Each month our school focuses on a Habit of Mind (HOM), which are life skills that help encourage positive outcomes in all aspects of life. During the month of December our Traditional Learning (TL) Team focused on Listening and Understanding with Empathy. Our 2nd-5thgrade learners engaged in several activities that made them more aware of how we can be better listeners and gain a better understanding of others in our school and community. One activity we did was to gain a better understanding of what it’s like to “walk in someone else’s shoes”. This led the learners to discussions and collaborating Words of Love instead of Words that Hurt. Through this process the learners demonstrated their knowledge and understanding of how others might feel in various situations and how the power of words can be hurtful or helpful.
To extend this HOM into the community we sent home a family letter to encourage our learners and their families to bring in food item donations that we collected for Feeding South Dakota. Our TL ended up donating over 160 pounds of food to this wonderful organization! The learners were so proud, and they were happy to realize that even a young person can have such a powerful and positive impact in our community.