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I Can Monsters
Monsterous Tales: Using the I Can Monsters Cards
Here is a set of 24 loveable monster character cards especially designed for young children to reinforce learning and safety. Each card features the words 'I can.' and focuses on what children can do rather than on what they can't. A creative and fun way for teachers, counsellors, therapists, social workers and parents to help build that precious 'I can' attitude in children.
In the Mailbag
Dear Innovative Resources,
My name is Marlene Steiner, and I am the director at Bright and District Kindergarten in North East Victoria.
Firstly, I would like to thank your organisation for producing the I Can Monster Cards. I have used them this year at our kindergarten with terrific success, both with the children and the parents.
I introduced the monster cards to the children in a group setting, where we discussed them as being friendly monsters that can help us learn things about ourselves and our friends. This was followed by introducing the monsters and the program to the parents. I stressed that by encouraging the children positively with I Can cues we would be building their self-esteem and confidence.
We introduced the 'I Can Share', 'I Can Help' and 'I Can be Friendly' monsters first. Each child's name was pinned near the respective monster cards as they exhibited these skills on our 'I Can Monster' board!
The program was met with a positive response by the parents, as the children began to take home their I Can Monster stickers, measuring their own achievements. We also displayed the stickers, so the parents were able to see the full set.
In May we had a local Gala Day where we had the opportunity to promote our organisation to the public. The Parent Committee decided to incorporate our I Can Monster program in the Gala day celebration. The parents, staff and children made their own monster costumes and a monster for the float. We had posters and signs depicting the 6 Monsters that we are currently using in the program. The community delighted in this project and felt this was a great way to develop skills within the children to become positive and confident future members of society.
We have continued to introduce the I Can Monsters as situations arise and are currently using 'I Can Try' and 'I Can Be Happy'. We find we can use the monsters as a mediator when children are having difficulties managing problems with other children. By drawing on one of the monsters, the children are able to cope with the problem. For example, we had a child who was complaining of his friends not letting him have some of the toys that they were using. I was able to say to his friends, 'I'm sure that I saw an "I Can Share" monster somewhere at Kinder today!' With that they said,'He's here!' and let the child join in happily. We also had a child, who came to me with great excitement to tell me that he had managed to knock over all the skittles for the first time, and that perhaps he could have an 'I Can Try' monster!
The 'I Can Tell Others' and 'I Can Ask for Help' monsters have been invaluable in developing the children's confidence to approach adults, in the knowledge that we would listen and help them and that it is okay to seek adult assistance when concerned or worried.
Marlene Steiner and the Committee of Management, Bright and District Kindergarten.
In this electronic age it can still be a trill to receive a real live paper letter in an envelope complete with stamp and delivered by your trusty postie. And if that letter contains a positive and strengths-based summary of a recent contact between two parties-client and worker, worker and worker or parent and child-so much the better.
Here's an example of a letter that talks about how a family used the I Can Monster. You might like to try it for yourself. 'Dear Mindy and Martin, It was great to meet with you all last Tuesday. You both looked so relaxed and very happy to be spending more time with all the children. I had great fun playing with the cards. It was the first time I had played with so many people. I really liked it when you started asking the questions, Mindy, because it's usually me that has to ask them and then I miss out on playing my hand.
As you know, Ned is familiar with the I Can Monsters cards because we have played a couple of times at kindergarten. He remembered many of the characters, didn't he? The cards are fairly new to me and so, like you, I'm still learning how to use them. Fortunately, I don't think there is any right or wrong way to be using them. Young children identify with the monsters so well and it makes it easier for adults to have different kinds of conversations with them. The conversations can help us to understand how our children see their world, as well as helping us to find ways of helping them learn.
On Tuesday, for example, you had asked me to talk with Dylan.
Remember I was a bit unsure about doing that since Dylan and I don't really know one another. Since the 'I can tell others' card came up in Dylan's hand, I used it as an opportunity to let him know that it's okay to tell you if Ned engages in any inappropriate behaviour and that that kind of telling was quite different from 'dobbing'.
Since we were on a bit of a roll with the game, I decided to manipulate the cards and brought up in Ned's hand 'I can say stop' and 'I can ask for help' which enabled us, particularly you, Mindy, to talk with Ned about when to say stop and who to ask for help.
Martin, you said that you have both learned a huge amount about how Ned communicates-"a bit of a learning curve"-I think is how you named it! I would agree with you! You are both developing an impressive understanding of how to respond to Ned's individual style of communication. Mindy, you have an excellent questioning style that is perceptive and persevering and lets Ned know that you expect a response-you are a natural MONSTER PLAYER.
We talked about the value of recording Ned's inappropriate behaviours because your observations taken over the last three weeks indicated that Ned engages in the behaviour far less frequently than you had previously thought AND that he also stops more frequently when you ask him. You said that it's nice to know that you are doing some things right!
Well done for taking the time to record incidents and make a note of what was said or done. It just goes to show how much of the time Ned plays and interacts appropriately with people and objects-just like any other five year old! It also goes to show how appropriate your strategies are. What you were already saying to Ned, for example "Hands down, Ned" and "Stop" were the correct phrases to be using. It was great that Dylan was responsive to the idea of saying "No! Stop! I don't like that" and to agree to use it with Ned.
Continue to have MONSTROUS FUN with the cards. They are very strong so please use them freely.
Regards,
Cherry Rattue, Pre-School Field Worker, St. Luke's
Monsterous Tales Catch Them Being Good! By Cherry Rattue
Cherry Rattue wrote this following article while travelling on the underground in London. She was on her way to William Davis School where she was working as a 'learning mentor' at the time. Cherry describes how she developed the 'I Can' awards for one hour. She called these the 'Sunbeam' awards and they celebrate the success of children who may not be able to sustain a whole day award such as 'Star of the Day'.
Rationale for 'I Can' awards I was aware that for some children in Year 4, 'Star of the Day' (the standard school reward) was very hard to achieve, which meant that is was even more difficult to achieve 'Star of the Week'. This seemed to be particularly so for children who, for example, found it hard to sit still, stay in their seat, attend to the task, work and play co-operatively with others, listen to instructions, start or complete their work, ask for assistance appropriately, etc.
For these children a whole day trying to conform to acceptable behaviour standards seemed to be an obstacle to success, as was the very nature of their current needs. These two interrelated factors narrowed this group's range of opportunities for success compared to their peers.
I concluded that since nothing breeds success like success, more frequent opportunities to be successful and to be acknowledged for success seemed a good place to start. Hence the introduction of 'I Can' awards at the end of each hour, which roughly coincided with the length of curriculum sessions.
Introduction of 'I Can' to Year 4 In less than five minutes I introduced the concept of 'I Can' to the class by telling them that many children I work with find it hard to do what their teachers want them to do all day. I asked if some of them also found it hard to do this. I observed a sprinkling of nods. I told the children that in addition to 'Star of the Day' we would stop each hour to find a 'Sunbeam'. Drawing on school standard expectations of appropriate behaviour, this person would need to have tried hard, listened and behaved appropriately for that hour.
There were a few questions like, 'Will we get a Sunbeam?' and 'Will this be for ever?' I told them that becoming a 'Sunbeam' was just like becoming 'Star of the Day' but rather than waiting until the end of a day, they only had to wait for an hour. The concept was warmly received!
Several children kept an eye on the time and were keen to let me know when each hour was nearly up. Whenever I reminded them that I would be looking for a child to reward at the end of the hour, positive classroom behaviours such as greater concentration, less chatter and movement quickly manifested and spread across the room.
Initially, I selected the child. This might be for trying hard with a piece of work, making a choice between doing the work, or chatting or any other behaviours that hindered completion of the set work. 'I Can' awards could also be received for helping another child in some way. The selected child was asked to come out to the front and together we spent a couple of minutes describing the child's behaviour over the hour and explaining why this child had received the reward.
'I Can Monsters' stickersI also chose an I Can Monster sticker which reflected as closely as possible the child's behaviour. For example, the stickers that say 'I can help' (another person), 'I can try'(to do my best), 'I can choose' (to do my work or talk to my friend), 'I can be careful' (when walking around the room), 'I can be a friend' (by being kind) were effective matches.
The next day there were a couple of opportunities for the child and the class to talk about which I Can Monster sticker most closely matched the selected child's behaviour. On the third day I introduced the idea that an I Can Monster sticker could only be received if I saw a child being helpful to another child. Later that day there was an opportunity for children to nominate other children they had noticed being helpful to another(s).
