LANKY NEWS

In this unit, Pre-First students learnt a valuable lesson: just like plants need water, sunlight, and care to grow, friendships need kindness to blossom. Through activities from our Second Step program, we’ve been exploring how our emotions, thoughts, and actions help create a positive and respectful classroom environment. Each lesson begins with a moment of calm using our mindfulness bell, helping us connect with our breath and get ready to learn. We also practiced having “mindful bodies” (calm, still, and focused) using tools like “belly buddies,” smooth stones we place on our tummies to feel the movement of our breath.
A key part of our learning has been recognizing strong emotions and how to calm our bodies and minds when we feel overwhelmed. We’re learning that before we respond, we can pause, breathe, and use strategies like listening to our “self-talk” (that inner voice that helps us make safe, respectful, and thoughtful choices). These skills help us solve problems peacefully and respond with kindness instead of reacting in frustration or anger.
One of our favorite activities was learning the Growing Friendship Wish, a special phrase with hand signs that reminds us to be kind in our thoughts, words, and actions. We read the story Sumi’s First Day of School Ever, looking for examples of kindness and celebrating them by adding “Seeds of Kindness” to our classroom garden. With each small act of care and understanding, we’re building a classroom community rooted in compassion, self discipline and care.