Counselor Kail
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COVID Community Resources & Grief

3/26/2020

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Community Resources
COVID and Grief
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A Bedtime Story

3/25/2020

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Click here to view a Mindfulness bedtime story
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Wellness Wednesday

3/25/2020

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Click here for this weeks' counselor news
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Tips for this uncertain time

3/13/2020

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Hello Newcastle Staff and Families,
With students at home, I wanted to share some daily routine tips (to achieve some sense of “normalcy”), as well as some articles on how to talk to your kids about the virus, and some Social Emotional book ideas:
 
What to do while your kids are at home?
  • Stick to a routine similar to school.  Just like school, having a schedule for the day is helpful for kids.  Include a morning wake up time and a bedtime appropriate for the child’s age.
  • Create a time during the day to “do school”.  Include time to read and do any other learning activities of your choice.  Have your child help you with the schedule.
  • Earn fun activities with an incentive chart. Learning activities and chores can be used to earn “fun” privileges to help structure the day.
  • Decide on a “screens” plan for your family.  Search out the many resources online on this topic for helpful ideas to keep balance in your household.
  • Make a fun kid MENU of stuff to do.  Create a list with your kids of different activities.  When their screen time is used up for the day, they have the choice of anything on the list.  Ideas can include:  crafts, board games, making recipes, scavenger hunts inside and outside, imagination play, backyard play.
  • Keep kids socially engaged.  FaceTime, Skype, E-mail, sending postcards – there are various “safe” ways to curb loneliness kids may feel without their usual school social-connectedness.
Also, the online library at KCLS has great resources for FREE audiobooks and ebooks:   https://kcls.org/resources-types/ebooks-format/ 
Sign up to get a library card and use this card to e-check out a lot of audiobooks and digital books to enjoy.
Here are some articles that provide advice for talking to kids about the coronavirus:
  • https://childmind.org/article/talking-to-kids-about-the-coronavirus/
  •  https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/smart-parenting-smarter-kids/202003/how-talk-kids-and-teens-about-the-coronavirus
  • For younger children: https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/how-to-talk-to-your-kids-about-coronavirus
Finally, here are some book ideas on the topics of feelings and emotions:
https://childhood101.com/books-about-emotions/
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Coping Tools and the Brain

3/4/2020

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Hello Newcastle Staff and Families,
This past week, I had the opportunity to attend the Washington School Counselor Association conference, and gain more tools and inspiration from people who have been in the profession for decades.  Some of the recurring course topics included trauma, anxiety, mindfulness, growth mindset, grit, and resilience.  One course in particular really made an impression - it was called “Nurturing Emotional Wellness” and it was broken down into 3 domains:  The Brain, The Body, and The Mind.  If we can understand how our brain functions and how different parts of the brain are activated, we can have better self-awareness and self-control.  The above image was shared and sums it up well.
Our kiddos with trauma and anxiety are often stuck in the “survival state”, and things like routine and predictability can really assist with a sense of safety and security, as well as fostering trusting relationships.  Aside from this, giving coping and resilience tools such as:  
belly breathing grounding and centering movement positive self-talk artistic processing or journaling gradual exposure to the feared thing focused attention exercises reflecting on what you can and can’t control talking about your feelings with someone who really listens practicing gratitude getting enough sleep, exercise, nutrition, and time in nature  These tools can help build that grit and resilience against any hardships or obstacles one may face.  So many of the courses emphasized the importance of intentionally using and practicing these ourselves - this is how we can be models for emotional wellness for our students.  And it’s so easy for this to fall by the wayside for the “helpers” (educators, parents, etc)...these reminders seem redundant, but they really are so very necessary and important.  I need all the reminders I can get!
Take good care of yourselves and let me know if you have any questions about any of the above :)


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    Kailey Mutter

    Kailey is a Counselor at Newcastle Elementary School

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