Project Sholom Introduction: (Preschool)

Simcha Hunt:

Scatter different colored smiley faces around for kids to find. Give instructions and then start the hunt. Before starting, ask childlren what they should do during the hunt to make sure that everyone is happy. (e.g. walk, be careful not to push, if someone picks up a piece that you want, just let them have it, do it quietly.)Divide into teams. When you say start, each team will try to find as many different colored smile cards as possible. When you say stop, they will sit down with their teams and try to find as many sets of 6 colors as possible. If they need to switch colors, they can ask other teams to switch or they can give away extra ones. The goal is to have all complete sets among all the teams.

Ask children what they see on their cards? A smiley face.

Show large smiley face (Project Sholom emblem)

What does a smile show us about someone?It shows that they are happy? What makes people happy? When they have what they need, when something good happens, when someone else makes them happy.

Today we are starting Project Sholom for this year and we are going to talk about a way to be happy and make other people happy.

Every week, we are going to have a special time to talk about what we can do to be happy and make other people happy.

We will be doing a lot of fun activities to help make sure we really know what to do. We will have a lot of fun and be happy and make other people happy too.

Smile and Say HiPreschool-Outline for Lesson One

1. Introduce Smile puppet- Simcha.

2. Introduce 1st topic: Smile and Say Hi!

3. Discussion: When we see someone else smile, it makes us smile.

4. Smiles are catchy. You can give them to others without losing yours

5. Sometimes it's enough to smile and say hi and then walk away.

6. Sometimes you need to smile, say hi, and try to get to know the person to make him/her feel comfortable.

7. Discuss the difference, ask how it makes you feel, give examples of each.

8. Discuss checklist-How can we do "Smile and Say Hi" properly:Make eye contact, greet the person by name, introduce yourself, ask something about the person.

9. Role play using Simcha and little boy puppets: (ideas: having a guest, meeting someone in a park, meeting someone in the hallways, greeting a classmate when you come into school)

10. Ending. Simcha reminds everyone to smile and say hi when they meet people.

Preschool Lesson 1:

Smile and Say HiIntroduce Simcha (smiley puppet).

Hi! My name is Simcha. Do you know what my favorite things to do are? I love to be happy and to make other people happy.

Do you know what Simcha means? Simcha means happiness. That's why I'm called Simcha, because I am happy and I make people happy.

There are a lot of things I do to try to make people happy. Every week, I'm going to teach you one of them and soon you will also know how to make other people happy, just like me.

Are you ready?

Here's the first one.

Whenever I meet someone, I always smile and say hi! Do you know why? Because if you have a smile, other people can catch it too. I'll show you how it works.

(Put. Simcha in front of each child, one at time and pretend he is smiling at them.)

You see? I can make you smile by smiling at you. It's like giving you my smile. But you know what is so special about a smile? I can give you a smile, but I won't lose my smile if I give it to you. Not only that, if I make you smile, you can give that smile to someone else, and you will still have a smile.

Since I'm so happy and friendly, I have a lot of friends. I'll show you how I make friends.

(Teacher should use little boy puppet and act together with Simcha)

Simcha: This is what happened to me one day when I was in school.

I saw a boy come into my classroom, but I didn't know his name. He looked like he didn't know anyone and he was very quiet and shy. Do you know what I did? I'll show you. Of course I put a BIG smile on my face to show that I wanted to be friendly.

Simcha: (looking right at little boy puppet) Hi! My name is Simcha. What's your name?

Little boy: (looks away shyly and quietly says his name. Choose a name or let the kids choose one.)

Simcha: I saw that he was really shy. Do you know how I knew? Because he looked away. He didn't look at me. But that was okay. I kept trying to look straight at him to make him feel comfortable. When you are talking to someone, you should try to make sure that your eyes are looking at his eyes. That's called making eye contact.

Then I said: Hi _____________. It's nice to meet you. Is today your first day in Cheder?

Little boy: Yes.

Simcha: Do you want me to show you where to put your things and then we can play together?

Little boy: Yes.

Simcha: I showed him where to put his things and then we went to play. Soon he was talking to me too and we became good friends.

I do the same things when guests come to my house. Do you want me to show you how it works?

(Choose a confident child who will be able to answer clearly. Have him/her act out being the guest. Teacher should play the part of Simcha. Simcha greets his guest by smiling and saying Hi. Then he introduces himself, asks some questions, and invites his friend to play with him. If the class can handle more, you can do other role plays, e.g. meeting someone at the park, meeting someone in the hallway in school, greeting your friends when they walk into class.)

Simcha: Even when I know someone well, I still always make sure to smile and say hi when I see him or her, even if we don't have time to talk, like when I come into school, I always smile and say hi to my Morah and to all the other children in my class. Do you think you can do it too? Can you also try to smile and say hi when you meet people and talk to them and make them happy? I'm going to come back soon and I'll see if you remember what we talked about. I hope you will remember to smile at me and say hi.Have a great day. Bye!

Smile and Say Hi Song: (T.T.T.O: Rosh Chodesh Kislev niggun)

There's a very special rule,When you're at home or camp or school.Smile and say hi, when someone passes by

Be friendly when you greetEverybody that you meet.When you see someone new,Say "Hello, how are you?"

הוי מקדים בשלום כל אדםBe the first to greet everyone.Smile and say hi, is what we doThat is how we treat another Jew.

Include OthersPreschool - Outline for Lesson Two

1. Reintroduce Simcha and briefly review Smile & Say Hi!

2. Sing smile and say hi song.

3. Simcha puppet demonstrates how to include others, how to offer others to play and how to look for someone who is alone and invite him to play.

4. Simcha puppet teaches little boy how to include everyone, not just his close friends.

5. Simcha puppet invites one child to play, and children continue to invite each other to join until they are all in a circle.

6. Sing and dance all together.

Preschool Lesson 2:

Include OthersTake out Simcha puppet.

Hi! Do you remember me? Do you know what my name is? That's right! My name is Simcha.

Do you remember what is my favorite thing to do? You guessed it. I love to be happy and make people happy.

Do you remember the first thing I told you that I do to make people happy? You remembered! I smile and say hi to people when I meet them. I'm going to sing you my smile song. Can you sing with me?

Have Simcha puppet sing Smile and Say Hi song and encourage the kids to sing along.

Now I will tell you another thing I do to make people happy. Whenever I am having fun, I always try to make sure that other people are having fun too.

Do you want to see what I do? Let's say I am going outside with my class to play and I want to play ball with my friend ___________.

choose a child who will be the friend or use a mentchie or puppet.

Before I start to play, I ask, "Does anyone want to play with us?" I also look around to see if anyone is standing or sitting all alone with nothing to do.

Simcha puppet can act out going over to another child and saying:

"Do you want to play with me?"And if someone asks me if they can play, I always make sure to say yes. (If there are too many people for the game or center, then I tell him that he can be the next one and I make sure to let him have a chance when I finish.)

Do you know why I do that? Because it is a mitzva to have Ahavas Yisroel and one way to have Ahavas Yisroel is to include others when you play. Including others means to let them play too.

Have mentchie or puppet speak.

Little boy: You know, I have some friends who I really like to play with, like ______________ & _______________. We always play together. It's so

much fun to play with them. We do everything together. That's including others, right?

Simcha: It is, but if you really want to do it right, you shouldn't just play with only the same people all the time.

Little boy: So what should I do?

Simcha: You should ask other people to play with you too, not only your good friends. Maybe you and your friends together can ask someone else to join you. That's really including others.

Have Simcha and his mentchie friends go over to one child and ask if he/she wants to join him. Then Simcha asks the first child to invite the next one, and so on until each child has invited the next and they are all in a circle. End by dancing around in a circle and singing a song together.

Include Others-follow up lessonPreschool - Outline for Lesson 3

1. Reintroduce Simcha while waiting in line to go outside.

2. Sing smile and say hi song.

3 Go outside and sit in circle.

4. Simcha puppet invites a few friends to play a ball game.

5. Simcha puppet stops and realizes that not everyone is playing and invites other children, asks other children to help him invite them.

6. Use the word include when you talk about inviting others to play.

7. Play a ball game all together. Simcha puppet says, " It's so much fun to include everyone." Repeat over and over until the class learns the rhyme. You can say it any time you need to remind them.

Preschool Lesson 3:

Include Others-follow up LessonTake out Simcha puppet. Have everyone line up to go outside. While waiting in line, Simcha puppet starts talking:

Hi! I'm back! I'm sure by now, you remember what my favorite thing to do is.That's right. I love to be happy and make people happy.

Do you remember the smile and say hi song? Let's sing it again.

Have Simcha puppet sing Smile and Say Hi song and encourage the kids to sing along.

Today I am really excited, because I am going to come outside with you to play. Are you ready to go out?

Once you get outside, have everyone sit down in a circle and Simcha will get the game started.

Okay, I'm going to play ball now.

Simcha should ask a few children if they want to play. As he's about to start playing, he should say:

Wait a minute, I don't think we are ready to play. Do you know why? Because not everyone is part of our game. Some children are not playing with us. What should we do? That's right. We should ask them to come and play with us. Do you remember what that's called? It's called including. Let's make sure that we include everyone in our game if they want to play.

Have Simcha model how to ask other children if they want to join. After he does it a couple of times, he should try to get other children to ask the others to join until everyone is part of the game.

Play a ball game that you know will work with your class. Here are a few suggestions: Keep the ball in the circle: Kids sit in a circle and when the ball comes to their feet, they kick it into the circle. The goal is to try to keep the ball in the circle and to give everyone a chance to kick.1 goal soccer: Make a large goal right in the middle. Everyone tries to kick the ball into the goal. Remind them to try to make sure that everyone gets a chance to kick.

As they start to play, Simcha can say:

It's so much more fun to play and include everyone and I know it makes everyone so happy. You can make a rhyme that you say over and over and use it to remind them whenever they need it.

Include Others Song(T.T.T.O: I Have a Little Dreidel)

When you go out to recess,And you're about to play.Here's something very special,To make it a great day.Look around the playground,Is there someone on the side?Don't be shy, go over,And ask your friend with pride,

"Would you like to join me,Come and have some fun?"That the special Mitzvah ofIncluding everyone.

It's so much fun to include everyone!

Make the Best of ItPreschool - Outline for Lesson Four

1 Simcha says hi and sings smile & include songs.

2. Discuss how a person needs to be happy to make others happy.

3. Happy people make others happy, grumpy people make others grumpy.

4. How do we deal with things that don't make us happy, so we can be happy and make others happy?

5. Stop sign.

6. Ruler.

7. Act out scenarios with Simcha and little boy.

Preschool Lesson 4:

Make the Best of ItYou will need Simcha puppet and the little boy mentchie or puppet

Hi everyone. It's me again, Simcha. I'm back to talk about my favorite thing. Do you know what that is? Being happy and making other people happy. First I'm going to sing my songs.

Sing smile and say hi song and include song.

If you really want to make other people happy, do you know what you have to do? You have to be happy yourself. If you are sad or angry and you try to smile and say hi to someone else, you won't make the other person happy. You might even make other people sad.

(It is not a good idea to model negative behavior, so don't act out how Simcha would smile and say hi in a grumpy way.)

Little boy: But sometimes things happen that don't make me happy? What should I do then?

Sometimes I want to play outside and my Morah says we have to stay inside. Sometimes my Mommy tells me that I have to go to sleep and I want to stay up. Sometimes I accidentally spill my drink all over my clothing and I get all wet. How can I be happy when those things happen to me?

Simcha: That's a really good question. Lots of times, things happen that might me feel badly too, but you know what I do? I try not to let those things make me unhappy.

The first thing I do when something happens that doesn't make me happy is, I STOP for at least 10 seconds.

(Take out a stop sign.)

That gives me a chance to think. If I don't stop to think about what to do, I might just get angry and say or do something not nice, or I might get angry or sad and I don't like to do that.

If I still feel angry or sad, then I take out my ruler

(show ruler)

and I measure the problem. (First show children how to use a ruler to measure the size of an object. Show them how a ruler has numbers from 1-12 and that 1 is the smallest, 12 is the largest, and everything else is in the middle.)

We can use a ruler to measure the things that happen to us. We don't need a real ruler for that. We can use an imaginary ruler. Something that really hurts or makes us very uncomfortable, would be a 12, something that really doesn't matter is a 1. Everything else is somewhere in the middle.

So when something happens that I don't like, I "take out" my pretend ruler. I think about how big the problem is. Is it really such a big thing that I have to get angry or sad about? If it's not, I tell myself that it's only a 1 or a 2. I know it's not such a big thing, so I will be okay. I don't have to get angry or sad. I'll just try to solve the problem or ignore it.

(Demonstrate: Simcha "runs" to sit down at the table and the "little boy" comes and takes his seat.)

Simcha: I was going to sit there!

(Quickly pulls out his stop sign.)

Wait a minute. Let me think. How big is this problem?

(Quickly pulls out his ruler.)

I think it's a 12, no, maybe a 6. Actually, it's only a 1. I don't have to have that seat. I can sit in a different seat.

(Sits down somewhere else.)

You know, I don't really take my stop sign and ruler everywhere I go. I really just keep them in my head. I'll show you what I mean.

(Do one more scenario, either use something that the children commonly struggle with, or use the one below. Demonstrate by doing the steps, but not using the props.)

Simcha's mother: Simcha. It's time to get ready for bed.

Simcha: But Mommy, I still want to stay up and play.

Mommy: I know, Simcha, but you really need to go to sleep now so you won't be tired tomorrow and you can have a good day.

Simcha: But Mommy... (Simcha stops in the middle.) Wait a minute. I shouldn't get angry. I should listen to my Mommy. Let me think. How big a problem

is it? I think it's a 2. I know I want to play, but I can play tomorrow instead. And Mommy will be so happy if I listen.

You know what? If I get angry, I waste so much time, and I don't get to stay up anyway, and if I listen to my Mommy, it will make her happy.

Make the Best of It: (T.T.T.O: Yifrach B'yamov)

When something happensThat doesn't go your way.What can you do so it won't ruin your day?

Take out your rulerMeasure what you see. Is it a 12, a 6, or 3?

Or maybe just a 1.It's really very small.And I don't need to be angry at all.

Maybe I can findA way to make it fun.And before you know it, it will all be done.

Hashem made this happen.He made it come my way.And He gave me strength to make it a great day.(The last stanza is a repeat of the same tune as the stanza before it.)

CooperatePreschool - Outline for Lesson Six

1. Review previous lessons by singing the songs.

2. Teach the word: Cooperate.

3. Cooperate means working together.

4. Simcha and Little boy act out how to cooperate while building a house.

5. Discuss what might happen if they don't cooperate while building.

Preschool Lesson 6:

Cooperate(You will need Simcha puppet and the little boy mentchie or puppet.)

Hi everyone. It's me again, Simcha. I'm back to talk about my favorite thing. Do you know what that is? Being happy and making other people happy.

Can you sing my songs with me?

(Sing smile and say hi song and include song.)

Today we are going to learn another way to make people happy. We are going to learn how to cooperate.

Can you say that word? Let's say it together: COOPERATE.

Do you know what the word cooperate means? It means to work together. Sometimes I like to do things by myself. Sometimes I like to play by myself or color by myself or read by myself. A lot of times I do things with other people too. When I do something by myself, I can decide how I want to do it. When I do something together with other people, we have to cooperate. We have to work together.

I'll show you what I mean.

(Bring out little boy puppet.)

Little Boy: I'm going to build a house. Do you want to build with me?

Simcha: Sure. I love building.

Little Boy: I want the house to be really big. And I want the door to be red and the roof to be blue and....

Simcha: Maybe we could also make steps. I know how to make steps.

Little Boy: That's a good idea. We will get it done much faster if we work together.

(Simcha and little boy start building together and demonstrating cooperation.)

Simcha: You see? That's what cooperate means. We both wanted to build a house. We both had good ideas to make the house better. We both gave our ideas and we worked together to build it.

What would have happened if the little boy said he wanted the door to be red, but I only wanted a blue door? Or what would have happened if I wanted to make steps, but he didn't want to? Then we would have had a hard time working together. We would have each had to make our own house because we couldn't work together. We would have had to share the pieces and then our houses would be smaller. But when we cooperated, we could make one big house TOGETHER.

CooperatePreschool - Outline for Lesson Seven Follow Up

1. Review previous skills. Sing songs.

2. Review checklist for Cooperate, review meaning of word cooperate.

3. Have Simcha introduce "Keep the Balloon in the Air" game and explain that they will need to cooperate.

4. Have Simcha explain rules of game.

5. Have Simcha demonstrate how to play.

6. Do a practice run with the children, modeling the proper way to play.

7. Play the game. Notice and point out children who are playing cooperatively. Describe specifically what they are doing to cooperate.

Preschool Lesson 7:Cooperate

Follow Up Lesson

Hi! It's me, Simcha. I'm back again to have more fun and to remind you to be happy and make other people happy. First let's sing our songs.

(Have Simcha help lead the children in the Smile song and Include song.)

Do you remember what we talked about last time? We talked about how to cooperate. Do you remember what the word cooperate means? It means to work together. Now we are going to play a really fun game together.

(Have Simcha explain the instructions.)

This is my special Simcha Balloon. We are going to try to keep it up in the air. Do you know what we will need to do to make the game work? We will need to COOPERATE!

Here's how we play. I am going to throw the balloon up in the air. We want to try to keep it up. The way we keep it up is by hitting it gently. We are going to see how long we can keep it up in the air. If we are going to cooperate, then we have to take turns. This is how we take turns.

(Have Simcha demonstrate)

I hit the balloon. Then I wait for someone else to take a turn. I try to make sure that other people are getting turns. If the balloon comes near me, I can hit again, but I don't keep hitting it. I keep trying to make sure that other people get a turn too.

Together we will all try to keep the balloon up in the air as long as we can. (We can time it.) Keep trying to make sure that everyone is getting a turn. If you see someone is not getting to hit it, try to pass it towards that person, or ask someone else to hit it towards them. Say, please pass it to _______________.

If you are waiting a long time for a turn to hit it, don't be sad or cry. Just say, please pass it to me and say your name so everyone knows where to pass it. What would happen if one person keeps hitting the balloon instead of trying to make sure that other people have a turn? Then no one else will be having fun.

(Do a practice run and model the right way, taking turns, passing it to someone else, calling out to someone to pass to a specific person, saying please pass it to me, Simcha. Now you can start playing, but continue modeling what you would like the children to do. Time how many seconds you can keep the balloon in the air. If it is going well, try it more than once and try to keep beating your score. Compliment children who are following the rules and using good cooperation skills, by pointing out specifically what they are doing, e.g. I like the way Sara is looking around to see who is waiting for a turn to hit the balloon, I noticed how Moshe asked his friend to pass the ball to Yossi.)

Help OthersPreschool - Outline for Lesson 9

1. Review previous lessons by singing the songs together with Simcha puppet.

2. Introduce the concept of helping and ask for ideas of different ways to help.

3. Discuss how to use eyes, ears, mouth, hands, and feet to help.

4. Have Simcha act out ways to help and have children show what part of the body they can use to help.

5. Have Simcha act out different scenarios in which he "needs help," and have children take turns figuring out ways to help.

Preschool Lesson 9:

Help Others(Take out Simcha puppet.)

Hi! I'm back again. I'm ready to teach you something new about how to make people happy. First I want you to help me sing my songs. Do you remember them?

(Sing smile, include, make the best of it, and cooperate songs.)

Now I'm going to tell you another thing that I like to do to make people happy. This time it's a very easy word. It's a word you all know. It's called Helping others.

Who knows how to help someone?

(Have children give suggestions of ways to help.)

There are so many ways to help people. We can hold the door when we see someone is about to come inside. We can help someone carry something heavy. We can bring someone a drink. We can run to get a toy for a little sister or brother. We can clean up a mess. There are so many ways to help and so many times during the day when we can help. But do you know what happens? Sometimes we are busy doing something and we don't even see that someone else needs help. Or we don't hear them ask.

