The County Fair
Twelve years ago when bullying was starting to become one of the hot topics in education, before the federal and state governments starting mandating bullying policies, and because my son came home as a target/victim of bullying, I looked to develop a program that would teach kids what to know and do about bullying. My work culminated into the "STAMP Out Bullying" program. While the battle raged to create safer schools, and in the wake of emerging research, I went back to school and received a PhD in education. As a result, and via the growing research behind the Positive Behavior Intervention & Supports (PBIS)
Welcome to Crazy J’s Outrageous, Contagious, Astounding, Dumbfounding, and Really-Feel-Goodimous, Trip to the County Fair! The County Fair is a metaphor for a place where children learn about life issues: how to think, feel and deal with things like diversity, sadness, peer pressure, self-control, even hygiene, to name a few. And each attraction brings them to another issue. The first stop (Series 1) deals with bullying because there’s a bully on the bumper cars!
With the constant threat of physical, social and emotional bullying, the research is clear: (1) parental involvement and (2) self-empowerment can reduce bullying on average of 50%.
The “I Am Unafraid” anti-bullying series utilizes four self-empowering, research-based strategies:
- AVOID BULLIES
We teach children the Golden Rule, “Treat others the way you want to be treated” and they believe it. They also need to learn when to stay away from those who don’t believe the Golden Rule and “try to be the boss of you”. The first selfe-mpowerment strategy to teach our children is AVOID BULLIES.
- Find A Friend
Have them repeat after you, “I will never, ever, be in my school, neighborhood or anywhere by myself!” If children can see us, we can help them;if children can’t see us, we can’t help them. If they’re going somewhere and there may not be an adult, the second self-empowerment strategy to teach our children is
FIND A FRIEND.
- Report Bullying
According to research, most children do not report bullying. No doubt, kids need to learn the difference between tattling and telling. Try this: “Tattling is trying to get someone in trouble. Telling is trying to get someone out of trouble.” The third self-empowerment strategy to teach our children is REPORT BULLYING.
- Act Confident
Every great athlete will tell you that his or her
greatest strength is confidence. And research is compelling: those who have a “game face” are less likely to be a target of bullying. The neat thing about this one is, if our children Avoid Bullies, Find a Friend and Report Bullying, they’re already learning the fourth self-empowerment strategy: ACT CONFIDENT.
Are you UNAFRAID?
At the end of each story is the “BACKPACK STASH”. This is an excellent opportunity to engage your readers with “I LAUGHED, I LISTENED, I LEARNED” to make sure each lesson makes a difference.
Getting children to talk about Bullying is essential.
Engaging them with stories and songs that entertain and educate help them address this difficult issue. Let’s face it – bullying is not going away. However, bringing awareness to the issue empowers your children, your family and the people in your community.
Preview Book Series
