Stevie and the Big Project.
Written by Kiki Prottsman.
Illustrated by Jenny Lang.
Stevie is a very skillful squirrel.
She is the fastest runner in her class and one of the best spellers at her school.
But today, Stevie is not happy!
She has been working on a project and can't seem to get anything right.
"Oh no," Stevie thought to herself.
"This isn't good at all!"
Stevie could feel her face getting hot.
She was worried that someone would look over and see that she was failing at making her
project and they wouldn't like her anymore.
"I'm so mad!"
Stevie screamed.
"I'm mad at this project.
I'm mad at the teacher.
And I'm mad at myself!"
With that, Stevie picked up her project and smashed it on the floor.
It broke into pieces and she began to stomp it with her foot.
Just then, Laurel came over to see what was going on.
"Stevie, what's the matter?"
"I hate this project, and I hate this class!"
"Oh, Stevie," Laurel said softly.
"It sounds like you're frustrated."
"Frustrated?"
Stevie asked, confused.
"Yes, frustrated," Laurel confirmed.
"Being frustrated is a lot like being mad, but usually it means you're mad because something
is not the way you want it to be at the moment."
"You might think you're mad at your teacher, or yourself, or your project.
You might even blame your anger on those scissors, or a piece of tape.
When you start feeling like you're mad at everything and you just can't take it anymore,
that's frustration."
"But how do I get rid of it?"
Stevie asked.
"I never want to feel this way again."
"Lots of things are frustrating, Stevie.
The trick is knowing that frustration is a good thing."
"A good thing?!"
Stevie was shocked.
"Yes!
Frustration is an emotion that lets us know that we're about to learn something.
When you're frustrated, it means that something is not the way you want it to be.
If you can figure out how you want it to be, and then fix it, you will have learned something
that can help you next time."
"I don't think I understand," cried Stevie.
"Think about it.
When you were learning to ride your bike, what happened?"
Laurel replied.
"I would get on my bike, push on the pedals a few times, then fall over," Stevie said.
"And how did that make you feel?"
Laurel asked.
"I was so upset!
I cried, and I told my mom that I couldn't do it!"
Stevie frowned.
"Then what happened?" Laurel prompted.
"She told me to take a deep breath and try again.
Just a couple of times later, I got it!"
Stevie said, beaming.
"Then how did you feel?" Laurel asked.
"I felt amazing!" Stevie squealed.
"I was so proud of myself."
"How do you think you would feel now if you had quit the first time and never learned
to ride your bike?" Laurel asked.
"I probably would have felt upset at myself.
Frustrated!
And I would still feel frustrated every time I saw someone else on their bike."
"Exactly," Laurel exclaimed.
"Frustration is really just a sign that you're about to learn something amazing.
If you give up before you learn that lesson, you're left feeling icky and upset."
"It sounds like you're also talking about persistence," Jorge added.
"Persistence is another word for not giving up.
If you try to solve a problem enough times, in many different ways, eventually you'll
get it!"
"But if I try eight times before I get it,
that means that I've failed seven times!" Stevie said.
"Why do you think failing is a bad thing?" Jorge asked.
"Everyone fails at things before they know how to do them...just like you with your bike,
or any baby learning to walk.
You need to start thinking of the word fail as a way to describe trying to learn."
"I never thought about it like that!" Stevie exclaimed.
"Just remember," Laurel began, "when you feel frustrated, don't give up.
Here are some tricks to help you feel better so you can be persistent."
"Count slowly to 10, take some deep breaths, write your worries in a journal, talk to a
partner about your feelings, and ask for help."
"Once you've calmed down," Jorge added, "then you can focus on being persistent and figuring
out what's going wrong.
Here are some tips to help you be persistent."
"Keep track of what you've already tried.
Figure out what is happening.
Understand what is supposed to happen.
Look at what that tells you.
Make a change and try again."
"Thanks, you two!" Stevie shouted.
"I'm not feeling frustrated anymore.
I figured out what went wrong with my project last time,
and now I'm ready to be persistent and make it better."
With a new attitude, Stevie finished her project
and spent the rest of the class testing it out with her friends.
The End.