Categories
Me-Family-Friends-Others
This set of resources has been developed and written over a number of years working with children and young people who have significant social, emotional and behavioural needs. The pages and activities aim to provide a set of visual representations of some important but often abstract social and emotional concepts. The central idea is common to a number of programs that support children - the notion that we are part of groups or circles. The most intimate circle starting with ME, then developing into the idea of Me and You. From here, our circles of contact and relationships expand to include families - friends - and finally others. While social skills are no doubt very important, it is how we build and maintain our relationships, particularly our close friendships, that will be essential in developing a positive and healthy social / emotional life.
I find these visuals useful for explaining the relationships concepts and then working up strategies, individualised to each client, based on their responses and discussion using these visual supports. Each download provides the visual resource plus a brief description of its purpose and one or two ideas of how it can be used. (Pages will be added gradually over the coming weeks, to build up the whole set.)
Here is an overview of the program, to provide an idea of the concepts and skills to be covered. I believe skills such as these are best developed in a small group - at least maybe three kids, in order to get age-appropriate interactions happening - to talk about, practice and reflect on. This plan sets out the types of activites in the first section - 'ME'. It may grow and change from time to time as new thoughts and ideas are developed, so continue to check back here for updates.
The first section is to explore the concept of 'ME'. This is the start, and perhaps the most important circle. We need to have a strong idea of who we are, in order to know how to relate to those around us.
Once you have a set of descriptors about you, it's time to think about what is most important to you ... what makes you really YOU?? This may be something we cultivate for the rest of our lives, but in trying to master looking at ourselves for self-reflection, looking at others and looking at others looking at us, we need some idea of what really matters. What do we hold on to as being ME?
Another vital lesson is that we all have strengths and weaknesses. We work up our strengths - these are already helpful. But we might try to change / make better our weakness, sometimes we try to ignore them or run away. This doens't usually help.
The fourth page introduces the notion of other people and how we relate to those around us. It leads into the shift from 'ME' to 'ME and You'. M-F-F-O does this by having the young person consider their roles and relationships.
It is always important for kids to be aware of the things they do, say, think and feel. Most importantly they need to take responsibility for these aspects of their lives; they need to take charge over these areas and ultimately understand how the things we do / say / think and feel can sometimes impact on others.
Coming Soon
New Oracy packs for emotional literacy, based on early childhood books to help develop the language of feelings.