Guidelines

Dialogue

Place the smallest circle on the board.

It is important that the children understand symbols and that each of the  figure symbols can represent  more than one person.  One figure represents each child and one figure represents “family,” not just a parent or sibling.

What are some of the things you can tell me about this circle? . . .  (round, no beginning and end, continuous, each part the same)

What does the circle make you think of?  . . . .  Let’s pretend this circle is a ball, can you bounce it?  Let’s pretend it is a cookie.  Could you eat it?  No, it is a symbol.   It can be a symbol for our worlds, it can be (name several children) ______’s world . . .

Place figure inside the circle.

I am going to put a very important person in the middle of your world.  This person is you, each of you.  Name the rest of the children not named in previous section.

Inclusion of Family

Place another figure inside the circle beside the “me” figure. 

Define their responses as “family” rather than “parents” to allow for inclusion of all types of families.

Inclusion of Friends

Place another figure on other side of “me” figure

Replace Circle one with the next largest circle.

 

Understanding Feelings of Inclusion

Give the children time to revisit these experiences in their minds.

Share an experience of your own to get the conversation going or keep it going.

Think back to when you were a baby.  That’s hard to do, but try.  Who were the first people who came into your circle? . . . . .(family members)

As you grew older and went out to play, who else joined your circle? . .  (friends)

But what has happened to the circle? . . . .  It is not large enough, it needs to grow so let’s put up a bigger circle.

We are going to think about happy times with the people in your circle.  Close your eyes and think about a happy time . . .

Tell me about a happy time you were thinking about, who was there, what you were doing, how you felt and why ?. . . .

Place the “me” figure outside of the circle.

 

Share a personal experience to get the discussion going.

Role play these behaviors

 

Briefly discuss ways to problem solve through communication,  and collaboration with others, talking about feelings.

Place “me” figure back inside the circle between family and friends figures.

Let’s talk about when you feel sad. This is a symbol for being left out of your circle.  What makes you feel left out?  . . .

Do you ever feel left out of your family or when you are with your friends? . . .

How do you act when you are left out of your circle?  Show me how you look when you feel left out. 

What can you do when you feel left out?

When you feel better and not left out, you are inside of your circle with your family and friends.

Place a new figure outside of the circle.

This discussion is the crux of the presentation and an invitation to explore altruism and ways of inclusion.   Extend upon the child’s responses to teach social skills. Give examples as to how to include yourself or another in play by suggesting a specific thing to play beyond the question, “Will you play with me?”

Role play an example of including someone.

Replace the second circle with a third larger circle.

What do you think this is the symbol for?  How do you think this person feels?  How do you think this person is acting?  What do you think might have happened to cause this person to feel left out of the circle?

You and I know how it feels to be left out even within our own families and can understand that no one likes to have this left out and sad feeling.

If you choose to include this person in your circle, how could you do this?  What could you say to this person?

Could you let your circle of caring grow bigger to include this new person?  Our circle is green because it can grow like plants.

CommunityConcept:

Place a figure to represent these groups as the children name people.

Community neighbors

Community Service People, e.g. teachers, police . . .

People who live around the world

 

Replace Circle 3 with the largest circle 4

We can choose to make our circle grow and grow.  Name some more people who are inside your circle.

How about people who we do not see all the time and we may not even know their names.

Take figures off of the board leaving the “me” figure

 

 

Once again, sharing a personal story will help to encourage the conversation.

What are things that make us the same?  (feelings, behaviors, common needs . . .)

Even though we are similar in ways, there are things that make us unique, ways that no one else is like us.  What is something that makes you unique? . . .

This can also be the symbol for times you choose to be by yourself.  When do you like to be by yourself? What do you think about when you are by yourself?

When you are alone, maybe one thing you can think about is how you can make your circle grow.

If children make a negative comment about a difference in a classmate, move a figure from its place in the circle outside the circle.  Ask the children how that makes the person feel.  Then return the figure to the inside of the circle.

Show the stack of figures in your hand.

As you name the differences, put up one figure to represent the spectrum for the difference.  Periodically, place some of the figures out of the circle asking, “How do you think this person would feel if you left her or him out of the circle because they were different from you?

There are differences between all of us.  What are ways we are different?  (names, hair, skin, size, likes behavior . . .)  Should this be a reason to leave someone out of our circle?   What would it be like if everyone had the same name?  Our differences give us our special uniqueness.

Here are some symbols for some of the differences you named.

Place a figure at 11:00.

People are different sizes.  Some are tall, short, large, small, big, and little. 

Place a another figure moving counterclockwise.

People have different colors of skin. Hold your hand up to the hand of the person next to you and see how your skin is different.

Place a figure.

People celebrate different customs like celebrating different holidays.  What are the holidays some of you celebrate?

Place  a figure.

People have different religious beliefs and some do not believe in religion. Can you name some religions?

Place a figure

People come in all ages.  Do you have all ages in your circle?

Place a figure.

Some people are boys and some are girls.  Do you have girls and boys in your circle?

Place a figure.

Discuss levels of abilities and share an ability and disability of your own to encourage sharing.  Point out the different levels of abilities to communicate that some children need help toward learning how to get along with others.

We all have different abilities, we have things we are good at doing and some things we are not good at doing.  Some people may have lost an ability like seeing or hearing.  But in their place, they learn another ability like sign language and braille.

Place heart and l .o .v . e inside the circle.

A poet, Edwin Markhum wrote:
He drew a circle that shut me out
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win.
We drew a circle to let him in.

What is important is the kind of heart  you have so that you can show love to make your circle grow.