What's the Buzz?

What's the Buzz? is a uniquely designed play-based social skills training program with a cognitive behavioural bias. It is a comprehensive 'how-to' course to assist children aged 6-12 years of age to build friendship and problem solving capacities more effectively.

What's the Buzz? is a 16 lesson format that includes the core social skills vital for getting along with others.

Term one

• Meeting people
• How to get good attention
• Following instructions
• Being friendly
• Competition; playing for fun and friendship
• Feelings, identification
• Feelings, early warning signs
• The power of positive thinking. Celebration and certificate

Term two

• Tricks to stay calm under pressure
• Responding to the feelings of others
• Dealing with worry
• Handling disappointment
• Responding to bullying
• The 'art' of a friendly conversation
• Giving compliments
• Tuning into what's happening around you. Celebration and certificate

For all manner of reasons some children and young adolescents find it much harder to learn and flexibly use social skills. They struggle with making friends, rolling with the punches, joining in, reading others, bouncing back constructively following an upset, coping with put-downs and dealing with day to day frustrations appropriately.

What's the Buzz? is presented in a friendly, consistent format to ensure lesson content is precisely delivered to students and feels predictable for them. Each lesson is structured in the following way.

1. What's the Buzz - frames the new set of skills to be learned
2. Show me the buzz - offers students an opportunity to show their understandings and new learning
3. Do you know the Buzz? - a quiz time for students to consolidate the key lesson concepts
4. The Buzz - a time for students to play interactive games to strengthen the newly acquired ideas, and build group synchronicity
5. After the Buzz - guides students and parents to trial the newly developed ideas in the coming week at home
6. Goodbye buzz - the last planned contact of the session so students finish up on a happy note as they leave

Beyond seeing students absorb the new skills taught there are two additional bonuses that consistently emerge from the program. The first is witnessing warm interactions blossom between participants and the formation of new friendships. Secondly, is seeing parents enjoy one another's company, exchange thoughts and find support in each other over coffee while children's sessions are in progress.

Mark and Madhavi are currently writing What's the Buzz? as a comprehensive manual for use in schools by school administrators, teachers, psychologists, school counsellors, teacher assistants, parents and allied health professionals. What's the Buzz? will be published by the Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group (London) and is scheduled for release late in 2010.

Click below to learn more, print a brochure, or to register your interest by phoning or emailing Mark or Madhavi.
Download PDF file.