Taking Time for Your Kid's Mental Health

Creative Commons / Kristina Alexanderson - Flickr

Hey, Friends. 

Normally, every year about this time, I'm raving about avoiding the summer slide and sneaking in a bunch of learning with your kids.

But I'm not doing that just yet this year because I honestly have not been doing that with my kids. This year has been rough on all of us and I think our kids need a break. They need time to just be with you without pressure or stress. I know, I know... easier said than done. But I do think it is critical for us to spend a few weeks focusing on our kids' emotional health. 

In fact, I feel this is so important that I wrote about it for PBS SoCal. Hop over there and read about the different ways that you can focus on their mental health by helping them let their worries go and feel a sense of security.

Anxiety manifests itself differently in children. They complain about their stomach. Or they have "bad attitudes." Or if they are younger, they start crying or whining a lot more than usual. If your kids seem mad or difficult or argumentative, maybe that's their way of asking for help. They need reassurance from us. They need to know things are going to be okay. Even if you think they won't be, you need to provide that sense of love and security that your kids need from you.

So don't worry about what they're learning - or forgetting! - right now. Focus on comforting and creating as peaceful a home environment as you can. Help them learn to face difficult times and survive the storm without sacrificing their emotional well-being.

I'll be providing resources soon for summer learning. But before you worry about that, take care of this.

Bilingual Toolkit on COVID-19 for Families

Are you looking for a bilingual resource for families impacted by COVID-19? The wonderful educators over at ReadyRosie have you covered.

They have dedicated a section on their site to help families cope with all the changes that the pandemic has brought. There are three main areas: Learning at Home, Prevention & Care, and Emotional Well-Being.

This is a valuable tool for bilingual educators who are trying to provide additional support to the families of their students.

If this sounds like something you need, click here to visit their website.

Bringing Calm to the Chaos: School Counselor Recommendations

My cousin's wife is a school counselor. She granted me permission to share her fantastic newsletter with you all. There are so many excellent resources in it for helping your child cope with the dramatic changes happening in their lives.

(Use the scroll bar to see the entire newsletter. Click on the images to see the full pictures.)

Mrs. Wordsmith: The Social Journey

Preschool is such a critical time in your child's development. Study after study indicates that a good preschool can have a longlasting impact on your child's future academic success, as well as their adult lives.

I receive a steady stream of emails and messages asking me about how to preschool at home. So, of course, you can find many posts here on MommyMaestra about the importance of preschool and how to give your child a quality preschool education at home. I'm ALWAYS happy to discover new, EFFECTIVE products that help parents and caregivers who are homeschooling their preschoolers.

And today's resource is just that!

When Mrs. Wordsmith reached out to me to ask if I would review their new reading tool for students, I immediately said, "YES!" And I'm so glad I did because I love the program.

Mrs. Wordsmith is designed to improve your child's learning and memory through various programs. It's based out of the UK, but they launched here in the U.S. at the beginning of the summer.

I received their Social Journey vocabulary program, and love both the concept and the application of this learning tool. It is designed for kids 3 - 6 years old and the focus is social-emotional skills, which are extremely valuable to your child's growth and success in life. Teaching your child these skills ensures that they are "school ready" by the time they start kindergarten.

And the program is two-fold as it not only teaches kids these important skills, but also does it through literacy-boosting activities. Here's something that struck me when reading the instruction booklet inside the box I received. It said:

When children learn vocabulary to accurately identify their feelings, they are better able to manage them. Likewise, labeling and discussing concepts like "community" empowers children to more ably engage with their world (Elias 2014).

Makes sense, no?

And it is apparent that a lot of time and energy has gone into this product. Here's a look at what you will receive:

Each month, a new box will arrive at your door and the activities will focus on a different aspect of the social-emotional skill set. For example, learning growth-words such as push, try and effort, helps children understand their actions and feelings.

I love how the inside of the box is carefully organized to make sense for the parent/caregiver. There is no guesswork here. You'll find an instruction booklet immediately upon opening the box - but really, the process is quite simple.

You start with the picture book and read at your own pace. Each story introduces the new words your child will focus on learning.

Then you set up your activity book stand and place the activity book on it and open to the first word. You've probably read on MommyMaestra more than once about how creating a print-rich environment for children is crucial for developing their literacy skills. Well, here's an example of how to create a print-rich environment: place words on display in your home! Put your stand in an accessible place where your child can see it throughout the day and look at it at his or her leisure.

Each month has around 20 words for you to teach your little one. You can just take your time, letting the new word hang on the book stand for a while before tearing it off and completing the activity on the back. Give it time to soak in.

And, finally, there are the word cards which you can use to play games with your child in order to reinforce their meaning.

What a great product!! I can't wait to use it with my youngest child as soon as he is old enough.

THE GIVEAWAY

Mrs. Wordsmith has graciously offered a 12-month subscription to their Social Journey product to one (1) MommyMaestra reader! If you are caring for a preschooler this school year, this would be a must-have for your lesson plans.

