SMART CHOICES

Let’s Celebrate the Family Table

SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL FAMILY MEALS MONTH AND THE FAMILY TABLE IS A NATIONAL INITIATIVE CREATED TO ENCOURAGE FAMILIES TO TAKE THE TIME TO EAT TOGETHER.  THE NATIONAL CENTER ON ADDICTION AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE AT COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HAS FOUND THAT THE MORE OFTEN KIDS EAT DINNER WITH THEIR FAMILIES, THE LESS LIKELY THEY ARE TO ENGAGE IN RISKY BEHAVIOR.

 SHARE WITH US HOW YOUR FAMILY CELEBRATES THE FAMILY TABLE, SEPTEMBER 21-28.  SUBMIT A PHOTO OF YOUR FAMILY EATING TOGETHER AND YOU MAY WIN A GIFT CARD FOR GROCERIES!  WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON SEPTEMBER 29 VIA FACEBOOK AND NOTIFIED BY EMAIL.

 CATEGORIES ELIGIBLE TO WIN INCLUDE: MOST CREATIVE, MOST FAMILY MEMBERS, AND MOST GENERATIONS.  SUBMIT YOUR PHOTO TO COURTNEY@DRUGEDUCATION.ORG.  PHOTOS MAY BE SHARED ON SOCIAL MEDIA.

Kindness

 

What a great book!

Students listened to and watched this book being read on YouTube. 

Click here for the video.

After the book, we talked about bucket fillers and bucket dippers. I used this chart that I found and saved on my Pinterest page.

We ended our lesson with an activity where two students held little tin buckets. One represented Bucket Fillers and the other represented Bucket Dippers. I printed examples of both types of behaviors that I found on Pinterest and students sorted each into the correct bucket.

September is Attendance Awareness Month!

 

 

Click here for attendance awareness handouts! 

This website has awesome resources for attendance awareness. I share one of their handouts with parents when meeting about excessive absences. Click on the link above, scroll down to click on the "Families and Parents" tab, and click on "Parent Handout" to access the one I share. Then roam around the site and discover all the tips and facts about poor attendance. Very interesting!

When Life Gives You Lemons...

We had so much fun introducing ourselves to new students and reminding everyone else who we are and what we do! 

We started the lesson with a cute video showing babies eating lemons for the first time.  

Click here to see the video.

Then, we talked about how the babies probably thought the lemons tasted sour. We could tell by the faces they were making!

This lead into a discussion about how sometimes in life we experience things that seem "sour," some more so than others. Students gave examples of "lemons" in life (both at home and at school) and helped us determine if the lemon was a one lemon or two lemon kind of problem.  Each time an example was given, a student had to hold those lemons. Eventually, the lemons began to fall to the floor which sparked a discussion about how we are not meant to hold onto the lemons. As students gave suggestions for who we can talk to about life's lemons, classmates began to take lemons from the student. Of course, their school counselors were listed as someone to talk to!

We ended our lesson with a funny video of all their teachers eating lemons. (I would have posted the video, but I didn't want to create any lemons for myself!) Ha! Ha!

Be Proactive!

FES Peer Helpers read "Bored! Bored! Bored!" in Sean Covey's The 7 Habits of Happy Kids.

We discovered that Sammy Squirrel didn't need to wait for other people to tell him something he could do for fun. Being Proactive means we take initiative; are responsible; do the right thing without being asked; choose our actions, attitudes, and moods; and don't blame others for our wrong actions.

The next time we met, I had an activity for them to complete. I asked them each to write one thing they can control and one thing they can't control on sticky notes and place them in the proper place on our graph. We discussed each sticky note and had some interesting discoveries!

You Did It Again!

You have filled the red tub full of coke tabs again!

You are helping to make visits to the Ronald McDonald House so much more comfortable for many families!