THE ZIPPY's friends
Participating classes: 1.A, 1.B and 1.C
The Zippy´s friends program was created by the British organization Partnership for Children as a result of copious research into coping behavioursof stress in children and adolescents. It currently is being run in 30 countries around the world. In Slovakia, the program has been implemented since 2013 in various kindergartens and primary schools under the auspices of the League for Mental Health (NGO). Experience shows that after completing the program, children are better able to express and understand their emotions (emotional literacy) and also cope with different stressful situations they encounter in their social environment (relationships with peers, siblings, parents, and so on).
During the whole program, the children are accompanied by an animal character Zippy, grasshopper, which becomes part of the class and it is most likely that parents meet him during the year as well. Children can take Zippy home, he becomes the part of their everyday life, and its role is to remind them of everything that they learn in the program.
The program is implemented in the first year classes of primary school (or for pre-schoolers in kindergarten) and during one school year the program covers six major themes:
Feelings
Communication
Relations
Conflict resolution
Dealing with change and loss
Cope with new situations
Zippy’s Friends involves a number of activities and games to support children in emotional expression, cooperation, tolerance and also empathy towards themselves and others. Children learn that they have in their own hands the solution to every situation (which kind of coping strategy they choose). At the same time, they learn to practically apply the so-called “Golden rules for choosing a good solution”:
It helps me feel better.
It will not hurt me or anyone else.
Zippy online
29.01.2021
Even in time of distance learning we continute with our Y1 students in the social-emotional programme Zippy ´ s friends.
This week we talked about, how to solve conflicts between friends. The best solutions were written (or drawn) into flower petals of the “Friendship flower”. We created one together online and children did their own (drawn on paper) at home.
Finished modules 3-5
We finished three Zippy’s Friends modules; Friendship, Conflict resolution, Dealing with loss and grief.
Friendship module taught us how to find and keep friends and how to solve different problems that can occur among friends, such as fighting over a toy or rejection.
The Conflict resolution module showed us how to come to a “good” solution together. We discussed and tried various techniques and realized that the most crucial thing is to calm down and breathe properly. Next, it is important to understand the problem, think about possible solutions and finally, to choose the best possible solution. Children were given worksheets with relaxation techniques to practice at home with their families.
The very last module was Dealing with loss and grief, which dealt with a very difficult topic – death. Children discussed their experiences with death and loss of their family members and pets. In an effort not to taboo the topic we went to visit a cemetery, and this experience provided space for even more questions. Sometimes it was difficult for children to talk about their loss, but it was also very therapeutic as they had a chance to share their feelings in a safe environment.
Feelings and communication
We finished two modules – Feeling and Communication. Children learned how to name feelings – happiness, sadness, anger, jealousy, and they tried out how to react “correctly” and how not to react at all.
The Communication part taught children how important it is to talk about feelings, but also listen to one another while sharing. Together we talked about people in children’s lives that can provide support and help – parents, grandparents, friends and teachers.
