October is National Bullying Prevention Month: Use Zippy's Club to Celebrate and Educate

Did you know that October is National Bullying Prevention Month? What better way to raise awareness of bullying prevention than with character education. Zippy’s Club was designed to help children recognize and overcome the negativity of bullying. But it’s more than just a book about bullying.

Zippy’s Club offers hope for those who are different and going through difficult situations. It encourages us to become a better person, and even gives us a helpful guide. Zippy’s Club opens the lines of communication with families about bullying, differences, kindness, how to treat others, and to celebrate the gift of life. Below is a resource guide to help use Zippy’s Club effectively.

Rules for Zippy’s Club:

Be kind

Kindness and compassion have the ability to make a tremendous difference in our lives. Even if we disagree on different things, we can still be kind. Some people mistake kindness for weakness. However, we need to show others the power of kindness.

Treat others the way you want to be treated

This one is so hard. We all have a tendency to want to treat others the way they treat us, but we need to remember that the ones who treat us the worst, need our kindness the most. Being mean to others hurts us as well.

No bullying

We should all strive to be the type of person who lifts others up, instead of knocking them down. Regardless of how we are treated, we need to understand that we never have the right to treat anyone else badly. The only way someone else can hurt us is if we allow them to. Cruel words cannot hurt us unless we believe them.

Also, we tend to think that bullying comes from someone else in our life, when, in fact, we are the biggest bully in our lives. At some point, we have all talked negatively to ourselves. Some of the things we say to ourselves, we would never say to anyone else. We need to all be our own best friend.

Always do your best

We don’t know what we are capable of until we try. Good work ethics, encouragement, and discipline are priceless. The only limits we have in life are the ones we believe. We all need to dream big, and live beyond our preconceived limits.

Follow your heart

It’s easy to get with the wrong crowd, and end up doing things we wouldn’t normally do. Peer pressure is hard to overcome. That’s why it is so important for children to understand the consequences of their actions. While we all have the freedom of choice, we are not free from our choices. Just because someone else does something wrong, doesn’t make it right or mean that we should do it, too.

Look for the best in everything and everyone

Positive thinking is one of the greatest things we can learn in our lives. If we train our minds to see the best in everything and everyone, we will be able to overcome the hardships of life. Bad things are going to happen to us all. We can decide to be a victim of our circumstances or an overcomer.

Celebrate your differences

Differences are often perceived as something horrible and terrifying because we simply don’t understand them. Education and openness about differences change our perception. Once we realize that we are all unique, and our uniqueness should be celebrated not discriminated, differences are no longer fearful.

Celebrate your gift of life

It is so easy to get discouraged and get into the routine of complaining about everything. However, it is possible to break the complaining cycle by learning gratitude. Keeping a gratitude journal is the absolute best way to develop an attitude of gratitude.

Be happy

Happiness is a choice. Everything in our life doesn’t have to be perfect to have a good day. We can choose to be happy, regardless of our situation. Also if we omit the words “have to” from our vocabulary and replace them with “get to”, we will change how we view situations.

Ideas for incorporating Zippy’s Club into the classroom/home:

·       Start each morning with the pledge and the theme song for Zippy’s Club.

·       Focus on one of the club rules each week, and incorporate it into the lessons or daily activities.

·       When there is free time, work on acting out the Zippy’s Club play. Role playing is very effective in helping children understand the different feelings associated with bullying. 

·       Write in a gratitude journal each day.

·       Encourage children to make an anti-bulling poster.

·       Show children how to be kind. Help them make a thank you card for a soldier, police officer, firefighter, someone who is sick, etc.

·       Teach them the benefits of positive thinking.

·       Be creative and come up with other ideas to help children “be the best that they can be”. 

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Today, October 3, 2015, the e-book, Zippy’s Club, is available for a free download on Amazon. Link: http://amzn.com/B00KLPFS92

Sign up for my free e-mail list here and I will send you coloring sheets, and Zippy’s masks to help you celebrate National Bullying Prevention Month. If we put forth the effort, imagine all the ways we can help our children. Just because they don’t mention being bullied or show signs of it doesn’t mean it is not affecting them. My parents never knew I had been bullied either. That is why I provide the resources and strive to help. As a little girl, I often wished someone would help me, without having to admit that I was being bullied.