 Be an Upstander...It’s a phrase we give to students and encourage regularly--and for good reason. Studies show that 57% of the time, bullying stops within 10 seconds of peer intervention. Students standing up for other students has proven more effective than any other kind of intervention. However, for a young child, standing up to a bully is anything but easy. In the heat of the moment, things like fear, uncertainty, shyness, and self-consciousness can quickly take over and render the bystander motionless. Every child is different, which means some upstander strategies may work for one student and not the other. Children are not one-size-fits-all, so why should the strategies we teach them be any different? In today’s post, we will be sharing instructions for how to put together a personalized Upstander Strategy Handbook with your students so that when they are faced with bullying, they know exactly what to do! Scroll to the to download the FREE TEMPLATE! Section 1: DefinitionsThe first section of the upstander handbook is a quick reference guide for students to help them remember the differences between bullying, joking, mean, and rude behavior so that they know when it is necessary to step in or find help.  This section also highlights the 4 roles in a bullying scenario-- the target, the person who bullies, the bystander, and the upstander--and lists some of the effects each of the behaviors can have on an individual. Section 2: Upstander StrategiesThis is the section of the book where students can really personalize the resource to meet their needs. The first page includes a basic list of upstander strategies that students can flip to for a quick reference. In the following pages, students have the opportunity to list their own personal reasons for being reluctant to intervene in a bullying scenario. As a class, choose a few of the most common reasons for being a bystander and talk through some ways to overcome students' fears.  In the third part of this section, students identify places where they have seen bullying occur. There is space to draw the scenario along with space to write a description of what is happening. Students should choose an upstander strategy that they think would be appropriate for the scenario described above. If they have any concerns about what might happen if they intervene, they should list those in the space provided. The next page leaves space for students to draw a new scenario--one where they are an upstander! What do they predict will happen if they try the upstander strategy? How will things change for the better? If they are concerned something might go wrong, how can they prepare? Space for 3 scenarios is included in the template provided, but students can create as many pages as they desire.  Now, each of your students has a book filled with upstander strategies made just for him or her! The books are small so that they can easily fit into a folder or backpack and be readily accessible if needed.  Would you try this in your classroom? Let us know in the comments! Like this craft? Check out some of our other bullying prevention activities!
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 It’s October, which means it’s also National Bullying Prevention Month! This month, we join with communities all over the country to raise awareness about bullying and equip schools and families with the tools to prevent it. Today, 1 in 5 children between the ages of 12 and 18 experience bullying. Sadly, the effects of such treatment can last a lifetime.  In 2006, PACER’S National Bullying Prevention Center founded National Bullying Prevention Month, initially as a one day event, to bring awareness to this national epidemic and begin working towards a solution. The event took off and became so popular that in 2010, PACER expanded it to encompass an entire month of activities. Today, thousands around the nation rally together each October to continue the crusade for kindness. Books can be powerful tools to help us see life from the perspective of others, begin conversations, and broach serious topics in an approachable manner. This month, we hope to help you harness the tool of literature by sharing a few of our favorite book-based crafts and activities that broach the topic of bullying. We’ll also include a few ideas for ways to integrate bullying prevention into what you are already doing each day.  Image via PACER's National Bullying Prevention Center Facebook Today, we tackle the issue of bystanding--what should you do when you see bullying occurring. Or, a better question, what can you do? Standing up for what is right is rarely easy. This fun and simple craft helps children confront and discuss their concerns about standing against bullying and empowers them with tactics they feel comfortable with. This craft is paired with the picture book, A. Blob on a Bus, by L.A. Kefalos, but could easily be used with other books on bullying. I CAN BE AN UPSTANDERChildren learn positive ways to be upstanders
LessonStep 1: Read A. Blob on a Bus out loud Step 2: Begin a discussion on the importance of treating one another with respect and standing up for others. Why do you think it took so long for anyone to stand up to A.Blob? What do you think would have happened if no one had said anything to A.Blob? What are some helpful ways to stand up to bullying? What are some unhelpful ways to stand up to bullying? Step 3: Sometimes people don’t intervene when they see someone else being hurt because they don’t know what to say or do.. Today we are going to talk about some positive and helpful ways we can stand up to bullying, encourage others, and make our community a safe, welcoming place. Begin by asking the students to offer suggestions of ways to stand up to bullying. Some ideas include:
Expand the list to acts of kindness that students can do to make their community a better place:
Step 5: Hang the pictures up around the classroom as a reminder that the students CAN impact their communities for the better! Will you be participating in Bullying Prevention Month? If so, share how in the comments! If you liked this craft, check out these activities, designed to help children be upstanders!
