7 Habits for Effective Kids

Here are the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (but for Children), by Stephen R. Covery.
There are helpful stories and books that go along with each principle. They are at my local library, so try yours if interested. We use win-win all the time! And first things first...and a few others. I love these universal principles.

	Habit 1 — Be Proactive You're in Charge I am a responsible person. I take initiative. I choose my actions, attitudes, and moods. I do not blame others for my wrong actions. I do the right thing without being asked, even when no one is looking.
	Habit 2 — Begin with the End in Mind Have a Plan I plan ahead and set goals. I do things that have meaning and make a difference. I am an important part of my classroom and contribute to my school’s mission and vision. I look for ways to be a good citizen.
	Habit 3 — Put First Things First Work First, Then Play I spend my time on things that are most important. This means I say no to things I know I should not do. I set priorities, make a schedule, and follow my plan. I am disciplined and organized.
	Habit 4 — Think Win-Win Everyone Can Win I balance courage for getting what I want with consideration for what others want. I make deposits in others’ Emotional Bank Accounts. When conflicts arise, I look for third alternatives.
	Habit 5 — Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood Listen Before You Talk I listen to other people’s ideas and feelings. I try to see things from their viewpoints. I listen to others without interrupting. I am confident in voicing my ideas. I look people in the eyes when talking.
	Habit 6 — Synergize Together Is Better I value other people’s strengths and learn from them. I get along well with others, even people who are different than me. I work well in groups. I seek out other people’s ideas to solve problems because I know that by teaming with others we can create better solutions than anyone of us can alone. I am humble.
	Habit 7 — Sharpen The Saw Balance Feels Best I take care of my body by eating right, exercising and getting sleep. I spend time with family and friends. I learn in lots of ways and lots of places, not just at school. I find meaningful ways to help others.

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* Side note from the same website these were listed is this list of things parents and business leaders said they wanted schools to teach...

Leadership Accountability Adaptability Initiative and Self-direction Cross-cultural Skills

Responsibility Problem Solving Communication Creativity Teamwork

Aesops Fables: The Ants & The Grasshopper

The Ants & the Grasshopper

One bright day in late autumn a family of Ants were bustling about in the warm sunshine, drying out the grain they had stored up during the summer, when a starving Grasshopper, his fiddle under his arm, came up and humbly begged for a bite to eat.

"What!" cried the Ants in surprise, "haven't you stored anything away for the winter? What in the world were you doing all last summer?"

"I didn't have time to store up any food," whined the Grasshopper; "I was so busy making music that before I knew it the summer was gone."

The Ants shrugged their shoulders in disgust.

"Making music, were you?" they cried. "Very well; now dance!" And they turned their backs on the Grasshopper and went on with their work.

There's a time for work and a time for play.

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Storytime Ideas:
We used this to talk about how smart the ants were--being prepared by work before play. But we also have used it to talk about waste from the grasshopper's perspective. Since he wasted his time and his food--just eating when he was hungry and passing by other food he could have saved for later. And the ants aren't super nice in this one, so we have an alternative ending where the ants share some food and the grasshopper doesn't want to take too much or waste any since the ants worked hard to get it and he didn't.

List of Games

It's fun to know lots of games that can be played without lots of pieces and specific object. Here's a comprehensive list of many familiar games.

Outdoor Games

Kick the can

Keep away

Mother may I

Red light, green light

Sharks and minnows

Marco Polo

Tag (freeze, tv, flashlight)

Beckons wanted

Ghost in the graveyard

Crack the whip

Red rover

Leap frog
Follow the Leader
--------a few props needed-------

Jacks

Marbles
balloon volleyball

Jump rope

Horse (basketball)
Hopscotch
Hunts (treasure or something(s) hidden)

Indoor Games

Telephone

Because...story (popcorn telling a story)

Bodies (ear, ear ear, nose...--touching other part--like false Simon says)

Sardines/Hide & Seek/Hot and Cold (whole person or with props)

Waste basket bball
Simon Says
Ha, haha, hahaha Laughing circle game (lay in circle with heads on bellies...build laughter)

--------a few props needed-------
Pass the Package (unwrap each time music stops)

Musical chairs

Button, button, Who's got the button?
Pin the tail on the ________

Piñata

Bobbing for apples

Pass the orange

Tellistrations: Draw, write..repeat

Sock obstacle Bocci ball

Memory tray
Limbo (Candlestick--jump over/opposite)
Fish for...

Circle Games

Where's the ring (on the string)?
Tap, tap-tap circle hand game

Left/right Stories (pass, circle game)

Cup pass rhythm circle

Duck duck goose

Down by the banks

Big booty #...
Jack-in-the-Box (number off: leader claps a #, those stand up, etc.)
Ha! ...Ha! Ha! ...Ha! Ha! Ha! *laugh*

2-Person Competition Games

Thumb Wars
Quick Slap (both hands)
Stick Pull (feet together sitting and tug of war a broom stick)
Leg Wrestling

Group Races/Relays

Three legged

Bucket over head down the line

Spoon on string through the clothes up and down

Egg on spoon

Obstacle relays

Balloon with cardboard to keep afloat
Tug-o-war
Draw a Face Relay (eyes, then nose, then ears, etc.)

Car/Pass-the-Time Games:Alphabet

Make people smile

Out of state license plate

Grandmothers trunk (say everything been said in order)

Hinky pinky (say rhyming words hink, hinky, hinkity; plus clue)

20 questions

I spy

What's their story?

