Get Creative At Home

For many of us Memorial Day marks the start of summer and brings us to a nostalgic time of
longer days and warm nights.  While this summer will look different, we can still find ways to
celebrate summer fun safely!  It is important for children to experience aspects of normalcy
and for adults, it can help to step away from many of the stressors and watch your children
enjoy some of Vermont’s most beautiful days.  Finding outdoor activities you can enjoy from
the comfort of your own home will be a big part of summer this year.  Here are some fun ideas
to try this weekend or anytime this summer.  Enjoy the sunshine!

Make your own Sidewalk Chalk Paint

30 Kid Friendly Summer Recipes!
Make Your Own Bubbles

Mosaic Sidewalk Chalk Art

Week of May 18th, 2020

Gratitude

There are many benefits to practicing gratitude and thankfulness for children.  It can lead to higher levels of happiness & optimism, better sleep, less stress and improved resilience and improved self-esteem.  Practicing gratitude can be especially helpful during times of uncertainty or stress- it can help you reframe situations and remind you of the positive aspects of life.  

Some easy ways to practice gratitude with children include 

• Drawing a picture of something you are grateful for.
• Saying a simple "Thank You."
• Writing a card or note to someone to show your appreciation.
• Doing a small act of kindness to say Thank You.

Below is a read aloud of The Thank You Book by Mo Willems, you can use this story as a jumping off point for talking about things and people you are grateful for!

Magic Shell Meditation

Ms. Callie leads us through a guided meditation recording to help us let go of some of the lingering worry thoughts we're having.

To follow with Ms. Callie click here and request access (she usually gives access the same day you request):

Magic Shell Meditation

Week of May 11th, 2020

Last week we talked about about Social Emotional Learning and focused on Self Regulation.  We shared information about how we teach about Self Regulation at RES and the about the Zones of Regulation program.

This week we will share more strategies and tools you can use to help develop Self-Regulation skills.
An effective way to help with Self Regulation is to change the sensory input someone is getting when they are in the yellow or red zone.  So changing what you are hearing by playing music you enjoy or changing what you are feeling physically by giving yourself a nice hug/squeeze or changing what you are seeing by looking at pictures that bring happy thoughts to mind.

One tool you can use is a Happy Book (or poster).  A Happy Book is a short scrap book that includes pictures of favorite things, people, places, food, activities... Really a picture of anything that brings a smile to your face and happy thoughts to your mind.  Here is a short video that shares more information about Happy Books.

In the link section on the right you'll find more information and tools to help build self regulation skills.  We hope this information is helpful during this time (and all times)!  If you have questions, are looking for more resources or would like to connect with someone from school please let us know!

Week of May 4th, 2020

What is Social Emotional Learning (often referred to as SEL)? Here is a short and informative video explaining SEL:

Social-Emotional Learning: What Is SEL and Why SEL Matters

This week our social emotional learning focus is on Self Regulation.

What is Self Regulation? Why is it so important? How is Self Regulation taught at RES?
Please watch this video to learn the answers to these questions:

Learning about Self Regulation at RES (a video for families and students)


For families who would like to learn more about using the Zones of Regulation at home, please watch this video created by Leah Kuypers, the author of the Zones.

Using the Zones at Home

As always, we encourage families to use this information in a way that is best for your family during this pandemic and time of distance learning. If you have any questions or concerns please don't hesitate to reach out to us via email. We are all here for you and want to do all that we can to support our students and their familites during these challenging times.

Mindfulness Activity with Ms. Spaulding

Use this activity as a game with your family!  It can also help recenter and get into the green zone when we are overwhelmed by big feelings and racing thoughts.

Everything Changes Mindfulness Activity

Everything Changes

Below is a recording of a mindfulness activity with our School Services Clinician, Callie Amato. Click the link below to listen and follow along or use the written activity below.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1POHW-Yc3L5wNAXvRkwyviVZuwWT01a-m

1.  Have you ever noticed that change is all around us and changes happen every day?  Perhaps a tree that had no buds yesterday all of a sudden has a flower on it.  Or the beautiful, sunny day that we had has changed to a cloudy, rainy day.  Change is all around us. 

2.  Some changes are big and some changes are small.  Like school closing; that was a big change!  But the hair on your head getting longer, that is a small change you might not even notice.  You might feel happy about some changes and you might feel sad about another.  That’s okay.  Changes can give us many different thoughts and emotions.

3.  Look around you and find something that has stayed the same and something else that has changed.  Maybe the sunny sky of the morning is still sunny.  Maybe the flower that was outside has lost its petals.  What do you see?

4.  Now take some time to write, draw or tell someone how you feel about these changes.