So we need to use 2 very important things so we won't miss the chance to help other people.

The first thing we need to do is use our eyes.

(Hold up big eye.)

We have to always be on the lookout for someone who needs help. If you are walking into school, look around and see if

someone else is walking behind you and hold the door open. When you see someone carrying something, look carefully. See if the person looks like he needs help. And if he does, help him carry his package.

The other thing we need to do is use our ears.

(Hold up big ear.)

If your little sister or brother is asking for a drink, listen carefully. Even if they are asking your mother to help, maybe your mother is busy and doesn't hear them. If you are using your ears, you will hear what they are asking and then you can run and help.

There's one more thing we can use to help people. It's our mouth.

(Hold up big mouth.)

When you see or hear that someone needs help, use your mouth to ask the person if he needs help. Don't wait until someone asks you to help. Of course, to actually help, what's one more thing we need to use? Our hands. And we also need our feet to run and help.

Have Simcha act out seeing or hearing someone who needs help and offering to help. Have children notice and point to their eyes, ears, mouth, or hands to show him what they need to use to help.

You can also have Simcha act out scenarios where he needs help and give children a chance to "help."

Suggestions for scenarios:● Helping clean up a spill or a mess.● Getting something when a Mommy or Tatty or Morah asks.● Holding the door for someone.● Helping clear the table.● Helping put away the toys.

Help othersPreschool - Outline for Lesson 10

1. Review previous skills by singing songs.

2. Review the "tools for helping"- eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet and how to use them.

3. Activity- walk around with objects on head, children help each other to pick them up.

4. Discuss tools needed to play game.

5. Discuss why we don't always help- Yetzer harah convinces us not to.

6. Discuss helping even when we don't feel like doing it and not listening to the Yetzer Harah who tells us not to.

Preschool Lesson 10:Help Others

Follow Up Lesson

Hi! It's me, Simcha. I'm back again. First I want you to help me sing my songs and then we will play a really fun game.

Review the previous letters by singing the songs. Review H in more detail. Review the idea of using the "tools" Hashem gave us to help others. (Eyes, ears, mouth, hands, feet)

Now let's get ready to play the game. Some of you might have played it before.

(Explain the rules of the game.)

You will need music and an object for each child to put on his/her head, e.g. a roll of masking tape, a bean bag, etc. If you don't have music, you can sing. When the music starts, the children walk around, while balancing the object on their heads. If it falls off, they must freeze until a friend comes and picks up the object for them. (Notice which children spend more time trying to help others and which ones are more focused on keeping their own objects on their heads. At first, say nothing to give them a chance on their own to remember to help, but after the first minute, point out children who are making sure to help others.) Play for a minute or two and then stop the music, signaling the end of the game and then have everyone sit down.

Wow! We really had a lot of chances to help people in that game. Who helped a lot of people pick up their "thing" when it dropped?

How did you know that someone needed your help? You looked with your eyes and saw that the "thing" fell or with your ears, you heard them ask someone to pick it up. Then you used your feet to go over to them and your hands to pick it up. It's really easy to help someone if you try.

Sometimes we see or hear, but we don't want to stop what we are doing or we just don't feel like doing it. That's the Yetzer Harah trying to tell us not to help. It might sound something like this:

(Use little boy puppet and Simcha.)

Little Boy: I'm so thirsty. Simcha can you please get me a drink.

(Simcha is busy playing.)

Yetzer Harah: He can get his own drink. You're busy now. You don't have time to help him.

Simcha: Uh oh! If I listen to my Yetzer Harah, then I will find a reason not to help my friend. What should I do?

(Ask the kids for ideas.)

I know. I shouldn't listen to him. I'll run and get a drink for my friend.

So even if I really don't feel like helping now, if someone needs my help, I should do it anyway. That sounds like a great idea and I'm sure it will make other people happy and that makes me happy too.

Help Others Song:

There are so many ways,Every single day,To help a friend, a sister, brother, father, motherLook around and seeListen carefullyRun right over, offer help, and do it speedily.

