Godfrey-Lee — Little Legends are learning to be leaders in Lisa Greca’s character development class at the Early Childhood Center.
Like art, music and gym class, kindergarten, first- and second-grade students visit the “Character Counts” class once a week for engaging lessons and activities designed to develop empathy, confidence and communication skills.
In Greca’s classroom, the motto is written on the white board for all to see: Lead with integrity.
“Each month, we learn a new character trait, with a song and a poem to go with it,” Greca said. In February, students focused on learning love and acceptance toward themselves and others. This month, students are working to build self-confidence.
During a recent circle time, second-graders gathered to listen to “We’re Different, We’re the Same,” a children’s song about acceptance.
Alandra said she liked the song because “They were singing so good and sang about our hearts.”
Added classmate Carla: “It was about kindness and making friends.”
Following the song, Greca told her students, “We can think differently, and we can still like each other. That’s what I want to teach you this year.”
Developing Character & Confidence
ECC Principal Kathleen Pool said “Character Counts” came from a need Greca observed last school year.
“Greca was servicing some of our students (who needed extra) behavioral support, and we knew there was a need to reach the whole student body,” Pool said.
Character Counts became a support for all students, offering social-emotional learning.
Greca said she wrote a proposal for the class last summer and the Board of Education approved implementation. She has already sent feedback forms to teachers to see if they want to have the class again next year, and said she has received positive responses.
“It gives kids a chance to work on character building and to do something different outside of their home classrooms,” Greca said.
The class also ties in RULER, the school’s existing social and emotional learning curriculum.
RULER — which stands for recognize, understand, label, express and regulate — helps students understand and name their feelings, as well as develop skills to handle a wide range of emotions.
Every time she meets with a class, Greca leads a mood check-in, where students sit in a circle and take turns passing around a basket of four colored balls, representing four emotions — red for mad, blue for sad, yellow for happy and green for calm. Students select their colors and are given the option to share why they were feeling those emotions.
“The goal is to help students develop skills to assist them now, and to help them navigate the rest of their lives,” Pool said.
To encourage students’ confidence, Greca also started a monthly poetry contest for second-graders to practice reading poems in front of an audience.
Pool said Greca’s poetry contest empowers those who have never before spoken in front of an audience to use their voices.
“I offered poetry reading as a choice to all my classes, and 37 of my second-graders volunteered on their own,” Greca said. “I’m trying to give them more opportunities to rise and be leaders.”
Before each student’s recent performances, Greca told them: “Voices loud and strong, and keep your paper down near your belly, not in front of your face. Let me see your beautiful face.” She asks them to rate their confidence before and after reading.
An aspiring singer, Carla, volunteered to participate in the poetry contest and took her performance of “The Dancing Snowflake” one step further.
“(Carla) is my singing poet,” Greca explained.
After singing her poem for the contest, Carla said she felt “more brave” than before she started.
“Mrs. Greca is a visionary educator who sees the needs of students clearly, and consistently conceptualizes ways to meet them where they are and to help them learn and develop into the best humans they can be,” Pool said.
“We are thrilled that she is serving in our school and look forward to all the ways students will continue to benefit from her care and vision.”
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