 As many of you know, October is National Bullying Prevention Month. This event was created by Pacer to help bring awareness to the issue of bullying and unite students and adults from all over the nation to work together to end bullying once and for all. One important part of National Bullying Prevention Month is Unity Day. Unity Day is a day on which Pacer encourages schools, communities, and individuals to show that they are united against bullying and united for acceptance and inclusion. A few ways they suggest doing this are by organizing assemblies, participating in walks or runs, and wearing ORANGE —the color of bullying prevention! To show our support of Unity Day, we decided to adapt our fun This is A. Blob Slime craft to be ORANGE!! This craft, designed to accompany the picture book, This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos, is a fun way to begin the discussion about bullying with your younger children while joining in the Unity Day activities. As you mix your slime ingredients, talk about the “ingredients” that go into making a bully, such as insecurity and pain. As the mixture turns gooey, discuss how small words and actions can lead to a big sticky mess of bullying when they combine!
Another fun idea is to give the slime away as a random act of kindness for your celebration of Unity Day! However you choose to play, the important thing is that you have fun and bring awareness to the importance of bullying prevention!! Here are the steps you'll need to create your own ORANGE A. Blob!
Step 1: Read This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos Step 2: Discuss Open discussion about the book: Were A. Blob’s actions acceptable? How do you think these actions made the other children feel? Why do you think A. Blob acted the way it did? What would/could you do if you were on the playground to stop bullying? Step 3: Create!
3. Mix in food coloring until the desired color is achieved. I used 15 drops of red and yellow to get this particular shade of orange.
4. In your smaller bowl, mix 1tsp of Borax with 1/2 cup of warm to hot water. Again, the hotter the water, the easier this step will be and the slimier your slime will turn out. Make sure to stir until the Borax is completely dissolved.
There are so many exciting ways to spread the message to stop bullying and start living with kindness. I hope you enjoy this little twist on our favorite craft. Let us know how YOU are celebrating Unity Day in the comments below! Fun with This is A. Blob Slime! Happy Unity Day 2016!!
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________  Books are excellent tools for helping children build empathy and become upstanders! This is A. Blob is a masterfully illustrated picture book suitable for children ages 4-8. Written by Lori Kefalos, author of several award-nominated animated shorts, This is A. Blob is the first of a series following this bully. This first installment follows the antics of A. Blob, a slimy, purple, blob-like creature who wreaks havoc on the elementary school playground with its bullying ways. As the story progresses, however, readers learn that there might be more to A. Blob than meets the eye. Along with its powerful illustrations and rhymed verse for early readers, this story invites children to put themselves in the shoes of another. The book demonstrates that a bully can come in any shape, size, or color and encourages readers to consider why bullies behave the way they do – and start to consider what can be done to help.
 FearIt drives us; drives us to succeed, drives us to fail, drives us to run, and drives us to stay. Fear can be our best friend, prompting us to flee when we sense danger, or our greatest enemy, paralyzing us into a state of helplessness. Fear can inspire us to work harder than we ever thought we could, and it can cause us to act against our own self interest and even the interests of others. It is this dichotomy that has inspired society’s fascination with the topic. Strangely, the same biological response which causes us to shake in our boots also provides a sort of high, and countless TV shows, films, and books have been created to draw out and exploit that shivery feeling. There is, perhaps, no better example of this than the month of October and its 30 day fear fest leading up to Halloween. During this season, we not only enjoy being afraid—we actually pay for it!
