Kindergarten Guidance at Lunt

group of three children working at a table

Kindergarten Guidance at Lunt

We are excited to be teaching classroom guidance lessons to all our kindergarten classrooms. Beginning the first week in September, we teach a series of six weekly guidance lessons with each kindergarten class. Each lesson is thirty minutes long. We will return to each kindergarten classroom during the second week in February to do a guidance lesson on friendship. We will teach a final kindergarten guidance lesson in June, which will help students transition to the next school year.

Mrs. LaBossiere and Miss Bush began kindergarten guidance lessons the first week of September.

Miss Bush visits
Mrs. Hughes' afternoon class,
Mrs. Granata's Mon, Tues, Wed a.m. class, and
Mrs. Smith's afternoon class.

Mrs. LaBossiere visits
Mrs. Sinnett's class,
Ms. Smith's morning class,
Ms. Hughes' morning class, and
Mrs. Granata's Wed. p.m, Thurs and Fri. class.

The following is an outline of the six week kindergarten guidance program:

Week 1: Getting to know you
In this session the goals are to get to know the students, for them to get to know us the school counselors and to identify other "helpers" in the school. We also talk briefly about what it's like being in a new school, as well as what it's like to ride the bus and strategies for dealing with "bus problems".

Week 2: Feelings
This lesson is designed to introduce students to the concept of feelings and feeling words. We brainstorm feeling words with the children and talk about facial expressions and body language that accompanies certain feelings. We also talk about the importance of understanding how other people feel.

Week 3: "I feel" Messages
This is an important concept for all of Lunt School. We teach it at the kindergarten level as well as in first and second grades. An "I feel " message is a way for a person to tell someone else how they feel about something without blaming or threatening. During this lesson, students learn the different components of an "I feel" message, how and when to give an "I feel" message, and how to respond when someone gives them an "I feel" message. (See the Conflict Resolution page for more information on building an "I feel" message)

Week 4: "I feel" Messages Continued
Two weeks are dedicated to "I" messages to ensure that the children understand how to use them. During this lesson students will practice giving and receiving "I feel" messages through role play.

Week 5: Body Safety
This session will be taught using a book entitled Uncle Willy's Tickles, which is a story about a child who feels uncomfortable when his favorite Uncle tickles him too much. The goal for this lesson is to help children understand that they can say "no" sometimes, and when that might be appropriate.

Week 6: Individual Differences
This final session of our initial six week unit is dedicated to the concept that we are all alike and different in many ways. The goal of this lesson is to help students develop an understanding and appreciation that everyone is different in some way.

Week 7: Friendship
This lesson is usually presented during the month of February. We read a book about friendship and then discuss why we need friends, what makes a good friend, and how to be a good friend. Students will then draw a picture of what makes them a good friend.

Week 8: Transition to 1st Grade/Next Year
The goal of this lesson is to help students transition from kindergarten to 1st grade, or "next year". We talk about the things that will be the same next year (the school nurse, the gym, the music room and teacher, the art room and teacher, the guidance room and counselors, the principal, etc), and what will be different (different classroom, different teacher, classmates, full day of school, lunch in the cafeteria, recess with a lot more kids, learning new things, home work, etc). We give students a tour of the school so they can see where the 1st grade classrooms are located, and we take students into at least one 1st grade classroom. We close by discussing what they noticed during the tour, what surprised them, and what they are most excited about. We also discuss any concerns or fears that might be brought up by students, as well as any questions they might have.

Both Mrs. LaBossiere and Miss Bush have some very fun puppets that they use in the classroom. Be sure to ask your child about them!

If you are a parent of a kindergarten student at Lunt and have any questions about this guidance curriculum, please feel free to call either Maribeth Bush or Anne LaBossiere (Lunt School Counselors) at 781-7424.