Noticing success I Can Monster stickers are a tool that can be successfully utilised to extend the range of opportunities teachers can offer children to succeed and to acknowledge success. We are all familiar with the feelings that arise when we make an effort and no one notices. We can tend to feel overlooked and undervalued. However, if our efforts are genuinely acknowledged we tend to feel valued, our confidence increases and we are more willing to 'have another go' later. Valuing children for their efforts causes them to smile, makes them feel good about themselves and does result in an increase in their confidence to try again.
'I Can' awards, and other tools designed to help teachers and children notice effort and change, can assist children in the sometimes difficult task of identifying and exploring what they can already do well. Learning about their strengths and the areas that need strengthening assists children to gain a balanced perception of who they are and what they can do. In addition, they gain insight into what helps and hinders their learning and helps them to see solutions to identified problems. Setting goals and exploring ways to achieve their goals draws on children's vision of themselves as achievers-and Scales is another tool that can promote this healthy self-talk.
Tools such as 'I Can' awards assist children to take on responsibility for their learning. The way the stickers are earned, which follows the 'catch them being good' theory rather than the 'carrot and stick' theory, emphasises a positive attitude to teaching and learning.
Tools for Tutors (And a New Theory of Relativity?)
'It's all relative.' This is one of those little phrases which embodies a universal truth and jolly useful it is too. It has been popping into my head a lot lately. Actually, when I think about it, this has mostly happened since we left the wilds of Sydney for the wilds of Central Victoria eight years ago. Take driveways for instance.
The Sharp End of Rustic When we first bought our two acre property, which is located down a dirt road (although the word 'road' is also a bit of an exaggeration), I thought the driveway was on the sharp end of 'rustic'. It's set on a gradient of about 20 degrees and when it rains the water rushes down and has created these deep gouges. Every now and then we mutter about it and achieve a few temporary solutions but so far the budget has refused to cough up for anything more permanent.
The driveway also plays an important role in the thrill-seeking behaviour of our eleven-year-old daughter. She invites her friends over by tempting them with the adrenaline rush of being in the back seat while mum backs down the driveway. I thought our driveway was really 'out there'. I didn't know whether to be proud or embarrassed. But. it's all relative.
The Power and Glory of Driveways A few days ago I went to Russell and Anne Deal's place and my appreciation for the power and glory of driveways underwent a deepening process. The property is located near Vaughan Springs in the Central Victorian Goldfields and, when you find it, the long driveway leads you on a steep and winding descent into the valley and into the peaceful and welcoming universe that has been created there.
Most of you know Russell. He is the Director of Innovative Resources and has had a huge hand in the creation of the wonderful resources that are published here. You may not know his wife, Anne, as well. Anne is a tutor at the Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE (BRIT) and it was to talk with her about how she uses the resources in her work that I ventured out to their secluded and beautiful valley.
Strength Cards in Prison Anne has worked in education for many years and has used Innovative Resources' materials in a variety of settings. Recently Anne was working with inmates at Loddon Prison, Castlemaine ( Central Victoria ) teaching basic cooking and interpersonal skills. She found the Strength Cards very useful in this context. Working with small groups, Anne invited each person to select four or five cards that they felt identified some of the strengths they possessed. Those who found this a little difficult were then asked to work in pairs and select strengths for each other.
Anne was delighted that all of the prisoners were able to select strengths and once the initial reserve and scepticism were put aside, everyone seemed to really enjoy the process of identifying their strengths. Opportunities then arose for conversations that could focus on positive, self-esteem building messages. Anne commented on how vital this is in an environment where negative and undermining attitudes can so often be the focus. Not all of the group members chose to speak about the strengths they had chosen, but Anne was pleasantly surprised by the willingness with which most were able to speak of their strengths.
Anne commented that this was possibly because many of the prisoners were constantly receiving negative feedback and the opportunity to focus on something positive was a welcome respite from this negativity. Another angle is that possibly some had yet to acknowledge any faults! Anne also expressed delighted surprise at some of the less visible strengths that people in the group claimed as their own!
The Power of Trust This positive attitude of the participants to working with the cards was also undoubtedly due to the relationship of trust that had been built up between Anne and these prisoners as they all cooked together during previous sessions.
Anne also spoke about her experience of working with a group of 10 early school leavers. This group of young people between the ages of 14 to 16 could well be described as 'difficult'. Anne used an array of Innovative Resources' tools during the hour and a half session she had with this group. This assortment of tools included The Bears, Scales, Strength Cards and the I Can Monsters. Anne used the tools to help build self-esteem and to overcome the reluctance and suspicion that these students carry with them from their school days.
