ANECDOTES


Teaching students about the 3 different rock types in Arkansas, these second graders were making a book to take home and share with parents. For each type, they were to tape down a sample. Basalt is an Arkansas igneous rock, sandstone a sedimentary rock, and slate is an example of metamorphic rock. All was going good until we ran out of slate for them to tape down! One very observant second grader paused, thought a bit, then said he knew where there was slate we could find--they had just used it on the parking lot! Teamwork and problem solving at its best.


While trying to teach a lesson on seasons to kindergartners, one little boy was being extremely unruly. He had a pocket full of permanent markers. When the teacher asked him to give them to her, he refused and called her "stupid!" The situation was really getting intense. We had already talked several times about Kids Can Pause. I sat on the floor next to him (rest of the class watched to see what was going to happen). I said to Ross that I was going to slow down and take a deep breath. (deeeeep breath) Waited about a minute and a half. "My helpful self is telling me that if I want to stay and do the fun lab, I have to stay calm, be kind to others, and help the teacher be able to teach the class." Then I looked at him and told him, "The choice is yours." He was good for about 5 minutes, then it started again. He was removed from the classroom. The next week, when he again started being disruptive, I put the Pause for Help Kids Can Pause card in front of him and read it to him. Again told him, "The choice is yours." This time it worked! Not only did Ross learn to apply the strategy and get to stay in science class, the other students saw it demonstrated, as well.
Ross is now behaving appropriately for kindergarten! His teacher and school counselor are using PAUSE for Kids to help him, as well as other students, to learn proper behavior at school. It works!