At Grant, we teach many things to help students learn to regulate their emotions and behaviors. Recently our staff worked together to create a leveled system for supporting your children. We are focused on identifying the areas they need social emotional support and work to teach them the necessary skills to be successful in their learning.
Our staff understands that each child is unique. Because of that, we tailor what we teach (interventions) to meet individual needs, triggers, and strengths. Consistency is the key to successful behavior change. One school example is using the term reset versus timeout. A reset is is an opportunity to step away and do something to calm the mind and body so you're learning ready. A timeout is a consequence for a behavior that may disrupt the learning environment or be unsafe. Here are some more ideas ...
Positive Reinforcement: Focus on rewarding positive actions. This could be verbal praise, a preferred item, or a special privilege.
- School = Tiger Tickets; Scholar Dollars; Token Boards; High 5's
- Home = going out for ice cream after doing a chore; earning time on a device; playing a favorite game
Visual Schedules: These are particularly helpful for individuals who benefit from structure and predictability. They can reduce anxiety associated with transitions and unexpected changes.
- School = classroom daily schedule on the wall; individual schedule at the desk; must do/may do list; timer before changing to the next activity
- Home = chore schedule, wall calendar, daily check off list
Choice Making: Empowering individuals by offering choices, even small ones, can significantly reduce defiance and increase cooperation.
- School = reduced number of math problems; choosing a 2 or 3 minute timer; white or chocolate milk
- Home = give choices you can live with such as choosing to wear jeans or sweats without giving the choice of pajamas
Social Skills Training: Explicitly teaching social cues, appropriate responses, and conversation skills can help scholars build positive relationships.
- School = prompting students to say please and thank you at lunch time; reminding students of walk or voice zones; teaching students to invite one another to play or work together
- Home = start a sentence and let them finish it; remind them to greet someone; saying please and thank you; teach them to ask for a hug instead of just giving one
Sensory Regulation: Many behaviors stem from sensory overload or under-stimulation. Providing access to sensory tools or spaces may be helpful
- School = calm corner; walk break; buddy room; talk with the counselor; sensory items that don't disrupt the learning environment
- Home = have a quiet space at home that they are allowed to go to when they are frustrated or sad; fidget toys when going out to public places; weighted blankets
To learn more about WA State Standards for Social Emotional Learning, go to https://ospi.k12.wa.us/student-success/resources-subject-area/social-emotional-learning-sel
