Bring Your “A” Game: AWARENESS
In Social Skills and Peer Group, Aaron School students are moving along with our character education curriculum and working hard at “bringing their A game” all year long! With each new season comes a new character quality to focus on, and now that spring is here, we are teaching our kids all about… AWARENESS! Students are learning about what awareness means, and how it can include self-awareness, awareness of others, and awareness of our environment and social responsibilities.
During this unit, students will be working on knowing who they are as individuals, what defines their personalities, and how to form their own identities. They will learn about acknowledging and understanding their “triggers,” or things that make them upset, angry, or frustrated, and what they can do when they occur. In addition, students will practice becoming more aware of others and their triggers, so that they may avoid them to prevent conflict. Students will also learn that awareness includes playing by the rules and demonstrating fairness.
Furthermore, students will learn about mindfulness, which is a mental state that is achieved by focusing your awareness on the present and acknowledging and accepting your own feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. This therapeutic technique can be beneficial for students in helping to reduce stress, improve sleep quality, as well as increase focus and attention, just to name a few. In an effort to foster self-awareness, students will learn how to be mindful of, and think about, their thoughts, ideas and feelings.
Using hands-on activities, videos, role-plays, and more, the counseling department will be creating engaging lessons so that students better understand the importance of this character trait and learn how to show awareness in their daily lives. We are continuing to encourage students to put these new skills and character qualities into action, so that counselors and teachers can “catch them in the act!”
Be sure to check out the new “Awareness” branch that has been added to our tree display in the front hallway! This tree is a symbol of how everyone at Aaron School is growing and improving each time we learn about different character traits. The more we practice and use them in school and at home, the easier it is to become the best versions of ourselves!
