Hi parents,
Tonight's group went extremely smoothly. One of the group members decided she wanted to go to Maria's and was asked to "convince" the rest of the group. She did and that's where we went tonight. The beginning of the group was mostly good-natured conversation, followed by two technology projects. The first involved a "redo" of a "radio style" narrated cartoon strip the group had made. We wound up doing several "re-takes" due to intermittent sounds from group members who were seated, capped off by a perfect take that was unfortunately "punctuated" by the sound of a flushing toilet from the restroom in the office. As it turned out, the repeated practice only helped the group members.
The second project involved group members making quick decisions about avatars and "video masks" and making a 30 second statement or joke. Everyone seemed to enjoy the process, I think partially because it moved along quickly, flowing, from one participant to the next.
Around 5:30pm we headed to Maria's for dinner. What a great table! It was a large oval that just fit everyone in attendance. Some of the group members recalled they had good calamari, so a couple of orders of appetizers were made. Another member wanted to get fries, but in keeping with our "who are you going to share with?" he couldn't find anyone else, so we skipped that one. Some ordered their own entrees and others shared pizza. There was flowing conversation and everyone seemed to have a good time.
Part-way through the meal, I elected to have a conversation with group members about things that they might say to others that are impulsive and tend to be hurtful. When I asked how many lost their temper and say things they regret, about one-half of the group members raised their hands. We discussed how it makes others feel to hear such statements and what alternatives might exist. We will be adding a "took a break and calmed down" behavior to all of the LUNCH Points behavior lists which will be linked to an extra "Hero Ticket." There will be a second "Hero Ticket" if a group member can "keep their cool" for an entire week. As usual, they need to print out the acknowledgment certificate and bring it to the following session.
No problems throughout tonight and announcements, including maps and instructions were handed to families and they picked up their children for our next activity. We're going to the mall, possibly doing a "make your own pizza," and the group members will each receive $20 to go shoppping, with certain rules attached. Remember, this month there is no parent meeting in the office. It will be via tele-meeting. Details to follow.
