We are rolling along with a new school year at PES and with the new comes lots of stress, anxiety and worry not only for parents but for kiddos too. I'm a worrier, so I totally get where they are coming from and I would venture to say that as many as 80% of the kids who come to talk with me at school, come to me with feelings of worry. These worries range from making friends to who is going to pick me up this afternoon. If you have a child who worries alot, I would like to offer some suggestions on what to say and how to deal with this very real feeling. What to Say to Help a Kid Who is Worried: 1. How big is your worry? Instead of telling kids their worries are too big, have kids rate their worry. You can use an emotion thermometer to guide this or just ask them to rate on a scale of 1-10, 1 being tiny and 10 being huge. 2. How can we tell your worry to leave you alone? Instead of saying, “Just stop worrying,” practice personifying worry. The book, Worry Says What? is a great starting point to help kids learn how they can talk to their worries and tell them to leave! If you have a child who worries, I have this book in my office and would be glad to read it with him/her. Just let me know! 3. I’m here to listen. Tell me about your worry. Instead of isolating children with blaming statements like, “You’re making things worse,” invite them into a supportive relationship. Let them know you’re there to listen to their feelings and worries non-judgmentally. 4. Your feelings are valid. Nothing is more isolating than feeling invalidated with phrases like, “There’s nothing to worry about.” Let kids know they can trust their own feelings and body clues by reminding them they are valid. This isn’t to emphasize and give energy to the worries; it simply lets kids know they can listen to their bodies. From here, you can work together to employ helpful strategies for managing worry. 5. What do you think might happen? What is most likely to happen? Instead of sweeping the worry under the rug with phrases like, “Everything will be fine,” help kids activate logical thinking by considering possible outcomes. Ask what the child thinks might happen. You can make a list of all possible outcomes, real, silly, or unlikely. Then, rank the outcomes based on how likely they are to actually happen. 6. Let’s breathe together. Is there any phrase more maddening than, “Calm down!” Kids don’t like it either. Instead, help kids to slow their breathing and heart rate with a controlled breathing exercise. This takes focus and practice (which will take attention away from the worries) and helps kids feel in control of their bodies. Try one of these worry-busting breathing exercises: 7. Where do you feel your worry in your body?Another phrase no one loves to hear is, “It’s all in your head,” but many students come to school and report loved ones telling them exactly this about their worries. Instead, help students do a body scan to notice where in their bodies they feel their worry. Is it in their stomach? Neck? Hands? Use a hands-on tool to label the sensations in the body. I hope these phrases will help you in calming your worrier!
0 Comments
On Friday, I attended a training through Project BASIC related to the importance of positive strong relationships in the lives of our children. This may seem like common sense to most, but I wanted to share a short video (SCROLL TO END FOR VIDEO) that shows just how vital the social and emotional aspect is in the brain development of a child.
The debate over which factor is more influential on brain development — genes or environment is over. Once we said nature or nurture; then nature and nurture. Now we know it is nature with nurture, the degree of interdependence is even greater than we ever imagined. They are two parts of a whole, interacting constantly and together playing a singular role in a child’s brain development — and a child’s future. Genes provide the blueprint for brain development, but the environment shapes it. The brain develops at its most rapid pace in the first few years of life. In young children, neurons form new connections at the astounding rate of 700 to 1,000 per second. These early synaptic connections form the basis of neuroplasticity, which underlies a child’s physical and mental health, lifelong capacity to learn, adapt to change, and develop psychological resilience. This scientific evidence highlights the importance of caring, good health, nutrition, and stimulation for all young children and especially children facing adversity. Early intervention is the answer… because it becomes progressively harder to fix problems. When a child’s brain fails to get what it expects and needs, especially during the most sensitive and rapid periods of development early in life, the amount of effort required to set it back on track later in life is enormous and optimal outcomes are far less likely. The extent and severity of problems in later life linked with early deprivation can be remediated through early intervention. Early stimulation and interaction with parents and caregivers jumpstart the journey of brain development — and a lifetime of learning. Extensive research on infant and childhood stimulation shows that nurturing, stimulating interaction between young children and their parents and caregivers positively and permanently strengthens the ability to learn — and may change brain function for life. TAKE A LOOK...…. www.youtube.com/watch?v=LmVWOe1ky8s#action=share
Click to set custom HTML
Hello! As I am trying to develop and navigate this site, I would like to take the opportunity to inform parents/guardians and teachers/staff of some of the BASIC ideas that will be covered this school year. As part of the Project BASIC grant, I have several expectations for the school year including teaching students character education and development of social and emotional skills while adhering to a set of standards developed by the State of TN Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. I also teach and reinforce our school wide behavior expectations of the PAWS behavior rules and each month have a special lunch with students chosen by their teachers to exhibit different character traits associated with these rules. Last year, I implemented a mindfulness and yoga class into my schedule with all students which I hope to continue in some capacity this year as well. I will also plan to continue special events that the students have enjoyed in the past years such as Red Ribbon Week, UNITY Against Bullying Day, SOCKtober, Child Abuse Prevention Month and Random Acts of Kindness Week. I am always looking for new and fun school and community activities that will engage the students and help them to learn compassion and empathy for others at the same time. I have a couple of exciting things in mind for this coming school year so stay tuned for more information...…. Here is a glimpse inside my classroom at PES. Last year, I implemented a concept known as "flexible seating" in my classroom. My goal in this was to give the students a break from the typical desk or table seating that they use throughout the day and provide a more relaxed and comfortable atmosphere for the students. The students randomly choose a picture card of a seat within the classroom when they enter and that is their seat for the class period. The students seem to love this and I will be adding more seats to the room this year to freshen it up! I keep my lights dimmed in order to continue with the idea of providing a more comforting and relaxing environment. To understand and express feelings appropriately Last school yearI implanted a concept called flexible seating To begin to understand and use basic problem solving skills. FIRST GRADE To develop understanding of rules and expectations To learn to express feelings appropriately To make choices and decisions To develop responsibility/respect for self and others SECOND GRADE To develop understanding of rules and expectations. To develop responsibility/respect for self and others To develop a sense of self reliance To develop problem solving skills THIRD GRADE To develop an understanding Rules and agreements Improving friendship skills/reduce bullying behaviors Improve problem solving skills Put problem solving skills into action |