Positive Messages through Stickers As each of the students entered the room, they were given a sticker from one of the resources such as the I Can Monsters. This positive message of capability-something that I can do if I choose-framed the session positively right from the start and acted as a great ice breaker. Anne also commented that her students, whatever their ages and levels of literacy, seem to enjoy the light-hearted flavour of the graphics.
Anne currently works with BRIT students, mainly on a one-to-one basis. These students are drawn from a wide variety of subject areas including Hospitality, Childcare, Welfare Studies, Hairdressing and even Driver Education. The students are referred to Anne for a variety of reasons. Many have simply dropped behind in their work requirements and need support from a tutor to catch up, some may have learning difficulties or other disabilities such as vision impairment and some are dealing with very challenging family circumstances. The tutoring process with each student may last for as little as two weeks or as long as three years.
Building Self-esteem The lack of self-esteem that many of her students bring with them to the tutoring process is often at the heart of their difficulty, Anne believes. Anne works to counter this by building an awareness of the person's strengths and by helping with such vital skills as communication. Often very basic organisational skills such as using a diary well can make all the difference.
The
materials produced at Innovative Resources play a part in Anne's work
with these students. Anne asks the students to choose a sticker from
the resources (such as the I Can Monsters) that represents
a personal goal for the student. Another sticker (perhaps from the Strength
Cards) is chosen to represent a strength. The strength sticker
is placed at the top of a page in the diary and the goal sticker is
placed at the bottom. You can imagine the possibilities for goal setting
and strength building over a day, a week or a lifetime! Overcoming the Odds Anne spoke of a very inspiring and rewarding experience she had with a student who, due to learning difficulties, had fallen far behind in her Childcare Studies requirements. Everyone feared that she would not pass. The student herself had lost confidence and one feature of Anne's work in supporting her was the use of the stickers to help build her awareness of her strengths.
Anne commented that the simple, daily placement of a sticker in her diary became a very important ritual and focus for her, particularly when she was 'on placement'.
The courage and commitment of this student were hugely rewarded when she was finally able to pass the course. When success comes in such circumstances, all talk of it being 'relative' goes out the window.
Defying any comparison, it is pure, unadulterated triumph.
Parting Gifts for Children
The process of working with families can be full of challenges for both the family and for the worker. But it is also full of gifts. These gifts are often intangible and very difficult to quantify. This is when a physical gift, no matter how small, can acknowledge, in ways that words may not, our appreciation for the gift of being allowed to enter the lives of others.
Barbara Cramer is one of the workers here at St Luke's and she is currently working with families on the 'Families First' project. Barbara has discovered a way to give a sweet sense of closure to her time with a family and to acknowledge the work that has been done by the children within the family. She selects one of the cards from the I Can Monsters, has it laminated and then gives it as a farewell gift to the child. Barbara says that this gift is always received with delight by the child and when the theme of the card is chosen well, it can act as a reminder to the child of the strengths that were developed during the time Barbara and the family were working together.
Barbara mentioned that sometimes during a worker's time with families, much of the attention can be directed towards the parents and their strengths, and the opportunity to focus on the strengths of the children can be overshadowed.
The gift of the laminated card can act as a lasting reminder of a key strength for the child, and such a gift also allows both the giver and the receiver to enjoy the transformative power of giving.
Monsters in Pre-School
Cherry Rattue works as a Pre-School Field Worker. She and her colleagues cover the City of Greater Bendigo and the Loddon Shire working with families and early childhood workers to facilitate the inclusion of children with additional needs in to State-funded pre-school programmes.
Cherry finds the I Can Monsters and Strength Cards for Kids useful and user-friendly when doing developmental assessments. Children in a small group are asked to choose a card, look at it carefully and then tell the group about this card. From this activity Cherry learns a lot about the children's language skills and how they listen and hear instructions.
Information about their vocabulary, imagination, use of language and articulation is available too. Cherry is able to gain a sense of whether the children recognise that letters form words. For example, some children will ask 'what does that word say?' or 'what's that letter?' Others make no comment on the letters at all, even when asked if they can see any.
