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As summer approaches, I want to share some things to help your children continue to succeed , along with some fun activities. It is important to continue to help your child practice the academic, social, and emotional skills they have learned at school. Here are some things you can do to help with transitions into summer, and a more successful start to the next school year.
Studies say kids should have a maximum screen time (not including school) of one hour a day. When kids are on social media, video games, tablets, movies, phones, etc. for more than one hour a day, our brain starts to change. Below are the effects of technology on the brain along with ways to encourage your children to reduce screen time.
Here is a fun dice game from CounselorKeri to teach and practice some strategies to help your child with anxiety, anger, sadness, or other emotions, and to help your child add to their coping skills toolbox. You can use the strategies given, or think of some of your own!
Sleep stories and meditations are a great way to help get a better sleep. Here are some apps and different links to try if you or your child is struggling to get to sleep, waking up often, having nightmares, or struggling with sleep in any way:
Everyone has some negative thoughts at one point or another, and as we know, those negative thoughts can affect our emotions and make us feel bad about ourselves. Here is the recording along with an overview of the parent class that I did during parent teacher conferences. The recording (link below) is 30 minutes long. Overcoming Negative Emotions Parent Class Recording (30 Minutes): https://www.loom.com/share/1a323e1744944ef1882600b37014e383 Here is an overview of the class if you would rather read about it instead of watching it:
We can teach children to use healthy coping tools to use when they are feeling angry, worried, sad, or upset in any way. It is good to practice these coping tools, even when we aren’t feeling upset, so they can be reinforced in our brains. There are many other coping tools in the mindfulness section of this blog, but here are a few that I have taught the kids in school:
Here is a 30 minute video explaining some tips to manage emotions for you and your child. This is the same class that I gave during parent teacher conferences. It explains what's happening in the brain when we have strong emotions, tips for parents, and techniques to manage emotions. I hope this can be helpful for you and your families!
https://uetn-org.zoom.us/rec/share/rCotpSv0sfte_zBkpQ--jN1lFMA6At3hjMMzUp3vJeRnvgFI4z5Id064GG_9w_a2.9bRdo-vdQJQUiKRd?startTime=1604675884000 Passcode: c5.vGnbd Everyone feels anxiety. Here is a 15 minute video explaining what anxiety is, what is happening in our brain and body when we feel anxiety, and some simple tips to help conquer it, whether you're a kid or an adult. This video can also be applied to other emotions like anger or sadness. When you talk with kids about anxiety, or any other unwanted emotion you can use the same language and names as the video. Ex: "Is your safety brain or your smart brain in control right now?," "What is something you can do right now to get your smart brain back in control?" Let's work to get our smart brains in control and conquer anxiety!
Check out this back-to-school care package from Big Life Journal! It's full of tips and resources to help children and adults cope with coming back to school whether you are at home, online, or in person at school. It focuses on tips for parents, mindfulness, feelings, etc. It also has activities and a back-to-school interview for kids.
Mindfulness can help with depression, anxiety, anger, building relationships, and more! This Mindfulness Toolkit comes from the free app Smiling Mind. You can use the toolkit and the app with your families or in your classrooms! For more help and resources, visit the Smiling Mind website: https://www.smilingmind.com.au/at-home.
Coloring can be a great way to de-stress, and can also be a form of mindfulness and self-care. You can color to relaxing music, or just focus on the different lines, colors, and the movement that your hand makes. You can also have these in a calm down corner at school or in your home. Here are some fun mindfulness coloring pages to practice mindfulness and enjoy!
Here are some fun mindfulness exercises for kids to help with stress, anxiety, depression, anger, and any other emotions!
Here are some daily questions to maintain mental well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing, quarantine, and really any stressful situation.
Self-Care is one of the best ways to feel good emotionally. There are many types of self-care, and you can read more about it here. Here is a fun activity for adults or kids to practice self-care. You can download the poster or the bingos below, or you can think of your own activities for self-care!
Often times when there is a stressful situation or unwanted emotion in our lives, we feel like we have lost our control, but there are still a lot of things that we can control in our lives, even if we feel like we can't. Here is a list 50 things you can control to help you stay grounded in your life, even during a stressful time, unwanted emotion, or a crisis. Parents, this is a good activity to do alone or with your kids to spark a conversation about what they can control in their lives. At the bottom of this page, you can download a checklist version of this picture, print it, and have your child check off the things they think they can control. Kids, see how many things you can control! If you would like to download a checklist version of this paper to use at home, click on the link below.
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