Monthly Archives: October 2022

Forgiveness

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“I forgive people who hurt me and give people a second chance. I put my sadness behind me and move forward”.

Forgiveness means letting go of hard feelings like anger, sadness, or frustration that happen when you or someone else makes a mistake. It’s saying “Thank you” or “That’s okay” when someone apologises and not staying upset about what they did. It’s having patience with yourself and others, and recognising that no one is perfect—everyone makes mistakes.  It’s letting go of hurt feelings, and moving ahead, ready to do things. It doesn’t mean that all of a sudden what someone did doesn’t hurt or isn’t wrong. It means that you find it in your heart to give the person another chance.

In many ways Forgiveness is about taking power back by “flipping” the mood/situation. I use the analogy of the sparkle jars. Harbouring hurt or anger as a result of someone hurting your feelings can feel like a whirlwind in your tummy but as soon as you forgive it can lead to a sense of calm like when the sparkles fall to the bottom of the jar.

Forgiveness comes within the “Relationships” part of our PERMA model because being able to forgive those around you is one of the building blocks to successful friendship.

Little Life Message: The best revenge is to move on and find your happy.

Forgiveness Activities:

  • Take 20 minutes and write about the personal benefits that resulted from a negative incident.
  • Think of someone who wronged you recently. Put yourself in their shoes and try to understand their perspective.
  • Write a forgiveness letter. You don’t have to send it, but read it to yourself each day for a week.
  • If someone hurts or upsets you, try to understand things from their perspective, then think about whether your reaction is hurting them or you.
  • Think about all of the picture story books that have at their core, the message of the importance of being able to forgive. Write a list and send to Mrs Kebbell to add to the list on this blog!

Blue Sky, Yellow Kite is a favourite of mine and as I read it I like to stop and infer the many emotions that the characters in this book are feeling due to the actions of the other person.

Elmo didn’t mean to…

I love my new toy by Mo Willems

Enemy Pie by Derek Munson

Creativity

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People who have the character strength of “Creativity” in abundance are people who come up with new and helpful ideas and ways of doing things.

Creativity comes within the “Meaning” arm of our PERMA wellbeing starfish.

Creativity means thinking of new ways to do things. When faced with a problem, creative people define the issue clearly and then come up with multiple solutions.

There are so many different ways in which you can be creative. These includes writing (developing ideas), art, music, craft and even using an everyday household object in a new way.

“The Whisper” is a book about a girl who lets her imagination run wild.

“The Girl Who Thought in Pictures” is about Temple Grandin, a scientist whose autism was a strength that gave her the ability to think differently (creatively). This enabled her to solve some important problems related to treating and handling cattle in a compassionate and humane way. She won many awards for her work and study in this area and there is even a film based on her life story.

This picture story book is based on her life.

“Ish” by Peter Reynolds, is another picture story book about a boy with a ctreative mind.

I love the creative ways that the children in this clip are able to think of to solve problems

Creativity is not just about making something, it is a way fo thinking to solve problem (for older students).

You can reflect on this strength by asking yourself:

In what situations are you most creative?

How does creativity help you to solve problems?

What holds you back from expressing your creativity?

Wisdom, Meaning and Sustainability

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For week 3 we are going to be focussing on the Character Strength of Wisdom with the PERMA element of “Meaning” and being aware of what we can do to live more sustainably.

Meaning involves belonging to a world bigger than our own. We can have more meaning in our lives by looking after and respecting the environment and doing things that make a positive difference. We can all reduce our waste by bringing food to school without packaging. We can pick up rubbish at school, on the beach, actually – everywhere! We can recycle and reuse and at home we can compost organic materials. Playing outside and appreciating all that nature has to offer can also contribute to a more meaningful life.

People with wisdom are wise and understand what is important in life. Older people are said to be wise as they have lived through so many different experiences. People with wisdom are often understanding and have a bank of knowledge or learning from the past that they use to choose from. They think before they speak or offer advice. The Lorax is an example of a wise, thoughtful character who respects the environment and “speaks for the trees”.

In STEM (Science), Mr Burdess often educates our school community about the things that we can do to make a difference. We all take pride on our school environment and we’re sure that you agree that we would all like to see less rubbish at school. Let’s see if we can work together to come up with ways to see less of this….

10 Things I can do to help my world

Can you think of a person or a mentor who shows the Character Strength of Wisdom? What about Aesop’s fables? Can you think of any fables wherein characters display wisdom?

Persistence

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I bet you know which arm of our PERMA model Persistence fits into? Yep – It’s the accomplishment area.

Being persistent means working hard to finish what we set out to achieve and not giving up. It means setting and achieving goals despite challenges and difficulties. Being persistent involves “grit” which is similar to stamina and effort. People who show persistence have a growth mindset, they know that if they practise and put in effort, they can achieve their goals!

Do you remember when you were learning how to read or ride a two wheeler bike? It was tricky at first, but you used your grit and kept trying until you’d got the hang of it. What happens is that is new (neural) pathways are created, and, like muscles, these help your brain to grow and you to become good at things.

Lessons on Grit

It pays to be persistent!

The Most Magnificant Thing

A Little Spot of Perseverence

(Perseverence is a synonym for persistence!)

Have you set your goals for this term?

What is your main takeaway from “Lessons on Grit?”

How are you going to use grit this week?