South Hutchinson Elementary School has recently started a Strengthening Families Program. The class, so far, has been a terrific success. Last night alone, we had 20 participants! We are very lucky to have a Kansas SPF-SIG grant, which allows us to extend this wonderful program to all of Reno County.
During session one on Oct. 5th, youth talked about some of the goals they had for their futures. Parents got to know one another better and talked about their hopes and dreams for their child. In family session, we all played a getting to know you game and the parents knew more about the youth than the youth knew about the kids! I personally found this very interesting, because that rarely happens! Normally, it's the kids who don't miss a beat on those questions. It just goes to show you that this is an expectional class. I enjoyed getting to know each of the families a little better.
Last night, Oct. 12th, for session 2 youth worked on appreciating all the good things our parents do for us. Sometimes, as a 9-14 year old, we sometimes forget that our laundry doesn't wash itself, and that we enjoy not walking ourselves a couple miles to school. I think this is a really important lesson for the youth. I hope they take some time this week to notice a time when their parent or parents do something nice for them, just because they love them.
Parents worked on "I Statements." This is a really hard lesson for some people. We have to try to reprogram ourselves from just blurting out millions of words to get our point across. An example of an "I Statement" goes something like this, "I feel taken advantage of, when you don't help me with the dishes when I ask you to, because I could really use your help. I want you to turn off the TV and help me, please." Just kind of an example. Parents also were told to notice a few positive behaviors of their youth and reinforce those by giving a compliment.
During family session, we made one of my favorite projects - family trees! Now, this family tree is not just the normal - who's your grandma, who's your great grandpa kind of thing. The Strengthening Families tree is more about the strengths of each person in your family. The youth points out good qualities of their parent/s and the parent/s point out the good qualities of the youth. (If I can figure out how to post pictures, I'll put some examples up for you to check out)
I am so pleased with the session at South Hutchinson. If you and your family are interested in getting involved with one of our Strengthening Families Sessions, please let me know. We'd be happy to have you!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment