FIRST WEEK OF FEBRUARY

INITIATIVE: The ability to solve problems, to get things done without being told

Vs. Doing only what you are told to do

  • SUGGESTED READING:
    Jumanji
    Johnny Appleseed
    50 Simple Things Kids Can do to Save the Earth
    Any Sherlock Holmes story
    The Hunt for Red October
    The story of Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
  • SUGGESTED FILM:
    The Wind and the Lion
    Apollo 13
    The Hunt for Red October

FAMILY ACTIVITY:

  • Recycle papers, cans, glass, etc in your home. This will give your children the chance to take positive action. By giving them responsibilities for collecting and bagging the recycled goods and then giving them the money made by recycling those items reinforces the behavior.
  • Reward your children if they begin their chores before you have to prompt them.
  • When you have a problem where the solution must include your children, discuss the problem with them and ask them what they can do to help.
  • From time to time when you are going out to eat, ask you children to decide where to go.
  • Remember that initiative, like all character traits, is built step by step.

CLASS ACTIVITY:

  • Have students write a letter to the President about an issue that is important to them. Teachers can suggest possibilities, but should let students pick what they want to write about. When you send it, include a letter of your own asking for a thank you note to be sent to your class.

William J. Clinton
White House 2700 Penn. Ave,
Washington D.C. 20501
United States of America

  • Give your students a piece of blank paper and ask them to write or draw on it.

  • Give your students a piece of graph paper and ask them to use this week's spelling list to make a crossword puzzle.

HIGH SCHOOL ACTIVITY:

  • Invite a member of the City Council or the Board of Supervisors to talk with the class about ways they can become involved in the political process.

  • Invite a member of a local charity to talk to students about getting involved in charitable activities.

  • Discuss area problems and opportunities for students to get involved in solving them.

  • Assign groups of students a current political issue and have them contact political groups and governmental agencies to obtain information on the issue. Help them to identify possible sources of information if need be, otherwise, assign them to gather the information themselves.

  • Give your students a question that requires them to research why something happened. For example: "Why did Eisenhower send soldiers to Little Rock?" or "What was Tennyson describing in The Charge of the Light Brigade?"

"As we seek answers, the answers appear." -Don Torres

"Do every day all that can be done that day." -Wallace P. Wattles

"If you want something done right, do it yourself." -Anonymous

"The sleeping fox catches no poultry." -Benjamin Franklin

"Actions speak louder than words." -Proverb

"The difference between the ordinary and the extraordinary is that little extra." -Anonymous

"Words are hollow, it is action that motivates men." -General George S. Patton

"It may be true that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, but it is the people doing the pushing who deserves our attention." -Violet Hemming

Perform a Random Act of Kindness Each Day

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