EMerce*d in Learning

Thursday Thoughts This is where we will collaborate on classroom issues. “My children come to me all day to tattle on their friends.   I’m going to pull my hair out if I have to hear one more time about a friend looking at them wrong!”   -Michelle G., Virginia Beach, VA We answered most of Michelle's concerns last week.   You can see more of that post here Thursday Thoughts- Tattling Now let's tackle that sticky area of apologies.   When a child has done something that makes an apology necessary I try to lead the child in that direction without telling them that they have to apologize.  Why?  Shouldn't we be teaching our children appropriate behavior? The reason I don't force apologies is because they become inauthentic.  You create people who then will apologize without meaning it, and in young children they will often times apologize as they are hitting or snatching toys away.  Is that what the purpose of an apology is? I wa...

Thursday Thoughts This is where we will collaborate on classroom issues. “My children come to me all day to tattle on their friends.   I’m going to pull my hair out if I have to hear one more time about a friend looking at them wrong!”   -Michelle G., Virginia Beach, VA This is something that I think all of us have dealt with at one time or another.   This can be particularly frustrating when you are trying to balance the desire to curtail aggressive behavior or bullying while maintaining your own sanity.   I always start this dialogue with my children at the beginning of the year.   I want my children to know there are big differences between tattling and informing.   We revisit these definitions many times throughout the year as needed. I define them this way: Tattling- Telling me what a friend has done just to get them in trouble. Reporting/ Informing- Telling me what a friend has done because they will not stop (you have attempted to stop ...