bert allain

The Fault Finder There are few qualities more admired than “taking personal responsibility”, because so few of us do it. We may be trying to avoid consequences or “save face” but what is lost when you are a Fault Finder is what is truly important. "It's not my fault" is a familiar refrain to all parents and teachers. In an effort to avoid embarrassment or punishment, we humans typically try to avoid responsibility for much of our behavior. This is very typical in children. In some cases,

Penny Perfect and Sally Sloppy Adults may say “just do your best” but what we may really be communicating may be totally different. The two characters in this fable react to this typical parent saying differently but both will end up unhappy. One of the more difficult things for all of us to decide is, "When is a task good enough” or “Not done yet.” Penny is too concerned about being perfect or being ridiculed while Sally just wants to be "finished". Consequently, these young spiders never h

Dr. Nice and Mr. Nasty Anger is a topic about which much is written and said. Several of the stories in the Coping Skills series are designed to encourage us to look at the true source of our anger … ourselves. When we are angry, we typically look to a situation or to others as the cause of our anger. This is such an accepted notion that few question its validity. But in our modern understanding of psychology, we now accept that our thinking is the cause of the emotional state we call anger.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game There are a lot of lessons that can be learned from sport games. This one could be the most valuable of those lessons. This fable can be an inspiration for effective coping in many difficult life situations. Children will learn that your thinking determines your emotions and behaviors. That “Stinky Thinking” will lead to "Not OK" emotions and "Thumbs Down" behaviors. If your thinking is “Good” (makes sense in the situation), then you will be able to evaluate option

The 9 steps in this booklet will be your guide to understanding how to help all of your students develop the cognitive coping skills (good self-talk) that will help them be successful and happy in your classroom. Based on years of real world use of stories specifically designed to easily teach and maintain these skills. Many of these stories will be available on the TPT website.