Share the verse below with caregivers, teachers and parents! They're wonderful to include in a newsletter, print on pretty paper and give to staff... or post at your information center.
BEHAVIOR LABELING
By Dixie Fletcher
If an adult is reinforced for behaving appropriately we call it recognition.
If a child is reinforced for behaving appropriately we call it bribery.
If an adult laughs we call it socializing.
If a child laughs we call it misbehaving.
If an adult writes in a book we call it doodling.
If a child writes in a book we call it destroying property.
If an adult sticks to something we call it perseverance.
Of a child sticks to something we call it stubbornness.
If an adult seeks help we call it consulting.
If a child seeks help we call it whining.
If an adult is not paying attention we call it preoccupation.
Of a child is not paying attention we call it distractibility.
If an adult forgets something we call it absent mindedness.
If a child forgets something we call it attention deficit.
If an adult tells his side of a story we call it clarification.
If a child tells his side of a story we call it talking back.
If an adult raise his voice in anger we call it maintaining control.
If a chiild raises his voice in anger we call it a temper tantrum.
If an adult hits a child we call it discipline.
If a child hits a child we call it fighting.
If an adult behaves in an unusual way we call him unique.
If a child behaves in an unusual way we call him in for a
PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATUON.
___________________
BETWEEN TEACHER AND CHILD
Dr. Haim G. Ginott
I have come to a frightening conclusion.
I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher
I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous.
I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration.
I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized.
__________________
BUTTERFLY IN THE WIND
Author unknown
A child is a butterfly in the wind,
Some can fly higher than others;
But each one flies the best it can.
Why compare one against the other?
Each one is different!
Each one is special!
Each one is beautiful!
_________________
CHILDREN ARE LIKE KITES
Author Unknown
You spend years trying to get them off the ground.
You run with them until you are both breathless.
They crash ... they hit the roof ... you patch, comfort and assure them that someday they will fly.
Finally, they are airborne. They need more string, and you keep letting it out.
They tug, and with each twist of the twine, there is sadness that goes with joy.
The kite becomes more distant, and you know it won't be long
before that beautiful creature will snap the lifeline that binds you together
and will soar as meant to soar... free and alone.
Only then do you know that you have done your job.
___________________
CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY LIVE
Dr. Dorothy Law Nolte
If children live with hostility, they learn to fight.
If children live with ridicule, they learn to be shy.
If children live with tolerance, they learn to be patient.
If children live with encouragement, they learn confidence.
If children live with praise, they learn to appreciate.
If children live with fairness, they learn justice.
If children live with security, they learn faith.
If children live with approval, they learn to like themselves.
If children live with acceptance, and friendship, they learn to find love in the world.
___________________
DON'T BELIEVE ME! PLEASE
Author Unknown
Don't be fooled by me. Don't be fooled by the face I wear.
For I wear a thousand masks and few of them are me.
I give the impression that I'm secure, that all is unruffled within me.
That confidence is my name and coolness my game.
That the water's calm and I'm in command.
But don't believe me. Please.
Beneath dwells the real me, confused and afraid.
I'm afraid your glance will lack acceptance and love.
So begins the parade of masks-and my life becomes a front.
I chatter to you idly, suavely.
I tell you everything that is really nothing and nothing of what is everything.
When I'm going through my routine, don't be fooled.
Please listen carefully and hear what I'm not saying.
I dislike hiding. I really do.
Please hold out your hand, even when that's the last thing I seem to want.
Because each time you're kind, gentle, and encouraging
I get braver,
closer to leaving
the masks
behind
one
by one.
__________________
FINGERPRINTS (To use for handprint or print art)
Author Unknown
Sometimes you get discouraged,
because I am so small
And leave my little fingerprints
On furniture and walls.
But everyday I'm growing
And soon will be so tall
That all these little fingerprints
Will be difficult to recall.
So here's a little handprint
That you can put away
So you will know how my fingers looked
On this special day.
_______________
GOD MADE TEACHERS
Author Unknown
God understood our thirst for knowledge, and our need to be led by someone wiser;
He needed a heart of compassion, of encouragement, and patience;
Someone who would accept the challenge regardless of the opposition;
Someone who could see potential and believe in the best in others . . .
