Follow Up Discussion "Did anyone try to meet up with someone new from Happy Vibes at recess time or say hello in the hallways?"
Read Aloud "Valentine's Day" by Gail Gibbons - We read to the students about the brief history of Valentine's Day-how it is celebrated, and why it is a special day for love and friendship. We highlighted that Valentine's Day is a great time to show appreciation to friends new and old. We discussed ways on how they can do this, such as giving Valentine's Day cards, complimenting their friends, and giving their friends hugs.
Valentine's Craft Students were divided into 5 different groups. First, they were to introduce themselves to their new friends. Once everyone knew who was in their group, they were assigned a Valentine's card to colour. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, students needed to cut and paste their Valentines together at home. We challenged the group to give their Valentines Day card to someone new. Together, we brainstormed a list of possible people they could give their cards to (e.g. next door neighbour, student in a different grade, their sibling's friend, etc); it did not have to be someone at Happy Vibes Tribe. The goal of creating Valentine's Day cards was to challenge the students to find someone they didn't know very well and to try to push them outside of their comfort zones to establish a relationship with someone new.
Strategies:
Be a good listener - How do you listen? Just keep giving them good eye contact and show with your body language that you care. Listening to someone is an instant mechanism to build trust and likability.
Smile! - People will see you as a friendly person and be drawn towards you.