Fable Day: The Ants & the Grasshopper

Fable: The Ants & the Grasshopper

Virtue: Smart - Diligence ("dilig-"ants")
Habit/Motto: FOCUS - First Things First (work before play...but I say work can be play)

Song/Finger Play: 
Ants Go Marching 1 By 1 (numbers, counting) or
5 Little Ants Fingerplay (simple number)

Yoga Pose: Grasshopper

Craft: choose depending on age--listed easy to complex
A) Basic Thumbprint Ants (ex: create a basic picnic scene on large paper and have the children put the ants on the scene with thumbprints)
B) Detailed Thumbprint Ants (put three fingerprints together to make each ant. Add eyes and 6 legs too)
C) Build: Egg carton Ants (curled paper legs/antenae and draw eyes)

Share: Retell the story using their ants and the grasshopper pose

Snacks: 
Ants on a log (celery, peanutbutter, raisins)
Grapes, melonballs or powerballs with toothpick legs
Edamame/Beans (pop the soy beans out of pod and pretend they are ants on the scenery or put them in threes to make a bigger, complex ant--similar to craft, but with food)

Letter: G
Words: Grasshopper, grass, green, grow, good
Numbers: 6 (why: six legs)
Shape: any

Aesops Fables: The Fox & The Crow

The Fox & the Crow

One bright morning as the Fox was following his sharp nose through the wood in search of a bite to eat, he saw a Crow on the limb of a tree overhead. This was by no means the first Crow the Fox had ever seen. What caught his attention this time and made him stop for a second look, was that the lucky Crow held a bit of cheese in her beak.

"No need to search any farther," thought sly Master Fox. "Here is a dainty bite for my breakfast."

Up he trotted to the foot of the tree in which the Crow was sitting, and looking up admiringly, he cried, "Good-morning, beautiful creature!"

The Crow, her head cocked on one side, watched the Fox suspiciously. But she kept her beak tightly closed on the cheese and did not return his greeting.

"What a charming creature she is!" said the Fox. "How her feathers shine! What a beautiful form and what splendid wings! Such a wonderful Bird should have a very lovely voice, since everything else about her is so perfect. Could she sing just one song, I know I should hail her Queen of Birds."

Listening to these flattering words, the Crow forgot all her suspicion, and also her breakfast. She wanted very much to be called Queen of Birds. So she opened her beak wide to utter her loudest caw, and down fell the cheese straight into the Fox's open mouth.

"Thank you," said Master Fox sweetly, as he walked off. "Though it is cracked, you have a voice sure enough. But where are your wits?"

Do not trust flatterers.

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Story Time Idea: 
We did a puppet show with the little red bird and a fox. We used a cute circle baby bel cheese wrapped in wax for the cheese prop. Then after the story ate the cheese for our snack. And after I narrated the story I had Ethan fill in the blanks as I retold the story (since he wanted it again). Then the next time I had him narrate it as much as he could so I filled in the blanks. It was a good way to practice recall as well as to get him used to telling stories.
In fact, he asked for the story again a week later and he was able to narrate most of it. This second day we did the story I said let's try to do this story a better way. So we had the fox tell the bird he was hungray and he said "excuse me, may I please have some cheese," instead of flattering the bird. And the bird gladly shared. This helped him think of a better ending and more appropriate behavior. I think we'll do this more often. Plus it help him creatively make his own twists. And...he learned some vocab: sly, cunning, sneaky; and  flatter.

Aesops Fables: Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Shepherd Boy & the Wolf

A Shepherd Boy tended his master's Sheep near a dark forest not far from the village. Soon he found life in the pasture very dull. All he could do to amuse himself was to talk to his dog or play on his shepherd's pipe.

One day as he sat watching the Sheep and the quiet forest, and thinking what he would do should he see a Wolf, he thought of a plan to amuse himself.

His Master had told him to call for help should a Wolf attack the flock, and the Villagers would drive it away. So now, though he had not seen anything that even looked like a Wolf, he ran toward the village shouting at the top of his voice, "Wolf! Wolf!"

As he expected, the Villagers who heard the cry dropped their work and ran in great excitement to the pasture. But when they got there they found the Boy doubled up with laughter at the trick he had played on them.

A few days later the Shepherd Boy again shouted, "Wolf! Wolf!" Again the Villagers ran to help him, only to be laughed at again.

Then one evening as the sun was setting behind the forest and the shadows were creeping out over the pasture, a Wolf really did spring from the underbrush and fall upon the Sheep.

In terror the Boy ran toward the village shouting "Wolf! Wolf!" But though the Villagers heard the cry, they did not run to help him as they had before. "He cannot fool us again," they said.

The Wolf killed a great many of the Boy's sheep and then slipped away into the forest.

Liars are not believed even when they speak the truth.

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STORY TIME:
We just read this together since it is longer and more theatrical than some of the shorter stories. We talked about people being happy to help, unless we pretend. Then they might not want to help when we are serious, because they can't trust us and don't know if we are being honest.

Aesops Fables: The Boy & the Filberts

The Boy & the Filberts

A Boy was given permission to put his hand into a pitcher to get some filberts. But he took such a great fistful that he could not draw his hand out again. There he stood, unwilling to give up a single filbert and yet unable to get them all out at once. Vexed and disappointed he began to cry.

"My boy," said his mother, "be satisfied with half the nuts you have taken and you will easily get your hand out. Then perhaps you may have some more filberts some other time."

Do not attempt too much at once.

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PUPPET SHOW IDEA

We decided to use our puppet monkey and a mason jar of cheerios. We used a little jar and told how the greedy monkey couldn't get the cheerios out of the jar. So the wise owl flew down and told him he needed to go "little by little" and not take too much at once. Then I had Ethan put in his hand and try in the mason jar. 

He loved it and still says "little by little" and I tell him not to be a greedy monkey. :)