Five Languages of Children

A teacher approaches a student and lavishes him or her with praise about a challenge completed successfully and is given a lukewarm response. Is this an ungrateful child?  No. It may be that the teacher is not “speaking his/her language.” A student gives a friend a hug as a greeting and the friend pulls away. Are they not friends?  Could the hugger feel rejected?  Or, it is possible that the one being hugged expresses and receives connections in a different way? Fourth grade Compass students have been learning the “Five Languages of Children.” These are 5 ways God has “wired” us to connect with others: quality time, acts of service, physical touch, giving and receiving gifts, and words of affirmation. Learning these languages helps the students not just connect with others but understand a little more about themselves. With the knowledge that people connect with others in different ways, the students are identifying the language they personally use and the languages their friends use to connect with others. The goal is to understand one another better and to use their individual language and God-given gifts in positive ways such as building one another up with their words and actions. So, that friend that doesn’t like to be hugged? Maybe next time her friend will put a kind note in her desk (words of affirmation/giving gifts) or ask to sit with her at lunch (quality time).