Hashem gave us the toolsTo use at home or camp or schoolEyes, ears, mouth, and feet,Help anyone you meet.

Don't let the Yetzer Harah stop you.It won't take too long.And if you think you won't remember,You can sing this song.

Avoid Fights

Preschool - Outline for Lesson 11

1. Review previous lessons by singing at least some of the songs together with Simcha puppet. (If it's too much to sing all of them, try to sing them all throughout the week.)

2. Introduce the concept of avoiding fights.

3. Explain the meaning of the word avoid and what it means to avoid a fight.

4. Have Simcha act out avoiding a fight.

Preschool Lesson 11:

Avoid FightsYou will need Simcha puppet and the little boy mentchie or puppet.

Hi everyone. It's me again, Simcha. I'm back to talk about my favorite thing. By now, you all know what that is, right? Being happy and making other people happy. First I'm going to sing my songs.

Since there are so many songs now, you may want to sing only some of them now and sing the others throughout the week.

Today I am going to teach you my last trick about how to be happy and make other people happy. It's called AVOIDING FIGHTS. Do you know what the word Avoid, means? It means to stay away from something. You know, sometimes people do things that don't make me happy. I really don't like to fight, so I try really hard to stay away from fights. I try to Avoid fights. Let me tell you about something that happened to me.

(It is not a good idea to model negative behavior, so make sure not to act out a fight.)

Once I was building with lego together with my friend. I had a big yellow piece and I was about to put it on my building, but do you know what happened? My friend just grabbed it out of my hands and put it on his building instead.

Simcha: (thinks out loud) I was using that piece of lego and he took it away. Maybe I should just take it back.Wait a minute. If I grab it back, he won't be happy. He might get angry and try to take it back again. Then I might get angry at him. Uh oh! You know what might happen? We might get into a fight! I DON'T LIKE FIGHTS!I really want my piece of lego, but what can I do to make sure I don't get into a fight?

Ask the children if they have any ideas.

Simcha: You know what? I really want the lego. But I really, really don't want to fight with my friends. I think I know what to do.I will tell my friend how I feel. That's called using an "I message."Little Boy (or you can give him a name), I did not like it that you took my lego. Can I please have it back? Little Boy: Ok. You can have it back. I'm sorry for taking it without asking.Simcha: Thank you so much. He's so nice. I think he also doesn't like to fight. I told him that I really want my lego back and he gave it to me. I'm so happy that I told him how I feel. You know what we just did?WE AVOIDED A FIGHT!

Preschool Lesson 12:

Avoid FightsYou will need Simcha puppet and the little boy mentchie or puppet.

Hi everyone. It's me again, Simcha. Do you know why I'm here?I'm sure you know by now. I came to talk to all my friends about being happy and making others happy.

Since there are so many songs now, you may want to sing only some of them now and sing the others throughout the week.

Who remembers what we learned about avoiding fights? Do you remember what it means to avoid something? It means to stay away. We want to stay very far away from fights. Last time we talked about using an "I message."Do you remember what it means to use an "I message." It means, to tell the person how you feel. You say, " I don't like it when you do that! It bothers me." You don't just say, "Stop it!" You tell the person that you don't like it. When he knows that it bothers you, maybe he won't do it anymore. Then you won't get into a fight.

Here's another thing that I do to make sure that I don't get into a fight. Sometimes when someone does something to bother me, it makes me really sad. It might even make me angry. Do you know what I might do if I get too angry? I might use my hands to hurt someone. Uh Oh! That won't be good. Then I will really end up getting into a fight and I don't want to do that.So you know what I do? When I start to feel angry, I fold my hands and use my words. Do you know why? Because if I fold my hands, it won't be as easy to hurt someone with my hands. It will remind me not to use them. If I use my words, I will be able to tell the person how I feel. I will be able to use an I message, instead of hurting someone. If I don't fold my hands, then I might hit someone and then he might get angry at me and hit me and then we will have a real fight. And I don't like fights. So that's why I always try to fold my hands and use my words. Also, when I use my words, I try to talk softly, instead of yelling. If I yell, I might also make the other person angry and then he'll yell at me and then we will keep fighting.

