Saturday, December 7, 2013

Blinders

Sometimes we have blinders on, both literally and figuratively.  My kiddos are currently wearing blinders that only allow them to see December 25 and Santa.  It made for a long week.  Because I teach in a public school, I have a difficult time finding ways to incorporate "the real meaning of Christmas" without overstepping my boundaries.

I'd seen many posts about TpT packets and other items for purchase to help kids practice "random acts of kindness".  I'd love to see my students spontaneously participate in random acts of kindness, not just in December, but all year long.  I haven't purchased any of these packets because I'm not sure where I'd fit these activities in my day.  We use a "detailed lesson plan" curriculum (scripted) and our day is packed, as I'm sure most of yours are.  I've been thinking about ways for my students to incorporate random acts of kindness into our everyday or weekly routines.  I know it is in their nature, at their age, to be very self-centered, but I'd like to help them "remove the blinders" to help them see the joy that can come from helping others!

Speaking of blinders...an assistant at our school is quite crafty. One of my kiddos has a very difficult time visually focusing on materials.  When you ask him to look at a letter, number, shape, the SMARTboard, etc, his head moves in the right direction but his eyes don't always follow. He does not have vision problems, but I'm not sure he understands when I ask him to look at something.  Enter "blinders" (he calls them his goggles).  They are made from 3-D glasses with the lenses popped out.  She glued popsicle sticks to the sides and top of the glasses then added cardstock to the sticks.

He is SO proud of his "goggles".

This might seem a bit extreme, but they work!  He thinks they are cool because as he told me, he loves goggles, and my other kiddos have never said anything about them.  We have talked about how we all need different things to learn, and they think it is totally normal that he wears these.

How have you helped your students "remove the blinders" and do something kind for others?

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