Caring is the constant time and energy we put into our relationships, self, and stuff. Ultimately, our care expresses our love and develops the deep relationships we share. As we remind ourselves and our children what caring is, make it simple. Help them to see that the littlest gestures, the frequent efforts, the constant affirmations – these are the caring episodes of life that make a difference and provide the life and love that nurtures gratitude in our hearts and willingness in our days to reach out to make our home, school, and community a more pleasant place to live.
Heart – reach out to a friend with a smile and a helping hand.
Mind – spend extra time practicing academic skills.
Body – give/get 8 hugs a day!
Soul – think about the talents you share with others.
“A caring person in your life is like a heartbeat. A heartbeat isn’t visible, but silently supports your life.” – Unknown Author
“Some people care too much; I think it’s called love.” – A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh
Fair ball, fair catch, it’s in the fairway. Playing fair is a pretty easy concept when it comes to sports and now that we have instant replay, it assures it. Playing fair is pretty clear and expected on the field. Ironically, the game of life is, all too often, not so fair. How do we help our children understand that we should fight for fairness, but learn to productively cope with the inequities and injustices that challenge our days?
Rutgers professor, Elizabeth Tricomi, PhD., studied the concept of fairness and discovered that it is something hardwired in our brains and an expectation by the youngest of children. Moreover, we tend to have an inherent desire to see the underdog win and the playing field equalized. Helping our children to be fair and promote justice is a daily trial for parenting and educating children. One of my favorite simple parenting principles is to be “firm, fair, & friendly” when our wits are at an end. When we take a deep breath, gather our wits, and speak with truth and love, our children will learn to do the same.
Fair Phrases
Here are a few phrases that we can teach our kids to help them use intelligent remarks instead of hurtful ones:
“Tell not yell.”
“Be mad, but not mean.”
“Be helpful, not hateful.”
Blame and shame words v. Playing fair words
Liar! v. I heard you say something different before.
You cheated! v. I don’t think that’s how this game is played. The rule is…
You’re a tattle tale! v. I wish you would tell me first when you don’t like something I did.
Move over! v. I don’t have enough room. Could you move?
You’re not the boss of me! v. I don’t like it when you give me orders.
You’re not my friend anymore! v. I don’t like what you said about me. It hurt me.
You’re so mean! v. Stop teasing me. I don’t like it.
“Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian.” – Dennis Wholey
“Fair doesn’t mean giving every child the same thing, it means giving every child what they need to succeed”. – Rick Lavoie
Children aren’t born with responsible habits. They learn them!
Children seem to crave responsibility. They like to be helpful and want to know that they are useful. Generally, the trick to raising responsible children is to give them responsibilities and hold them accountable for completing them.
Does your child have daily chores? Is it required that he/she pick up after playing?
Being dependable, honoring commitments, keeping promises, accepting our strengths and struggles, and accepting natural and logical consequences –these are the habits that make responsible children.
When we use our abilities to respond to the challenges in life, we take control with confidence. By telling our children to be the best version of themselves, we encourage response-ability. Providing opportunities that help children prove to themselves that they have the ability to respond to the challenges and opportunities that life avails can become a highlight of their day!
Here are five tips from a mother of eight children:
Model It: Do your best to be on time, clean up after yourself, do what you say, and say what you do.
Assign It Gradually: Scaffold age-appropriate chores and activities within your family.
Deal With It: Let them observe what happens if someone isn’t responsible. Strategically stop doing something that they expect you to do just so that they can experience how responsible adults usually are.
Play the Scenario Game: Write 10-20 typical scenarios regarding opportunities to be responsible.
No Bailouts: Let your child face the natural and logical consequences of irresponsible behavior.
Practice being RESPONSIBLE the AACA way:
Heart – Approach a friend who may be struggling.
Mind – Work hard to complete assignments with accuracy.
Body – Tidy the space you trace.
Soul – Think twice to speak nice.
Quotes
“If you mess up, ‘fess up.” – Author Unknown
“Never point a finger where you never lent a hand.” – Robert Brault
“Quit making excuses. Putting it off. Complaining about it. Dreaming about it. Whining about it. Crying about it. Believing you can’t. Worrying if you can. Waiting until you are older. Make a plan & just do it.” –Nike
Recently, in our series on How to Be TeRRiFiC, we took a deep dive into what it means to be trustworthy. We use the acronym TeRRiFiC to help us remember the 5 character traits that make us terrific: trustworthy, respectful, responsible, fair and caring. This week, we are unpacking the concept of respect and how we teach children to be respectful of themselves, the people they meet, and the world around them.
While the concept seems simple, respect is a learned behavior relative to the environment in which a child grows. From families to schools and nations and cultures, every unique environment we enter operates with a different lens for respect. Our children model the norms of respect they observe and are taught at home, at school, on the playground and at sports practices.
While modeling respect is perhaps one of the greatest ways we teach this character trait at school, an easy phrase that illustrates this concept is the Golden Rule: treat others the way you wish to be treated. The Golden Rule is a simple lesson, and yet, like most simple things, it can have the most profound impact. When put into everyday practice, the ripple effect of our treatment of others reaches far and wide.
Here are a few ways you might see, feel, and hear RESPECT in action:
Being respectful might LOOK like:
…caring for your classroom and materials.
