by Jim Gillen | May 19, 2009 | Class Stories
“Mrs. Gillen!” exclaimed a fifth grade boy, running up to me as I arrived at school one day this past week. “I have to tell you what happened!” This student has struggled with attention difficulties yet just recently moved from the behavior classroom to regular...
by Jim Gillen | Mar 20, 2009 | Class Stories, Tips
In our work with children, we are often reminded of just how important it is to learn the skill of self-regulation – especially for children with impulse control weaknesses. As Peter Levine powerfully illustrated at a recent workshop we attended, impulse control is a...
by Jim Gillen | Nov 19, 2008 | Activities, Class Stories, Uncategorized
In a recent group at school, a young boy came in and reported to us all that a friend of his had committed suicide the week before. The other students had lots of questions – How? Why? – and the feelings of fear and loss that come up when someone takes...
by Jim Gillen | Nov 15, 2008 | Class Stories, Tips
Recently, Jim and I were struggling with our weekly Children’s Program class. We had a few children who were having trouble getting themselves under control, and they, in turn, would throw the whole class off – a not uncommon experience for any classroom teacher! ...