“Gono and the Magic Hat”:
How to Make Tough Decisions

What kid hasn’t had to make tough decisions….especially when knowing that whatever they decide, someone is going to be upset with them.  If you please one person, you upset the other!  More importantly, if you just try to please others, you let yourself down!  It does not take a Wellin Elder with a Magic Hat to teach us that there are no easy answers.  Gono’s advice: “When you’ve got to choose, I recommend that you walk in a circle and whistle—REALLY LOUD, for 11 minutes…Then, click you heels and say hello to the sun, ‘HELLO, SUN’”.

Like our story hero, you might ask, “Does that really work?”  NO! Of Course NOT! But it’s a lot BETTER than WORRYING…Worrying never fixes any problems… AND, it makes the fish cry!  

You’ll have to experience the story to figure the rest out.

Listen-Learning Opportunities:

Conflict resolution, how to face one’s fears, manage social pressure, issues embedded in self-esteem, cognitive-behavioral connections—“You are what you think”, color recognition, first: playful ways for how decisions are made…followed by real life opportunities, distinguishing between POSSIBILITIES from PROBABILITIES, defining core values, the power of relationships, operating with a primary standard: BEST EFFORT, using the “Oh, Well” strategy.

Primary Age Range: 8-12 years of age