Parents,
This week we will be talking about Steven Covey’s 4th Habit of Happy Kids which is “Think Win-Win”. In this habit we will be moving from the private victory to the public victory. Our first 3 habits were all about bettering ourselves and improving our own lives. With “Think win-win” we will learn about 4 outcomes that are available when you interact with someone else; win-win, win-loose, loose-win, and loose-loose.
Win-Win- “Let’s find a solution that works for both of us.” People who search for solutions that make them happy and at the same time make others happy. People in this category have both the courage to say what they want and the consideration to work toward mutual benefit.
Win-Loose- “I am going to beat you no matter what” People who fit in this category are only concerned with themselves they want to win and make others loose. They have the courage to say what they want, but are low on consideration. With win-loose you think of competition, comparison, power, and position. This is actually a very common interaction in our society. As parents we naturally have position over our children and sometimes put our agenda over theirs. We must remind ourselves to constantly be on guard for situations in which we can change a win-loose to a win-win when interacting with children.
Loose-Win- “I always get stepped on” People in this category have lots of consideration of others but they lack the courage to express and act on their own feelings and beliefs. Too much time in this category creates the victim mentality and people who just follow the crowd. They may bury a lot of their feelings, have no demands or expectations of others, and they are quick to please others even at the expense of themselves.
Loose-Loose- “If I’m going down, you’re going down with me.” People in this category are low on courage and consideration they envy and criticize others. They put themselves and others down. This situation can be the long term result of a win-lose.
In class we will talk about ways to make situations win-win, we will think of cooperation, communication, and seek for mutual benefit.
This week we will be learning about Martin Luther King Jr. and will listen to a portion of his “I have a dream speech”. We will also be reading the story of Ruby Bridges and how as a kindergarten student she was brave, kind, and helped to make education available for everyone.
We will introduce our next class of vertebrates, Fish. We will discuss the different characteristics of a fish: they lay eggs, they are cold blooded, they have fins and breath with gills. We will also be identifying the different layers of the ocean and will be creating an ocean mural throughout the month. If I remember I will take a picture of it when we are finished. We will be studying stems this week and will talk about what they do for plants.
FRIDAY NO SCHOOL for professional development.