March Virtue: Self Control

March is Self-Control Month! I had some requests from teachers to move this to the beginning of the school year, so that might be an idea for next year.

For most of my guidance lessons I focused on the Stop, Think, and Act process before speaking or acting. This is reflected in my bulletin board for this month.

In-between all of the stop lights with "Stop, Think, Act" written on them, there are some examples of how to show self-control.


5th Grade Self-Control Kites
I got this idea from this website, but changed it around a bit to fit my students. We discussed the quote on the kite "You can't always control the wind, but you can control your sails" and how it can be used in our own lives.

Close up of the kite and quote.

The kite tags read: "Stop and Think", "Manage Your Emotions", "Take Responsibility", and "Believe in Yourself". We discussed how each of these helps up to show better self-control.

The students really enjoyed making their kites and took pride in personalizing theirs. They will be hung in the hallway until the end of the month, but the kids are very eager to take them home.

6th Grade Self-Control Yield Signs
For my 6th grade lessons, we discussed how traffic signs can help us remember to use self-control. I found the inspiration here, but again changed it to meet our needs.

We discussed how it can be hard to show self-control when faced with temptations. Some of the temptations we talked about were dealing with anger in the wrong way (hitting, using foul language, saying mean things), spreading rumors or talking about someone behind their back, not taking responsibility (goofing around in class, talking in class, not completing work).

The yield signs says "Show SELF-CONTROL and have the DETERMINATION not to YIELD to temptations! God is faithful and will not let you be tried beyond your strength; but with the trial he will also provide a way out, so that you may be able to bear it.
1 Corinthians 10:13"