January Counseling Corner

Ms. Hardy will be facilitating classroom guidance lessons in all grades focusing on how to appropriately use mindfulness and making healthy choices, physically and emotionally.

THEME: If at first you don't succeed, Brush yourself off and try again!

Children grow and develop rapidly in their first five years across the four main areas of development. These areas are motor (physical), communication and language, cognitive, and social and emotional.

Social and emotional development means how children start to understand who they are, what they are feeling and what to expect when interacting with others. It is the development of being able to:

• Form and sustain positive relationships.
• Experience, manage and express emotions.
• Explore and engage with the environment.

January Skills Focus include:

• Pre-K - 1st Gr.: Self-Management & Learning Strategies
• 2nd & 3rd: Self-Management & Learning Strategies
• 4th-5th: Belief in Management of Whole Self & Sense of Belonging

1. "Write it Out"

• Journal about worries: Take 15 minutes a day to journal about things that are upsetting to them. Once they are done have them read it aloud and see if they can figure out a solution. For little one who cannot write, parents should help them get their idea down and figure out a solution.
• Create “worry time”— Set aside a designated “worry time” for 10-15 minutes on a daily basis. Choose the same time each day and the same spot and allow your child to write down their worries without worrying about what actually constitutes a worry. When the time is up, have them drop the worries in a box, say goodbye to them, and move on to a new activity.

2. "Have a debate(with yourself)"

• Talk to your worry—Personification of a worry allows children to feel as though they have control over it. By giving anxiety a face and a name, the logical brain takes over and begins to place limitations on the stressor. For young children, you can create a worry doll or character for them that represents worry. Next time a worried thought arises, have your child try to teach the doll why they shouldn’t worry.

3. "Self-Soothing"

• Give yourself a hug—Physical touch releases oxytocin, a feel-good hormone, and reduces the stress hormone cortisol in the bloodstream. The next time your child feels anxious, have her stop and give herself a warm hug.

• Rub your ears— Have them begin by lightly tracing the outline of their outer ear several times. Then using gentle pressure, have them place their thumbs on the back of the ears and the forefingers on the front. Have them count to five and then move their finger and thumb downward to a point just below where they started. Have your child repeat the process until they have squeezed both earlobes for five seconds each.

4. "Use your Body"

• Stretch— Studies have shown that children who practice yoga not only experience the uplifting benefits of exercise, but also maintain those benefits long after they are done with their practice. The process of slow, methodical stretching can provide many of the same benefits.