3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
With "sunny" and "cloudy" metaphors to convey human emotions, June 8, 2002
This review is from: Teaching Conflict Resolution with the Rainbow Kids Program (Paperback)
Teaching Conflict Resolution With The Rainbow Kids Program by education consultant and school staff developer Barbara Porro is a straightforward, user friendly, "how to" guide to implementing a program specially created to teach young students respect for the classroom and for one another. Using "sunny" and "cloudy" metaphors to convey human emotions, the Rainbow Kids story and program is a direct, easy-to-understand approach to help young people better learn the fundamental arts of self-control and cooperation with others. Teaching Conflict Resolution With The Rainbow Kids Program is a highly recommended contribution to teacher training supplement reading lists and academic curriculum development reference collections.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book for teaching and for learning yourself!, December 31, 2004
This review is from: Teaching Conflict Resolution with the Rainbow Kids Program (Paperback)
This book is intended for teachers, and it is great for that purpose, but I also recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about emotions and how to handle them in their life. Get it for your students, for your kids, or just to for yourself.
My daughter was in a class that used the Rainbow Kids story as a tool, and now that she is an adult, she still talks about those lessons. I am a business school graduate who does a lot of negotiation in my work, and this children's story has been an invaluable tool to keep me focused and keep me out of the fray when things get tough!
In this story, the author does something I would not have thought possible: use clear metaphors to teach you how to understand and handle strong emotions like anger. Defining emotions as clouds (anger) and rainbows (happiness) may sound silly and childish, but once you are inside the story and begin to understand, it becomes very powerful.
For children, this translation into metaphor makes learning about emotions fun and easy. Once they have heard the story, kids can understand that when they are mean to someone else, it creates a "cloud" that sits over them both.
I have to admit that as an adult, I learned lessons that I have kept with me since reading the story, and I have been able to keep from getting dragged into other people's fights ever since! I hope my experience helps you understand how powerful this book is (with apologies to the author for my paraphrasing her wonderful work):
In the story, clouds are a metaphor for anger, so the kids in the story throw clouds at each other when they are in a fight. When a cloud hits you, you ball it up, make it bigger and darker, and throw it back. To join in a fight, you just grab a cloud (or stand there and someone will no doubt throw one at you) and then you throw it back.
At one point, a new boy enters the scene when everyone is fighting and the clouds are flying fast and furious. Of course, someone says something mean to the new kid, throwing a big, dark cloud at him. As it is about to hit him, the kid simply steps aside, letting the cloud dissipate past him. Just by stepping aside, the cloud doesn't hit him, he doesn't make it bigger, and he doesn't throw it back.
After the fight is over, one of the other kids asked the new kid how he kept from getting into the fray: "Why didn't you throw that cloud back?" The new kid answered "That was not my cloud."
"That was not my cloud."
I now remember that line every time I am about to enter someone else's fight, or any time someone tries to draw me out with an insult or a pointed question. In business (where this happens all the time), if you don't get drawn into a fight you can remain focused.
I hope you will read and use this book for your children, your students, and for yourself! Once she took the class, my daughter started to say things like "Why did he throw that cloud at me?" She learned new tools for dealing with anger and conflict. Sitting in business meetings, I still smile and say to myself "That was not my cloud."
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