"A" is for "Adorable," "N" is for "Neighborly," "S" is for "SA-WEEEET"

(Apologies for the delayed-ness of this entry. I'm still adjusting to life back in the real world after a girls weekend in Folly Beach, SC. It's not fun.)

The above title came from our last session of group. I will elaborate in due time. The purpose of the group was to continue to explore self-esteem, and for the boys to recognize the positive traits that exist in each other (see the "Same Letter, Different Name" activity). The boys were divided into two teams and wrote the names of those on the other team on a sheet of paper. Ms. B chose a letter of the alphabet and the boys had to come up with positive traits or adjectives starting with that letter that described the opposite team members. We set a time limit of 2-minutes for them to work before they read aloud the descriptors. We played for 6 letters--3 for each team.

The boys were surprisingly creative in coming up with their positive traits! Some had an easier time than others. V had lots of great ideas and needed very little coaching from Ms. B and I to come up with good words. W needed a lot more help, since he mostly just made up words that kind of resembled good adjectives. The boys really nailed each other in terms of appropriate descriptors for each kid: A was described as "artistic" and "sensitive," V was "hyper" and "adorable," B was "neighborly" and "smart," and W was "athletic" and "silly." One of my biggest happy moments was A actually participating with W, with support and coaching. Although his social skills are super delayed, he independently thanked B after he read one round of positive traits.

As we processed the group, we talked a lot about what it means to receive a compliment and how we feel both giving and receiving them. We discussed good manners and social skills, including saying "thank you" when someone does or says something nice. I could tell that the boys genuinely enjoyed hearing good things about themselves--and who doesn't? For all their emotional and behavioral deficits, these boys seriously can warm some hearts.