Today we wanted to share information on Social-Awareness, another one of the 8 critical areas of importance for well-being.  As noted in our earlier emails, studies show that developing and nurturing important skills in our children can help them become happy, productive, and successful adults as they appreciate how to think and act in stressful or challenging situations.

The purpose of these activities is to remind children that the skills we all use to build and maintain strong, healthy relationships are learned. We develop them by thinking about how we want others to receive us, and then by actively working to be open, caring, and supportive as we interact with others.

Here is some information about Social-Awareness and how to use the “Grow Your Empathy” strategy to promote active listening to appreciate each other and the world around us:  Social-Awareness Info & Tips

Keep In Mind:   You are a powerful model for the young people in your life. Hearing stories of times when we’ve been strong enough to forgive, as well as times when we’ve been humble enough to accept forgiveness, sends a strong message. When our children hear the thinking behind why we act the way we do, it’s easier for them to pause and think about their own actions. When they see us live our lives from a place of generosity and optimism, they can imagine themselves growing up to be the same kind of person.

Here are some creative ways to practice and encourage Social-Awareness in your home:

* Have your child invite an older, trusted person discuss these questions:  When was a time in your life when you’ve chosen to forgive someone? What do you think that was like for them? What was it like for you? Is there anything you wish you’d done differently?

* Practice these components of being a good listener with your child:

1. Look the speaker in the eye
2. Encourage the speaker with smiles, nods, and “uh-huhs”
3. Pay attention to the facial expressions and body language as well as the words
4. Remain interested in understanding the speaker

* Talk about the Golden Rule and role play different situations with your child.

Thank you to everyone who has participated in our our Distance Learning Spirit Days over the past several weeks.  If you chose to participate, we hope you have had fun picking out attire with your child/ren and then viewing everyone’s pictures.

Tomorrow will be our final Spirit Day of this very unique school year.  Our theme for tomorrow will be Beach Day/Tacky Tourist in honor of our upcoming summer break!   Floral shirts, sun glasses, fanny packs, straw hats, sandals with socks, or zink-covered noses – we look forward to seeing our students diving head-first into summer.  If you would like to share pictures, please send them to aguenther@saintjamesschool.net by 2:00pm tomorrow (Wednesday).

Thank you again for sharing the smiles of your wonderful children with us!

 

Today we wanted to share information on Self-Management, another one of the 8 critical areas of importance for well-being.  As noted in our earlier emails, studies show that developing and nurturing these skills in our children can help them become happy, productive, and successful adults as they appreciate how to think and act in stressful or challenging situations.

Here is some information about Self-Management and how to use the “Psych Yourself Up” strategy to keep things positive at home:  Self Management Info & Tips

Keep In Mind:   Two factors that go a long way toward helping young people stay with an activity long enough to truly practice their Self-Management skills are adult modeling and the “fun factor.”

Here are some creative ways to promote and encourage Self-Management in your home:

* Institute a “Family Fun Night” tradition. Choose a consistent night of the week and take turns, with each household member having a chance to plan the evening. This might include the dinner menu, a dessert, and an activity in which everyone else participates. Over time, everyone in the family will have many opportunities to practice their Self-Management skills as they participate “without comment or complaint” in the chosen plan. It’s also a great opportunity to get to know more about each other’s tastes and interests!

* Make a “Calm Area,” a place where your child can go when they need to take a step away and calm down.  Rutgers Social-Emotional Learning Lab Director Dr. Maurice Elias suggests that it not be away from everyone or everything, but simply a comfortable area and clearly marked. Elias says some parents get a small square of carpet to put in a corner of a room, with a pillow or stuffed animal. This is especially useful when your child has a tantrum. Asking him or her to go to the “keep calm” area can make the tantrum less serious. The “keep calm” area can also serve as a source of security: if your child knows there’s a place to go to calm down and they can leave as soon as they feel better.

Here is the link to the Saint James Parish Mass for this weekend.   It may be viewed at your convenience. https://youtu.be/qIYsDZWCKGk

As mentioned in Friday’s email, over the final few weeks of school we will be sharing information on different Social Emotional Skills. Developing and nurturing these skills in our children can help them become happy, productive, and successful adults as they appreciate how to think and act in stressful or challenging situations.

Today we wanted to share information on Self-Awareness, another one of 8 critical areas of importance for well-being. Here is some information about this topic and how to use the “Successes and Strengths” strategy to keep things positive at home: Self-Awareness

Keep In Mind: It can be very natural for parents and caregivers to pay more attention to feelings that concern us.  If we can practice paying attention to how we react to whatever children share with us, we may find ourselves able to relish the enjoyable feelings as thoroughly as we attend to challenging emotions.

Here are some creative ways to promote and encourage Self-Awareness in your home:

* Have everyone in the family make a poster with their own version of Emoticon faces to show a variety of feelings they have had. Label each Emoticon and then each discuss a time when you encountered that feeling.

* Have your child keep a journal.

* Have your child complete an About Me worksheet. Discuss their answers.