I am not sure if it is because we are in the middle of winter (or hopefully nearing the end) or what but emotions have been running high at our house lately! With three energetic boys it is a constant job as parents to keep emotions in check and teach and guide them how to properly express and process their emotions. We decided to take this week to work specifically on this task, with our homeschool theme of Emotions and Behaviors!
1. Reading/Phonics:
We have a lot of Karen Katz books and enjoy them especially with the young toddler age. We just got this book No Hitting and we really like it! It talks about getting mad and both good and bad choices to do with that emotion, like instead of hitting your brother, hitting pots and pans!
We also love the Help Me Be Good books by Joy Berry that talk about lots of great emotion and behavior issues like Whining, Throwing Tantrums, Being Bossy, etc. They have great little examples of what good and bad behavior is and how to be good!
2. Arts / Crafts:
We decided to make Glitter Bottles or "Calm Down Bottles" as a craft this week. We got the recipe from My Crazy Blessed Life and we had a lot of fun making them and they have already been a great addition to our home! We made three different ones to use at different times, reasons. Depending on how much glue you use the solution will settle faster or slower. The blue bottle we made takes about 5 minutes to settle and the red bottle takes about 10 minutes to settle. They have been taking these bottles to time out with them or on the couch when they are upset or in trouble and they really are very calming to the children.
The recipe is:
- 3/4 bottle of hot/warm water
- 1 bottle of glitter glue
- 1 small bottle of fine glitter
- Extra water or clear glue to get to the level / time of settling you want
- Super Glue the Cap on at the End!!!
The yellow/gold bottle we used glow in the dark glue and fine gold glitter. They love that this one they can take to bed at nap time or bedtime to help them calm down to fall asleep. It really does look really cool! The bottle continues to glow for about 30-40 minutes in the dark.
3. Music:
We sang "If You're Happy And You Know It" and made up lots of fun different verses using our "How Do You Feel Today" Poster that we have hanging in our Homeschool Room.
We love the book Leading The Little Ones to Mary which is included in the Seton Kindergarten Curriculum. It has "little lectures" that talk about how to be good and what you can do to follow Jesus and Mary. It talks about basic issues of behavior with listening to your parents, being kind to your siblings and friends, listening in mass, etc.
5. Parental Help:
I know when I see behavioral issues at or house a big part of what needs to happen is that I need to re-visit and re-examine what I am doing as a parent. Am I being present and available to each individual child? Am I being consistent in discipline? Knowing this, I took time this week to look at where each of our children are developmentally and what we are expecting of them. I "checked in" which each child to give them special individual time and try to determine if something extra is bothering them, concerning them, etc. I discussed and continued to set expectations for our children so that they know what to except and what consequences are if they are not following rules. I also re-examined the Love Languages of each of my child and reflection on if I am showing them love in the best way for them to receive it! Here are some of my favorite parenting resources for behavior and discipline:
Also, if you are like me and have all boys, or honestly even one boy the following are some of my favorite resources for parents of boys! I have read all of these books more than once already and know I will continue to go back as our children grow up.
0 comments:
Post a Comment