Something To Be Proud Of!
Today, I asked the students to illustrate their favorite
scene from the book The Indian Paintbrush.
I was thrilled to see David enjoy this activity. He was engaged and focused on
the assignment, and I only had to remind him to stay on task once. He clearly
has a gift for drawing and coloring. Although David struggles with sharing his
ideas with his classmates, he was comfortable telling them about his
illustration and why he chose to draw that particular scene.
You mentioned to me that David is hesitant to open up and
share his thoughts and emotions when he sees his therapist. Since David has a
talent for art and is able to open up about the pieces that he creates, I
cannot help but wonder if David would be successful in working through his
emotions with a Certified Art Therapist. The article below explores the idea
that art expression is a natural and comforting way for children to explore internal
conflicts, even if they are having trouble outwardly expressing their feelings
in a social context.
Something To Work On!
After the period of time for drawing was over, David argued
with me and resisted putting his art materials away. After about five minutes,
David complied. However, I am concerned that this time spent arguing and going
through transitions from one lesson objective to the next is taking away from the
learning experiences of David and the other students in his class.
I am thinking about instituting a sticker chart as a type of
reinforcement system into David’s daily routine for behavior
regulation. If David follows directions and participates to the best of his
ability, he will receive a sticker for the day. If he is disruptive, he will
not receive a sticker. After he has ten stickers on his chart, he can pick a
prize from the classroom toy chest. What do you think of this idea? Have you
ever used a similar reward system with David at home? If you would like to
learn more about the effectiveness of sticker charts and other kinds of
reinforcement systems, click on the link below. 
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