Happy Birthday Colin!

When you were in school did you ever feel like you didn't fit in? I think everyone feels out of place at different moments throughout their school years. Did you stay true to who you were/are or did you try to alter your appearance, behaviors, or interests to be accepted by classmates? 

The reason I’ve been thinking about all of this is because of one special young man, Colin!  Happy Birthday Colin! 
 https://www.facebook.com/Coliniseleven

I’m sure you have heard of him. His mom created a Facebook page to show how many people care about him and like him for who he is. The page went viral and instead of just family messaging him, people all over the world started checking out Colin’s page and leaving messages! People sent him encouraging words, cards, presents, and birthday wishes. I hope that Colin really gained a lot of self confidence and joy from the page his mom created! As a kindergarten teacher, I think it is important to start teaching children at a young age that it is ok to be different! Everyone is different and those differences make you shine! Who wants to be a boring clone? People should be valued for their quirks!

Teachers can create a classroom environment where everyone feels accepted and valued. It takes dedication, modeling, and time to plan activities & different ways students can practice these values. Some ideas to incorporate:

1.    Bibliotherapy! Read books that demonstrate different values that you want to instill in your class. One of my favorites to read when school starts is Stand Tall Molly Lou Melon.    

2.    Catch kids being good! I have seen several teachers this year giving out awards to students that are demonstrating kindness to others. Some schools have assemblies for these types of awards. Teachers can create their own awards, ribbons, certificates, etc.

3.    Involve the students in catching others being good. When I student taught these students caught being good were called bell ringers. Students can place a note in a jar about someone being good and they can be read at the end of the day or week.

4.    Change up partners. Are you letting students pick their partners each time? It is amazing the friendships that can be formed when students have the opportunity to get to know someone new. I think it is important to have opportunities for children to work in small groups with different students on a regular basis. Build a community!

5.    There is so much to teach on the academic level but it is important to take time to do a few activities here and there to teach about different values. One of my favorites is Star Student of the Week. The student fills out an info sheet about themselves so the class can get to know them. Then the class creates a writing sample for that child. Each child’s picture goes into a book and is given to the star student to take home. Children write things they like about that student. It is such an awesome way to build self confidence and helps students see the good in people. 

I could go on and on. These are just a few ideas I have done before. Let me know what has worked for your class or child! 

And here is one of my all time favorite quotes…
“A person’s a person, no matter how small.”