To enter, simply use the Rafflecopter below.

¡Buena suerte!


a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure: I received a sample box for review purposes. All thought and opinions are my own.

Preparing Kids Emotionally and Academically for the Start of School

For my family, the first day of school is quickly approaching. I typically start our homeschool year on August 1st. That's earlier than most of our homeschooling friends and lends for a short summer break, but because here in North Carolina we must have 180 days of school, it's important we start early because we do travel quite a bit as a family and I can't always count all those travel days as school days.

All children - not just my own - need to have a smooth transition back to school. Abrupt change is hard even for the most flexible of people and that is why we need to prepare our kids emotionally, as well as academically, for the start of classes.

Here are some tips for preparing your kids for the start of school:

• Take the time to actually talk about the start of school and why their education is so important to you and your family. 
• Don't forget to tell your child how proud you are of all the progress that he or she has made over the last year. Be specific and list a few of their accomplishments. Ask your child what he or she is proudest of - you might be surprised!
• Talk about goals for the school year. Ask your child what he or she hopes to learn or what skills they'd like to develop. Write it all down and post your goals on the fridge or someplace where everyone will see it. I've made up a free printable to help your child organize his thoughts. 

Download it here

• Work up a budget and make a list of school supplies, clothes, etc. Then go shopping together, sticking to both your budget and your list!
• Create 4 or 5 weekly lunch meal plans, or have your child do it. Add magnets to the back of each week, stack them on the fridge, then swap them around each month.
• Ask your child to create a daily schedule. Make sure they begin with the time that they wake up and end with the time they go to sleep. Doing so helps kids visualize their day and prepares them mentally for changes in their lax summer routine.
• Set aside a small space in your home where your child can sit and do homework, or update an existing space. Let your child personalize it and make the area more cozy so that he or she enjoys spending time doing his or her homework. 
• As a family, celebrate the end of summer and the beginning of the school year with a special party, night out, or gift.

Tips from Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood on Preparing your Preschooler for a New Sibling

One of the biggest changes in a child's life involves the birth of a sibling. For many families, a second baby is often born when the first child is under five years old. This was our situation. My daughter turned 2 a month before my son was born. I worried so much about how she would adjust and whether she would feel left out or less special. While things did change, my love for her never did.

Is your family expecting another child soon? Do you already have a preschooler or kindergartner? How are you preparing your firstborn? Do you worry about how a new baby will affect him or her? Are you wondering how to tell your oldest child or how to help him or her adjust to a new sibling?

Well, help is on the way with PBS KIDS! This Monday, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is welcoming a new character: Baby Margaret. The one-hour special will give children some of the tools they need to cope with the arrival of a new baby brother or sister. It explores the feelings a preschooler might feel when they find out a new baby is on the way.

Angela C. Santomero, the creator of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, also offers this advice to help parents share the news with their children.

• Don’t Spill the Beans too Soon – While it’s always helpful to prepare your preschooler about what to expect and talk with them about new experiences, young children don’t understand time the way adults do. Since it can be difficult for them to wait for events happening many months in the future, try to wait as long as possible to tell your child about the new baby.
• Discuss What to Expect When You’re Expecting – Talk with your child about what to expect from newborns – they sleep a lot, cry, and can’t play games or talk (at least not the same way as your preschooler can)! If you know a family or friend with a new baby, make a brief visit so your child can see firsthand what an infant can and can’t yet do.
• Crown Your New “Big Helper” – Involve your child in caring for their new sibling right from the start. Encourage them to pick out items for the baby’s room, get the diapers when it’s changing time, and sing or talk to the baby. Giving them specific ways to lend a hand helps preschoolers feel needed and more grownup.
• Make “Mommy/Daddy & Me Time” – When the baby arrives, set aside “just you and me” times with your older child. Whether it’s a trip to the library or simply reading a story together before bed, it’s important to make sure your older child doesn’t feel left out.
• Let Them Know How Proud You Are – Help your child to feel proud about being the older brother or sister by showing your appreciation for all the things they can do that the new baby can’t yet accomplish such as using their words. Reinforce your older child’s role in the family as the big brother or sister to the new baby.

In addition to the episode and addition of a new character to the show, they've also released a new app!

Daniel Tiger’s Grr-ific Feelings is geared towards kids ages 2-5 and is available on iPad. The app is designed to empower kids to identify and express their wide and complex range of emotions. The four socio-emotional activities in the app offer kids a variety of interactive ways to accomplish this.

Inside the app you'll find:

• Trolley Game – Drive the trolley to discover more than a dozen mini-games about feelings.
• Sing-Along – Choose from 18 of your favorite Daniel Tiger songs, each one fully animated.
• Drawing Easel – Use paints, crayons, stickers, and more to express yourself.
• Feelings Photo Booth – Take pictures of yourself that show lots of different feelings. Daniel will help you pose!