This week I had the pleasure of teaching one of my favorite social skills lessons to a lovely second grade class. This story by Julia Cook uses kid friendly imagery with great perspective taking skills to teach kids why it's important not to interrupt. The main character Louis thinks his words are so important they cannot wait ;but when it was his turn to be the star student, he did not like being interrupted (or erupted as the book would say). Turns out other student's have volcanoes too! We had some nice discussions about how it can make other people feel when they are interrupted.
The book teaches a great way to take a deep breath in and we brainstormed some extra ideas too!
A few Interruption Strategies:
1. Raising your hand and wanting to be called on.
2. Take a deep breath in, breathe the words out of your nose and imagine they are hanging out until it is your turns. When it's your turn breathe in and imagine the words coming back to you!
3. Pushing your lips together and counting your teeth with your tongue.
4. Using our "Inner Coaches"- to tell ourselves positive statements to help us like: "it's okay to wait" and "You will get your turn soon"
5. Using a fidget or stress ball
We even had some real life practice when I asked them to tell me about a fun thing they did on vacation and they were all able to wait their turn! Of course we all make mistakes, and this will get better with practice but we can always say "we're sorry" if we hurt someone's feelings!
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