YEAR 6 LIFE SKILLS DAY
Dedication and commitment are key skills and traits that will serve children well as they grow into teenagers and eventually adults. Ultimately, instilling these values is one of the key roles that we have as educators.
Yes, there is an importance to knowing the difference between 'practice' and 'practise' and describing the properties of a tetrahedron but there is so much more that the children will need in the years to come.
This week, Year 6 pupils took on some Life Skills challenges as the circus came to the Junior School! On the surface of it, seeing the children juggling, plate spinning, skateboarding and bowling amongst other things seems like a day full of lots of fun (and it was!). However, these experiences also help them to develop collaboration, communication, listening, problem solving, perseverance and positivity. We then spoke in assembly today, via some incredible optical illusions, about how we judge what we see and in particular with relevance to how we see ourselves.
We discussed how we need to understand that much of what we see looks enviable and is framed as a vision of perfection and happiness and we can lose sight of how lucky and special we are in our own skin. As Roosevelt said, 'comparison is the thief of joy' and in the social media laden world that our children will inhabit, we must ensure that self-belief and value are at the top of our priorities.
These really are the life skills that they will need and they we should value and support these with just as much emphasis as anything that we can record on a spreadsheet.
