they fear failure -- but what's so bad about failing? Some of the greatest moments of understanding happen after we've "failed." Viewing failure as a typical aspect of the learning process allows a learner to appreciate the need for risks. For this to happen, administrators, teachers, and students must redefine risk and failure for themselves. School officials must step back and allow all learners (including teachers and administrators) to take their individual journeys -- which will inevitably involve failing.

The age doesn't matter. All children, whether five or 18, deserve the chance of rising to challenges and taking risks in an environment where they know those risks are valued and celebrated, and where they know that they have a community of support. In kindergarten, children control their own spaces and choose their own technologies. Fifth grade students invent workspaces indoors and out. In third grade, they're writing their own textbooks and inventing presentation tools. At any age, children learn how to learn from their peers in a way that prepares them for life."

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