Cherry sometimes sets up peer tutoring sessions. With Cherry as part of the group the children will include those who can act as positive role models and those for whom modelling is taking place. The children will be asked questions like 'What can you see in the picture? What might the monster be doing?'. The 'role model' children answer the questions first and then the children for whom the modelling is happening respond. The activity has many advantages including allowing the role models to develop empathy and to understand and value the involvement of children with learning difficulties.
Conversations about the I Can Monsters provide Cherry with information about a child's concentration and conceptual abilities. She tests children's abilities by asking a range of questions like: I wonder what would happen if.? Why do you think that monster is stepping on stones? Why has that little monster got his fingers in his ears? How do you know those two are friends? Why is the monster crying? If it were your birthday what would be in that box?
Cherry says the cards provide many opportunities for natural conversations during which useful information can be gained about the child's needs.
The I Can Monsters were originally developed with a personal safety application. Cherry explains 'We wanted a tool that would facilitate meaningful conversations with young children about the idea of being safe. But of course successful interaction with young children is dependent as much on the skill of the adult listening to the child and knowing when to ask the right questions, as on the appropriateness of the tool.'
Cherry spoke of her work with a young child whose parents asked her to consider the possibilities of past abuse as a source of his different behaviours and communication disorder, she began by opening the box of cards with the child and a peer during a kindergarten session. The child had met her on previous occasions both a home and at kindergarten and had appeared comfortable in both settings. Cherry's aim was to see if the cards appealed to the boys and to provide them with the opportunity to become familiar with them at their own pace.
'I needn't have worried. It seems that the I Can Monsters' great appeal for young children is in the way they can convey scariness and friendliness at the same time and as soon as I introduced the cards the little boy said "ooh monsters like scary MONSTERS", his voice rising in anticipation. This child is just beginning to show an interest in literacy and frequently asked me to "say the names" - that is, to read the words on the top of each card. However, when the card "I can say no" was turned over the child read the pictorial cue, put up his hand in imitation of the monster and exclaimed "NO". I though this was a pretty good opportunity to explore the concept of 'no'.
'We talked about what the monster might be saying no to and why. From there I asked questions around when and to whom he says no. His replies included saying no to both his younger sister and older brother. Further questions revealed that he said no when he didn't want his brother to push him or his sister to join his solitary games. His answers provided the opportunity to confirm that we can use the word no to tell people to stop doing things that we don't like. I dropped the focus there because he wanted to look at the other cards and I felt that the concept of saying no had been introduced sufficiently well to return to in another session.
'So we continued to look through the other cards and when we came to "I can be careful" the child again understood the message conveyed in the picture. He said "Careful. Look." The card shows a monster carefully retrieving a ball from a creek by using stepping stones.
'A few cards later we came to the "I can be safe" card and the child said "kids safe in their Daddy's car, wearing seat belt, I wear seat belt." By this time the two four year old boys who had been absorbed in the cards for a good twenty minutes were becoming distracted by the sound of children packing up so I decided to end the session. I had learned that the child understood the concepts of 'careful' and 'safe' and that was sufficient for a first visit.'
Cherry Rattue St. Luke's Pre-school Field Worker
Using the I Can Monsters Cards Building Skills, Staying Safe and Reaching Goals
The I Can Monsters are some of the most delightful, charming and clever monsters you are ever likely to meet-in fact, they are sure to remind you of people that you know!
The loveable monsters on these 24 zany, full colour cards have a very simple message: we all need to build skills no matter how old we are.
Young children are especially avid skill builders and usually need little encouragement to be active learners. But the I Can Monsters remind us that we should never take skill building for granted-we can always learn new and different skills.
Indeed for some children (and adults too!) there will be skills they find hard to master, or skills that are easily forgotten, skills that need practice and skills that need the support of others. The skills that the I Can Monsters talk about are skills in problem-solving, making friends, working towards goals and staying safe.
The monsters remind us of all the things we can do, and the new things we can learn to do, but they have another important message as well: how do we know it is safe to do these things.
Not only do the I Can Monsters set out to encourage skill building, but they also open up lots of opportunities to talk about discernment or judging the appropriateness of any action. For this reason, embedded in the I Can Monster cards are lots of messages about personal safety, of learning skills in ways that are not dangerous to ourselves or others.
Some of the monsters that offer useful skills to learn in order to stay safe are:
Then there are other monsters who can prompt discussions about discernment like:
When looking at these monsters, we can raise the question: 'When do you know it is a safe time to do these things?' The I Can Monsters can provide a gentle and fun way of building conversations around important things in a child's world. At the same time the messages in the I Can Monsters are universal and will appeal to many adults who find the humour provides fresh insights into their own use of skills.
