My room is right across from our Emotional Support classroom, and our students who receive services there have had quite a few opportunities to bond with Ken. Ken becomes an excellent communication tool with students there.  I covered the classroom for a little while today and had a student who would otherwise be very resistant to discussing schoolwork.  After some time with Ken, the student was willing to open his computer, take my feedback on how best to find his grades and missing assignments, showed concern for his grades, and willingly took a “to-do” list with him and even suggested where he should keep the list so that he could come back to it to complete the work.  It wasn’t completing work….yet….but baby steps are commendable with this student!

Ken is helping students with impulse control, as they wait respectfully and patiently for their turn with Ken.  As we know, this is difficult for some students, but when being successful with those skills results in time with Ken, students are highly motivated.  Students are expected to approach Ken with calmness, so this rule is also encouraging that positive behavior in the building.

Students have the “joy” of completing make-up standardized testing with me, and although that’s not usually a fun task, I just had a student walk in and say he didn’t care about doing it because “this is the best room in the whole school!”

This past week, I had a new 8th grader start at West.  He was so nervous and anxious, and the moment he saw Ken, he lit up, and the walls that he had up came crumbling down.  Jen brought Ken in to meet him, and our conversations centered around Ken for most of the day.  The next day of school, the first thing he asked me was, “Where is Ken?”

We have a student who used to miss a lot of school and come in late often.  She loves Ken and Jen has enlisted her support every morning to brush Ken and fill up his water bowl.  Her attendance has improved and she is no longer late.

Jen stands outside with Ken when the buses are pulling in each morning, and she watches the students’ faces change through the bus windows once they see Ken.  She sees sleepy faces burst into big smiles as they see Ken standing there.  It is sort of like this all day.  As soon as a staff member or a student sees him, their mood is instantly transformed to one of joy and happiness.  Then, when Ken showers them with his attention, nothing else exists, and the smile never leaves their face.