Learn to be Buddies

www.learn2bebuddies.com.au

By Amanda Gray 

What is Learn to be Buddies?

Learn to be Buddies is the name I have chosen for the series of picture books I am writing.  The books are written for children of all abilities aged between 3 and 6 years.  They use realistic pictures and true-to-life storylines to demonstrate specific values or social skills in a fun and engaging way.  In short, they are like social stories (for more about social stories visit http://www.thegraycenter.org)

Learn to be Buddies began as an idea for a series of books, but it has grown to be much more. 

The complexity of social and emotional development

Throughout the years I have been working with, researching and teaching about children with diverse needs I have grown more and more aware of the complexity and significance of social and emotional development. 

The focus of Learn to be Buddies includes two things:

1.      Helping children learn skills that will help them cope more effectively with the challenges of life

2.      Helping children develop positive connections with people around them

However, Learn to be Buddies is not just about producing books on this theme.  This project is also about providing information, support and tools for those who have the most significant influence on children’s lives: families and teachers. 

Blogging

www.learn2bebuddies.blogspot.com

To help provide information and support to parents and teachers I have begun blogging.  I focus on discussing behaviour management strategies with teachers and parents, as well as promoting understanding of the needs of children with different abilities.

Each month I write on a theme.  One of the themes I have covered to date includes “Why aren’t you listening? Disobedience or Distraction?” This was a series of posts discussing the difficulties children may have in hearing, processing, understanding or remembering instructions.  The difficulties faced by children with Autism, Down Syndrome, ADHD and more were discussed.

Other themes that have been discussed on the Learn to be Buddies blog include bullying, resilience and aggression.  Each theme is closely related to the issues addressed in Dave is Brave.

Dave is Brave

Dave is Brave is the first book in the series and has just been published. It tells the story of Dave as he defends himself and his friends from Golly, who is being a bully. 

“Golly was a bully when

He didn’t act like a friend

He’d ride around and knock kids down.

He didn’t care he wouldn’t share….”

But Dave was brave… and he had had enough.

“ He made a stand,

held up his hand,

put up his head

and said…

‘STOP!’”

Golly then realises what he has been doing.  He says, “Sorry”… and they all play happily together.

Language

Language is an essential element of interaction, whether it be body language, gestures or words.  From my knowledge and experience as a special education teacher, I have written the book to ensure that significant phrases and body language are modelled.  This means that children with language difficulties can learn important social communication skills by imitating the words and actions of the two main characters.

For example, Dave is modelling the use of an appropriate gesture and the word “Stop!” to communicate his dislike of Golly’s behaviour.  Later in the book, Golly models the word, “Sorry” and the question “Dave, can I play?” 

Social skills and emotional intelligence

Understanding other’s emotions, the reasons why they may act a certain way, the difference between accidental and intentional behaviour, and the difference between aggression and assertiveness are all things that can be learnt from Dave is Brave.    But these are quite complex and abstract concepts for young children to learn, especially for children who have diverse needs.

Visual and rote learning

One way to make an abstract, complex concept more accessible to young children is through the use of pictures and direct modelling.  Dave is Brave is designed with this in mind.

To help children learn the important social/emotional skills relating to bullying, reconciliation and resilience as portrayed in Dave is Brave, there will be an increasing number of additional products released. Currently there are four activity plans available for Dave is Brave.   These include a series of questions for discussion on a social theme revolving around the pictures.  These also contain ideas for behaviour management or reinforcement of the new skill in the child’s daily routine.

There is also a music CD which, along with a narration of the story, contains a song called Be Brave.   This song was written to reinforce the key themes addressed in Dave is Brave.

I have also developed two games.  The Feelings Game is a set of cards sold on disk for parents and teachers to print.  These cards represent different emotions and can be used to play memory or snap.  This is designed to help children match and identify different facial expressions represented in different ways.  It can also be used to help children learn to read the words happy, sad, brave, angry.

The How are You Feeling?! Board Game is also on disk in an easy-to-print format.  This game is designed to help children learn about appropriate responses to the feelings listed above. 

More information

If you want to know more, visit www.learn2bebuddies.com.au. You might also want to drop in and comment on www.learn2bebuddies.blogspot.com, especially if you want to ask a question or give me a topic for discussion for the monthly Ask Amanda column. 

Download our press release:

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© Amanda Gray 2009

ww.learn2bebuddies.com.au