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October, 2012
Welcome to s2s Insights! Welcome to the Steps to Socialization newsletter s2s Insights. Each month 'Social Thoughts' contains a theme article on a relevant social topic. Informative articles or books related to the theme can be found in 'News and Reviews'. The 'Tips and Tools' section contains social thinking tips and activities. 'In the Neighborhood' covers related events and programs.
Fall is here. The leaves are bursting with color. Everyone is picking apples and pumpkins. It's time to get ready for Halloween.
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Social Thoughts
Halloween is a wonderful time to focus on the different aspects of social thinking. There are so many skills we can work on with a Halloween theme.
Children from kindergarten through high school dress up for Halloween. Have a discussion about what costume they think their friends will wear and why (perspective taking, social wondering). Look through the costume catalogs that come in the mail and newspapers, making smart and wacky guesses about who will wear what. Which costume would their favorite TV character wear? Adults dress up too. What would they choose for their teachers?
Are you having a Halloween party or going to one ?
It's the perfect opportunity to work on executive function skills. Talk about what goes into planning the party. Make a list of the different categories of items that you'll need and what is in each category. Where will you go to buy what you need? How long will the party be? What activities will you do? How long will each activity take? What food do you want? Who should you invite? What behaviors will be expected at the party? Who will you hang out with? What do you need to do to fit in? What do you if things aren't going as you expected?
Are you going trick or treating?
Involve your child in the planning and problem solving. When should we go? Is it better to go before dinner or after dinner? Where should you go trick or treating? Who should you go with? Discuss the choices and the rationale for choices and decisions you make.
What's expected behavior on Halloween? What's unexpected? What are the 'hidden rules' for trick or treating? What do you do if you don't like the treat you're given? For older children who go out alone with friends discuss safety issues. Expectations and rules change as children get older. Don't take it for granted that this is understood. Talk about what's different this year.
HaPpY hALloWeEN !!!!
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Tips and Tools
Concept of the Month: How to Organize and Manage Time
Though this seems to be self-explanatory many of our children, regardless of age, have a great deal of difficulty managing their time. They don't know how long it will take to complete a task or how to break it down into do-able steps. Children have a strong need to feel competent and self-assured. We need to help them learn how to solve problems on their own rather than doing it for them or getting caught up in a battle of wills. Ask them "What do you think you can do about that?" rather than telling them what they should do
Activity: Getting Organized
The purpose of this activity is to teach the skills needed to plan, organize and time-manage a project. This task should be done over several days to show the child that doing a project in small increments is easier and LESS stressful than doing it all at once. The parent's role is to GUIDE the child in planning what needs to be done - NOT to tell them the answers. Let them try out THEIR ideas for how to complete the task. Remember it's summer it doesn't matter how long it takes - It just matters that they learn the skill. Let them choose the task - here is one suggestion.
Organizing a part of the room: Decide with your child which area of their room they are going to organize i.e. the closet, the desk. Have them make a list of the steps involved. What do they need to do? What cleaning supplies are needed? What organizational supplies are needed (boxes, garbage bags etc.)? Break down the task into small components. Estimate how long each part will take to complete. Does it have to be done in one day or can it be spread out over several days? Have them write down the estimated time versus the actually time to see how accurate their estimate was.
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See you next month! In the meantime, please visit us on the web.
Evelyn and Lisa |
