Social Stories

Social Stories

[Music]

Pam Keenan: Ooh, what do you think? Okay. Here we go. Do you want to see? He says he's going to talk and think.

So we, today, in our classroom used the social story "Tucker Turtle." As a team before we did this, we worked together. We looked at the story, we talked about what we were going to do. We talked about who was going to teach the lesson and where the other staff were going to be with the children, like in the circle or standing back.

What would be a better thing than hitting them back or kicking them? Hm. What could we say, Layla?

Layla: Magic.

Pam: You could say what? Layla: Magic.

Pam: You could say magic. Okay, what else could you say? Layla: Magic magic.

Pam: Magic, magic? Oh, magic...

For zoning, if an incident occurs, we're right there to talk the child through the deep breathing and the tucking and "what is my feeling?" We can whisper it in their ear, "I bet you're feeling sad right now. You're feeling angry. Remember you can tuck up, you can take your deep breaths." So, we're right there to coach them through this for the first month or so.

So tuck, tuck, tuck inside your body and take three deep breaths. Ready? [Deep breath] One. [Deep breath] Two. [Deep breath]

Just trying to get them ready for preschool, see if they would engage in this and they did, they loved it. I could see that they were using their words and they were using their angry faces and they were tucking under as a turtle. And I think that we'll continue to use this lesson, continue to read this story with the children in the classroom, getting them more familiar with taking the deep breaths and you stating their feelings, using more feeling words with them. We'll send home the story with their parents so their parents can read it to them and help them to use it at home, too, so that they're using it not only in the classroom but at home as well.