October is a challenging month. For much of the first 8 weeks of school, we learn about each other and our preferences/challenges. However, while it is an important time of community building, October is the month when our kids develop social challenges and communication breakdowns as our relationships change and grow.
Many times I've found that in October kids start to bicker like brothers and sisters! I welcome this challenge because it means a couple of things for me. First, it gives me a chance to see how effective I have been at building a community. Kids that are engaged in our community are more likely to have these types of issues than kids who aren't. I always remember back to when I was kid fighting with my siblings. We argue and fight, but after a few hours (or days) we would come back together stronger than before.
Secondly, October challenges present an opportunity for me to continue working on our social and emotional learning (SEL). Often teachers stop this work because the academic learning must take priority over building relationships with kids. I feel that it is my job as a teacher to help prepare kids to be socially and emotionally ready to learn the academic material.
As the year progresses, our SEL will evolve and change because the needs of the kids expand. Rather than working to create agreements about how we will work together, we shift to ways we can follow the agreements. We also have to amend our understanding of each other as we change and mature as 5th graders.
This week I have jumped into talking about self-management and how important it is for kids to control the things that are within their circle of control. We also discussed what to do when presented with a challenge and how to ask for help. Next week, our SEL will shift again as we begin to practice how to speak up and advocate for our emotional, social, and academic needs.
Here are some great pictures from the work we did this week!
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