THE BIG PARTY
Narrator: On Tuesday, there was going to be a big carnival at school. All of the kids at school, including Zak, Juan, Sally and Mary were looking forward to it.
Zak: I cannot wait until the carnival. My teacher said we will get to play baseball.
Sally: My teacher said that we will have an ice cream eating contest! I know I will win because I love ice cream.
Juan: I cannot wait to get to play all of the games they have planned. We even get to win prizes.
Mary: The best part is, we do not have to do ANY schoolwork. We get to spend the whole day playing.
Narrator: For the next hour, the friends sat around and talked about the carnival and how much fun they were going to have. Well, Tuesday finally came. All of the kids arrived at school on time. Everyone was so excited for the carnival that they didn’t notice that the sky was getting black and the wind was starting to blow. The children went into their classrooms and stood to say the Pledge of Allegiance. Before they had finished the Pledge, there was a loud KABOOM! It rattled the windows and shook the school and then it started to rain. The principal came over the loud speaker and said that because of the bad weather, the carnival would have to be cancelled.
Everyone moaned and groaned. They were so disappointed.
Mary: It’s not fair! We were supposed to have a fun day.
Narrator: Then Mary pushed her desk so hard it fell over. In another classroom, Zak was crying and yelling.
Zak:(Crying)It’s not fair! I hate you, I hate this school, I hate the Principal, I hate everybody!
Narrator: Some of the kids felt sad and some felt angry.
GUS and GUSSIE could hear all that was going on, and thought they should come and help the kids learn a better way to deal with their feelings.
Gus: Gussie, it sounds like some of these kids need to learn about Coping Skills because of the things they are saying and the way they are acting.
Gussie: Let’s invite Juan, Mary, Zak and Sally to our GUS & GUSSIE Club and teach them about ‘Coping Skills’.
(Looking at the students)
Gus: Would you kids like to learn about Coping Skills?
Gussie: Coping means how to take care of feelings that make us feel bad or sad. It takes a lot of practice to learn a new skill.
Gus: There are three important steps to help us to learn Coping Skills.
Step 1: Think about what is making you feel the way you do.
(Hold up one finger and ask the kids) What is it that made Mary so mad she pushed her desk over?
Gussie: Step 2: Decide if you can do anything about it.
(Hold up two fingers and ask the kids)Can Mary do anything about the rain or the weather? Can she magically make it change?
Gus: Step 3: Decide what you can do instead of feeling bad, angry or sad all day.
(Hold up three fingers and ask the kids) Because the weather is so bad,they cannot have the carnival outside. Are there other things they can do instead?
Gussie: You kids are so smart. Remember there are 3 steps to coping skills.
Step 1: Think about what it is that is making you feel the way you do.
Step 2: Is thereanything you can do about it?
Step 3: Decide what you can do instead.
Gus:I have an idea Gussie. Let’s give these students some situations and see if they can use the Coping Skill steps, we have just taught.
(Choose one student or ask the whole group)
What if you and your Grandma were going to go to the park right after school? When you get home, your Grandma is sick and says she cannot take you to the park now.
How would you feel?
Can you do anything about Grandma being sick?
What can you do instead?
Gussie: You kids are great at coping. Let’s do one more.
What if your dad promised to buy you a new bike this week but today he had to pay an unexpected bill, and now he doesn’t have enough money to buy the bike?
How would you feel?
Can you help the fact that your dad has to pay the bill and does not have enough money?
Do you need to feel bad all day? What can you do about it?
Gus: I think each of you knows what Coping Skills are and how they can help change how you feel. Even your parents and other adults need to use coping skills.
Coping Skillscan help you throughout your entire life.
Gussie: To help you remember and use Coping Skills, your GUS & GUSSIE teachers are going to give you a Coping Skills Can. Inside you will find a lot of different things you can doto help you change how you feel.