I chose two pillars of character
for this month (respect and citizenship) simply because they fit so well together.
When we model a love of community and country (citizenship), we are also
modeling "respect." And obviously, someone who is a respectful
citizen is more likely to also be "honest."
Discuss
and role play situations that demonstrate "honesty": *What
does it mean to "tell the truth?" *If
we do something wrong, is it ok to lie? *Create
short stories to show how we shouldn't be afraid to be honest. For example:
Alice tore a page in one of the classroom storybooks. She didn't mean to
do it but she was afraid she would be punished so she lied when the teacher asked
her if she knew what had happened to the book. Later, she went to the teacher
and told her that she was sorry for lying and that she had torn the page. Her
teacher gave her a great big hug and told her how proud she was of Alice for telling
the truth, then the two of them scotch-taped the page so that others could still
read the book. (Short stories like this demonstrate honesty, respect,
and citizenship.)
Here are topics of discussion for
use with preschoolers that define the character pillar of "respect":
*We treat others the way we want them to
treat us *We are tolerant of differences
*We don't use bad language *We
use our manners *We use our words when
we're angry rather than hitting someone
Here are topics of
discussion for use with preschoolers that help to define the character pillar
of "citizenship": *First,
define "citizen": We can explain how the children themselves are
citizens -- citizens are "people" who live in a house, on a street,
in a town, in a country who must follow rules and work together to make their
town and country a nice place for everyone. *So,
how can we be "good" citizens? >
We are "good" citizens when we do things that help everyone in our group.
Children are "good" citizens when they follow rules at school.
>Discuss consequences
of not following rules. For example: What is our rule for riding the two
tricycles? (Taking turns.) So, what would happen if everyone decided
they wanted to ride the tricycles all at the same time? Or, what would
happen if everyone left the toys out when they were finished playing with them? And
so on. *Do grown-ups
have to follow rules too? Give examples: Grown-ups must follow
rules when they drive (like stopping at red lights), they must follow rules when
they build a house (like maybe the law in their town says they must build their
house from certain materials so that it will be strong in case of hurricanes),
they must follow rules when they go to work (like being at work on time), etc.
(Talk about what might happen when adults don't follow rules.)
*We can also discuss "community
helpers" in relation to being "good citizens."
*Caring
for our environment is also a good topic to be discussed as it is the "responsibility"
of all of us as "citizens" to care for the land on which we live.
Suggested Books: The Berenstain Bears
and the Truth, by Stan and Jan Berenstain: The Berenstain bear-children
break Mama's favorite lamp by accident but then they lie about it.
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My
website address: http://www.preschoolbystormie.com