So He made Teachers
___________________
GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT LIFE...
THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED
No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats. When your mom is mad at your dad, don't let her brush your hair. If your sister hits you, don't hit her back;
they always catch the second person. Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato. You can't trust dogs to watch your food. Reading what people write on desks can teach you a lot. Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair. Puppies still have bad breath even after eating a tic tac. Never hold a dust buster and a cat at the same time. School lunches stick to the wall. You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk. Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts. The best place to be when you are sad is in Grandma's lap.
________________
HUMAN FAMILY
By Maya Angelou
I note the obvious differences
in the human family.
Some of us are serious,
some thrive on comedy.
Some declare their lives are lived
as true profundity,
and others claim they really live
the real reality.
The variety of our skin tones
can confuse, bemuse, delight,
brown and pink and beige and purple,
tan and blue and white.
I've sailed upon the seven seas
and stopped in every land,
I've seen the wonders of the world
not yet one common man.
I know ten thousand women
called Jane and Mary Jane,
but I've not seen any two
who really were the same.
Mirror twins are different
although their features jibe,
and lovers think quite different thoughts
while lying side by side.
We love and lose in China,
we weep on England's moors,
and laugh and moan in Guinea,
and thrive on Spanish shores.
We seek success in Finland,
are born and die in Maine.
In minor ways we differ,
in major we're the same.
I note the obvious differences
between each sort and type,
but we are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
We are more alike, my friends,
than we are unalike.
_______________
IF I HAD MY CHILD TO RAISE OVER AGAIN
By Diane Loomans
If I had to raise my child all over again,
I'd finger paint more, and point the finger less.
I'd do less correcting, and more connecting,
I'd take my eyes of my watch, and watch with my eyes.
I would care to know less, and know to care more.
I'd take more hikes and fly more kites.
I'd stop playing serious, and seriously play.
I'd run through more fields, and gaze more at stars.
I'd do more hugging and less tugging.
I would be firm less often, and affirm much more.
I'd build self-esteem first, and the house later.
I'd teach less about the love of power,
And more about the power of love. From the book, Full Esteem Ahead,
100 Ways to Build Self Esteem in Children & Adults
__________________
ONE HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW
Author Unknown
One hundred years from now
It won't matter
What kind of car I drove...
What kind of house I lived in
How much money I had in the bank
Nor what my cloths looked like
BUT
The world may be a little better
Because, I was important
In the life of a child.
Teacher's Prayer
Author Unknown
Lord, Please help me,
To strengthen their voices,
bodies and minds,
To express their feelings and
control them sometimes,
To explore what's near
and venture afar,
But most important to love
who they are.
__________________
THE ROSE
Author Unknown
When we plant a rose seed in the earth
We notice that it is small, but we do not
Criticize it as rootless and stem-less. We treat it as a seed, giving the water
And nourishment required of a seed.
When it first shoots up out of the earth,
We don't condemn it as immature and underdeveloped;
Nor do we criticize the buds for not being open as they appear.
We stand in wonder at the process taking place
And give the plant the care it needs at each stage of its development.
The rose is a rose from the time it is a seed
To the time it dies.
Within it, at all times, it contains its whole potential.
It seems to be constantly in the process of change;
Yet at each state, at each moment,
It is perfectly all right as it is.
________________
TO EVERY PARENT
Author unknown
There are little eyes upon you,
And they are watching night and day;
There are little ears that quickly take
In every word you say;
There are little hands all eager to do
Everything you do,
And a little child who's dreaming of
The day he'll be like you.
______________
TEEN CREED
Author Unknown
Don't let your parents down,They brought you up.
Be humble enough to obey, You may give orders someday.
Choose companions with care, You become what they are.
Guard your thoughts, What you think, you are.
Choose only a date, Who would make a good mate.
Be master of your habits, Or they will master you.
Don't be a show off when you drive, Drive with safety and arrive.
Don't let the crowd pressure you, Stand for something-
Or you'll fall for anything.
_______________
UNITY
By Ray A. Lingenfelter
I dreamed I stood in a studio
And watched two sculptors there,
The clay they used was a young child's mind
And they fashioned it with care.