You see, fear is a master of disguise. It hides behind bravado, prejudice, and violence, fueling these harmful actions so quietly that it is often ignored and thus allowed to fester. From bully to victim and everyone in between, bullying is riddled with fear. The children who are bullied are afraid of harm, their parents are afraid of doing the wrong thing and seeing their child hurt, bystanders are afraid of becoming outcasts or being bullied in return, and children who bully act largely out of underlying fear. While it may express itself in many ways, it is indeed fear which often drives bullying scenarios. But why does any of this matter? Until we recognize the root cause of bullying, we will continue to simply treat symptoms, never truly eradicating the problem. Giving children bullying-solving skills may work for a while, but when fear crops up, if they don’t have the tools to properly recognize and address that fear, they will very likely succumb to it. Fear is designed to keep us safe so, unless we understand where it is coming from, we will have a difficult time turning it off.  While rationalizing through fear is difficult for anyone, it is especially difficult for children. One portion of the brain which plays a significant role in our bodies’ response to fear is the prefrontal cortex. It is this part which interprets the event we are experiencing and compares it to past experiences, helping you decide the level of threat and appropriate response. However, many studies have shown that the pre-frontal cortex, the rationalizing part of our brain, doesn’t fully form until age 25. This means that an elementary aged child is going to have greater difficulty rationalizing the reasoning behind and consequences of his bullying behavior. One way you can help create context for your students is through reading. Studies show reading fiction helps develop empathy, which is recognized as a core life skill and the foundation for sound relationships and classroom climate. Additionally, books provide entertaining and safe ways for children to explore emotions and consequences, storing these lessons away for a later time. Picture books, such as The Weird Series, by Erin Frankel and This is A. Blob, by L.A. Kefalos, are excellent examples of books that help students identify and work through the fear behind bullying and standing up to bullying. By reading why these characters might be bullying or why other students are standing by, students are given a framework of reasoning on which they can later build using their own experiences.
Another way to help your students recognize the fear driving their bullying is to provide a visual aid that helps them walk through the steps we take mentally when dealing with fear. On a sheet of paper, have your students draw a picture of a bullying scenario. Ask the students to create a general caption written in the first person, such as "I pushed Jane". Next to the picture’s caption, write “I did this because…”. With the students, look at the drawings and talk about what that “because” might be. Maybe the answer is “I didn’t like her”. Draw this out, as well. Next to the new caption write”…because…” again, prompting the child to explain why he or she doesn’t like the other child. Perhaps it is because she is new. From there, write “I didn’t like that she was new because…” And onward until the true reason, “I was afraid she would take away all my friends. I was afraid I would be all alone”, comes out. Now that the root fear has been identified, you can begin to discuss solutions to the fear. Coping With FearIn addition to helping children recognize their fear, it’s important to provide coping skills to deal with those fears in a healthy way as well as work to create an environment of safety. Let your students know that they can talk to you about anything without fear of punishment. If you are able, set aside time to check in with each child for a minute or two each week to talk through any issues they might be having or to offer some words of encouragement. Even taking the time to write a small positive word for each child on his or her desk daily can have an enormous impact on the classroom climate. When students feel accepted and important, they will be less likely to feel the fears that lead to bullying.
Finally, one of the best ways to cope with fear is to talk about it. Talk with your students about why they find the situation frightening. What is being done to prevent it from happening? What steps can be taken to bring about a solution if the frightening situation does occur? This helps students take control of their fear and provides positive tools for confronting it. *** Bullying is a complex issue. Not only do factors outside of fear contribute to bullying, overcoming fear is a process that will not happen overnight. These are simply suggestions to help you begin searching beyond the surface of bullying and bystander behavior to heal the root of the problem rather than the visible weed of actions it produces. Fear isn’t all bad. In fact, it can be very good and even entertaining. That’s what Halloween is all about, right? So, this October, this month in which we recognize fear, both good and bad, let’s try to build environments in which everyone feels safe and cared for and may the scariest thing in your classroom be the ghost on the door!  ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________
 Books are excellent tools for helping children build empathy and become upstanders! This is A. Blob is a masterfully illustrated picture book suitable for children ages 4-8. Written by Lori Kefalos, author of several award-nominated animated shorts, This is A. Blob is the first of a series following this bully. This first installment follows the antics of A. Blob, a slimy, purple, blob-like creature who wreaks havoc on the elementary school playground with its bullying ways. As the story progresses, however, readers learn that there might be more to A. Blob than meets the eye. Along with its powerful illustrations and rhymed verse for early readers, this story invites children to put themselves in the shoes of another. The book demonstrates that a bully can come in any shape, size, or color and encourages readers to consider why bullies behave the way they do – and start to consider what can be done to help.
