Social-Emotional Wellness Newsletter – May 17, 2020
Distance Learning for Parents:
There are so many online resources that can help your scholar continue developing their academic skills in fun and creative ways. Here are a few more to add to your list!
Arcademic Skill Builders: Designed for students in first through sixth grade, the free Arcademic Skill Builders website has dozens of games that aim to improve your child’s knowledge in math, geography, typing, spelling, and language arts.
Crayola: Along with a ton of craft ideas for kids in elementary school and younger, Crayola has so many lesson plans on its site, covering language arts, math, and more. And they’re totally free!
Go Noodle: Along with movement exercises for little kids, elementary-age children can access GoNoodle’s free resources, like mindfulness videos, downloadable learning resources, and ideas for off-screen activities.
Self-Care for Parents
Being stuck inside with your kids for an indefinite amount of time due to a global pandemic is stressful enough. It’s even worse when those kids can’t stop bickering. For many parents, this is the new reality. The article Siblings fighting more during lockdown? Here’s what parents can do provides great tips on how to keep sibling fights at a minimum.
Scholar SEL Activity: Things We Miss, Things We Have
Objective:
Scholars will:
- Practice taking time to reflect on what is most important to them
- Understand how to be thankful for what they have
Materials:
- Paper
- Pencil and/or markers/crayons
The Big Idea:
When we take time to reflect on what we miss and what we have, we learn to appreciate things we have more in the future
Instructions:
- Provide scholar with paper
- Ask scholars to fold their paper in half long-ways to make two columns
- Ask them to write at the top of one column “I miss”
- Ask them to write at the top of the other column “I have”
- Ask scholars to list the things they miss at the current moment in the first column
- Once scholars are done with the first list, ask scholars to write down things they are thankful to have in the second column
After the activity debrief questions:
- Go over each list with your scholar
- Review each item missed and ask scholars to share in-depth what they miss about doing/having that item
- How did you come up with each thing you are thankful for?
Suggestions for success:
- Ask questions about what your scholars have written down on each list
Scholar Movement Activity: Yoga 4 Classrooms Bumblebee Breath
Keep yourself and your scholar active, engaged and stress-free during the school closure.
These mindfulness activities led by Lisa Flynn, founder of Yoga 4 Classrooms, are designed for parents to learn, share and/or practice the along with their scholar or children at home.
You can watch Mindful Activity of the Day: Bumblebee Breath on YouTube or use the card below to learn the pose.
The Bumblebee Breath is a child-friendly breathing practice that calms bodies and minds with an extended exhale while using sound to encourage mindful awareness.
