Well, That Worked: Mediation on the Playground

I was helping out the usual recess supervisor this week when Phosphorus (not his real name) ran up to tell me that Francium something something something.

"Go get Francium," I said. "You cannot tell me about something Francium did without him here."

Francium came over.

"Francium," I said. "Phosphorus says you did something. Phosphorus is going to speak, and you are going to listen, and then you will have a turn to speak. All right, Phosphorus."

Phosphorus: "He pushed me down the slide, and then he poured water on me, and..." etc., etc. --

Francium: "I didn't! You --"

I: "Wait, Francium. You will have a turn in a minute."

P: "and then he, etc., etc."

I: "All right. Francium, what did Phosphorus just say?"

F: "He said that I, etc., which isn't true -"

I: "Wait, Francium, before you say whether it's true or not, just say what he said."

F: "He said that I, etc., etc."

I: "Phosphorus, is that what you said?"

P: "Yes."

I: "All right, Francium, your turn. What happened?"

F: "He asked me to push him down the slide, and..." etc., etc.

I: "Phosphorus, what did Francium just say?"

P: "I don't know."

I: "Francium, can you say it again? And this time, Phosphorus, listen."

F: "He asked me to..." etc., etc.

I: "All right, Phosphorus, what did Francium say?"

P: "He said that I asked him to, etc., etc."

I: "Francium, did he get it right?"

F: "Yes."

I: "All right, now, how would you like to resolve this?"

Both burst out laughing. "We're tired of standing here. Let's go play."

And they did.

Undivided: a Computer Game about Consideration

My husband found this game.
I never thought I would recommend a computer game, but we've both found it useful in teaching consideration.

The game must be played by two players simultaneously. The two need to collaborate to push each other toward the goal.

One controls the right & left arrows and can move its character only sideways; the other uses only the S & W keys and can move its character only up or down.

The game is here:

Undivided