Brooklyn, Ohio

Grandparents’ Gingerbread Gathering

Many students are cared for by grandparents and/or extended family members during the school day and at other times. Teachers at Brooklyn City Schools-Preschool wanted to welcome these caregivers to the school and to children’s classrooms. At Grandparents’ Gingerbread Gathering, children and their “grands” made cookies (four for each family) and decorated gingerbread houses to be displayed and enjoyed at the Gingerbread Social that evening. During the Gingerbread Gathering students heard stories such as the Gingerbread Man and practiced songs to perform at the Social.

At the evening’s Gingerbread Social, parents, grandparents, and siblings were audience members for the students’ performance of The Gingerbread Man and several gingerbread songs. All attendees enjoyed the gingerbread cookies and milk, admired the gingerbread houses, and took home a gingerbread ornament that was created by the children earlier in the week. This combined good fun, good work, and good gingerbread aromas. One teacher reported, “The children were excited to serve the cookies to their families, and grandparents appreciated the invitation to come to class for this special activity.”

Conscious Discipline

The ATP and leaders of Brooklyn City Schools-Preschool wanted to orient new staff to the school’s approach to Conscious Discipline. This program focuses on helping students demonstrate positive behavior such as helping, sharing, taking turns, asking for guidance from adults, and solving problems. A representative for Conscious Discipline conducted an all-staff workshop at the beginning of the school year. The goal was to ensure that new and returning teachers were comfortable with agreed-upon positive approaches for helping students who demonstrate inappropriate behaviors or who engage in conflict with peers. The half-day workshop included videos and practice sessions.

The ATP and teachers also wanted to share this approach to discipline with parents. With the representative from Conscious Discipline, they planned a workshop for parents. They discussed information on how a child’s brain works when in a distressed state; demonstrated breathing exercises they use to help a child calm down when upset; and discussed other self-regulation and problem solving strategies used in school. They opened the door for parents to use the same language and apply the same procedures at home.

As the school year progressed, teachers reported gains in students’ abilities to self-regulate and problem solve in the classroom. The workshop for parents helped many understand the school’s program, and encouraged them to use similar strategies when their children misbehaved at home. Parents reported working on maintaining a calm and consistent demeanor when addressing students’ social/emotional needs. As a bonus, more parents were more comfortable about visiting the school and talking with teachers.

Conscious Discipline is featured in Promising Partnership Practices 2016.