As a group exercise at register, the children were introduced to a visual prop, a tube of toothpaste. We discussed using unkind words and how they could hurt somebody else on the inside the same as punching and kicking can hurt someone on the outside. In a safe and controlled environment, the children contributed unkind words as we squeezed out the toothpaste. They then discovered that it was impossible to put the toothpaste back into the tube. We talked about how when unkind words are said aloud, it is difficult to take them back.