  Have you ever stumbled across a song or a poem that perfectly captures your inner thoughts and feelings? Though sometimes viewed as a lesser genre, poetry has an incredible ability to take the most profound truths and put them simply in a way that makes sense. The rhythm and verse have a way of gently speaking to our souls and revealing things we were never able to see before. I recently came across a poem that beautifully portrayed a unique way of dealing with bullying. The poem is Edwin Markham’s “Outwitted”: “He drew a circle that shut me out, Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win. We drew a circle that took him in.”
Though short and simple, “Outwitted” has undertones and intricacies beneath its surface that make it an excellent choice for opening up conversations on dealing with bullies. First, the poem is empowering. Rather than encouraging children to ignore those who are hurting them, the speaker takes action, and that action changes things. The one being mocked takes control of the situation, not by fighting back, but by refusing to engage in war at all. Children are often told that it takes two to fight; that if they ignore the bully, the bully will get tired and ignore them too. While this is one version of “not engaging in war”, for those children being pushed down, embarrassed, and tormented every day, waiting the situation out may not seem like a bearable solution. In the poem, however, we are shown a different way of staying out of battle. Yes, the taunted one refuses to taunt back or fight back, but he is not powerless. He takes action, but it is action for the positive. Along this line of thought, I appreciate that the focus of the poem is on the positive. An article in The Dublin Villager shared the story of Drew Jones, an elementary school art teacher who wanted to find a positive way to educate students about bullying during National Bullying Prevention Month.  Drew Jones with a note from the wall of encouragement. Image from thisweeknews.com He came up with a unique idea: an interactive wall where students could leave notes of encouragement for one another. Using recycled cardboard and paper towel tubes, the students went to work creating a wall that featured multiple slots to house the notes, almost like a wall of mail boxes. The wall was put up in the school hallway and painted orange, the color of Bullying Awareness. While they worked, the children discussed bullying honestly and openly, sharing their own experiences and coming up with solutions to the issue. Months after its creation, the wall continued to be popular, needing refilled every day. “It’s awesome,” one student stated, “It says I’m special.” Bullying is a difficult and painful topic and it’s easy to get bogged down in discussing the negative causes and effects of the behavior. While it is important to educate children about the realities of bullying, we must not forget the power of kindness and positivity in stopping the problem at its source. We need to teach our children on how to handle bullying when it occurs, but it is imperative that we also take efforts to cultivate an environment of kindness, empathy, and positivity so that bullying is less likely to occur at all.  Another fantastic aspect of Markham’s poem is its description of love as something powerful. Love is sometimes portrayed as a weakness, or as something that is soft and delicate, but the reality is that love is the most powerful tool that we have and true love is tough. True love changes lives. Many children bully because they don’t feel loved. By loving the bully instead of simply telling him or her to “stop”, we cauterize the wound instead of constantly trying to staunch the blood. It was love that prompted the speaker in the poem to act. It was love that took a situation of pain and separation and turned it into one of forgiveness and togetherness. “Outwitted” teaches children that love is strength, not weakness. Markham also draws a connection between love and wit. Not only is love often portrayed as a weakness, it is also frequently connected with foolishness and helplessness. People fall in love, they are blinded by love, or they act unwisely because they are in love. However real, true, love, takes all the wits you have. To love someone means to care for them, to want the best for them, even when they aren’t acting very likeable. True love isn’t always easy and it takes thought and wisdom to foster and maintain. Retaliating, ignoring, or running is easy. Loving someone that is hurting you takes intelligence and clarity of mind. This poem illustrates that. A unique facet of “Outwitted” is that, unlike many other works of literature, it humanizes the bully. It doesn’t call him names, wish a horrible fate for him, or paint him as a villain. Instead, it portrays the bully as someone who can be loved. Many children bully because they feel inadequate or isolated. By creating a circle that includes the bully, the writer is not only saying “you were wrong about me”, but also, “you were wrong about yourself.”
