No material possessions can compare to self-acceptance and self-improvement in providing everlasting happiness. Unlocking these treasures, however, hinges on a fundamental skill—self-honesty.
Self-honesty, the ability to assess and understand oneself, is a skill that holds the key to personal growth and embracing one's true self. It's a challenging skill to master, making it even more crucial to introduce and develop from the earliest age possible.
Positive Action understands that planting the seed of self-honesty early in a child’s development can blossom into resilience, responsibility, and a strong self-concept. Thus, the program offers this evidence-based SEL lesson for kindergarten to instill the value of telling the truth and develop self-awareness in children.
The lesson is complete with interactive puppet plays, educational stories, and fun class discussions. It focuses on revisiting and reinforcing the concepts introduced in Positive Action Unit 5 about telling oneself the truth. As it opens, the teacher keeps the students up to speed on their learning progress and reminds them of their next goals.
"Self-honesty, the ability to assess and understand oneself, is a skill that holds the key to personal growth and embracing one's true self."
In the puppet play, Picks-It Raccoon and Nix-It Panda commend the students for learning and practicing positive actions for physical, intellectual, social, and emotional health. Then, they invite students to look back on their adventures on Lake Self-Honesty, where they have met interesting and honest characters.
As the class reminisces, the teacher puts up the colorful "Telling Yourself the Truth" poster and jogs the students' memories. Together, they recite the four concepts of self-honesty, which are:
Learn about and like yourself
Know your strengths and weaknesses
Admit your mistakes
Keep your word or promise
The students repeat the phrases until they memorize them. Repeating them also helps the students remember the stories and examples they have encountered during their adventure in Lake Self-Honesty. In each story, the teacher further reinforces the lessons taught and promotes the value of being honest with oneself.
Following the class discussion, the puppets once again take center stage. They discuss that a healthy body, mind, and heart are not only about exercising regularly, eating nutritiously, or continuing to learn. Instead, holistic wellness, character development, and self-acceptance can be achieved by being honest with oneself.
Honesty opens their eyes to the person they truly are. This level of self-awareness helps students recognize the areas of themselves that need improvement and encourages them to embrace their limitations after giving them a try. Teaching students to look deep within themselves is crucial in reaching their potential and achieving personal development.
Understanding oneself is a complex process, especially for young kindergartners. However, its practice should not be delayed. Starting now, children need to learn to tell themselves the truth about their strengths and weaknesses, mistakes, and potential. In doing so, they prepare their minds to respond positively to setbacks and challenges.
Pasela is a digital product presented by Positive Action.
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