…taking turns.
…a handshake and eye contact.
Being respectful might SOUND like:
…Please.
…Thank you.
…Hi! How are you?
Being respectful might FEEL like:
…trust in yourself to do the right thing.
…peaceful and secure.
…kindness.
When we are respectful of ourselves and others, our actions lead to positive change in everything from relationships to self-worth and even academic success. At Almond Acres, respect is the cornerstone of our school community. The sense of caring and respect between staff and students is visible. We believe that this mutual respect helps us grow great kids who confidently and respectfully navigate any environment they enter.
Showing your children how you respect them with words and actions encourages your children to be respectful. We can model the actions we seek and actively expect our children to rise to our positive example. How can you model respect for your heart, mind, body and soul today?
About AACA
Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Located in Paso Robles in a newly built, state-of-the-art facility, AACA is open to all students from all communities. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
Over the last two years, our annual theater production has looked a little different due to the pandemic and our move to a new school building, but this year we are back and bigger than ever with a show everyone is sure to love! Our middle school drama students are excited to welcome a live audience to our student-led performance of The Lion King, Jr. on Saturday, December 17th at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. and Sunday, December 18th at 2 p.m. at the Paso Robles Youth Arts Center. The shows are open to the public and tickets can be purchased at this link for $10.
Dena Vertrees, this year’s director and producer, as well as an AACA 4th grade teacher, has been working with students and volunteers to make this year’s show the best yet. Our talented cast of 4th-8th grade students have been hard at work, spending countless hours both during and after school to prepare for the production. These productions are unique because we allow a lot of freedom for the students to help create the play: from acting to curtains and even working backstage to move the sets, the students learn valuable skills like teamwork, patience and responsibility.
The synergy that is born out of the students’ creative collaboration is always appreciated by the audience and the effects of their hard work are lasting. Take it from the students in past performances, like Madagascar, our theater productions grow great kids:
I like to pretend to be someone I am not, and I like that I can put a lot of my emotion into something. I can go on a whole journey with my character. My biggest highlight of the show was spending time with the whole cast because I made stronger relationships with some people and the cast was awesome!
Divy Emmons, who starred as Marty the Zebra in the 2020 performance of Madagascar.
As always, our efforts are made better by the volunteers who contribute their time and expertise. This year Shiloh Hamon is the lead costume designer, Geoff Higgins is the lead set designer and Wendy Woodard and Ashley Lundy have choreographed the show. They are joined by cast member parents who support the production in all areas. Every member of the design department is a volunteer and helps support the students to create a visually stunning and enjoyable performance.
You won’t want to miss this one! Bring your children, the grandparents and neighbors to this year’s production of The Lion King Jr. on December 17th & 18th. The costumes, action and sets are sure to delight all ages!
About AACA
Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Located in Paso Robles in a newly built, state-of-the-art facility, AACA is open to all students from all communities. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
Character counts. It’s the foundation for who we are and how we interact with our friends, families, and the world around us. At Almond Acres Charter Academy, we believe developing positive character traits is as essential as learning the ABCs and 123s. In addition to our study of the Habits of Mind, we focus on 5 character traits that root us in positive character so we can flourish: trustworthy, responsible, respectful, fair and caring. We like to use the acronym TeRRiFiC to help us remember how to become a terrific person. Let’s jump into the capital T this week: Trustworthy. A trustworthy person is reliable, responsible and honest. A trustworthy person’s actions match their words–if they say they are going to do something, they do it. The consistency a trustworthy person displays is a way of showing that promises will be kept.
As we grow and develop, we express trustworthiness differently. Early examples of trustworthiness might be not taking another person’s toys, but in the older grades, interactions and relationships will reveal how trustworthy a person is. Here are some more examples of what trustworthiness may look like, sound like, and feel like in our K-8 school:
Being trustworthy might LOOK like:
…showing up on time for school.
…following through on commitments.
…walking quietly through the halls so we don’t disrupt others.
Being trustworthy might SOUND like:
…I’ll be there. You can count on me.
…I broke the lamp. I’m sorry.
…you can go first.
Being trustworthy might FEEL like:
…a challenge at times, especially when it goes against a desire.
…a shoulder to lean on.
…a promise kept.
Children naturally seek to be around trustworthy people – those who provide clear expectations and boundaries alongside care and sincere interest. We can also think about how we are modeling trustworthiness to our children. Do we follow through on our yeses and nos? Do we arrive at events on time? Do we fulfill our commitments? More importantly, if we make a mistake, can we say I’m sorry and correct it next time? Our children watch us closely for cues to navigate the world.
At Almond Acres, our dedicated staff models trustworthiness in all of our interactions with students. Our students can rely on us to be consistent with our expectations, our listening skills and in our actions. It’s how we build strong, trusting relationships that allow learning and growing to flourish in a safe environment and how We Grow Great Kids.
About AACA
Almond Acres Charter Academy is a public, tuition-free K-8 school that employs credentialed teachers and administers state-mandated testing to provide families in northern SLO County an additional choice in public education. Located in Paso Robles in a newly built, state-of-the-art facility, AACA is open to all students from all communities. AACA’s mission is to help students succeed academically and socially by educating the whole child: heart, mind, body and soul. We grow great kids!
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