Conflict Resolution in Pre-K??

For the past several weeks in Peace Class with Pre-K and Kindergarten we've been talking about the word "conflict." We watched the above short clip with Robin Williams and the Two-Headed Monster explaining the word and modeling a conflict (or attempting to, at least!) Once established that everyone knows what a conflict is, we moved on to brainstorming ways we can deal with them. Coming on the heels of our "Problem Size" unit, we also identified conflicts as tiny problems that, if left unresolved, can become medium or even big. One particularly intrepid 5 year old even shared how her father works in Syria, where a conflict has turned into a "really big problem." The kids always amaze me! 

We acted out different ways to solve conflicts, such as sharing, taking turns, and being flexible about not getting stuck on your way to do things. Each class created a book of "Win-Win" ways to work out conflicts. Will all of this help your children handle conflicts as they get older? This thesis study, among other research, says it actually can help change children's automatic stereotyping. Of course we will need to review and reteach the concepts in developmentally appropriate ways each year, but now is the time to start. We have been having a lot of fun in early childhood doing just that!

-Jillian