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Many of our #selfreg strategies in schools likely have to be eliminated for health and safety reasons (cozy furniture, alternative seating, calming corners, shared sensory tools, alternate quiet spaces). That’s a given. What CAN we do to help create calm for our kids? A thread.
We can still do many mindfulness and gratitude activities. We can still use visual schedules, let kids know about upcoming transitions, and create consistency in programming as much as possible. We can still work on developing relationships with each child.
We can still celebrate kids’ hard work and help kids to solve problems using their words. We can still focus on routines and new procedures so that all kids know what to expect. We can still create social narratives and use visuals to help explain the confusing parts.
We can read books aloud to kids of all ages about handling our worries and big feelings. We can do physically distanced role-plays to act out different scenarios to help kids prepare for the changes that they are concerned about.
We can work hard on finding our own calm as adults so that we can lend our calm to our kids, because goodness knows they will need it. What else can we do? Ideas for parents, caregivers, and educators? #OntEd
Here’s a collection of resources for educators to ponder as we think about how best to support our most vulnerable kids when we return to the classroom: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1o6aeqRASPfSmT9sb_3PrBmtnqWnQmz2Jj5ERLTsex4k/edit
Here’s a collection of self-care resources that I am using in my own journey as a parent and educator: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jqtMhb0EvmpcyypASj8VecRmdf_NvRMoYgOVeB5UM3M/edit
