When the kids came into class, Ms. Gilmour greeted each with a “Hello,” “Welcome,” “Thank-you for coming today” and “How are you?” Each of the kids responded to her with one or more of those greetings. Tanner said, “Hello” to her. Nicole said, “Thank you. I’m fine, how are you?” Carmen greeted Ms. Gilmour and the other kids with, “Welcome to everyone.” Rudy laughed and said, “Hello everyone, welcome to class, and how are you all today?” The kids all laughed with him. Ms. Gilmour laughed, too, as she said, “I was just seeing if you remembered how to greet people when they greet you. You did a great job.”
Ms. Gilmour then reminded the class that October was National Bullying Prevention Month. Everyone remembered that. She then asked, “Does bullying stop on October 31st?” The kids all yelled, “NO!” She continued, “Do you think it is a good idea to extend Bullying Prevention Month to Bullying Prevention Year?”
All the kids said, “Yes!”
Truman the Dragon spoke up and said, “We have spent a lot of time talking about ways to stop bullying. Our schools seem to pay more attention to it in October. I think we just have to get everyone on board to do what we do in October all year.”
Everyone high-fived Truman.
Nicole added, “We made some great posters. Let’s ask the teachers and the principal to keep them up all year. Stephen hadn’t joined in the conversation yet, so he added, “Let’s get all our friends on board with the Cool Kind Kid Challenges.” Ms. Gilmour then said, “What I’m hearing all of you say is that our first November Challenge is to keep the Anti-Bullying campaign going.”
“Yes!” they all shouted.
Ms. Gilmour then posed a question to the kids, “Do you agree that if we all use The Magic Words, we can help stop bullying?” Everyone nodded. She continued, “And if we use The Magic Word thank-you, showing our gratitude for what others do for us and say to us, do you think we can help people realize that being ungrateful can lead to bullying?” Everyone agreed that could happen.
Truman the Dragon said, “When we are grateful, we are positive. When we are ungrateful, we are negative, and I think being negative can lead to hurting others, which can lead to bullying.”
This time the kids all fist bumped Truman.
Ms. Gilmour then added, “Let’s add ‘using The Magic Words, especially thank-you’ to our November Challenges list.”
“What holiday do we celebrate in November?” Ms. Gilmour asked. The kids all said, “Thanksgiving!”
“And what other November Challenge can you think of for Thanksgiving?” she asked. Nicole said,
“Being thankful.” Rudy added, “Showing that we appreciate what we have.” Tanner shared, “I love Thanksgiving because I get to see all my family who live far away.”
“We have three November Challenges: keep Anti-Bullying going; use The Magic Words, especially thank-you; and be grateful,” concluded Ms. Gilmour.
Note to Parents from Ms. Gilmour:
Bullying is the #2 epidemic in the US. In addition to these Cool Kind Kid articles, we endeavor to provide up to date research, articles and other news on this topic on our Facebook page. We’d love to post stories and photos of your kids being Cool Kind Kids, and learn about how you have successfully dealt with bullying. [We don’t post names or locations.]
Go to http://www.facebook.com/coolkindkid.
To send photos and stories, and give your permission to post, go to info@coolkindkid.com.
At the request of parent focus groups, we have been developing a Bullying Prevention Parent/Child Resource Kit. We will be having 3 new books for parents and children available soon as well. Look for them on our website: www.coolkindkid.com.
