[bindergarten]

does anyone have any good tips on what to say to kindergartners during a practice lock down. I don't want to scare them, but I also want them to see the seriousness of practice.. and why we have to stay silent, in the dark, etc. Any great phrases to say or other ideas welcomed!

[Hariasa]

my kids the truth. I tell them that we have to do this so that I can do everything I can to keep them safe. I tell them that there are bad people out there that will hurt and kill people for no reason. In my mind, there really is no other way around telling them this.

Once I explained that to my kids they were very compliant and understood the seriousness of it all.

[deb603]

My dd teacher told them they had to hide and be quiet because there was a skunk in the school and they didn't want to get sprayed I thought this was a good idea and not as scary as telling them someone wants to hurt or kill them.

[coffeemate]

I used to tell my grade 1's that we had to practice for a pretend emergency situation, just like we practice for pretend fires. Emergencies can be all kinds of things: a loose dog outside, a chemical spill that's not safe...we have to practice being very quiet so that we can hear Mrs.Principal when she comes on the announcements.

[Sbkangas5]

I say the same thing as coffeemate. No need to tell them there are bad guys that might want to kill them. Is that really necessary? But using other examples of an emergency can be just as effective.

[angelajw]

I teach at a school where sadly my students are familiar with domestic disputes and police in the neighborhood. So I tell them that we have to go to our safe place so I can protect them from strangers.

[Lakeside]

Deb603, I love the skunk story!!

Coffeemate, like you said, my DS's elementary school taught it as just like a fire drill (which they're already familiar with) for different kinds of emergencies. I was happy they didn't scare them with details.

[Hariasa]

to clarify something...

The reason I said to tell them the truth is because, as angelajw posted, most of my children as well have seen violence, domestic or otherwise. We have students have seen family members shot to death or have family members in jail for killing and stuff.

For them it is better to tell the truth. I was not doing it to try and scare the children. And for my students, yes it is necessary to tell them that sometimes bad people out there kill other people because they want to.

[Squirl]

I tell mine the truth. I've never said "we have to hide because people kill people" (which I'm sure Hariasa doesn't use those words either), but if they ask, I won't lie to them. We had a lock down the other day, and one of the kids asked if there was a "killer" in our school. (We aren't anywhere near CT, but I know that some of my kids heard their parents talking.) I teach in a school that is smack-dab in the middle of Gangland, U.S.A. My principal is sure that some of our 2nd graders are actually in their parents'/siblings' gangs. I teach 1st. They know all about guns and violence. They have family members that are a part of it all. They need to hear the truth. It keeps them on my side. They are much more susceptible to "I want to make sure that I can do my job of keeping you safe." than they are to a funny story about a skunk (although I do like that idea lol).