Let me show you how it works:

Little boy puppet starts singing in a very loud voice.Simcha: Can you please stop singing so loud?Little boy ignores him and keeps singing.Simcha: : He's really not acting nicely. He is not listening. I asked him to stop and he keeps ignoring me. He's really making me angry. Uh oh! I feel angry. I better be careful not to hurt him just because I am angry. I will fold my hands and use my words. Simcha folds his hands. I am getting really upset. I keep

asking you to sing softer and you are not listening. It really bothers me when you sing so loudly. It hurts my ears. Can you please sing more quietly?Little boy: Okay. I'm sorry. (Starts to sing more quietly.)Simcha: Thank you.

Wow! It worked! I folded my hands and used my words. That way, even though I was upset that he wasn't listening to me, I didn't do anything to hurt him. It helped remind me to use my words. And then, when I used an I message to tell him how I felt, he listened and stopped doing it. We avoided a fight again! Yay!

Preschool Lesson 13:

Avoid FightsYou will need Simcha puppet and the little boy mentchie or puppet.

Hi everyone. It's me again, Simcha. Do you know why I'm here?I'm sure you know by now. I came to talk to all my friends about being happy and making others happy.

Since there are so many songs now, you may want to sing only some of them now and sing the others throughout the week.

Who remembers what we learned about avoiding fights? Do you remember what it means to avoid something? It means to stay away. We want to stay very far away from fights. Last time we talked about using an "I message."Do you remember what it means to use an "I message." It means, to tell the person how you feel. You say, " I don't like it when you do that! It bothers me." You don't just say, "Stop it!" You tell the person that you don't like it. When he knows that it bothers you, maybe he won't do it anymore. Then you won't get into a fight.

Now who remembers something else we learned about that helps us stay away from a fight? When we are angry, we should fold our hands and use our words. If we fold our hands, it reminds us not to use them to hit someone. Instead, we can use our words to give an "I message," to tell the person how we feel.

You know, if you really want to stay away from fights, it's not enough to use your words to stop a fight. You also have to listen when someone else uses their words, when someone else gives you an "I message." If you only tell someone else how you feel, but you don't listen when someone else tells you, then you might get into a fight because the other person will be angry.

Here's a way to help you learn how to listen to someone else when they talk to you.

Simcha takes out a ball and throws it to someone. Then he asks the child to throw it back to him.

Talking and listening are like playing a game of catch.When you talk, it's like you are throwing the ball.When you listen to someone else talking, it's like you are catching the ball.

This is how it goes. (Have this conversation between Simcha and the little boy. One teacher can do Simcha's part and one can act out the little boy's part. As each one begins to talk, throw the ball and the other will catch it.)

You can act out a situation that comes up often in your class or you can act out this one.Simcha and the little boy are playing with trucks and the little boy keeps bumping his truck into the Simcha's truck.Simcha: (throws the ball as he speaks. Little boy catches the ball and stops to listen.) I don't like it when you bump into my truck. I want to drive my truck around without anyone bumping into me. Little boy: (throws the ball as he speaks. Simcha catches the ball and stops to listen.) Okay. I will stop doing it now. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you.

Simcha: You see how it works. When I talked to him, it was like I was throwing the ball to him. When he listened to me, it was like he was catching my ball. It really made me happy that he "caught my ball", that he listened to me. And since we both talked and listened to each other, like having a game of catch, we were able to avoid a fight again. Yay!

You can keep the ball as the "Simcha Ball." When you notice children having trouble working something out, suggest that they sit down together using the "Simcha Ball" and take turns talking. The one who starts to talk throws the ball. The one who catches it, listens until the first one is finished and then throws the ball when it is his turn to talk. Practice using it with them so they will know how to use it when they need and then remind them to use it.

Avoid a Fight Song: (TTO: Va'anachnu Amchoh)

I don't want to have a fight.I just want to get along.If you listen carefully,You will hear my song.Instead of getting angry, I will show you what I do,I fold my hands and use my words.So I can talk to you.

I will use an "I message."So I can tell you, that what you did, I do not like.And when you try to talk to me,I'll listen carefully And we'll avoid a fight!