Body Safety and Protective Factors

It's is the last day of April, which was Child Abuse Prevention Month.  HOWEVER, it is still very important that we teach our children body safety!  Click on the link below for a guide to empowering your child and safe body boundaries.  It provides information for you, as a parent, and gives ideas on how to talk to your kids.  Both resources were compiled by LOTUS. 

Body Safety 101

As always, if you are aware of child abuse and are unsure who to talk to, I am always here to help!  

↓ I love this calendar to utilize in strengthening the family unit! ↓

Click on this LINK to download the calendar.

Virtual Parent Cafe' and Webinars from KPFC

Building Protective Factors at Home

What makes families strong during social distancing??

That's a great question!  As we continue to follow social distancing guidelines, I thought this would be important to share! 

See the attachment below ↓ to read the complete document compiled by Lotus.  It provides awesome ideas and activities including the following:

1. ideas for activities to work on building your family relationship, 
2. parenting resources,
3. a "support tree" activity,
4. communication activities,
5. and how to build nurturing and attachment,  resilience, and knowledge at home.

Building Protective Factors at Home PDF

Apps for Health and Wellness

We are online A LOT these days, so let's use it to promote a healthy lifestyle!!  Lotus (a regional child advocacy and sexual violence resource center) created the following document with Apps that help promote health and wellness.  Click here to download the PDF of the document.

My Name is Coronavirus - a story for kids!

Hello!  Today I wanted to share a story by Manuela Molina (@mindheart.kids www.mindheart.co) called "My Name is Coronavirus."  I shared a video of me reading it and attached the story as a PDF so you can print it and read it to your children.  It is an interactive story where they can color how they feel about the coronavirus.  I think it is a great story to revisit when new developments create more change.  It's a nice reminder that "this too shall pass."  

Story PDF Document

A Special Message From KY School Counselors

Commitments Check-Up

Who is in need of a commitments check-up?? 🙋 When we make commitments, whether to ourselves or to someone else, it increases the chance of following through.  Successful commitments also increase our confidence!  Use this visual from Conscious Discipline to help your child make and keep commitments. 

Use this link for insight on how to set your child up for success by making specific, realistic, and stated in the positive!  Commitments Check-up

Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules - COVID-19 Toolkit

I absolutely love💗 this toolkit provided by Autism Focused Intervention Resources & Modules (AFIRM).   These times are stressful for everyone, especially if you prefer structure and routine.  Fear of the unknown is difficult to deal with and I think most of us have felt this at one point or another since the coronavirus outbreak began.

Every parent, teacher, or family member I have met who works with or has a child with autism goes to great lengths to find out what does and doesn't work for their child.  Please use this website as a guide and utilize the resources you feel would fit/work best for your child or student.   The website has MANY activities and resources available for use that go with each of the 7 support strategies.

The 7 support strategies for implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic include the following:

1. Support understanding
2. Offer opportunities for expression
3. Prioritize coping and calming skills
4. Maintain routines
5. Build new routines
6. Foster connections (from a distance)
7. Be aware of changing behaviors

↓ Click the link below to access. ↓
Supporting Individuals with Autism through Uncertain Times

See the picture below. When you click on the link provided above, you will be at the introduction page. On the left sidebar, there are tabs to read more in depth about the 7 support strategies suggested as well as have access to MANY resources including calendars, articles, activities, and so much more.  

Soothe Children's Stress about COVID-19

I REALLY like this activity by Conscious Discipline that incorporates discussion, feelings of safety, and sense of touch between children and parents.  Each finger represents something good that happened during the day and the thumb represents the day's worries.  See the document below for an explanation and printable.

Story Hand Printable

(By Conscious Discipline)

Caring Connections Calendar

Caring Connections!

I think this is a great calendar to utilize to strengthen our relationships during a time when we must practice social distancing. Grab your kids and challenge yourselves to completing an activity daily. You could do an activity daily in order or use it like a bingo sheet and "check" off each one you complete!

Caring Connections Calendar - See this document for a description of the benefits of utilizing the calendar and a printable version.

Caring Connections: Strengthening Relationships by Practicing Kindness, Being Grateful, and Spending Quality Time with Those We LOVE (by http://ConsciousDiscipline.com)

Sad Child or is it Depression?

Today doesn't provide an activity for students (you can continue the #discovergratitude activity, though!), but it does provide some information for parents.

During this time, there has been a LOT of changes.  Changes in routine; your availability; possibly finances; accessibility to what used to be common items; work schedule; and physical, mental, and emotional health may have affected you and your family.  This means it is affecting your children as well!  You may have a lot on your plate right now, but taking care of your child's mental and emotional health is also essential. 

REMEMBER 

 You can still contact me if you have any questions or concerns!  

chelsea.neale@calloway.kyschools.us

270-762-7345 ext. 4107

We can set up a time to meet on zoom or google hangouts as well.  

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Dr. Sweeney (program coordinator for comprehensive school counseling in Kentucky) addresses mental health towards the bottom of this article.  He points out that it is normal to feel sad sometimes, but "The difference is that sad is inconsistent. … Depression is consistent and constant.”