One was a teacher:
the tools she used were books and music and art;
One was a parent
With a guiding hand and gentle loving heart.
And when at last their work was done,
They were proud of what they had wrought.
For the things they had worked into the child
could never be sold or bought!
And each agreed she would have failed
if she had worked alone.
For behind the parent stood the school,
and behind the teacher stood the home!
___________________
A YOUNG PERSON'S BILL OF RIGHTS
Author Unknow
• I have a right to live rather than merely exist.
• I have a right to personhood rather than being an object of possession.
• I have a right to equality with every other human being regardless of age.
• I have a right to be respected as a human being.I have a right to be uniquely myself with my own identity.
• I have a right to speak my thoughts and feelings, and to be heard.
• I have a right to ask "why?" and to receive and answerI have a right to receive discipline without insults, yelling and put-downs.
• I have a right to be encouraged to grow to maturity at my own pace.
• I have a right to bfree of physical harm at the hands of others.I have a right to be loved for who I am.
• I have a right to think for myself and, with guidance, to make my own decisions.
• I have a right to be responsible for myself.I have a right to feel joy, happiness, sorrow, bereavement, and pain.
• I have a right to my achievements and a right to my mistakes.
• I have a right to care and be cared for, to give and to receive.
• I have a right to develop my own convictions, beliefs and standards.I have a right to know and experience personal freedom.
• I have a right to my own body, mind, and spirit.
• I have a responsibility to recognize and accept the rights of others regarding their Bill Of Right.
___________________
101 WAYS TO PRAISE A CHILD Author Unknown
Wow! ♥ Way to go! ♥ Super! ♥ You're Special ♥ Outstanding! ♥ Excellent! ♥ Great! ♥ Good! ♥ Neat! ♥ Well done! ♥ Remarkable! ♥ I knew you could do it! ♥ I'm proud of you! ♥ Fantastic! ♥ Super Star! ♥ Nice work! ♥ Looking good! ♥ You're on top of it! ♥ Beautiful! ♥ Now you're flying! ♥ You're catching on! ♥ Now you've got it! ♥ You're incredible! ♥ Bravo! ♥ You're fantastic! ♥ Hurray for you! ♥ You're on target! ♥ You're on your way! ♥ How nice! ♥ How smart! ♥ Good job! ♥ That's incredible! ♥ Hot dog! ♥ Dynamite! ♥ You're beautifu! ♥ You're unique! ♥ Nothing can stop you now! ♥ Good for you! ♥ I like you! ♥ You're a winner! ♥ Remarkable job! ♥ Beautiful work! ♥ Spectacular! ♥ You're spectacular! ♥ You're darling! ♥ You're precious! ♥ Great discovery! ♥ You've discovered the secret! ♥ You figured it out! ♥ Fantastic job! ♥ Super job! ♥ Hip, hip, hooray! ♥ Bingo! ♥ Magnificent! ♥ Marvelous! ♥ Terrific! ♥ You're important! ♥ Phenomenal! ♥ You're sensational! ♥ Super work! ♥ Creative job! ♥ Super job! ♥ Fantastic job! ♥ Exceptional performance! ♥ You're a real trooper! ♥ You are responsible! ♥ You are exciting! ♥ You learned it right! ♥ What an imagination! ♥ What a good listener! ♥ You are fun! ♥ You're growing up! ♥ Your tried hard! ♥ You care! ♥ Beautiful sharing! ♥ Outstanding performance! ♥ You're a good friend! ♥ I trust you! ♥ You're important! ♥ You mean a lot! ♥ You make me happy! ♥ You belong! ♥ You've got a friend! ♥ You make me laugh! ♥ You brighten my day! ♥ I respect you! ♥ You mean the world to me! ♥ That's correct! ♥ You're a joy! ♥ You're a treasure! ♥ You're wonderful! ♥ You're just about perfect! ♥ Awesome! ♥ A+ job! ♥ You're A-O.K! ♥ My buddy! ♥ You made my day! ♥ That's the best! ♥ A big hug! ♥ A big kiss! ♥ I love you! ♥
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Compiled by Barbara Shelby