WHY WE ARE SHARING THIS
Every year on 14 November we celebrate children with songs, sweets and a special assembly - and the next morning the classroom goes back to "sit down", "don't ask so many questions" and "finish your page". Our "Children Are..." poster has 26 short lines that say how children are and how we should treat them: Amazing - encourage them. Questioners - encourage them. Talented - observe them. Unique - marvel at them. This Children's Day, we invite you to make the poster a habit, not just a decoration.
THE BIG IDEA
One line a week. Pick one line from the poster every Monday, and let every adult in the school - teachers, helpers, the driver and the principal - live that one line for the whole week. 26 lines = 26 weeks = half a school year of treating children better, one small step at a time.
WHY IT MATTERS
Children learn most from how adults treat them every day, not from one day of celebration. A single clear line is easy to remember and easy to practise. A whole list of good intentions is forgotten by Wednesday.
TRY THIS - "LINE OF THE WEEK"
1Put it up (Monday, 2 minutes): put the poster up in the staff room and one at the children's eye level in the corridor. Circle this week's line with a sticky note.
2Say it (assembly, 1 minute): read the line aloud with the children. For "Questioners - encourage them", tell the children: "This week, every question is a good question."
3Do it (all week): every adult does the line in one visible way. For "Questioners", each teacher answers at least three children's questions a day properly - no "later" and no "because I said so".
4Notice it (Friday, 5 minutes): in the staff meeting, each teacher shares one moment when the line made a difference.
5Tell parents (1 line in the diary): "This week our line is: Questioners - encourage them. Please answer your child's questions at home too."
WHAT YOU WILL SEE - AND BY WHEN
In four weeks your teachers will start reminding each other of the line without being asked. Children will notice too - shy children ask more, and fewer children are told off for being curious. By the end of the year your school will have practised 26 lines, and parents will know your school as one that truly respects children.
BRING PARENTS IN
Send the line of the week home every Monday. Invite parents to send one line back in the diary: "This week I noticed my child was..."
YOU NEED
The poster (free - see below), sticky notes, and one minute in Monday's assembly.
GET THE POSTER FREE - ALL THROUGH NOVEMBER
For Children's Day month, schools can register and download the "Children Are..." poster free from deepshikhabooks.com/FreePosterRegister.aspx - print it in your school and put it up.
TELL US - WE WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU
1Which line will your school start with, and why?
2Which line is the hardest for adults to practise?
Reply on WhatsApp 95559 87368 or write to schools@deepshikhabooks.com. Or send a full post of your own through "Write for us" - it goes live with your teacher's and your school's name.
Happy Children's Day from all of us at Deepshikha Books!