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See this article for tips on signs of depression, topics of conversation, and more. 

Sad Child or is it Depression?

...“What I say to parents is, ‘Trust your instincts,’” Parker said. “You know your child better than anybody else in this world. If something is not right, there’s been a change in behavior, it was not this way six months ago, there’s something major in this child’s life, I need to get to the bottom of it, that’s the time.”

Hurtful Words / Bullying

To continue our lesson from yesterday, I'd like to take a little bit deeper look into hurtful words and/or bullying.  The things we say to each other may not show physical damage, but the damage is there.  

The first lesson on bullying, uses the illustration of two apples.  Students practice saying nice things to one apple while saying hurtful things to another.  Unbeknownst to your student(s), you have gently dropped one apple multiple times to cause bruising on the inside.  When you are finished saying hurtful and nice things to each of the apples, you cut them open.  The apple you said nice things to is healthy, but he apple you said hurtful things to is bruised on the INSIDE.  This leads for great discussion into how we speak to one another and the implications of our words.  This is a great sibling activity or individual activity during our NTI days as it is always important to choose kind words instead of hurtful no matter who we are speaking to. 
A Bullying Lesson Using Apples
Apple Printable Worksheet

The second activity is great for our younger students.  It uses a clean sheet of paper and is folded each time someone says something hurtful until you can't fold it any smaller.  You then practice saying nice things and the paper unfolds.  Although the paper is still the same and opens all the way back up, the folds are still there just as the hurtful things someone says can still hurt on the inside. 
The Folded Paper Instructions

CYBERBULLYING

CYBERBULLYING.... tips for parents and students.  

While searching for useful tips and resources regarding cyberbullying, I stumbled upon a blog reflecting Dr. Russell Sabella's work on responsible use of technology and cyber-kindness.  WOW.  There is a plethora of resources, lesson plans, and links to provide us with tools to help navigate safe use of technology.  Click on the following link to access these resources. 

Guarding Kids - Cyberbullying

Click here to read about ways parents can help prevent cyberbullying.   

Discover Gratitude

Discover Gratitude! 

Yes - we're back to gratitude!  The Mayo Clinic has created a four-week virtual challenge (March 30 - May1) called DISCOVER GRATITUDE.  Before we talk about "HOW" to partake in the challenge, lets talk about "WHY" it is an awesome opportunity.  

"WHY" should we DISCOVER GRATITUDE?

This article talks about the following 7 benefits of practicing gratitude:

1. gratitude opens the door to more relationships
2. improves physical health
3. improves psychological health
4. enhances empathy and reduces aggression
5. grateful people sleep better
6. improves self esteem
7. increases mental strength

These may sound like benefits that are geared towards older students or adults.  And they might be, but don't we want to lead by example!?  You could complete the journal together and discuss what you have to be thankful for each day as a family.  What a positive way to start out the day!  An example of showing kindness might be to pick up an elderly neighbor's groceries for him/her.  Then have the conversation about why that is a "kind" thing to do. 

"HOW' WE CAN PARTICIPATE IN THE DISCOVER GRATITUDE CHALLENGE:

DISCOVER GRATITUDE challenges you to do the following 3 activities each day:

1. Journal about the big and small things in life for which you are thankful 
2. Do something kind
3. Take time to be PRESENT in the moment (important for us as adults!)

Discover Gratitude Website - Think link explains more about the challenge.  Share the things you're thankful for on social media with #discovergratitude.
Discover Gratitude Journal Worksheet - Use this document to record your daily journal entries. 

Tag me in your posts of kindness/mindfulness/gratitude @SWGUIDANCE on Twitter! 

See this video for more information:

Dealing With Disappointment

Dealing with disappointment can be difficult for kids (as well as adults).  This activity looks at ways to talk through our disappointment and incorporate coping strategies.  

Here are a few examples of a time when your student may have felt disappointment:

1. When school was closed - or if not then, when the closure period was extended!
2. When they did not get to see their friends 
3. When a sibling gets to do something and they don't 

The list can go on and on, especially applied to our current circumstances with being under quarantine.  I think this activity will help them work through some ways to overcome their disappointment.  Let me know if you have questions!

Dealing with Disappointment Instructions
Dealing with Disappointment Worksheet

NTI Self-Challenges!

SOCIAL / EMOTIONAL SKILLS PRACTICE

The activity for today is actually a "Summer Practice" for social and emotional skills practice.  HOWEVER, we're going through something completely unexpected, which lands us at home, unable to communicate with others like we normally would.  See the attached worksheet for the activity.  The student is able to create goals, draw him/herself showing how he/she felt on their favorite day, and a "check-off" list for challenges.  The challenging part of the challenges, is that we are exercising social distancing.  So, use this as a guide and get creative!  

Practice - Challenges, Goals, Emotions Worksheet

I also really like this "Back-to-School Checklist" as a fun way to exercise healthy habits!