Fish, the Memory Game
Most people know the memory game (but why is it called 'Fish'?-just another of life's little mysteries) where cards are placed face down and players take turns trying to find two matching cards. When a match is made that player has another turn. The I Can Monsters allow for a variation of this age old game.
Firstly you will need two packs of the I Can Monsters cards. When a matching pair of cards is turned over, that player is invited to talk about a time when it is important to do what the cards say. For example, if the two 'I can be careful' cards are found, the leader can ask 'Can you tell us about a time when you were careful or when you think it is important to be careful?'
Other players can also be invited to tell their stories. To build more cooperation into the game players can be encouraged to help each other to find matching pairs and to try to make sure that every player successfully finds at least one match.
Snap
Snap is another variation of an age old game that requires multiple sets of I Can Monster cards. The cards are shuffled and dealt to each player face down. Taking turns, the cards are turned over and when two identical cards are turned in succession, they are 'won' by the first player calling 'snap' and putting their hand on the cards.
Again a successful pairing can invite that player to tell a story about a time when it was important to use the skill named by the two cards.
Find the Monster
Rather than having an accompanying booklet, the I Can Monsters have suggested uses on the back of an A3 size poster. The poster features all the monster cards but without the words to encourage memory games. Here are two simple questions to help you kick start your own memory games using the cards and accompanying poster.
When someone reads the words of each card, can you find the matching monsters on the poster?
By just looking at the monsters on the poster, can you remember the word from each of the cards?
Affirmations
Using the I Can Monsters (either as stickers or cards) can provide parents and teachers with a pool of affirmations or encouragements for children who might be struggling with an issue. As part of bedtime reading rituals, parents can help a child choose a monsters card that might help them the following day. The card can be put under their pillow to help build that skill overnight! Or a child can be given a sticker in their lunch box to remind them that you are thinking about them.
Teachers, too, can gift children with stickers, or 'award' children with a card that describes a new skill they have demonstrated.
Act It Out
A fun way to reinforce skills through practice is to invite children to act out their facial expressions and body language in a way that matches the skills identified on each I Can Monsters card.
Each child can be given a card which is kept secret from the others in the group. The card is then acted out, like in charades, while the others try to guess which card is being portrayed.
Alternatively, as each skill is talked about, every child in the whole group could be invited to assume the posture and facial expression that matches the card in question.
Monster of the Week
Kindergarten and primary school teachers can use the I Can Monsters cards thematically by identifying a monster (skill) of the week. An individual card can provide a weekly theme like 'being helpful' (from the 'I can help' monster). Children demonstrating helping skills can be acknowledged-perhaps with a sticker-and the theme could form the basis for other classroom activities.
The cards can also be used in art, providing a starting point for children to paint, collage or sculpt one of the monsters. And with a little preparation the teacher can assemble stories and picture books that give examples of that monster's skill in action.
The Monsters and Captain Grumpy
Captain Grumpy is one of the picture books published by Innovative Resources. Captain Grumpy becomes a pirate according to his parents' wishes. Because he is grumpy about this, people think he is a good pirate-but what happens when his grumpiness takes control?! Captain Grumpy has to learn new skills to become the boss of his grumpiness.
Teachers can use the Captain Grumpy picture book and the I Can Monster cards in unison for activities with groups or individuals. After reading the picture book, you might like to challenge children to try to relate the messages of the picture book and cards. For example:
Of course, in one way or another all the monster cards can have some relevance to Captain Grumpy's plight, so lots of imagination can be used to identify the skills from which he might benefit!
The Monsters and Kids' Skills
Kids' Skills is the name of a great book by Finnish psychiatrist Ben Furman that provides a model for reframing children's behavioural 'problems' as new skills to be learned. This reframing can be liberating for both children and parents alike, because it gets rid of blame and engages the child in learning new skills to free them from the problem. The focus on skill learning in Kids' Skills can be reinforced by including the I Can Monster s in the different stages of the Kids' Skills model. For instance:
'As
you are learning your new skill, which of the monsters would other
people notice in you?'
'Which monster would you like to invite into your life today? How would this monster help you learn this new skill?' |
'Which
of the monsters do you think would help you to learn this new skill?'