Teaching children to draw others in builds empathy, a core skill in preventing bullying, and provides a concrete example of empathy for children who bully, as well. Our goal should not be to simply end the bullying, but to mold children into adults that will never bully, who will choose to always consider and value the thoughts of others, and who will always try to love first. The final strength of this poem is that it is visual. Loving someone that is hurting you or trying to view the world from their perspective can be a foreign or even abstract concept, especially to a child. However, even a child can understand the significance of drawing an inclusive circle. This could even be carried into a classroom activity to help illustrate the point.  Image from learnplayimagine.com Have students stand outside on the sidewalk and draw circles around groups of kids. Ask students to describe what is similar about everyone in their circle. Without moving, change the circles (think Venn Diagram). Have the new groups find similarities, illustrating how they all have commonalities if they look for them. Discuss how they felt when they were left out of someone else’s circle or if someone was left out of theirs. Using the poem, connect this literal drawing of circles to the figurative boundaries that are frequently drawn amongst students. On the surface, Edwin Markham’s “Outwitted” is short and simple, but like most poems, there is a lot going on underneath. Christmas time is filled with songs and rhymes. In this season of goodwill and togetherness, I would encourage you to add this poem into the mix! Have you read this poem before? What did it say to you? Would you use this to help prevent bullying? Let us know in the comments!
 Photo credit: Craig Dingle  When most people think of October, Halloween and scary masks are some of the first things that come to mind. However, October is also a month to recognize a far more frightening reality: Bullying. October 1st marks the beginning of National Bully Prevention Month, a campaign started in 2006 by the PACER’s National Bully Prevention Center to bring awareness to the issue of bullying and bully prevention. Throughout the month of October, communities all over the country unite to educate those around them about what bullying looks like, the long term effects of bullying, and what can be done to prevent this epidemic from spreading.  Photo found on Pacer.org/bullying National Bully Prevention Month is only a piece of PACER’s National Bully Prevention Center, which is a branch of the PACER Center, an advocacy and resource center for parents of children with disabilities. In 2000, the PACER Center began receiving more and more calls from parents whose children were being bullied as a result of their disabilities. These parents felt at a loss and were desperate for resources to guide them through this difficult situation. In response, the PACER center began creating curriculum and guides to help parents and children with disabilities respond to bullying situations. By 2005, the center could see the positive impact their work was having and decided that these resources needed to be available to all children, not just those with disabilities. In 2006, PACER’s National Bully Prevention Center was born. Today, the center is a hub of resources and a leader in bully prevention, partnering with individuals and organizations such as Bethany Mota, Disney, Green Giant, and Frito-Lay to bring an end to bullying.
One question you may be asking: “is it really necessary to have an entire center dedicated to bully prevention? Is bullying really that big of a problem?” Sadly, yes. Recent studies report that 1 in 4 children experience bullying in the U.S. and 30% of young people admit to having acted as a bully. Perhaps more frightening is the fact that this behavior has been reported among children as young as 3. From poor grades, depression, dysfunctional future relationships, anxiety, heart issues, weight difficulties, and even a higher tendency toward criminal activity, the effects of bullying, on both victims and bullies, can be far reaching and can last a lifetime. The numbers aren’t all bad, though. It has also been shown that in 57% of cases, bullying stops when a peer intervenes and school based prevention programs have decreased bullying incidents by 25%. Change is happening. The best part of all: you can be a part of that change! PACER’s National Bully Prevention Center provides a wide variety of ways you can get involved in National Bully Prevention Month and join with thousands of other throughout the country to end bullying and bring help to those who have been bullies or who are bullies themselves. Here are a few ways you can get involved:
 Photo found on pacer.org/bullying These are just a few of nearly limitless options for raising awareness about bullying. Find a way to use your gifts and talents like these kids did! The important thing is to spread the word. What ideas do you have for ways to celebrate National Bully Prevention Month this year? Let us know in the comments! *** In celebration of National Bully Prevention Month, we will be highlighting a different bully prevention organization, author, or individual working towards bringing bullying to an end each week this month on Laughing Leopard Blog! Our first feature will be an interview with L.A. Kefalos, author of This is A. Blob, a picture book featuring a sticky, purple bully named A. Blob, who may have more to him than first meets the eye. Check back here next week for exclusive insights into what inspired L.A. to write This is A. Blob and what message she would like to convey to her readers!
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About Laughing Leopard PressHello! We are Laughing Leopard Press, an independent book publisher from Akron, Ohio. At Laughing Leopard Press, we’re interested in publishing works that contribute to our understanding of this wonderful world. Through this blog, we hope to add to that understanding with commentary on life, literature, and a few things in between. We hope you enjoy the blog and take some time to talk with us in the comments or on our social media sites. Happy reading! 
This is A. Blob by L. A Kefalos. $14.95
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