I *heart* Pinterest. I have always kept a journal with my favorite quotes and now that Pinterest is here I have a board with some of my favorite quotes. Today I am going to share one of them.
Growing up my dad always told my brother and I that if he did something we could do it and if he said something we could say it. He always led by example. As our dad he knew that we would learn more from his actions than his words.
I could go on about my wonderful dad, but I share this to say that I feel like it's the same with my students. When I see one of my kiddos doing something they shouldn't do or saying something unkind, the first thing I usually ask them is if they have ever seen me do that or say that. Of course they say no.
I try really hard not to cut in line, stick my tongue out at my neighbor (unless I'm saying the /th/ sound of course), or tell the girl I played with at recess that I'm not her friend anymore...
I feel like kids get tired of being told what to do all the time. I know I sometimes do! :) Kids are just that....kids. They are still learning right from wrong and rather than just telling them what to do and what not to do all the time we need to show them.
It's not always easy, but we need to help our students by setting a good example. We need to be careful with our actions and with our words. Our kiddos pick up on more than we think.
I actually had a discussion about this with my kiddos yesterday. I had a boy who had been out a couple days this week because he was sick. Yesterday he went to the bathroom and a few minutes after he came back he raised his hand and told me in front of everyone that he had diarrhea. I asked him if he had had an accident and he said he had. He came to me so I could send him to the office and it was unbelievable. He had it e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.
My heart broke for my sick kiddo. My other kiddos knew immediately what had happened (you couldn't hide the smell) and I began to hear comments. We had to leave the room while it was cleaned and aired out so we took some math games and went to the gym. Before we played our math games we had a class meeting about how we treat our friends. We talked about how our friend must feel and how each of them would feel if that had happened to them.
I think I made my point.
Kiddos learn by example. I think we continue to learn from example even as adults. Be cognizant of this in your classroom when you're with your kiddos.
They're watching you....all the time because they *love* you. Just because their ears are closed doesn't mean their eyes are closed.
Before I go, I have 5 winners to announce of my Night Before Valentine's Day Pack. Hope your kiddos enjoy it! :)
Congrats to Marcy, Suzy, Kelly, Denise, and Karyn! I'll be emailing you soon!
Happy Saturday! :)
