character | Swoop into Kindergarten

Is it ever ok to tell a lie? Have you told a lie? What happens when you tell the truth? Oh….the stories we heard today! During our Swooper Citizens meeting this morning we revisited the character trait of trust. Our breakout question was, “Is it ever ok to tell a lie?” With wide eyes, the students answered with a resounding, “No!” Then we began to think about certain circumstances….like planning a surprise for someone or telling a lie to protect our safety, and we decided that sometimes, in rare occurrences, people may need to lie…..but telling the truth is usually the better option.

Then, the floodgates opened, and students begged to tell stories about times when they….or THEIR PARENTS (gasp!), had told a lie. I had to get in on the fun and shocked students with the time I threw a nerf Frisbee inside my house (totally against my mother’s rules) and broke a cherished picture frame. Instead of telling the truth, I blamed it on one of my dad’s employees….(who not a believable suspect at all, poor goy….) How the situation would have been different had I told the truth! (What shocked the students the most, though, wasn’t that I told a lie, but that my punishment was that I had to go to bed without dinner!)

Next, we showed a great video clip of a classic story, demonstrating why truth telling is so very important:

Students then listened to a book called Being Trustworthy, which gave many clear examples of trustworthy behaviors, including coming home when your parents tell you, returning extra change after a shopping trip, and following through on obligations.

Here are some of the journal entries the students created:

Just so you know, parents, I did stick up for us and say that there are times when parents need to tell little “untruths” for the good of the family. 🙂

So what exactly is fair? Lesson six in our Swooper Citizens curriculum helped students explore the idea of fairness.

We began the lesson by passing out a Life Saver candy to most students. As Ms. Atkinson and I were passing the candies out, we encouraged the students to unwrap and immediately enjoy their special treat. When there were three unsuspecting students left, we suddenly ran out of candies.

Cries of “That’s not fair!” rang throughout the room. Some students offered to cut their piece of candy in half, while others offered to simply give up their mint. We then asked the students, “Would it be fair if you only got have a candy; your friend got half a candy, and everyone else got a whole one?” The answers were a resounding, “NO!” At this point we gave the three students their mints and breathed a sigh of relief since no one had cried or been upset.

Then we said, “So fairness is everybody getting exactly the same?” “Yes!” was the answer.

Alright…..so to be fair, everyone needs the exact same thing, the exact same treatment. In order to illustrate this idea, Ms. Atkinson asked the students to remember a time when they were hurt and needed a band aid. After each student found their owies, we started putting a band aid on their hand. Students looked at me like I was crazy! “But my owie is on my knee, not my hand,” said one student. I replied, “Oh I’m just being fair. Everyone gets a band aid in the same spot!”