What are some of the books, trainings, web links, commercial curriculum, etc. you have run across that have deepened or broadened your understanding of the life skills Galinsky talks about or have helped you put the theory into practice? Share the resource and what you have found valuable about it.
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I don’t know if anyone has had a chance to see her in person, but Sarah Ward is an amazing resource for executive functioning. Galinsky writes about “putting it all together” on pages 179-182 and it made me recall the story Sarah used at a workshop I attended a few years ago. She talked about the child needing to visualize what going to soccer would look like (cleats on, shin pads, drink etc) before the child even headed out the door. So instead of the parent telling the child, the child had to use their skills of planning, decision making etc. I have since incorporated that phrase “what does ______ look/feel like?” with my own children and have seen a difference in their ability to get themselves out the door in the morning. I even hear them self-talking their way through what they will need for the day. While working with my child care children we do circle time in the morning and talk about what the day looks like, what the weather is, what they think they will wear when they go outside. I have cut and pasted info from her website as well as a link.
Welcome to Cognitive Connections
We develop all aspects of executive function skills including time management, attention, processing, organization, memory and problem solving using research based metacognitive therapy approaches necessary to achieve success in the home, school and daily life.
http://cognitiveconnectionstherapy.com/
At the moment I’ve got a hold of the book and read a back cover page with the summary of life skills, I had a feeling of reading something very familiar. It didn’t take me long to retrieve reading experience after book by Stephan Covey “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” and book by his son Sean Covey “The Seven Habits of Happy Kids”.
“The Habits” and “Life Skills” are literary overlapping each other in most important/essential part of the list. The following comparison says it for itself:
-“Life Skill” #1 Focus and Self Control is in direct correlation with the “Habit” #3 Put First Things First (Work first, then play);
- “Life Skill” #2 Perspective Taking is a mirror reflection of the “Habit” #5 Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood;
- “Life Skills” #4 -#7 are interweaved with such “Habits” as Begin With the End in Mind, Be Proactive, and Sharpen the Saw.
The Seven Habits book(s) was never mentioned by Ellen Galinsky…so if you are interested you can easily find them on the web or in the store. The Seven Habits of Happy Kids book is actually written for children ages K to 5th grade with the interactive website, activities, and discussions.
Hope you will like it!
I opened the mail today and found an article my aunt sent me. She is a retired teacher and always sends me articles she has found useful. The article is "Your Image of the Child: Where Teaching Begins" by Loris Malaguzzi. The article is from a seminar that was given in Italy. While the article is a little old, from 1993, its context still holds value. One part of the article that really stuck out at me was, "When you enter the school in the morning, you carry with you pieces of your life- your happiness, your sadness, your hopes, your pleasures, the stresses from your life. You never come in an isolated way; you always come with pieces of the world attached to you. So the meetings that we have are always contaminated with the experiences that we bring with us." i think one of the reasons this struck a chord with me is because I really stopped to think about how the environment in my classroom is full of distractions and how I handle my stress when reading Making In the Mind. The article is broken into sections:
Considering Each Child's Reality
Growing Comfortable with the Unknown
Enjoying Relationships
Finding Our Way in the Forest
Learning to Wait
Becoming Totally Involved
Discovering a New Way of Observing
Redefining Roles
Building Strong Images
Even though this was written towards teaching public schools, each of these sections at one point or another reminded me of one of The Seven Essential Life Skills.
As I had mentioned in a previous post the DVD Starting Small is a great resource for perspective taking and empathy. I also highly recommend the magazine Teaching Tolerance for that as well.
I posted elsewhere that my families (many of them) subscribe to The Daily Kid and really enjoy it. Each email is designed to be read in a few minutes. Each ties in with one of the seven life skills. The skill is defined and then an accompanying anecdote illustrates how parents can make connections to their own lives and teachable moments.
You subscribe to The Daily Kid through a link on the website. Yes, Galinsky promotes her book, but there is always a useful stand-alone nugget of information, too.
I have gotten a lot of useful information on behavior through trainings with Jeanine Fitzgerald. She is a Certified Behavior Consultant who founded the Better Behavior Bureau, po box 118, Hubbardston, MA 01452, phone # 978-413-4372. One of the most useful workshops was called Developing Self-Regulation in Children using a Functional Behavior Assessment Scale. This scale helped my staff and I identify the reason a child was acting out and we successfully implemented a behavioral program for him this year. Her workshops correspond with many of Galinsky's seven essential life skills. I have attended workshops with Jeanine through Home Health & Child Care Services. She does a great job and is always interesting to listen to.
Thanks ,Sally for sharing about The Daily Kid. I would never have found it otherwise. I just signed up to receive it and may suggest it to our parents.
Yes, thank you Sally. I will be sending that link to our families in my weekly email. Here are a couple of other resources that I check on occasion, both are play focused sites.
One is the Alliance for Childhood http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/
Mission Statement: The Alliance for Childhood promotes policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living. Our public education campaigns bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood. We act for the sake of the children themselves and for a more just, democratic, and ecologically responsible future.
The other is Empowered by Play http://www.empoweredbyplay.org/
Mission: To help families and teachers protect and promote imaginative play in this way-too busy, media-filled, consumer-driven world.
The Second Step program is one that we use in my school to help children with self regulation and empathy training. It uses photographs of school and home situations to direct conversations about specific skills, as well as puppets and songs and suggestions for related children's books. It has a componnet to share with families as well. It relates well with Galinsky's skills.
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