Kids’ Skills for Adults! How to end this school year well!

Ben Furman, MD is a wonderful friend and author of Kids’Skills, a solution focused approach that children can use to develop skills to overcome various concerns.

Below is a short summary of the approach:

What is the basic idea behind Kids'Skills?

Adults tend to see problems as symptoms of an underlying disorder that needs to be treated, whereas children tend to see problems as a lack of skills that need to be learned.

Kids'Skills adheres to the children’s view. Its objective is to encourage and help children acquire the skills they need in order to overcome problems. As the method involves recruiting family, school and friends to support the child, it has an impact not only on the child but on his entire social network.

https://www.kidsskillsacademy.com/about-the-method/

Dr. Furman has many amazing stories where children overcame a concern by developing a skill and celebrating it with their social network.

And so, on this Monday, I thought, why not us, as educators, too?

There are about ten weeks of school left for most of us. Let’s suppose that those ten weeks go well as a result of a skill or two that we each develop?

Here are some questions to cue you up on which skill to develop.

• What skill might you be using at the end of the school year that would ensure you that it was ending well for you and those you serve?

• Think of a concern that seems to be intruding with how you wish to finish the school year as you wish? No need to know why!

• Suppose you developed a skill to stand up to that concern. What might you begin doing? What else? X10 (It’s in the details!!)

• Who might you ask to assist you in developing that new skill, as a support?

• How have you developed other skills before?

BIG QUESTION: On a scale of 1-10, with 10 meaning you have the skill, and 1 meaning you are just beginning, where are you today?

This week, do whatever it takes to move up one small point. Little steps!

And, don’t forget that celebration at the end! What will you do to celebrate your skills and being at your best? Who will you invite to share the celebration with?

If kids can do it, so can we!