DUSO- Developing an Understanding of Self and Others

"You may hear your child come home talking about "DUSO", and singing "Hey Duso, come on out..." And you may ask your child, "Who in the world is DUSO?" Well, let me inform you. DUSO is my puppet dolphin friend that goes with me into the classrooms of my kindergarten, 1st and 2nd graders helping me to deliver my developmental classroom guidance topics. There is a song we sing to greet him, he starts a "quiet contest" (wonder why?), and we sing a song saying good-bye to him. The children become very attached to him, and are very sad and disappointed when he doesn't go with them to the third grade. DUSO means Developing Understanding of Self and Others. They will remember DUSO long after they have left Ephesus - trust me."

DUSO for Kindergarten Classes

DUSO, which stands for "Developing an Understanding of Self and Others", is a dolphin puppet who visits with all Kindergarten classrooms several times throughout the school year.  A storybook and cassette tape are used to present the stories to the children, and then a brief discussion follows.

Some of the stories and topics which have been presented include:
1) The Underwater Problem Solvers - 5 rules of group discussion
2) The Red and White Bluebird - importance of being yourself
3) Duso Talks about Friends  - friends are important, they help & understand
4) Gordo and Molly  - sharing, taking turns
5) The Outsider  - playing fair
6) A Spoonful of Sugar  - being nice is more advantageous
7) Good Guy and Old Lazy  - decision making
8) John Teaches Himself  - feeling proud for trying
9) The Loafers  - decide consequences for “loafing”
10) The Big Race  - evaluation and redirection
11) Peekaboo Emu  - everyone is important

Introducing...Duso the Dolphin and Sophie the Sea Otter!!

DUSO stands for the Developing an Understanding of Self and Others. We feel that this process is central to the education process. DUSO makes extensive use of listening, discussion, and dramatic play to focus on feelings, communication, and problem solving. Activities include stories, guided fantasies, puppetry, role play, and music.

In the course of day-to-day living, children are confronted with a variety of developmental tasks and social expectations. Children are at once thinking, acting, and feeling beings. Their thoughts and actions always involve feelings. They may like some subjects and be excited about them and interested in certain media,or dislike doing routine drills, be angry with a certain teacher or be intensely involved with a project.

The feelings that accompany learning have a significant effect on how well children learn. If they have positive feelings, children tend to participate with a high degree of motivation and involvement and are more likely to derive permanent gains for their efforts. Some studies show that few factors are more relevant to the children's academic success and social development than their feelings, of personal adequacy and self-acceptance.

http://www.apologeticsresctr.org/public_schools_Pt4.htm


http://williambader.com/albuquerque2001/albuquerque2001.html

 David is holding Duso and his kindergarten progress report. They used Duso the Dolphin in his kindergarten. David recently bought a Duso kit over ebay from a library in Minnesota. Duso stands for "Developing Understanding of Self and Others".

http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/1999/june99/psrjune99.html

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=DUSO+the+Dolphin&btnG=Google+Search

http://www.watchman.org/na/duso.htm

http://www.watchman.org/na/drugs.htm

http://www.volunteersolutions.org/uwcs/volunteer/opp/one_195041.html

http://www.pisd.org/academic/counsel1.htm

http://www.pisd.org/academic/counsel4.htm